Herald of Steel

Alexander's grand offer for a marriage alliance made Lady Miranda pause for a long while, as she weighed the pros and cons in her head.

In terms of pros- well Alexander had listed it all.

Lady Miranda would be able to access much more of his resources and it would be seen as her returning the favor for the land he was giving her to rule.

As for the cons, well, it would basically mean angering Lord Janus, one of her staunchest supporters, someone who did not leave her even when the entirety of her family did.

Loyalty vs future benefits.

Needless to say, it was not an easy choice to make.

".... Who are the men you have in mind, my lord?"

Eager to get the full picture, Lady Miranda hence asked this, warily sending Alexander a guarded gaze, "I will never be the second wife of anyone."

'You and your younger sister have more in common than you realize!' Alexander mumbled hearing this condition, comparing the two's pride, 'I'm glad I do not have to marry you.'

Feeling that he had dodged a bullet there, he then replied, in a refreshed tone,

"Like I said, there are several men for you to choose from. But if you are concerned about monogamy, then I can suggest several well suited Tibian noblemen. They are like you Sybarians in that aspect."

"One of them is the youngest prince of Tibias- Perikles. Another one is Theony… his father is the southern warden of Tibias, ruling half of the country on my behalf. I believe either of them is more than a match for you in terms of status. Both of the men are also in their early twenties… similar to you."

"Of course, I would have taken you myself, but as you know I already have many wives. It is not possible for me to leave all of them and come live with you here. Not to mention all the other complications. You know what I'm saying…. the whole nine yards "

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Listening to Alexander, Lady Miranda automatically discarded that excuse of a last paragraph, instead focusing more on the above made offer.

Indeed, if that was what on the table, Lady Miranda would have a hard time saying no.

As for Alexander, he was not finished yet, and added a touch of his own preference,

"But personally, I would prefer if you chose one of my close advisors my lady. I naturally trust them more than men from the recently conquered Tibias."

"As for your concerns about monogamy, well I can at least promise you that you will be the main wife, your children the next successors. And given that you will live here in Galiosos for most of the time, you will not likely even see the other women… just like you do not see the men's mistresses here."

Alexander very naturally equated the two, while Lady Miranda kept her lips pressed and silent.

Her mind was off wandering, trying to make sense of all this.

".... Is the offered loan also tied to this?" She then suddenly changed the topic to quiz this, her eyes a bit skeptical,

"Yes and no." Alexander charmingly answered,

"If my lady wants to marry Lord Janus's son, then I'm sorry, I will only be able to lend you 20 million ropals. And I would expect 22 million returned within 8 years."

"If my lady marries from Tibias, I will be able to lend you 40 million, and you will only have to return 42 million in 10 years."

"But if my lady marries from my close retinue… I will only ask for the principal amount to be paid back in 15 years."

The loan conditions Alexander was offering here was light years ahead of what he had promised Miss Linda, but that was because Lady Miranda was more important to him.

So this was his way of trying to buy the lady's loyalty, and thus expounded on its advantages,

"If you want to turn around quickly, 20 million will not really be enough, you will need the 40 million. With that, you will be able to help your loyal men move to their new lands, and start a new life."

"You can also use the money to bribe the local nobles and bring them over to your side. You can reduce taxes on the farmers and let them recover from the pillage Metztil and his men brought. You can even improve the land by having new roads, new shops, and lower sales tax to bring new business."

"With my help, you will be able to make the place better than even Caira! And then… it will not be too late to even once again reunite your family!

"..." It was those last words that perhaps ignited the biggest spark in Lady Miranda's heart, causing it to burn like a fiery blaze.

Alexander had hit her at her most ardent desires.

"....I...Let me think about it for a few days my lord..." But ultimately Lady Miranda was unable to make any promises then and there and asked for an extension.

"Sure. Just tell me before I leave." Alexander too had no problems with this as he did not expect her to choose immediately.

He only added, "I will also send you a detailed list of the men I think will be suitable. You can decide then."

...…..

With these three major appointments finished, Alexander felt he could finally let out a breath of relief.

These past few days had been too hectic for him, causing him to mumble,

"And I thought winning wars was difficult. Who knew cleaning after it is even harder!"

Alexander honestly felt trying to keep his gains and not letting hostilities flare up was harder as he had to juggle all those different forces and somehow keep them all pleased.

It was exhausting.

"Then my lord why don't we go visit the bathhouses for a bit of fun? I heard from Lady Miranda that the bathhouses here are the most famous ones in the world!"

Thus Lady Nanazin suddenly made this sweet comment, catching wind of Alexander's lampooning nagging.

And the way she managed to do this was of course because she was swooped next to him in bed, crushing her soft, warm body against him.

"That will help you wash off all your worries, right?" The mature lady whispered right next to his ears, pressing herself closer and letting her dainty fingers caress over his broad, muscular chest.

"Bathhouse?" The word seemed to jog some memories back in Alexander, and he soon remembered seeing the tall, spire of the grand bathhouse from the manor a few times before and hearing Lady Miranda sing its praises.

He then at once became interested because he had never entered such a place before, in either of his life.

'Hmmmm… there is nothing like this in Zanzan. I'm sure I can copy it!' Alexander even cheered this in his mind, before turning to promise Lady Nanazin, "Okay. Let's go tomorrow!"

"Great!" A large, happy grin greeted him back.

Thus Alexander and his entourage made their way to the largest bathhouse in Caira around mid to late noon the next day.

And as he appeared in front of its gates, he could not help but look around to take in the breath of the structure.

Despite having seen many impressive buildings of the time, such as the Grand Temple of Ramuh in Adhan and the Ancestors Temple in Tibias, this was still quite impressive, if he said so himself.

The outer walls of the impressive and elegant building were made of massive marble slabs, and coated with white limestone to give the place a shiny, glimmering appearance.

The various columns and pediments holding the building were decorated with red, earthen brickworks, and the huge gates leading inside were formed in large arches decorated with intricate mosaics.

The roof was domed and also adorned with various colored terracotta tiles, almost making it look like a valued rainbow and there were large open sections all around it to allow for natural light into the interior spaces.

The whole place was abuzz with activity as crowds of people could be seen entering and exiting it, as Alexander had come during the rush hour.

Most people came to use the facilities during this time after being done for the day.

They would get up at the crack of dawn, work till lunch, have their meal, then either take a short nap if they were wealthy or continue working if they were not until the sun turned soft, after which they closed down and came to visit one of the tens of bathhouses scattered all across the large city.

To the people of Caira, bathhouses were far more than a place to simply wash and clean oneself. Perhaps more than that, it was a social hotspot where they met with friends and family to chat, discuss politics, gossip or even just watch other people going in and out.

This behavior extended to all strata of society, from the poor peasants and day laborers to even the rich nobles meeting with their distinguished peers.

And because many nobles could be seen mingling with the commoners even as Alexander appeared, his small group of only ten or so people hardly drew any attention.

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