If Ilya is sent as a hostage, the other country might be okay with it. They might even want to use that to their advantage by threatening Ilya if Hanu tries anything (as they are developing again after the civil war).
Yeah it depends on the situation, but getting sent a non virgin for a marriage contract when there is an unmarried alternate would be insulting. In this case we don’t know what kind of hostage he would be (lightly imprisoned foreigner, marriage, or concubine).
What’s more likely is they want to send someone they don’t care about so they can freely attack or counterattack without worrying about the hostage who would get axed for it.
That is true. But ultimately I think neither the brother or the other country care for a non-virgin bride whose an Omega. They look down on omegas hardcore, and they don't care what Ilya thinks at all. So I don't think they'll see Ilya as anything more than a toy even if he was a virgin.
But it is true that they are sending Ilya mostly because they won't care about what happens to him if war breaks out. The brother is just a biased bastard though.
Did Thorne get dropped as a baby??? Wouldn't the other country be insulted if they got sent an omega who was already married to another king? Literally gonna make enemies of Hanu AND the other country for no reason.