A solution

"She will be not know our customs. She will be an outcast, taken from her home. She will never like it in our kingdom which will cause problems in that marriage." Angelica said, she wondered if she was speaking too much but judging from Ian's silent reaction, he just stood there listening, as if almost urging her to go on.

"And I doubt that you would like to marry someone you know nothing about and undoubtably do not love." Ian let out a little chuckle at her words, yet she did not stop.

"Your second option is to marry your beloved cousin Lady Pippa whom everyone knows is severely infatuated with you and would do anything to be your wife."

"Obviously it is well known that you do not love her in that way and you will never marry her, you have no interest in incest." stated Angelica so gravely that she did not hear Ian's snicker.

"Lastly, your third option is to remain unmarried meaning that your title of crown prince will be revoked and given to your half-brother Prince Lance." it was at that point that the interested look on Ian's face contorted into one of indignation.

"Who are you to retell the ordeals of my life?" he asked his voice exceedingly indignant.

"I am merely stating the obvious like you previously pointed out." she replied not fearful, even though she felt her resolve wavering with his terrifying look.

"What do you stand to gain by all this?" he asked, his patience was starting to dwindle. He had stood here for the past few minutes listening to her.

"Well your highness, I have a solution to all your problems." she replied confidently.

"And what would that be?" he asked fighting the urge to scoff.

"I offer you my hand in marriage." she replied as he almost burst into laughter.

"You? Offer me your hand in marriage? This is absurd." he laughed, but Angelica looked dead serious, there was no amusement in her eyes at all.

"This is no way to offer me your hand in marriage. Either your father suggests it, or I ask for it, you really have boldness for you to stand here and tell me such preposterous nonsense." he laughed.

"I am not joking. If you consider it, I am the best choice to be your wife."

"I am a woman of the land. I grew up here, I know our customs and rituals. I am the daughter of a nobleman. I am nobility, a better choice than a random peasant you see on the street." she declared.

"I have been trained in all etiquette and courtesy. In simple words, I am the best choice for a spouse." she ended.

"And why you? There are several other members of nobility with far better reputations than your family's...." he paused. "Why would I choose you out of all the other beautiful women whom who gladly throw themselves at my feet for a chance to be my wife?" he asked disparagingly. 

"Because I posses something all the other woman do not have." she responded not once breaking from her calm demeanor. 

"Which is?"

"The confidence to come to you by night and present my solution to you by offering my hand in marriage." she replied assuredly eliciting a chuckle from Ian.

He nodded and laughed, he could not lie, she was right, how many women would come to him by night to present their absurd ideas in front of him. Even meeting him alone was something that rarely occurred. It was either this woman was very fortunate or cunning.

He had a feeling that she was a little bit of both. She was intriguing enough in his opinion, and her boldness was outmatched. 

As fascinated he was with her, he was not that dense to think that she was offering him her solution just because she cared about the kingdom's wellbeing, he knew that she wanted something in return.

"Lady Angelica Rivethans, you really are a spectacle." he replied, his baritone reverberating with laughter.

Angelica knew better than to be carried away by his words, which was why she stayed alert. She was certain Ian's calculating side would appear now.

"Should I add being munificent to the list of words I should use to describe you?" he asked jeeringly.

"Tell me, what do you want in return for your all too generous solution?" Angelica's heart was finally at rest, the fact that he has asked her what she wanted in return manifested that he was considering her offer and for Angelica that was a good sign.

"Because you will be unintelligent to think that I would believe you would offer me your hand in marriage for nothing in return." there it was, the sharp rebuttal she had been awaiting.

"You mistake me your highness, I never once said that I wanted nothing in return." she replied.

"Then what do you want?"

"It is no secret that my father's half-brother seeks to punish my father by summoning him to the king's court." Angelica heard Ian's chuckle interrupt her explanation.

"Excuse me for interrupting you but... you are aware of the infamy that follows your father and his name?" asked Ian wondering if she truly was stupid or ignorant, or maybe a little bit of both.

"He is an outcast, no one likes him, even in the upper circles of nobility he is to be avoided at all costs, and now let me guess, you want me to overturn my father's summon to court because surely you know that your father stands no chance winning." replied Ina.

"My father is not as bad as you all claim him to be and this is frankly unfair." Angelica said calmly.

"Your father is greedy that is what he is. He laid his eyes on a title that never belonged to him and he coveted it." replied Ian disapprovingly.

"Everyone has one form of greed or another, what differentiates us is if we chose to act on that greed or not." Angelica replied sharply.

"And if my father is a bad man for taking what rightly belonged to him in the first place then being an outcast is the least of my worries."

"Now, are we going to continue standing here arguing about our fathers or will we continue solving the problems of our own lives?" she asked critically. Ian did not expect her to be so bold in defending a criminal so skillfully.

It was a little reminder to him that he had to be careful while dealing with this woman.