Dimitri entered, carrying another stack of documents. "Your Highness, more reports. And..." He hesitated. "Another seventy-three marriage proposals arrived this morning."
"Burn them," Elara said without looking up.
"All of them?"
"Yes. Issue the blanket rejection statement I drafted earlier. No exceptions."
"Even the one from Duke Harland's family? They're offering significant political alliance—"
"Duke Harland is on the arrest list for embezzlement and conspiracy. His marriage proposal is attempt to avoid prosecution through political marriage. Rejected and flagged for priority investigation." Elara made a note. "Anyone else offering marriage proposals with suspicious timing gets added to investigation list. Correlation between proposal submission and criminal activity is too high to be coincidental."
Dimitri almost smiled. "You think they're trying to marry you to avoid arrest?"
