Inheriting a Lost Bloodline, My First Task is to have heirs?!
Chapter 230 - 230 - Aurum's Troubles

The meal went by quietly and uneventfully. Though I know everybody knew the naughty things Dimitri and I did just before dinner, nobody asked about it or called us out. I was glad nobody did since it would make this beet-red person next to me melt further in shame since I would definitely not deny eating him up. As for Aurum who has always been the jealous-type, he was just staring at me accusingly which is honestly making me uncomfortable the longer it goes.

Once our meal is done, I used magic to clean up all the tableware and kitchenware then instructed Arthur to rest early. The guy bowed, said good night and went inside his room obediently. Dimitri, ran back to his room while saying that he still has a lot of homework to complete before bedtime so he had to go. Ioannis asked me to carry him back to his room so he can continue reading his book so I gently carried him back as he requested.

When I came out of Ioannis' bedroom, Aurum and his four attendants, Calix, Helios, Yren and Xenos, were still seated at the dining table. They looked like they really intended to wait for me so we can talk separately without the other housemates hearing about it. I guess the conversation about their circumstances would have to be discussed tonight. This goes to show that their situation must be dire.

Instead of sitting at the table, I went straight to the kitchen to prepare some warm tea for the six of us to calm our nerves and digest what we just ate. I served the tea to the five guys waiting for me and placed one in front of my seat as I sat down. I went straight to the point and asked, "Why do you all look so serious? Is there something you need to discuss with me?"

Though I already know the gist of the issues they are currently in, I don't want them to think that my first husband couldn't keep secrets so I pretended to be clueless about the whole thing. The other four attendants, gave their thanks for the tea and sipped a bit to show respect to me. As for the prince, he just held the cup with both his hands, seemingly trying to keep his hands warm. He stayed silent and the other four simply stared at him in confusion since he has not spoken a single word yet.

Just when I thought that he will just stay silent, he inhaled deeply then downed the contents of the tea cup I gave him. He exhaled loudly then asked me directly, "Will you marry me?" I was honestly stunned at how he downed the tea in one go so his question did not register in my mind immediately. Just before I was able to speak, the prince's eyes squinted until it closed and then his face hit the table with a soft thud. Well, the tea I served the four attendants and the one I was drinking will help us stay awake but the prince's tea will make him sleep soundly for the rest of the conversation.

I looked at the prince and shook his body a bit to make sure he's really knocked out while his four attendants were stunned as to why the prince suddenly fell unconscious. They looked at me at the same time still with their eyes wide. I smiled at them sweetly and spoke, "The prince should not know anything about the rest of what we are going to talk about so just let him sleep." The four guys, though still having a lot of questions as to why I did these things still nodded their heads.

Yren immediately stood up and said, "I will be back." As his very short statement finished, he walked towards Aurum and then carried him like he was weightless then brought the unconscious guy into his room. Once the prince has been tucked to his bed, he walked back and took his seat at the table again. I looked at the four of them and went straight to the point, "Can anybody tell me what the deadline you are dreading is all about?"

Helios, being the most outspoken of the four due to the nature of his work handling the social events of the prince, readily volunteered to tell me the details of their predicament. He started his story from the time that Aurum just came of age and vehemently declared that he wants to only marry for love and would not accept any arranged marriages set by his parents. I wanted to laugh but stopped myself from doing so, seeing how serious the four looked like.

He continued the story with how, the empress and the royal consort, being very doting parents to their only son at that time, agreed to his demands without any qualms. The problem was the royal couple waited for months and then years but it seems that the prince did not have any intention to marry at all. The stubborn prince also did not even shown any effort to meet or date any woman. He was even well-known to be quite rude to women. His tendency to kept as far away from woman as he can was so bad resulting to rumors that he preferred male lovers so he kept four male attendants by his as if hinting about the shady relationship they all had. This time, I could not help it and laughed out loud, earning a pout from all the guys which I found really cure by the way.

Calix, the butler of the prince's palace volunteered to continue the story. He then said that to silence the rumors, the royal couple had to publicly declare a deadline for the prince's marriage. They gave two heavy reasons so that the prince can't think of reasons to disobey them.

The first was because the prince does not even date or meet everybody so how would he even get married which means he was the first to break his promise to his parents. Second, was that the older the prince is, the lower are the chances for him to conceive a child and they want to see their grandchildren from him during their lifetime.

At that time of that declaration, the prince was already 20, three years after from the time he came of age. It was a rather huge argument between the prince and his parents which resulted with the deadling being set on Aurum's 24th birthday banquet.

I nodded to show that I understood all the information they have provided. Xenos then went straight to the point and added, "The four of us are part of his dowry so whoever he marries, we will also belong to that woman. To be exact, we will be automatically be given a concubine status under the prince's wife. We are not trying to put you on the spot but I know that you already noticed that the prince likes you a lot, Ms. Luna."

Surprisingly, Yren, the bodyguard who doesn't talk that much, added a sentence that is quite ironic to the statement that Xenos just said. He bluntly said, "The prince's 24th birthday banquet is in 35 days." I looked at Yren and laughed, so much for not pressuring me.

While trying to stop myself from laughing more, I asked them, "How about the four of you, do you like me too?" The four of them stared at me and then their faces gradually turned red and they looked at different directions to avoid my gaze. Well, I already know the answer without them saying anything.

I slowly changed my face to my serious one and then asked again, "What would I get from marrying the prince? I am not interested in being a princess and be a caged bird. I hate attending banquets and parties of people I do not care about. I have my own money and I am sure I can gain power on my own." The four guys looked at each other as if signaling one another that they have to think of something to help their group and convince me to agree.

Xenos immediately answered, "We can help in managing your businesses and any other legal documentation can be approved quickly."

Calix answered, "We know how to take care of household affairs, any household chores and also take care of your children."

Helios added, "I can handle difficult people, politics and look into people you want to know more about. I can take care of the social events and any invitations you want to decline." We then all looked at Yren since he's the only who hasn't said anything.

Yren looked around for a bit, obviously hating the pressure we are giving him to say something to help their case. He sighed and then reluctantly added, "I can do espionage and other dirty work that you may need."

We thought that was his best shot since he doesn't talk that much but we saw the guy smirk and we knew that he's going to say something shocking again. Like what we expected, he added, "It wouldn't be bad to have variety too. Since there are five of us, it can make the time in the bedroom more exciting, right?"

The other three guys, coughed as they did not expect the last statement to come from a guy who barely contributes to meetings. I heard Yren's modulated laugh as if he expected the other three guys to react this way. I stared at Yren and then smirked. The guy noticed my stare and stopped laughing. The other guys, seeing the evil smirk on my face seemed to have stopped breathing.

After a few seconds, I gave them an unconventional answer that they would never expect from me. I responded, purposely speaking slower than normal to make them even nervous than they already are, "I appreciate all the things you have said to convince me." I paused then continued, "I know the prince likes me a lot and honestly, if I did not like the lot of you and find you useful, I won't even waste my time entertaining your presence." I can see the eyes of the four guys look at me as if I am their savior. I then ended my response with a condition, "I will accept the five of you but you have to help me to prank the prince into believing that he would be marrying someone else."

The four guys stared at me as if they did not understand anything I just said. They then looked at each other to confirm if they heard the same thing. Yren, who seem to have caught up quickly as to what my plan wass, asked me immediately, "I am in. What's the plan?"