Nicholas and I continued to stare at each other, neither of us saying a word. We both glanced down at the empty chair and back at each other again.

Every other spot a

at the table was filled. Unless Nicholas were to excuse himself, he would have to sit

here to eat. But to leave in the middle of his own competition would be unbearably rude.

Weren’t the royal family trying to win the hearts and minds of the common people?

Nicholas must have had the same train of thought, though his face revealed nothing.

He sat.

The King cleared his throat. After a pointed look to Nicholas, who avoided it by staring hard at the table, the King spoke loud enough for the entire table to hear.

“Once again, we welcome all the ladies here, chosen by our royal magic at the ceremony.

Though he was addressing the girls sitting at the table, his eyes were on the cameras on the corners of the room, which the cameramen had clicked on. The red lights indicated they were recording.

where you will be asked to showcase your virtues and your talents. Both will be needed in excess to become the kind of truly capable

of the girls at the

sons, developing friendships that could progress into more. A successful King needs

Nicholas crossed his arms.

the Luna – the Queen, sat with perfect

speak with quiet poise, her attention

posture, but I couldn’t manage it for long. All

the girls here, even Susie beside me, had trained their entire lives for events like these. Wearing

fingers and the slump in my shoulders, I didn’t belong

to give me the

+15 BONUS

had been at the Academy, I had felt like a

borrowed time, even

was a noble. A commoner was a commoner.

romantically, what kind of future could we have? No one in his

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