“Y-Your Majesty,” said one of the nobles. “You don’t have to add the... Princess to the candidates. If you refuse her, we can... send the lady back to her homeland.”
As he said that, the man had looked at Cessilia, but she hadn’t reacted at all. In fact, he should have watched his King instead. Ashen suddenly turned his murderous glare to him, and the man felt his lifespan vanish at once. Normally, after that, there would have been no way to keep his head on his shoulders. Not when the King was visibly about to have him pay for those words with his life.
Yet, nothing came. The King looked stuck where he was, unable to unleash his usual display of complete violence.
“...She stays,” he hissed between his clenched teeth.
Everyone there was once again rendered speechless. What was wrong with the King? He could have obviously refused Yassim’s offer, sent those women back where they came from, and killed the old man once and for all! In fact, that was the most optimistic ending everyone had foreseen the minute Yassim had reappeared!
Being unable to grasp the King’s reactions was certainly scarier than his usual murderous ones. Everyone in the room kept staring, in utter dismay. No one dared to say a thing anymore. Instead, they were trying to make sense of this, or ready to give up as long as they’d keep their heads. Even Tessa, a few steps behind her, was staring at her cousin and the King in confusion. She had known Cessilia since they were children, and she found something unusual in her cousin’s behavior. She had never been one to step forward like this or stand out at all. Yet now, she was dominating the room, almost equal to that ruthless King. Even more intriguing was the way that ruthless King was staring at Cessi...
With everyone deeply involved in this odd situation here, and those two people who kept staring at each other as if a world belonged between them, they all failed to notice the new appearance.
She silently stepped out from the shadows behind the King. Her red dress floating around her, the young woman walked with a smile on her lips, stepping fearlessly next to the King. She had deep red hair, a hint of sharpness in her black eyes, and was amazingly beautiful. Her chuckle resonated as she stood very close to the King, her breast almost touching his arm. With a smile on her red lips, she leaned to whisper in his ear.
“Do we have guests, my King?”
The King didn’t react or answer her, but she didn’t seem offended at all. Instead, she kept a perfect smile, and put a hand on his shoulder, staring at Cessilia with him.
Cessilia had stopped staring at the King to shift her green eyes to the woman standing next to him. It wasn’t just that woman’s attitude that was shocking.
It was her olive skin tone.
The two cousins exchanged a quick glance, both disturbed. They had never seen anyone with a skin color this close to their mothers’ before. There had been a brief trend about women trying to lighten their skin, but it wasn’t anything like they were witnessing now. This woman by the King’s side was clearly mixed, like them, and more fair-skinned than dark. Although her hair was more likely to be artificially tainted, she couldn’t fake her skin color so easily, nor how her traits were reminiscent of a long-forgotten race of people, the same race both Tessa and Cessilia were descendants of.
The Rain Tribe.
“Welcome, Your Highness,” she said with that beautiful smile, “...and... I suppose I’m talking to the famous traitor, Sir Yassim. It must have been a long journey back from the Dragon Empire.”
The way she spoke, in a gentle and whispery manner, was troubling. Something in Cessilia’s mind told her this woman was acting polite, but not friendly. Even her attitude as she stood next to the King spoke volumes. She had no fear and displayed her pride and self-confidence without an ounce of hesitation.
Tessa glared at Yassim, hoping they’d get an explanation for this too, but the old man looked baffled. From that woman’s speech, he had visibly never met her in person. However, anyone could see how familiar she was with the King. If it had been the Dragon Empire, she surely would have been some sort of concubine, but here, the girls were unsure. Everything was new; they couldn’t be sure of anything. The rules and customs ought to be different from their homeland...
Instead, Tessa glanced around. In fact, all the nobles present were either ignoring that woman or looking upset by her. So, she wasn’t too popular with anyone here... Yet, she stood by the King’s side like this?
Meanwhile, Cessilia was still staring at the odd couple facing her. Her expression had changed, and her green eyes showed something bitter compared to before.
As a few seconds passed in silence, the red-haired woman sighed.
“Looks like I ruined the mood here. I am Jisel, the King’s attendant...”
Tessa raised an eyebrow. Attendant? This woman was clearly the King’s mistress.
The King suddenly sat back on his throne with a sullen expression. He was still staring at Cessilia and hadn’t reacted at all to Jisel’s appearance, but it didn’t seem to matter. The red-haired woman kept her perfect smile on and took a step back, standing just one foot behind the throne, her hands behind her back.
“Enough,” groaned the King. “Resume.”
In just two words, the whole atmosphere changed, every noble in the room eager to please. The soldiers that were flanking Yassim quickly moved aside, leaving the old man free for now. His shoulders visibly relaxed, but Yassim didn’t forget his primary mission. He was about to gently guide Cessilia and her cousin to the side when Jisel spoke up.
“Ah, the guests should take the empty seats. We aren’t waiting for anyone.”
Although that seemed like an innocent and considerate couple of sentences, both girls noticed how Yassim’s expression fell while hearing this, and the other nobles looked down too. Neither Cessilia nor Tessa moved, waiting for the old man to indicate how to react. Yassim silently clenched his fist and nodded painstakingly.
“...I see.”
“I’ll s-stand,” suddenly said Cessilia.
All eyes turned to her, visibly surprised not by her stutter, but by how openly she defied the King’s woman’s offer. She didn’t even look her way and wasn’t looking toward the King anymore. Instead, she simply stood behind old Yassim as he had moved aside, actually standing next to those two empty seats.
Tessa nodded and did the same, both young women standing behind Yassim. They weren’t so blind as to ignore what was going on completely. There were nine seats in this room, aside from the King’s, and Yassim had mentioned nine lords during their trip there. Judging from his shattered reaction and Jisel’s words, they could easily imagine what had happened, and why they shouldn’t sit in those seats. The reactions of the nobles weren’t all the same this time. Some kept staring at them, clearly intrigued, some subtly nodded, and some shook their heads.
“As you wish,” chuckled Jisel.
One of the nobles standing sighed, and stepped forward, taking the middle spot of the room they had stood in just before.
“Your Highness, with the addition of Princess Cessilia from the Dragon Empire, this now makes a total of ten candidates as to who your future Queen might be.”
The King wasn’t looking at the old man at all. Instead, his eyes were still fixated on the Princess, unblinking, with a frown on.
Cessilia, however, wasn’t staring his way at all anymore. She was slightly leaning toward Yassim, who had just whispered to her.
“This is Counselor Yamino, an old friend. He is a good man.”
Tessa and Cessilia slightly nodded, listening to Counselor Yamino’s words.
“I shall repeat the agreement for the Princess of the Dragon Empire. According to the rules agreed by the... seven noble families, each family and Royal Counselor is free to introduce any young woman of marriageable age as a King’s Candidate. Each candidate and her family shall receive ten thousand silver coins as compensation.”
Tessa silently smirked, glancing to the side to see which of the nobles had reacted to that sentence. So some of them had probably traded their daughters for some money...
