Page 25 of The White King's Favorite

“Yes, Your Highness, our sister is already inside,” said one of them, stepping forward. “We shall open the gates to the Cerulean Suite for the Princess now. The Counselors aren’t allowed to enter unless the Princess requires them to.”

Cessilia and Tessa exchanged a glance, surprised. They were the ones to say if Yassim and Yamino could enter? They were the guests here, and those two old men were obviously Royal Counselors, how could they be the ones to decide whether they could enter or not?!

“Ah, please don’t be surprised, my ladies,” said Yassim, noticing their confusion. “In our Kingdom, no man can enter a woman’s apartment unless she agrees to it first, regardless of his position. The only one allowed to do so is the King, to whom no door shall remain closed.”

Tessa made a grimace. That was one distorted way to say things, but she understood the general idea. Basically, just like in the previous ways of the Dragon Empire, any man of noble or Imperial title could take any woman as a concubine. However, the Empress had abolished that rule, and put new ones in place to protect young women against rapists.

“The C-Counselors are allowed in for n-now,” said Cessilia.

“Understood,” nodded the two servants.

Then, they each pulled one of the doors’ golden handles, opening it wide for Cessilia.

She was stunned by the vision inside. This room felt like a completely different world from the rest of the castle. In fact, it reminded her of those magical places described in her books. The floor was suddenly so well polished that all of the round pieces of rock were completely even and smooth under her feet. She shyly walked in, her heart beating a little bit faster. The room was in the shape of a comma, with a large round area, and a little corner on the left, with a large canopy bed with cerulean blue sheets and light wood. There was another door a bit further on the wall, blue too, but for now, she was too busy processing everything else she could see. The tall columns were supporting a stunning vaulted ceiling, with an incredible mosaic of iridescent, dark little pieces that Cessilia couldn’t identify, just like the white one on the door earlier. Moreover, everything was shining incredibly, with all the colors her eyes could catch, reflecting the little movements of the water around her. Similar to what they had seen in the corridors, there were little streams of water crossing the room, all leading to the side opposite the door. And in fact, there was no wall opposite to them. Instead, there were more of those columns, in wide arches with a breathtaking view of the sea beyond them.

Cessilia lost her breath as she walked closer to see. There was a little balustrade made of sculpted redwood to keep her from falling, but as she stood there, it was clear that half of this room was a balcony, with an amazing view of the sea, in which the water streams were falling several feet below her. She could smell the gentle, salty breeze of the sea, caressing her cheeks and freshening up the whole suite. She could hear the waves crashing against the foundations of the castle and going back gently into the large river stream. Her eyes could even spot a colored fish at times, before it quickly swam away. This room showed her the edge of the Eastern Kingdom, beyond the island they were on, the vast sea with no known end.

“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!”

---