Cessilia bit her lower lip, slightly amused. She hadn’t really thought that far ahead, but judging from her cousin’s flustered reaction, Tessa wouldn’t have believed her anyway. Plus, she knew the proud Tessandra all too well. Without a very good reason, she probably would have denied everything and avoided poor Sabael for a while.

“I c-can’t...”

“T-Tessa, please. We d-don’t have much time.”

She saw Tessandra clench her fists, her face red as if she was about to explode or breathe fire at any moment now. Luckily, before she could protest more, the two other triplets arrived next to them, Nupia explaining the situation briefly to them.

“One of you g-goes to help Nana,” ordered Cessilia immediately. “One g-goes with Tessa, and the last with me, s-so if we need to c-communicate, we c-can send one of you.”

This time, they didn’t discuss at all, and the boy departed immediately to catch up to Naptunie, while Nupia stepped to Cessilia’s side, her younger sister behind Tessa. Before anyone could add anything, though, two Royal Guards suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor. Tessandra went white for a second, before realizing neither of them were Sabael. The two men walked up to Cessilia, and to their surprise, respectfully bowed.

“Princess Cessilia of the Dragon Empire. Your presence is requested by His Majesty and the Royal Council.”

“N-now?” She frowned.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Cessilia sighed. If Ashen had sent those men, she couldn’t refuse, but she was still thinking what was going on outside was much more important. Still, she took a breath in and turned to her cousin, determined.

“T-Tessa, go ahead, please. I’ll t-try to talk t-to Ishira or Hephael if I c-can see them there. I’ll c-catch up to you g-guys, but Nana is g-going to need you.”

Tessandra sighed, unhappy about the situation, but she glared at the guards, and then toward Nupia, raising her index finger at the female servant.

“If anything happens to my cousin, this time I swear you’ll pay for it.”

“I understand, Lady Tessa,” said Nupia, not flinching at all.

Her cousin grunted in frustration, but quickly turned around and left, probably to catch up to Naptunie before she left the castle. Left alone with Nupia and the guards, Cessilia turned to them, a bit annoyed, but still composed.

“Let’s g-go.”

Before the guards had even turned around, Cessilia knew they would be escorting her to the Council Room. The matter couldn’t have been too serious, though, judging by the way the guards walked ahead without even checking to see if she was still following. Still, she wondered why they would suddenly call her to the meeting...

When she arrived in the room, the tension was palpable. Once again, seven out of the nine chairs were filled, with all their eyes going to her as soon as she stepped in. Cessilia’s green eyes immediately looked for Ashen’s.

The King was seated on his throne, sullen. He went from a slouching position to sitting up as soon as she arrived, his upper body leaning forward in her direction, but the frown between his eyebrows didn’t disappear. Since he wasn’t glaring at her, Cessilia imagined his anger was fueled by someone and something else. She looked around at all the eyes on her. To her surprise and relief, Hephael was now seated there instead of his father, with his cousin Ishira right next to him, her hands joined in front of her, and she smiled at Cessilia when their eyes met. The other eyes around the room weren’t as welcoming, though. The two candidates of the Yekara Clan were also there and smiling, although their smiles had something sinister about them. Seated between them was their Clan Leader, a man as tall as he was thin, with long hair going down his shoulders, a square chin, and piercing eyes. He was the one glaring at her the most, but Cessilia ignored him, not intimidated in the slightest. Except for the remaining Pangoja candidate, Istis, all the other faces were unfamiliar, or people Cessilia hadn’t been able to chat with before.

It was clear which people were favorable to her, those who were neutral, and those who hated her. The latter were the most numerous, and did not bother to hide their feelings, either. Things were considerably tenser than when she had come here the first time.

Cessilia quickly bowed in Ashen’s direction.

“G-good morning, Your Highness, honorable L-Lords. May I ask what is th-the reason for my p-presence here?”

“Princess Cessilia,” sighed a man who ought to be the representative of the Dorosef Tribe. “Some people here are... expressing concerns over your status as a candidate.”

Cessilia frowned, and crossed her arms.

“I’m c-curious to hear your c-concerns,” she said calmly.

“A hoe can’t marry a king, that’s what,” scoffed Safia.

She had said it just loud enough for all to hear, despite the downpour outside. Ashen stood up furiously, glaring at her.

“Yekara,” he hissed, “I suggest you watch your words carefully.”

“Why?” retorted the Yekara Leader, not afraid. “Your Majesty, my niece raises a true concern for your sake. It is part of the rules of the competition that all candidates should be virgins.”

Cessilia’s blood left her face. She wasn’t embarrassed about losing her virginity. She was shocked they already knew. It hadn’t been a day since she had been with Ashen. She glanced around, many people looking embarrassed to hear this, doubtful or sorry for her. More were delighted by the accusation, though.

“...Is th-that why you had me c-come here?” Cessilia said, not hiding the anger in her voice.

“Princess or not, you have to follow the rules of the competition,” said the Yekara Leader. “We have several witnesses claiming they saw the Princess going out alone last night, and you came back to the castle late in the night.”

“Princess Cessilia and her cousin were invited to the Hashat Family house,” retorted Hephael. “I already told the Council that, and many witnesses will confirm this as well.”

“Oh, we know. But the Princess was seen parting ways with her cousin, and a man came to her after that. She definitely spent a part of the night with him.”

Cessilia was frustrated and mad. She exchanged a glance with Ashen, but it was now clear why he had requested her presence. He wanted her to decide whether to reveal their relationship or not. At the very least, Jisel wasn’t here this time. It should have made her glad, but somehow, she had an ominous feeling about her absence.

“Well?” said the Yekara Lord. “We knew you aren’t quite eloquent, Princess, but we still ought to hear at least an explanation. Or proof we’re wrong. After all, we do have means to check your words...”

An old woman stepped forward, probably a nurse or something of the sort, but she ignored her. Instead, Cessilia glared at the man who was now trying to annoy her. He had the look of a predator toying with his prey. He knew he was right, and perhaps, he even knew who she had actually spent the night with. What he wanted was to humiliate her, expose her in front of the Council. He may have thought a young woman who had just lost her virginity would have been terribly embarrassed of the situation and ashamed. However, Cessilia crossed her arms, not shy in the slightest.

“It’s t-true,” she said. “However, it d-doesn’t disqualify me as a c-candidate if the man I spent the n-night with was His Majesty.”

Many eyes shifted from her to the King.

The White King was smiling. For many, that unique sight was absolutely terrifying. Rather than a happy man, it looked like a predator showing its fangs, and when he relaxed his shoulders and sat back down, many got chills. He remained silent, though, so the Yekara Leader was confused for a second, his eyes going from the King to the Princess.

“B-but you already knew th-that, d-didn’t you?” said Cessilia with a smile.

“You... you broke the rules! We will not accept a sullied candidate as our Queen!”

“You’re not making any sense, Lord Yekara. ...Surely you were not expecting the future Queen to remain immaculate?” retorted Ishira, raising an eyebrow. “How is His Majesty supposed to have his heirs then?”

“We shall not accept it,” the man insisted. “The purity of the candidates is one of the rules for–”

The Princess suddenly stepped in his direction, suddenly seeming taller, making the older man sit back in his chair and almost swallow his tongue.

“His Majesty can confirm I had b-been with no other man b-before him,” retorted Cessilia, her angry voice suddenly echoing in the room, “and I will not b-be humiliated b-by the mere loss of my virginity b-by any man. If you want t-to reduce your c-candidates to mere child-making t-tools, th-then all I did was g-get a headstart on them!”

She looked around, glaring back at those who had been prepared for her humiliation.

“You c-can’t even honor the rule of not k-killing or harming other candidates,” hissed Cessilia, “and you’re t-trying to corner me with your rules that d-don’t make sense? A K-Kingdom where a man c-can take mistresses, b-but his wife has to b-be a virgin? How c-can you ask that of your d-daughters and nieces?!”

No one in the room dared to utter a word anymore. In fact, most of the Lords were stunned and stuck to their chairs, some of them sending guilty glances toward their candidates. But Cessilia’s angry eyes suddenly went to Ashen. The King had completely stopped smiling.

“Next t-time, at least ask your King to stay pure too.”