Tor's money was on his brother in this horse race. And he said so.
"It seems really important to him," Janne acknowledged with an attitude of doom.
"As I said earlier, Tapt Oyer deserves a queen of your integrity and compassion. Holger is fully aware."
She made a disgruntled sound of agreement. "And you need to be fully aware that Blythe wants nothing to do with being a royal anything. I just don't want you to take her rejection personally."
For just a moment Tor had a taste of what Blythe kept saying was going to happen when his father found out that Tor and Else were not planning to marry.
Because this subterfuge about his currently casual relationship with Blythe was going to hurt Janne deeply if he and Blythe were not careful.
She thought she knew everything there was to know about her dearest friend.
Tor did not like keeping her in the dark, but he could not dismiss Blythe's almost pathological need to keep their sexual liaison a secret either.
Whether or not he agreed with Blythe's assessment of the outcome to them being honest about what they were doing, her needs superseded his sister-in-law's, or even his brothers' or father's needs.
That realization was not the total shock to him that he was sure it would be to Blythe.
She had her head buried firmly in the sand about anything remotely like real feelings between them.
And for now, he would let her keep it buried.
Six months later, Janne was crowned Queen of Tapt Oyer. Tor was happy for his brother and his country.
Nevertheless, he had enjoyed teasing his friend via text beforehand about how much she was going to love her new job. At one point she'd sent him an emoji flipping him off and he knew Janne was feeling the strain.
He'd called Blythe and told her he thought the sister of her heart needed her. Of course, Blythe dropped everything and flew out to Tapt Oyer.
Tor had been unable to get away from grad school to go with her to Tapt Oyer ahead of the coronation and he regretted that, as any time spent with Blythe was something to look forward to.
Even so, he did not balk minimizing their time together around his family.
Hiding the sexual chemistry between them was getting harder to do.
Blythe continued to insist on secrecy and referring to them as friends with benefits and refused utterly to ever talk about the future.
Tor's own long term outlook was uncertain enough with his military service looming that he allowed it without too much pushing. The pretense of him and Else dating was still standing as a buffer between her and her parents' plans for her future as well.
Though not nearly as effective as their first year of graduate school.
Things changed between him and Else at Janne's coronation as Queen Consort.
Else had been pensive and distracted since her arrival and Tor had taken her aside to find out what was wrong.
"You want to date this man?" he asked after Else told him about a business tycoon her parents had started throwing in her path the last couple of months.
"I think I do. He makes me feel all fluttery inside."
Tor didn't know about fluttery, but Blythe turned him on like no other woman, so he didn't mock his friend as he once might have done.
If he were honest, he didn't even see other woman besides Blythe as sexual beings anymore. His focus was entirely on the Travel Vlogger who shared his bed and refused to be counted as part of his life.
Bringing his focus back to Else, he did some quick scenario projections. They would be graduating with their MBAs in six weeks' time and he would be entering his military service only two weeks later.
"It's a good time to do our breakup announcement." She was less likely to receive any flack if they were already officially "not dating" when he went into the military.
It would not seem like she'd abandoned him, which would not have been the case. However, appearances were often at odds with the truth.