"Not even married to me and you're already thinking of ways to leverage my new status," Solae teasingly chastised. As a duchess it would be difficult, if not impossible, for most of imperial society to decline her requests. It was why there was a limited number of their rank within the aristocracy and also why the coup of Duke Alexis Tan had the hope of success. She had been born and groomed for being a marquise, but she had not expected to inherit for many years, yet it was abruptly thrust upon her with her parents' deaths. Though she thought she had handled herself with the dignity, poise, and composure of a marquise, she was more than a little uncomfortable with the circumstances that had led to her succession and the change itself. By comparison, her appointment to a duchess was utterly staggering, and the power she now wielded felt almost vulgar. Of course this was almost certainly one of the reasons the empress had rewarded her for her loyalty, but she struggled to fathom how famous she would be throughout worlds she had never visited, or how many people would capitulate to her whims merely to be in her good graces.

Visiting a hybridized planet to help fulfill a dream did not constitute, by the most liberal of guidelines, an abuse of power. Solae was all too glad to accommodate such a benign wish; though, if she was honest, Rene was unique in being the only person in existence she would willingly abuse her power for. "Well you're mad if you think I'm going to limit ourselves to only one of the places your mother traveled to. I can't bring her back, but we can re-trace her steps, see all the sights she did before she met your father. I'm sure it will take some time with all my- our- other obligations, but assuming we make it out of this war, I don't see any reason we wouldn't have ample opportunity." Nobility had long-lived lives generally. Wealth and prestige brought them access to the best technology that humanity had to offer, so while settlers on fringe worlds would perish from old age and the diseases brought on by becoming more physically frail, the aristocracy was able to remain younger longer, and lived past one hundred unless there were underlying incurable issues.

Suddenly she realized some of the less thrilling consequences of becoming the duchess of the Eastern Cross, inheriting the self-styled emperor's portfolio. "There will be so much bureaucratic red tape when we get back," she groaned softly so the Kalderi wouldn't overhear and think that she was complaining about their ball. "I'll have to survey all his holdings, petition the courts as to what Falia holdings I'd like to keep, and negotiate for what will probably be decades," she frowned. Because Duke Tan had never been one of her suitors, neither she nor her parents had been particularly interested in any of his assets on New Concordia. What other residences, businesses, and lands he had were at least partially public knowledge, but there had been no need to research such things- not that it would have helped. Every member of the upper class hid from others the truth of their prosperity or lack thereof, whether it be they were on the edge of bankruptcy and most of their homes were vacant, devoid of servants or furniture, or if they had vaults full of priceless artifacts and contraband. Until she went to each and every domicile, office, and operating under his name to investigate thoroughly (or paid someone to do so on her behalf), she wouldn't know what had become hers. It felt callous to take his things, but what he had not lost when he was stripped of his dukedom, he forfeited with his treason, and no heir would be allowed to profit from his crimes.

The Falia lineage had holdings of their own, some that had been bought in the most mundane of ways, but others that were a reflection if being a marquise. The marquise-specific holdings were on planets that were now or had once been at the edges of the empire. Much like in countries long past on Earth, a marquise was tasked with the defense of invisible borders, faithful to their liege, and entrusted with less desirable holdings than a duke, but more important than a count. For the Falias this meant a significant estate on Yesion, lush and forested, but with wildlife that made it exceedingly difficult to tame, and which was only half-colonized, on Rucehiri, whose terra-forming had completed only a couple centuries ago, and who was currently under construction to be another duplicate of Earth (for which there were many), on Xulrapus, a desert world whose geography reminded her of an endless wild west, and others.

Merging what had been Tan's, assuming he was ousted, exiled, and/or executed, and the Falia's would not be practically possible. The Stellar Empire was cautious about letting any one family consolidate holdings under their name. Understandably, it was usually through marriage that this became a concern. When a man and woman were joined, there was a decision made as to which lineage they would become united under. Politically it was a binding joining, but under the law either the husband or wife were cleaved from their birthright. Peasants might falsely believe this was because they did not want anyone to control too substantial a part of the economy, but the true reason was that no one could be seen as coming too close to challenging the emperor or empress. If every time a duke or duchess wed they joined together their holdings, becoming larger with each generation, it would threaten the stability of the sovereignty.

As Duchess Solae Falia, formerly Marquise Solae Falia, she would need to choose what Falia holdings were of importance to her as well and bestow the rest on someone else. There was Damaris of Panopontus but also her cousins, the latter of which would be more prepared to immediately take over the duties of becoming a marquise. She still remembered her promise to Damaris, but she wanted to give the girl the financial backing to be what she wanted to and on her terms, much like Rosaria. If Damaris were to become a marquise she would be thrown into the proverbial deep end of the pool and Solae, who would be quite busy with all the work she had already undertaken, would not be of as much assistance as she had initially anticipated when the offer was made. The legal arm of the empire could also potentially object to a young daughter of laborers being bequeathed something she would not be entitled to even if Solae had adopted her (as any of her children would only be entitled to the duchy holdings).

Her mind then whirled to the topic of children. She and Rene had not discussed the subject more than making brief allusions in passing. His sterility meant there was nothing that could be done about it in the present, but it would be something that would come up sooner rather than later unless they were victims of Duke Tan's ambitions. Happy as she was with the prospect of bringing Damaris and Rosaria into her family, she could not deny that she wanted more, that she wanted to know the joy of pregnancy, of creating a manifestation of the love she felt for her soldier. She was somewhat apathetic about achieving immortality for herself through procreation, but she wanted a piece of Rene to persist, for his kindness, his virtue, and strength to not be lost to cosmic dust when they were nothing more than names transcribed down in historical recollection.

"What do you think, should we give your dancing shoes a rest and find a way to make a dignified exit?" she asked after she had been twirled and dipped again. The dance was as lovely as she had thought it would be, but the point of the evening had been to find a way to appeal to the Kalderi, which they had done. They could talk more with the aliens that had not been paired off to perform the waltz, but she somewhat fancied a little time with her beau, especially since he did not care about the pomp as she did. "I wonder if Lithyll has a villa for us to retreat to and refresh ourselves," she added with a wink.