Once their laughter subsided slightly, Kazien looked at Felix again with an expression that suddenly turned serious, though his eyes still radiated mischief.
"So, do you truly not want to become my fiancé, Felix?" Kazien asked to confirm, without the slightest hesitation and completely blunt, even though he knew full well there were many pairs of ears listening to his absurd proposal, including his own parents and Felix's father.
"Of course not!" Felix answered firmly and quickly, taking a step back as if Kazien were a real threat to him. "You are my brother! My childhood friend! How could I possibly be willing to marry you!"
Hearing the firm rejection, Kazien nodded slowly, having already anticipated his answer.
"In that case, here is the deal. You must marry Erica!" Kazien countered with an undeniably absolute tone. "If you refuse to marry me, then in exchange, you must marry her!"
That statement from Kazien successfully made silence sweep across the plaza. Not only was Felix shocked half to death, but the Altavis family, the Guartav family, and even Dean Claus were deeply shocked to hear the absurd choice and one-sided forced matchmaking from Kazien.
However, among everyone who was shocked, only King Nalvon hid a meaningful smile. The King's political mind spun quickly.
For him, an official marriage tie between the core royal family and an Altavis family descendant would bring a massive, highly positive change to the internal political stability of his kingdom.
The reason was that this was a historical boundary. Since hundreds of years ago, even since the beginning of the Garveon Kingdom's formation and establishment, there had never been a single member of the Altavis family willing to hand over and marry their descendants into the royal family. And now, Kazien had just opened that golden gate which had always been tightly shut.
"W-What did you say?!" Felix exclaimed in shock, his voice rising a few octaves as he couldn't believe he was just forcibly matched with his childhood friend's cousin in public. "Why do I suddenly have to bear this? Why do I have to marry your cousin?!"
"Of course because you just rejected me!" Kazien answered quickly, his logic highly one-sided. "Moreover, after seeing your development, I am very confident that you will be a responsible man and make her happy. But..." Kazien narrowed his eyes, his aura darkening slightly. "...if you dare to reject my offer, then you have no other choice and must become my wife!"
Duke Elgard and Duchess Larina, who were standing behind, could only look at each other and smile wryly. The two of them shook their heads seeing the behavior of their youngest son, who casually delivered a marriage threat to a crown prince of the kingdom right in front of his King.
Trying to find a loophole out of the ridiculous coercion, Felix racked his brain and asked in a teasing tone.
"Then... what if I choose neither?" Felix challenged. "I refuse to be your wife, and I also refuse to marry your cousin. What will you do?"
"That is very easy, Felix!" Kazien replied too casually, his face flat and emotionless. "Of course I will kill you, then I will raise your corpse and turn you into an undead."
Kazien folded his arms across his chest. "And once you are an obedient undead who cannot refuse commands, I can freely make you my fourth wife without needing to listen to your complaints ever again!"
Hearing the extreme answer spoken in a tone as normal as someone ordering morning tea, Felix's patience finally ran out. The prince stepped forward quickly, approached Kazien, and immediately grabbed the collar of the white-haired youth's academy uniform.
"What did you just say?! Turn me into an undead?!" Felix repeated, his voice rising in annoyance and disbelief at the contents of his friend's mind. "Listen Kazien! Rather than having to die, become an undead, and be forced to marry you, I would much rather burn to ash right now!"
"Then it is decided, you must accept Erica!" Kazien declared firmly with absolute victory in his eyes, gently yet powerfully removing Felix's grip from his uniform.
Then, Kazien turned his body and looked straight at the face of Erica, who had been standing frozen near her mother with a face already flushed red to her ears.
"Now, how about you, Erica?" Kazien asked in a gentle tone. "Back then, you said you really wanted me to find the right husband for you, didn't you? Well now, I have found your future husband!"
The striking statement that had just left Kazien's mouth successfully made all eyes in the plaza shift their gaze. Now, the center of attention turned to the beautiful purple-haired girl standing not far from there.
Hearing her niece mentioned in the one-sided matchmaking, Elisa turned her head with a surprised expression.
"Is that true, Erica?" Elisa asked to confirm, looking at her adopted daughter gently. "You personally asked Kazien to find you a husband?"
Even though her face was already flushed red from the embarrassment of being the center of attention among important people, Erica slowly nodded her head in response to her adopted mother's question.
"Yes, Mother... it's true!" Erica squeaked honestly, her voice quiet but clearly heard amidst the silence of the plaza. "At that time, when we were bathing together, I did ask Brother Kazien to help find me someone worthy of being my husband."
Hearing the direct confirmation from the girl, Allen instantly smiled widely. The purple-haired teenager crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Felix with a mocking gaze.
"Hey Felix, you heard it yourself, right? You've already gotten direct approval from the girl's side!" Allen chimed in with a relaxed, provoking tone. "Besides, just so you know, this is the first occurrence in the history of the Garveon Kingdom that an Altavis family descendant is willing to bother matchmaking their own family member with a royal family member. You should feel very honored."
Felix suddenly stammered. His already red face now grew even hotter hearing Allen's pressure.
"I-It's not like that! I didn't mean to reject it outright!" Felix evaded quickly, his hands moving restlessly. "I just don't feel ready to step into marriage anytime soon! Moreover, my promise to Kazien still hasn't been completely fulfilled. Are you crazy telling me to get married right now?!"
"Enough! Stop your arguing right there!"