Frankenstein sputtered. "M-marriage?" He looked at Raizel hopelessly. "To his daughter?"

Raizel cocked his head. He was a bit confused himself. Gazing out his window, he had felt the strong presence of not only the Lord, but all of the Clan Leaders zeroing in towards his mansion. He had been bewildered, and he was ashamed to admit that he had at first connected this strange visit to Frankenstein's unusual antics. But he had felt his bonded's confusion and honesty, so that thought had been quickly dismissed.

Then the Lord had made the sudden declaration that Frankenstein was to marry his daughter.

Raizel had waited as Frankenstein processed everything. Through the bond, he felt his bonded come to terms with this new bit of information. Unsure with what to do, Raizel stayed quiet. He did not know how he was to offer up his assistance, but it was obvious to him that Frankenstein had no intention of marrying Raskreia.

Raizel cleared his throat. "Frankenstein, if you would like, I will speak to the Lord on your behalf."

Frankenstein's blue eyes snapped up to look at his Master. His expression, while to others, may have been unreadable. But not to him. Raizel could read his servant through the bond and by observing him. Raizel saw no panic in Frankenstein's eyes, but only sly determination.

"Oh, do not worry about that, Master. I do not even need to think about this matter. I have already come to a decision."

How unexpected. "You...have?"

Frankenstein nodded. "Yes." He smiled, his blue eyes nearly glowing in the dim darkness of the halls. But Raizel felt the mental link between the two of them activate.

"Master, if I may, I would like to request that you break the seal."

"You do not mean to fight them?" It was an honest question, as Raizel could feel no true anger or hostility coming from Frankenstein. Only wicked glee.

"Not the seal on Dark Spear," Frankenstein said. Then, he smirked. "On my mischievousness." Straightening up, Frankenstein loudly declared, "I will accept the honor of receiving the Lord's daughter as my bride."

In that moment, the grand doorway burst open once more to reveal the ecstatic Lord. "Marvelous! I knew you would see the true beauty behind this union. Obviously, you were so overcome with shock that you just had to slam the door in my face to come to terms with this news."

Raizel watched as Frankenstein bowed his head. "Yes," the human agreed. "It was quite unexpected."

Raizel could attest to that.

The Lord clapped his hands. "Now freshen up so that I can take you to see my awaiting princess." The Lord seemed ready to prance off in his nightwear, and even some of the Nobles looked a bit disgruntled to be out so late.

But Frankenstein held up a hand. "Please, hold on for a minute." With his hands folded behind his back, Frankenstein smiled ever so politely. But that only caused Raizel's suspicions (and interest) to grow. So the Noblesse decided to stay quiet (as he always did) and watch whatever scheme Frankenstein was putting together.

There had to be a scheme, right?

"As per human customs, I will need some time to get myself ready to meet my bride," Frankenstein continued. "I will also need to prepare a room for my wife and myself when she moves in."

The Lord blinked. "R-rooms? You're not living at the palace?"

Raizel felt a small bit of worry trickle in from his heart. Would Frankenstein be forced to leave? Such a thought had never crossed his mind! Raizel took a step forward to intervene, but Frankenstein was already speaking.

"I cannot leave my Master," he said. "And my Master has no intentions of leaving his home, so moving us both to the palace will not happen. However, if your daughter were to move here, it would not be an issue. After all," here, Frankenstein smiled a cunning smile. "We do live right around the corner. It's not too far."

The Lord seemed to be struggling with what to say. Now, his red eyes were aglow with worry. But it was gone in a flash. "Very well," the Lord agreed reluctantly. "But I will be here in the morning to inspect my daughter's new living arrangements! The two beds for yourself and Raskreia must be perfect, and the rooms spacious-"

"Yes yes," Frankenstein said quickly with a tired wave of his hand. "I should get on to it right now without any further distractions." Here, he looked pointedly at Gejutel. The Noble was already trying to escort the Lord out of the mansion while apologizing profusely to Raizel for 'disturbing his evening.'

"Of course, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!" Frankenstein said cheerily, waving everyone away as he slammed the door shut once more.

Silence descended between the two beings that were left alone again. But through the bond, it was anything but silent. Raizel listened to Frankenstein's growing emotions; full of humor, mischievousness, and devious planning, Raizel could not decipher just what Frankenstein had in mind, or why he was leading the Lord and the other Nobles on like this. But one thing remained clear to Raizel, and it was that Frankenstein had no intention of marrying the Lord's daughter.

Raizel thought over everything carefully before he gave his consent. But finally, he gave a small nod. "I grant you permission, to break the seal on your mischievousness."

Frankenstein observed the halls around him as he led the Lord towards the rooms he had prepared. On the outside, he tried to keep his expression neutral. But on the inside? No, he was practically smirking. Of course, he had been annoyed that the Lord had visited him in the middle of the night. And with marriage proposals of all things!

At that time, his sleep addled brain had dismissed it as utter nonsense. Because it was! He had not been in the mood for visitors, and they were disturbing his Master's peace and quiet! Frankenstein knew how much his Master enjoyed the night. He was able to see the land differently when the sun set, and the entire landscape changed in a mysterious way with the glow of the moon and the shine of the stars.

Plus, by the time Frankenstein had registered what the Lord had said, he had immediately begun forming a bit of a...pastime plan.

This was going to be fun.

Clearing his throat so as to conceal the grin, Frankenstein came to a stop. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he opened the door to reveal a large room. "Just as I have said," he proclaimed. "The rooms are prepared."

The Lord did not cease to lose his smile, even as he looked over the room with a critical eye. "Ah, it seems very spacious. Perfect for my daughter." He then frowned. "But, why is there only one bed? Where is yours?"

"Oh, we only need one bed." Here, Frankenstein winked.

The Lord nodded, as if this statement made perfect sense. "Ah, so you will be sleeping on the couch."

Frankenstein resisted smirking. Barely. "No, I will sleep with my wife." He shrugged. "And the weather can get very hot here, so I like to sleep shirtless. But, if I get too hot...who knows what else might come off."

The Lord's eyes widened at that statement. His face turned a slight red, his fists trembling.

Frankenstein turned to address the Lord, his blue eyes glowing. "Oh! It is human custom for this to happen."

The Lord nodded meekly. "I...I understand." He straightened up. "As fate has decreed it, I shall-"

"And I also plan to honeymoon in Italy with my new wife for two weeks," Frankenstein continued. "Just for the two of us to have some personal alone time."

The Lord choked. "H-honeymoon?" He knew what went on during honeymoons! And it had nothing to do with honey! Frantic to calm himself down, the Lord looked around the room, only for his eyes to land on a bag of green and purple herbs on the dresser. He frowned. "What is that?"

Frankenstein feigned innocence. "Oh, that is pennyroyal, and an assortment of other herbs, for Raskreia to take before we leave for Italy."

The Lord raised an eyebrow. "Why would she need to take...that?" What was that anyway? He could vaguely recall that it was some herb that the humans used. But for what purpose, he could not recall.

Frankenstein shrugged. "Birth control. I do not want to be a father so soon."

The Lord ceased breathing.

"I will wait till our first year of marriage for us to have children."

The Lord's vision was growing dark.

"Hm, maybe...five children? I do want a large family."

The light! He could see the light of the afterlife as the panic overtook him!

"And I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but we will not be naming any of the children after you."

That caused the Lord to regain some of his senses. His glare came into focus, and it was then he just realized that the Noblesse was present. When did he show up?

This time, Frankenstein was smiling. "But I will name my firstborn son after the Master."

The radiant smile of the Noblesse was almost blinding, and almost made the Lord pass out back into the far light of the afterlife.

The Lord slumped into his throne, his heart heavy. That peacock! Yes, he knew what a married couple did in marriage! He just thought his daughter would be the exception. She was too pure for that sly human!

Roctis cleared his throat, watching the Lord's mood grow darker by the second. He had a vague idea what the Lord was thinking about at the moment. "My Lord," he began. "As a father, I understand your predicament. And I applaud you for keeping it together."

"Yes," the Lord murmured. "The fates...they have decreed such...a union in my...vision."

Gradeus huffed. "Besides, you can't keep treating your daughter like she's the Holy Virgin Mary. The wedding night will make sure to change that."

Gejutel fingered the scrolls he was carrying. He let out a sigh as he entered the throne room, only to pause when he caught sight of a smoking Gradeus sprawled in the middle of the throne room, groaning in pain. Roctis stood off to the side, looking pale while the Lord seemed strangely satisfied.

The Lord smiled, a look that contained no true mirth. "Ah, Gejutel. How are you?"

Gejutel felt wary, and traded a look with Roctis. However, his fellow Noble was as still as a statue, his eyes fixed on the crumbled form of Gradeus. Gejutel stepped over Gradeus, approaching the throne. "I am here to inform you about the preparations for the wedding."

The Lord waved a dismissive hand. "Send the bill to Frankenstein. As the groom, it is his duty to take care of the preparations."

Gejutel hesitated. "Yes," he said slowly. "About that, Frankenstein had said that, per proper human custom, that it is the father of the bride's duty to pay for everything."

The Lord's eyes widened, his mouth opening. "B-but that is...huh? He dares…!" He narrowed his eyes. "Human custom? How convenient."

Raizel heard Frankenstein enter the room. He smelled the afternoon tea that Frankenstein had prepared, and the sweet scent of cookies on a platter. Raizel continued to gaze out the window, but he was perfectly in tune with what has bonded was feeling. He could detect Frankenstein's enjoyment about the predicament they currently found themselves in. Raizel himself was a bit confused about Frankenstein's true intentions. He had thought that Frankenstein did not want to marry the Lord's daughter. But, the wedding preparations were already being made. Just a few hours ago Gejutel had arrived to receive the menu preparations Frankenstein had put together for the wedding banquet.

To Raizel's delight, everything on the menu was a dessert.

Of course, his delight was slightly diminished when he realized that Frankenstein was only doing this to make the Lord miserable and hopefully call off the wedding.

Which also meant that Raizel was not getting his little blonde, possibly blue-eyed, namesake.

Such a thought caused him to frown.

"Master," he heard Frankenstein say. "Do not worry about this. The Lord will see reason and call off the wedding soon. Besides," and Raizel knew Frankenstein was grinning, "he brought this on himself when he barged in late at night. So don't feel too bad for him."

But that was not what had Raizel so worried. No, the wedding and possible threat of Frankenstein getting married was not what concerned him in the slightest.

He sighed, knowing that he would have to resolve this one issue with Frankenstein before anything else. Raizel turned abruptly, staring at Frankenstein. Feeling his Master's sudden focus, Frankenstein looked up with a curious frown. "Sir?" he asked.

Raizel nodded. "If I were to name my firstborn after you, will you name yours after me?"

More confusion. "M-master?"

The Lord trudged into his daughter's chambers with a determined frown on his face. Flinging the doors open, the Lord bellowed, "Raskreia! I have dwelled long and hard about this suppose 'vision' of fate. I rather think I was bewitched and that it cannot possibly have come from a glorious being from above, but rather, from the Devil below, and therefore you shall not-" The Lord was cut off mid sentence when he saw his daughter sitting in her rooms, surrounded by all sorts of luggage.

The Lord blinked. "What are you doing?"

Raskreia looked at her carefully packed bags. "I have heard about the wedding, and about your wishes." She bowed her head. "I hear and obey my Lord. If this is what you wish, then so be it." Tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, Raskreia continued. "I have packed my bags and am ready to move in with my future husband."

The Lord felt like choking. He wanted to protest, but no words would come out.

Raskreia seemed not to notice her father's distress. Opening up a small brown bag that was on her lap, she withdrew a handful of purple and green herbs. "This was sent to me, along with the instructions to take these herbs before the wedding night." She cocked her head. "Though I am a bit confused as to why I would need to take these."

"My Lord!" Gejutel exclaimed, horrified as he followed after the Noble. "You cannot be serious about calling off the wedding! Think about the fates!"

"Forget the fates," the Lord growled as he stormed down the halls. The filthy herbs that he had snatched from his daughter were clenched in his fists. "No one, and I mean no one, is touching my daughter."

"Sir," Roctis sighed tiredly, "You cannot keep a hold of your daughter forever."

"Watch me!" the Lord declared. "Boys are bad and my daughter should do well to remember that. She will never marry that peacock!" He threw the distressed herbs out the window. "NEVER!"

Gradeus shrugged. "Hey, it's normal. What? Did you think your daughter's husband was going to avoid touching your daughter while they were married? What about grandchildren? Ever think about that? You know what needs to be done in order to make kids."

"I have a feeling that this banquet was prepared with Sir Raizel in mind," Urokai commented. Looking through the list, he could not help but wince at all the delicious desserts. Someone was going to get a toothache for sure.

Zarga shrugged, folding up the list they were given. "Oh well. We will have to trust our Lord. He will be paying for all of this anyway, as it is the human custom for the father of the bride to-" Zarga was cut off at the sound of a loud crash. Both Urokai and Zarga jumped in horror as Gradeus came flying through the walls before landing atop all of the gathered foods. Hesitantly, the two Nobles looked at the smoking hole that Gradeus had been flung through, and were startled to see their enraged Lord with his fist out, his red eyes gleaming.

"THE WEDDING IS OFF! OFF I SAY! OFF!"

Frankenstein cocked his head, hearing the loud explosion along with the enraged scream. There were perks to having sensitive hearing. And the Lord as a neighbor. With a satisfied smile, he sipped his tea. "Good to know," he murmured. He looked up at Raizel. "Alright, the seal is now put back in place."

A/N: Because of so many requests for a second chapter (as well as the plot bunnies) this chapter was born!