Inheriting a Lost Bloodline, My First Task is to have heirs?!
Chapter 109 - 109 - An engagement meeting in the southern territory

The next morning, just like what Dimitri said in the balcony last night, he came knocking at my dorm room at dawn. As for me and Ioannis, we haven't slept since I had to coax him in bed after we got back from the party. I also had to come clean about him being fully deified to an Eienean two days ago. He was surprised as to how it could be so quick when I said it would take about half a year. I simply told him that it happened quicker since I have nourished him well. He was confused by what nourishment I was talking about but when he saw my mischievous smile, he realized what it was and he turned beet red. I can still see the flicker of happiness in his eyes and we kind of gotten wild due to the happiness and also his newly strengthened stamina. We rarely get tired or feel sleepy so we can go on with our bedroom activities as long as we want now but of course, we still have to pretend to be human so we need to sleep. I guess we'll be even more active in terms of intimacy from now on, not that we aren't that active yet. Knowing our stamina as mystiques, before we realized that we are having too much fun, it was already a few hours before dawn so we opted to just take a shower and prepare for the trip.

After Dimitri knocked a few times, I opened the door and let him in while Ioannis and I are finishing packing the stuff we needed to bring for our one week trip. As he stepped in, he immediately turned beet red, he must have smelled the remnants of the love making activities Ioannis and I did in the room earlier. Not that I care but what does he expect from me? I am not celibate.

After this two-day trip to the Southern territory, I am planning to do everything I needed to do without coming back to the academe so it is better if we bring everything we needed. We will put it in our storages anyway so we technically are bringing just a small bag for show. The three of us dressed up plainly like normal travelers and Dimitri also chose a shabbier carriage than expected from a lord of the farmlands as himself. I don't mind as long as the interior was comfortable for a long trip.

We boarded a single carriage and had to endure the awkward silence since we are all seated facing each other. Since I am starting to feel bothered, I simply leaned on to Ioannis' shoulder and controlled my breathing so I could pretend to be asleep. After about 10 minutes of staying in the same position, I felt Ioannis shift his position to let me sleep on his lap. I pretend to move a bit but then I continued sleeping, well I at least pretended to. As for Dimitri, he finally started to talk with Ioannis. He then said, "I hope that you give me a fair chance to pursue Luna and not try to discredit my efforts or stop me from being near her." Ioannis was silent for a bit before I heard his cold voice that he only uses when speaking to other people except me, "You are not the only person who is trying to get close to her. The fingers on both my hands won't be enough to count the men lingering around her and waiting for their chance to be accepted. We both know that men are not allowed to block their wives from getting other husbands so what are you asking of me here?"

My first husband is feisty as ever and it made Dimitri quiet for several minutes. After that awkward silence he continued the conversation again by saying, "I don't know how much she told you about but this is not just an engagement but also a business cooperation. I know my place and I know she only agreed due to the possible monetary gains. As for me, I went with this set up for the possibility of marriage even if it just for convenience as well as having a child of my own as soon as possible. I just want you to know that I am ready to do everything and anything to be accepted." It's Ioannis turn to be quiet for a few seconds and when he answered, his voice was softer and kinder, "I know everything about your deal. I also did everything and anything for her to accept me. She is an amazing and one-of-a-kind woman so I already prepared myself for these types of talks with guys like you. It was very hard for me to accept reality the first time when I met with the second husband. She met him outside the academe just shy of a few days after she took me in so I was really angry at that time but it's different now. I apologize if you found me too aggressive or cold towards you. This is the normal facial expression and tone of voice I use when talking to others except with my wife. I don't hate you or anything. All of us men are just doing our best to belong to someone we know we can have a good future with." This is the reason why I want him to be the main husband! That ex-crown prince is definitely a no-no for these types of talks.

After Ioannis' last statement, silence continued inside the carriage. Since we are travelling by carriage, it will take us at least four hours of non-stop bouncing inside the carriage before we get there. We passed by the forest around Hoffen City and then we passed by some smaller settlements and towns before reaching the boarder to the southern territory of Ceres.

Ceres is one of the oldest territories of the Athanoviya empire. The capital town of this territory which is part of my temporary fiance's properties was the town of Arista. Dimitri's family, the Vaccaros, owns 2/3 of Ceres and there is another noble family, the Bohns, who owns the remaining 1/3 of Ceres. He simply said that both families are not in good terms after a supposed marriage alliance from a previous generation did not push thrpough.

Once we are in Ceres, we continued travelling to Dimitri's family house which is located in their side of the territory. It was named Palazzo Vaccaros after their family name. We stopped at a huge villa that is in the middle of a huge plantation. When I say huge, imagine reaching the level cap in Farmville minus all the technological advancements of the modern world. The fields were colorful but some of the fields were left empty which I feel is a huge waste of space and loss of potential revenue.

As we alighted the carriage, we were welcomed by an elderly couple who looked to be in their late 50s or early 60s. They hugged Dimitri and kissed both of his cheeks which made him blush. He then whispered to them to stop embarrassing him in front of me. They then looked at me and gave me an amiable smile. I approached them and introduced myself formally. They then welcomed us three into the beautiful villa for brunch. The interaction was light and cheerful. They also treated Ioannis kindly although I am quite sure they knew that he is my husband. They then alloted a room for me and Ioannis to put our belongings in so we could freshen up. Once we are in the room, I kissed Ioannis torridly but stopped after a minute or two. I smiled at him and told him that I will set up a wide area barrier to cover this villa and the whole territory itself. I asked him to set up an isolation barrier around the room for now to temporarily hide the existence of the two wide-range spells I was preparing. Better secure my belongings, right?

It took me only about 5 minutes to prepare both spells. I gave Ioannis a nod and he released the barrier he created as I pushed out both spells at the same time. Both barriers were set in place in a span of 30 seconds. For those that don't have mana, they wouldn't even notice it. I told Ioannis to stay in the room and read the books he brought with him for now while I discuss some things with the Vacarro family members. He nodded in understanding and simply sat on one of the study tables. I told him that he can still listen in to the conversation if he prefers. He looked at me like I insulted him and he said, "No need."

I went out of the room and went straight to the study room where I am sure Dimitri and his grandparents were. I knocked on the door and someone immediately let me in. I sat on one of the chairs surrounding the round table inside. This signifies the start of this engagement meeting.

I was surprised as to how much Dimitri's grandparents know about me and the contract that we have between us. I guess, this guy has been writing letters non-stop to his grandparents regarding the progress of this possible cooperation. They came clean about not agreeing to the contract at first since it seems that Dimitri is taking too much of a loss but they are happy that I did not take advantage of their grandson. I told the elderly couple that I am honestly just after the business cooperation which is why I gave the counteroffer of a purely profit-based partnership but it was Dimitri's idea to have the one-year fiancé agreement. The elderly couple laughed and then looked at their grandson dotingly and with a knowing look which made Dimitri immediately blush. I was a bit confused but I refrained from asking further information about what that "look" meant.

Next thing we talked about was the plans for the territory. I shared my observations as I arrived here and the three people listened intently to my suggestions while nodding their heads once in a while. I came clean about being an inventor, farmer and an alchemist. I told them that I have plans about the water, drainage and irrigation system of this territory. I also gave suggestions on what crops to grow and some improvements I can contribute like seeds, fertilizers, natural pesticides and the inventory system. Now, I really feel that I am somewhat in a farming simulation game but at least, I earn real money here. I also opened about my ideas for the town and having a retirement place as part of the territory. The elderly couple were all ears with the last idea. They may be too old to manage the whole farm but they can sure manage a retirement place where other elderly people will spend their money and idle time away from the noise of big cities. The talks lasted for about three solid hours and ended with the signing of all the contracts needed for the business partnership including the one-year engagement agreement. I requested to have the engagement to be kept as a secret unless there is no other choice but to reveal it to other parties and the Vaccaro family readily agreed. I asked them to arrange for an architect that they trust to draft the plans after I finish a full inspection of the whole territory by tomorrow morning. I am quite excited for this profitable project!