“T-This is... inc-credible,” she muttered, amazed.

“By Glahad’s butt...” whispered Tessa, somewhere behind her. “You weren’t kidding, this place is gorgeous.”

Cessilia chuckled and turned around. Just like her, the two old Counselors looked a bit lost and amazed, gazing all around as well. All the furniture showed great taste and was made in light wood, with pieces of cerulean fabric here and there. In the morning, she could just imagine the amazing sunrise they would witness that would light up the whole room...

The three servants, obviously triplets, advanced forward to bow to her again.

“I’m Nupia,” said one of them. “I am the oldest of the triplets. The second is my brother Rupio, and the youngest of us is Lupia.”

“Nice t-to meet you,” smiled Cessilia.

“Nice to meet you guys,” added Tessa, putting her hands on her hips. “We’ll have tea, dried fruits, and meat buns for breakfast, thanks!”

“T-Tessa!” protested Cessilia.

“What? I’m starving! Isn’t it their job...?”

“We will bring it right away!” said Nupia with a smile.

Indeed, Rupio and Lupia quietly walked out. The triplets looked exactly the same, had the same black eyes and hair, the same dark skin shade, the same bob haircut and bangs, the same body build and white outfit, and had no distinctive feature to distinguish one from another. They seemed to be young, just at the beginning of their teenagehood, and with their thin features, it was impossible to even tell which of the three was a boy...

“This room was prepared on short notice, Princess,” said Nupia. “If there is anything you dislike, it will be changed right away.”

“Is th-that really alright?” asked Cessilia.

“Of course! All of the candidates were given dedicated servants and assigned rooms. This one was prepared in a rush, but we are happy to do anything you need to make it more agreeable!”

Nupia seemed very enthusiastic, but Cessilia was still a bit taken aback. They had only just landed this morning, and seen the King not an hour ago. This room had truly been prepared in record time...

“Well, I guess we know where we’ll stay from now on,” said Tessa, sitting down in one of the large armchairs. “Now, will you two explain what the heck this competition thing is? Yassim?”

The two Counselors exchanged a glance and sighed, coming to sit with the young woman. Unlike them, Cessilia was still standing, absorbed by the white, iridescent material on the columns. She slowly caressed it with her hands, surprised by how smooth and cold it was.

Tessa didn’t seem surprised by her cousin’s attitude, so the Counselors focused on her. In fact, Yamino let out a long sigh.

“I have to admit, I was shocked to see you after such a long time, Yassim. I really thought His Majesty had killed you, you old fool... but it turns out you ventured to the Dragon Empire, to bring back a princess no less? What came to your tortured mind that made you return like this?”

“I have to apologize to the ladies,” sighed Yassim. “This is exactly as you heard earlier. I... I didn’t lie about being a Royal Counselor, I have been by the King’s side for a very long time. However, I... fell into disgrace a few months ago. I believe the King spared me in the name of everything I taught him over the years and the fact that... I did save him once. However, he banished me from our Capital, threatening that if he ever saw me again, he’d cut my throat. When I begged him to reconsider, he said I could only return if–”

“You brought a new chick for his coop?” scoffed Tessa. “Why Cessi, though? Why come to our Empire? You should have just remained hidden and saved your damn neck!”

“I... I am an old man, Lady Tessa, I do not fear the Goddess of Death. However, I did fear to leave our damaged Kingdom in the hands of an even more damaged man. I believed that... if I could bring the right queen to his side, perhaps, then him sparing my life would have had some sort of... fateful meaning.”

Tessa rolled her eyes, a bit upset.

“You made one dangerous bet, Yassim...” sighed Yamino. “However, I’m happy to see you. To be honest, I was worried about what was going to happen to all the candidates.”

“Aren’t you trying to have your niece become Queen?” asked Tessa, frowning.

“Naptunie is a very smart young woman,” nodded Yamino. “I thought it would be better if there was another alternative among the candidates... However, now that I have seen Princess Cessilia, I will suggest she supports you. Naptunie has little ambition of her own, so I believe she will be happy to support Lady Cessilia if... she wants to.”

All three pairs of eyes turned to Cessilia, who was still absorbed by the ceiling. She had to be listening to them because she was close by, her hands were joined and fidgeting a bit. Still, she took a little breath in, her green eyes still stuck above.

“S-Sir Yassim, what are th-those?” she finally asked.

“The ceiling and the columns are made of nacre, my lady. It’s a material made of polished seashells. The one used on the ceiling is dark nacre, while on the columns and doors is white nacre. It’s considered a precious material here, and used mainly for decorations, dishes, or jewelry, a bit like silver in your country.”

“...It’s b-beautiful.” She smiled.

“Cessi,” pouted Tessa. “You do know this is all about you? What do you think of this competition thing?”

Her cousin finally turned her eyes to them.

“C-Counselor, who are the other candidates?”

“Most were introduced by the s–seven noble families,” said Yamino. “Because of the current situation in the Kingdom, they are all desperate to be the family of the next Queen... and perhaps, get along better with the King.”

“Old Yassim here did mention he wasn’t exactly playing nice,” said Tessa.

Old Yamino sighed, patting his huge belly. It was so round under his white toga, it looked like he was about to pop out of his chair at any moment.

“Did you notice the empty chairs?” he said with a sorry voice to Yassim.

“The Cheshi and Kunu Lords... What happened?”

“His Majesty got extremely mad, just three weeks ago, over an argument with the Kunu Tribe. They were arguing about the battle at the border; as you know, this is still a sensitive matter. The Kunu always refused the King placing the Royal Army there instead of Kunu warriors... You know how proud and violent the Kunu Tribe was. They said the wrong... thing, and the next thing I saw was a bloodbath. He... killed the head and all of the Chieftain’s family. After that, the Cheshi Clan stopped attending as a protest. They were never fond of the Kunu Tribe, but they said the King’s ways couldn’t go on anymore. I can’t blame them... They haven’t attended a single meeting since then, but the King has yet to say anything about it.”

Yassim’s expression had fallen a bit lower at each word his friend said. The old man did look very shaken about the empty seats before. Cessilia came to sit beside her cousin.

“Th-the other f-families?” she asked.

“There are- I mean, were, nine lords, each at the head of a tribe, powerful family, or clan,” explained Yamino. “I myself was born in the Dorosef Tribe, but I renounced my privilege when I became a Royal Counselor.”

“The Yekara Clan is the most powerful,” nodded Yassim. “I’m not surprised they are presenting two candidates. They have many lands and a lot of warriors. They took part in all the previous wars of the Kingdom, and turned on the previous King to pledge allegiance to King Ashen.”

“Sounds like people our grandma would love on her bad days...” scoffed Tessa.

“The Dorosef Tribe is very peaceful,” said Yamino. “They were once travellers, but they settled in the Kingdom as fishermen. They aren’t seriously participating in this, and neither are the Hashat Family; they are too new among the lords.”

“The Sehsan and Yonchaa Tribes are among the oldest of our Kingdom. They are probably participating to try and make themselves more valuable to the King. They are not aggressive, though, so I don’t think their candidates will fight too hard for this...”

“I’m more worried about the Pangoja,” nodded Yamino. “That clan is the richest, and very secretive. They have many businesses all across the Kingdom, a lot of informants, and an eye on all the trades...”

“Now that sounds like my kind of people,” smiled Tessa. “So, if I can remember all those names correctly, we have the warrior Yekara Clan, the Dorosef, Sehsan, and Yonchaa Tribes, that shady Pangoja Clan, the somewhat sulking Cheshi Clan, and the already dead Kunu people... Who am I missing again?”

“The Hashat Family, but they aren’t participating. Although, Counselor Oroun is from that family and nominated his own daughter. The ninth family is the Nahaf, and they also have a candidate. I don’t know them too well, they rose at about the same time as our King...”

“Great, now I’m going to have to take notes,” grumbled Tessa. “What about that red-haired woman? She had... light skin, like me and Cessi. Where the heck does she come from to look like that and act like that? I already can’t stand her attitude.”