PRESTON Willows was sent by his family to assist Lord Ruto, an official candidate of the Selection.
Each candidate was allowed to bring one assistant.
Right now, he had just finished setting up a tent that Lord Ruto would be using. Of course, a room in the palace was reserved for them. But according to the instructions that he received beforehand, the candidates would only be allowed in the palace during nighttime.
[The search for Princess Neoma's husband was announced on such short notice, and yet there are still this many candidates who showed up?]
Amazing, huh?
It seemed like no kingdom or nation would miss the opportunity to be a part of the Great Moonasterion Empire.
[I thought we wouldn't get a chance to participate, but here we are.]
If Lord Ruto's citizenship wasn't revoked, he wouldn't be able to join the Selection.
Because of that, Phoebe– his older sister– was very upset.
[It just goes to show how far Lord Ruto would go for Princess Neoma.]
Oh, well.
Preston felt bad for his older sister. But honestly? He was glad to be there.
He didn't care about Princess Neoma, though.
[I'm only here to see (my beloved) Prince Nero.]
And his dream finally came true when the red curtains that blocked the view of the balcony was finally removed.
The Imperial Family greeted them.
Oh, wow.
Emperor Nikolai.
Empress Mona.
(Preston's beloved) Crown Prince Nero.
Crown Princess Hanna.
All members of the Imperial Family looked very good and very majestic in red– the official color worn by members of the Imperial Family on official occasions such as today.
Preston thought his eyes would be automatically glued to (his beloved) Prince Nero.
But before he knew it, he was already staring at Princess Neoma.
[So beautiful…]
Of course, he had heard rumors about how Princess Neoma's beauty could compete with the Goddess of Beauty herself.
But he didn't expect the Imperial Princess to be THIS beautiful.
[Lord Ruto said I met Princess Neoma when I was young, but I can't remember it.]
How could he forget someone as beautiful as the Imperial Princess?!
But had he gone insane?
[(My beloved) Prince Nero and Princess Neoma are twins, so I shouldn't be this shocked. But why am I still stunned to see Princess Neoma's ridiculously beautiful face?!]
And Preston wasn't the only one who was shocked by the Imperial Princess' beauty.
"Her Imperial Highness' beauty is unbelievable…"
"Traveling across the world just to see that face is worth it…"
"Even if I get sent home early, I'm already satisfied after seeing Her Imperial Highness…"
"I've been arrogant. How could I desire to covet someone as beautiful as the Imperial Princess? I'm not worthy…"
"Me either…"
Preston couldn't understand what the others were saying because they weren't speaking the standard language used in the empire. He only studied the standard language so he wouldn't get kidnapped or something while he was there.
But he could tell that almost everyone was already smitten by Princess Neoma's beauty.
He gulped hard, clenching his hands tight.
Now he had two problems.
First, Preston was worried about Lord Ruto because he saw how most men suddenly became more competitive after seeing Princess Neoma's beauty.
But, to be honest, he was more worried about his second problem.
Preston only had one heart, so he thought he should only give it to one person.
However…
[Who do I like now? Is it still (my beloved) Prince Nero? Or is it Princess Neoma now?]
Preston thought he liked men all this time, but he didn't realize he could like two different genders until that moment.
[I'm so confused.]
***
[AH, I'm starting to get bored.]
Neoma wanted to cover her mouth to yawn, but just one look from Papa Boss and she behaved like the proper princess that she should be.
[Gosh, Papa Boss is so strict.]
Was it a sin to yawn?
Anyway, right now, Neoma and her family were watching the candidates draw from the balcony.
Each candidate was given a piece of paper and a pencil.
Most of the candidates were sitting on the grass, some were standing, and there were a few who were already sleeping.
[Trevor is one of those who are already sleeping after submitting their work.]
Melvin, Dahlia, and Geoffrey Kinsley had set up a long table in front of the People's Palace. The three were in charge of collecting the candidates' artworks. Of course, the three were also in charge of eliminating the candidates caught cheating.
Thanks to Neoma's sharp eyesight, she could see that many candidates had drawn the blobs of Darkness in the sky.
[Those people are the real deal.]
"I can already tell that half of those pests would be going home after the First Round of the Selection," Nero said while observing the candidates from the balcony. "I'm surprised Melvin found that many talented individuals in such a short time."
Hanna nodded in agreement. "You should be good to Melvin so he wouldn't leave your side, Nero. He has the eye for talent."
Right?
"I didn't expect that at least half of these young men could see the Darkness spread in the sky," Mama Boss said worriedly. "That means most of the kingdoms and nations all over the continent are already aware of what is happening."
"That could be the reason why even kingdoms who bear a grudge against the empire still sent a representative," Papa Boss said. "They're probably here to check whether we know something that they don't."
"Then that's a little disappointing," Neoma said lazily. "I thought they were here to see my beautiful face."
None of her family reacted.
[Ah, they're already used to my vanity.]
"Neoma, you should be grateful that so far, no one has looked at you the wrong way," Nero said, smiling "sweetly" while patting her hand. "If that was the case, then blood would have spilled already. I don't care if it would start a war against other kingdoms."
Gosh, so morbid.
Papa Boss, who silently scolded her earlier for almost yawning, nodded in agreement with Nero's violent thoughts.
Wow.
That was offending.
"Nero, watch what you say," Mama Boss scolded him. "Although we put up a barrier to keep our conversation private, you must still be careful."
Neoma smirked, delighted that Nero was scolded by their mother.
"Yes, Mother," Nero said, acting like the obedient son that he wasn't. "I apologize."
Mama Boss just smiled and patted Nero's shoulder.
Neoma rolled her eyes when Nero gave her a triumphant smile, then she got distracted when one candidate caught her attention.
[He's pretty.]
The candidate with auburn red hair and sparkling yellow eyes looked androgynous. His height was average, but for some reason, he looked small. Moreover, his movements were awkward.
But the thing that caught Neoma's attention the most was the choker around the candidate's neck.
That looked very familiar.
"That's Young Master Shane from House Carter– a barony that serves House Spencer," Hanna said when she noticed that Neoma was looking at that particular candidate. "He's the candidate sent by Marquis Russell Spencer. Surprisingly, we don't need to get rid of him in a foul way."
She was aware that Trevor and Jasper oppa said they would take care of the representative of House Spencer.
[Aka they would get rid of the poor candidate no matter what.]
·?θm But if that candidate failed the first round, then blood wouldn't spill.
[And that seems to be the case.]
Neoma could see that the Young Master Shane was in a state of chaos– and his paper was still blank. But, to be honest, that wasn't her main concern. "That's not a 'young master,'" she said, smiling. "Gosh, I'm suddenly reminded of my gender-bender era."
***
[HI. MY name is Sharon Carter, and this is the day I will die. Probably.]
Sharon Carter took the place of her twin brother Shane Carter who was supposed to be sent there as a representative of House Spencer.
But his twin brother disappeared last night.
[That punk said he'd rather die than marry the Imperial Princess as if the Imperial Princess would even throw his ugly face a glance.]
Still, she was worried about her twin brother.
They were only a baron house in name, but they were poor. Their former comfortable life was taken away from them when House Spencer, the main family they served, forced her parents to take the blame for a crime Marquis Russell Spencer had committed in the past.
Now her parents were in jail for a crime they didn't commit.
[A representative of the marquis suddenly reached out to us two weeks ago because, apparently, Shane is the only "young master" around the Imperial Princess' age that's affiliated with House Spencer.]
Actually, those bastards wanted Shane to do something bad during the Selection.
But Sharon couldn't say anything since they needed the money offered to them.
[Although I'm having second thoughts now.]
Still, she needed the money.
Even though they were nobles in name, it had already been two years since Sharon and Shane had been living in the slums.
Her brother had yet to get used to their new life, too.
But Shane was acting stranger these days.
"Are you going to submit a blank paper, Young Master Carter?"
Sharon was shocked when Duke Jasper Hawthorne approached her, but she was even more shocked when he spoke politely to her. "Y-Your Grace, you can speak comfortably with me…"
Fortunately, the voice-changing device around her neck made her sound like her brother.
"How can I do that when this is our first meeting?" Duke Hawthorne said, then he looked at the blank paper in her hands before he looked at her face quite intensely. "Sir Kinsley said they'd be collecting the papers in three minutes."
Ah, right.
The unbelievably and absolutely beautiful Princess Neoma asked them to draw the sky as if the Imperial Princess was expecting them to draw something that the naked eyes couldn't see.
And that was Sharon's biggest problem.
[The sky looks pretty normal to me.]
Maybe Sharon should just draw what Shane said about the sky before her stupid twin brother ran away from home.
[Yeah, that's better than submitting a blank paper.]
Sharon bowed her head politely towards the young (and ridiculously handsome) Duke Jasper Hawthorne. "Thank you for the reminder, Your Grace."
At that moment, Sharon also decided to snitch on Marquis Spencer.
[I can't let someone as handsome and kind as Duke Hawthorne get hurt.]
Thus, Sharon began writing an essay, too.
***
NEOMA immediately grabbed the paper that 'Young Master Shane Carter' submitted.
Surprisingly, the 'young master' drew the right thing despite having a blank paper earlier. But what caught her attention was the long essay written in it.
That gave her goosebumps.
"Xion," Neoma said out loud. "Send someone to the slums now!"
***
Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com