Electoral Princess or Prince of Saer-Natthingham

They(Lusitania Van Pelt and Lunqui Zvei) were sitting in his office, heads together. Her long silky hair had strayed over his shoulder, while his orange hair kept straying onto her cheek, tickling.

"It's our fourth date, surely you can tell me?"

"What?" She drew away.

"I ran an estate search, it's standard for a financial analyst taking on a client, both for any outstanding debts on the estate and any legal entanglements." His eyes met hers, as if shocked she didn't know what he meant.

"Ok, and?" Her eyes were all liquid brown innocence.

"Your parents never told you?"

"My parents died when I was young, only uncle Amarat lived long enough to really talk to me. And only Amarat Junior ever had a serious conversation with us about what it meant to even have an estate. Why, hit me, am I destitute?"

"No, I'm a lil bit surprised at the breadth of your titles, actually. Few nobles own land in four countries, like you do."

"What, four?"

"The Grand Duchy and Hetmanate of all Sarn, Ralt and Luxem, The Realm of Brunswick, The League of the Lolland Nations and The Kingdom of Brescia, well specifically, the Grand Duchy of Benevento."

"Oh, nice, sounds like a nice trip." She licked her lips, Beneventi was a leader in all things culinary and had invented Benevorant Cooking.

"I don't get why they let you out of Sarnath, actually, a Princess-Elector is major serious. Not quite like a bameimeito, but in that ballpark."

"What, you're pulling my leg."

"Err, no, I've not yet earned that." He quipped.

"Hmmm, no, you haven't earned it yet..." She replied, apparently warming up to his humour. "I know what a Princess-Elector is, I just thought you had to be in serious cahoots with the Grand Duke to get anywhere near the title."

"Well, your cousin was the Grand-Duke's guest when he was a lad, the previous Grand-Duke, not the current one, who instead married one of Amarat's exes, so they still know each other, but I suspect the relationship is cooler..."

"What?"

"Sigh, I don't want to spread gossip, but mentioning Natalia Dell'Auro's marriage to Aquavit Derred got me in trouble with the Lord once, I know it's not mere gossip."

"Oh, yeah, I know Natalia, she did date Amarat for a while. I even joined them for a party." She was glad she didn't blush, it was quite a party.

"Well, the prior Great Duke had Amarat visiting when he was six or seven years old."

"Yeah, and?"

"Apparently, Amarat was being sized up for Prince-Elector."

"Oh, and then what happened?"

"Apparently, you can't be in the single digit line of succession for a dukedom, kingdom or empire and be Prince-Elector, so he had to decline, and named you."

"That's so sweet of him."

"It was you or Linnaeus, the candidates were restricted to Amarat Senior's line of succession."

"And not Mikhala?"

"She was single-digit for Kagomei and Benevento, utterly impossible. If anything, she was more impossible than Amarat, which takes some doing."

"What, benevento dukedom is on par with a Kingdom?"

"It's one of the fifteen original archdukedoms of Eurani. Any lord of theirs is considered a blood prince. And Benevento is the largest, by far. A few economists think not splitting Benevento and Brescia was a mistake in the original pact."

"But Benevento and Brescia each, individually, are barely smaller than Alessia."

"But economically, Benevento by itself is almost as powerful as Alessia. All that grain, wine, fruit, light industries. .

"While Brescia has the military contractors."

"Military contractors, fashion and fabrics, light and heavy industry, both have tourism. And you forget, like most people outside of either, that Benevento and Brescia are both non-contiguous, for historical reasons"

"I'm sorry, I forget you actually studied this, while I make do with reading a book when I can."

"Don't worry about it, I won't take it as a slight that you know what you're talking about. I take no umbrage of your competence."

"Hey, just what are you doing?"

"Pulling on your leg, want to make sure you're real."

"Hmm, what's my leg got that's so unreal."

"You're a real life Sarn Princess, my life is much more boring, you can't be real."

"Hey, that touch isn't 'is this real'..."

"Hmm, no it's not... But you're not telling me to stop, either..."

"Hmm, no, but... I have a feeling you'll feel I let you get close, only to yank myself away, each time you get too close, am I making sense?"

"I understand what you're saying, I can't say it's logical, you've asked me on four dates now, it's not like I'm trying to get close to you..."

"Hmm, that felt good... But I should be going."

"I'm getting too close?"

"You're getting too successful, I... I don't want to fall for your charms too fast..."

"How would that be possible, I don't know what I'm doing?"

"That innocence is precisely what I enjoy the most about you. I find it charming."

"Is that what Amarat said of Flora?"

"No, it's not quite the same, but there are similarities. Flora gets through Amarat's defenses because she can't dissemble, so she bypasses his defenses against dissembling like tissue paper. I don't have the same defenses, but I am finding it charming that you don't have any ulterior motives, we're just enjoying each other's company."

"I don't have any ulterior motives?"

"If you'd really had some ulterior motives, just two centimetres in another direction, and hmm let's just say I'd know what you were after..."

"Oh. Shall I expect your call for another date then?"

"Hmm, actually, I think we'll try for a double date, with my brother and his new Miptun."

"Oh, where?"

"Hmm, It's a surprise. Is your passport in order?"

"Yes, has to be, Lord Veneer has me visiting some of his holdings for various reasons."

"So, meet me at the airport, 7 sharp, and don't be late, we gotta go through security."

"As in, an international flight?"

"Well, yes."

"I thought you said double date, you didn't say anything about a stay..."

"No, I didn't not this time, anyways."