Page 66 of The White King's Favorite

“By the gods, no! Yassim, relax a little. Those girls have a dragon as their bodyguard. Moreover, Nana told me Lady Tessa’s extraordinary sword skills were enough to protect them. You’re getting old, my friend. As if anyone would dare to physically attack the Princess!”

Although Yamino meant well, his words weren’t enough to reassure Yassim. The old Counselor glanced the King’s way, and sure enough, Ashen was also staring at the door, without a care for the dances going on in the middle of the room, or the bold young ladies who dared to approach him and try to make conversation. The King’s dark eyes were riveted on the door, an underlying anger directed that way, as if he was considering whether to break it down or not... or perhaps he was also worried about the missing lady? Yassim slowly shook his head. If only the young King could be more honest with himself, and kinder too...

“Your Highness!” exclaimed a young lady, suddenly placing herself among the dancers.

Recognizing one of the candidates, most people stepped aside, and the orchestra played a bit quieter too. Most of her rivals made grimaces or stared at her with their eyes scrutinizing her appearance from head to toe.

She had a bright, confident smile on, but that was really all she could distinguish herself with. The young lady was wearing a gorgeous indigo dress, her long, frizzy curls held back by several silver headbands. Her jewelry was a bit too much, though, an awkward mix between silver and nacre, and there was so much it was hard to focus on her face rather than the obvious display of wealth.

“Lady Vena,” muttered Yamino. “The young lady of the Pangoja Clan is as bold as ever...”

Indeed, the young lady was brimming with confidence. Very subtly, her eyes went from the King to Jisel, and a faint smile was exchanged with the King’s mistress before she went back to him. The redhead tilted her head, a mischievous smile on her lips, and she stepped away from the throne, almost as if to leave the King more freedom for his movements. That exchange made Yassim fear for the young lady...

“May I offer Your Majesty a dance?” asked Vena, extending her hand.

The next seconds were so foreseeable, it made the whole scene even worse to witness. An awkward silence followed her question, all eyes going to the King. However, Ashen the White wasn’t reacting at all to the young woman’s words, simply staring somewhat her way, as if she had been some mere ant in his field of vision. He even had his cheek resting against his fist, a sullen look on as if he was dying of boredom. He didn’t move an inch or open his mouth to answer, not even to rebuke her. She was standing alone in the middle of the hall, terribly alone. Little by little, Vena’s enthusiasm from before visibly plummeted, and she cleared her throat very awkwardly. Her eyes went to Jisel again, with no smile this time. Only the King’s mistress was smiling from ear to ear, utterly amused.

“Y-Your Majesty,” Vena repeated, “may I have the honor of a dance? I am one of the best dancers of my generation, and I am sure you will enjoy a... a dance with me.”

Her speech wasn’t convincing, and it fell completely flat. She obviously hadn’t prepared anything to convince the King, and she hadn’t thought she would need to. Yassim sighed, feeling a bit sorry for the poor girl. She had obviously been duped and put into this situation by someone else’s scheme...

A few more seconds of a heavy and embarrassing silence followed, and Vena looked more and more alone on the dance floor, the audience staring without daring to do anything. Any man could have walked in right then to save her, but who was foolish enough to embarrass themselves with her, and in front of the King too? Even the orchestra didn’t dare play more than half their usual volume, and this atmosphere was getting distressing for everyone.

“Your Majesty...” Vena muttered.

Her hand slowly lowered, and the poor girl looked on the verge of tears, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

However, that’s when the King’s expression changed. From total boredom and disinterest, his dark eyes suddenly lit up with a vivid spark, and he slowly sat taller. Vena’s heart accelerated, and a victorious smile appeared on her face, convinced the King had finally seen something in her that would make him agree to dance with her. She raised her hand again, her shoulders going up and down from her excited breathing.

Ashen slowly got off his throne, and she was prepared for him to walk up to her, but something seemed a bit off. She realized his line of sight didn’t seem to stop on her but went beyond. As he stood, it became clear he hadn’t been looking at her, but at something beyond her shoulder. Not only that, but Jisel’s smile was gone too. Vena lowered her hand and looked around. All eyes were turned to something behind her; she had suddenly become completely invisible. During a mere second of confusion, she stepped back, unsure how to react, before she finally turned around. Her embarrassment turned into absolute shame when she noticed the tall figure at the hall’s entrance.

Cessilia’s appearance wasn’t simply breathtaking; the Princess looked as if she had stepped out of another world and into this one. She wasn’t wearing any nacre, silver, or gold jewelry. Even her hair was simply braided a little to be held behind her ears, and that was it. No, what attracted the eye was her incredible dress. Unlike her rivals, her dress was made of several layers and several shades, from a dark indigo blue to regal green, going through all teal shades. It may have seemed like too much, but each layer began below her belt and was as thin as a veil, all the colors floating and melting on top of each other, like the petals of a unique sea flower softly blown by the wind. The real magic was hidden on the ends of each skirt layer, though. At the border of the pieces of fabric, something shimmered, like miniature stars captured in the edges of her dress. Even more impressive was the top part. It was made of an incredible green fabric, which shimmered like thousands of little emeralds sewed together. She didn’t need any jewelry; her dress was made of something much shinier than any other piece of jewelry in the room. She stepped forward, and when she grabbed her dress to bow very slightly toward the King, they all saw her wrists and hands had gone completely dark; they were covered in black scales.

Behind her, Tessandra’s hands were the same, but instead of bowing to the King, her dark eyes went to Safia, and she muttered, a smirk on her lips.

“...Thanks for all that broken glass.”

A long silence followed the Princess’ entrance, but this time, the audience was in awe rather than awkward. Cessilia easily distinguished herself not only by her impressive dress and lack of jewelry but by the intriguing dark scales visible on her wrists and hands. Those scales were so dark, for a minute, many thought they had been drawn with soot. However, with each movement of the Princess’ hands, those dark scales would move along, as if to confirm they were genuine. It was as if she had humanoid reptilian hands... and it was both mesmerizing and scary.

The one more stunned than anyone was the King himself. He hadn’t taken a step from where he stood, but his whole body was leaning forward as if held back by some invisible restraint. He was breathing heavily too, and a frown had appeared on his face, his expression torn between surprise, agitation, and confusion. The sight of the Princess’ faint bow in front of him seemed to have thrown him into an inner turmoil. His lips parted as if he was about to say something, but before anything came out, Cessilia had already turned around, showing her back to him.

Her back was dashingly exposed by the dress’ shape, leaving a few men in the audience speechless and blushing. It was bare all the way down to her waist, showing her superb figure and perfect skin, almost more eye-catching than the shimmering colors of her dress. Her long, chocolate curls weren’t enough to hide her skin from male curiosity, and almost as soon as he realized it too, the King threw a circular glare at the audience, his fists tightening. Fortunately for them, all eyes were on the Princess, not the furious monarch.

Not only her but following her steps, Tessa and Nana were both getting their share of admirative glances. The warrior was more impressive in her unique outfit, though. It was a stunning combination of a soldier’s armor and a graceful, feminine silhouette. Her outfit wasn’t as shiny as Cessilia’s, but the shimmer was smartly highlighting her thin waist and broad shoulders, applied on the corset and shoulder pads. Not only that, but the long and fluid shape of her skirt made it hard to guess if she was wearing pants or a slitted skirt. Overall, it was an impressive fashion statement, confusing gender and yet exhibiting all of her physical traits. Moreover, she was showing off her cleavage, had undone her braids, making her hair much longer than her usual bob, and put some makeup on. While Cessilia looked like a mystical princess, Tessandra had the mightiness of a warrior queen.

Finally, Naptunie followed behind them. Although her beauty didn’t seem as exotic as the two young women before her, she had her own charm in a flamboyant, blue dress. The same broken glass had been used for a large belt to flatter her waistline, while the knee-length of her skirt, made of the same flying layers as Cessilia, showed off her tiny legs. In fact, that dress wouldn’t have worked on anyone but her. Her hair was also undone, and her generous chest was flattered by the triangle shape of her dress, which was held in a cute ribbon around her neck. With this and her white nacre jewelry, she looked adorable, like a little water fairy. Altogether, the trio was easily gathering all of the attention in the room, but as soon as Cessilia walked away from the King, Tessa and Nana followed her, and the young ladies who had just made quite an entrance walked up to the two Counselors, as if completely unaware of all the eyes on them.

“Ladies,” smiled Yassim, bowing politely as if to play along. “You’re absolutely stunning, all three of you.”

“Th-thank you, Yassim,” said Cessilia.

“My little Nana!” exclaimed Yamino. “My little niece is all grown up now, you look like a lovely young lady!”

“U-Uncle!”

Yamino’s loud laughs and teasing of his niece made their little group smile, but it was a bit hard to pretend they didn’t notice the silence around them. Bit by bit, the orchestra was trying to pick up the rhythm, although all the attention was on the foreigners’ group. Not only that but in the middle of the room, Vena was standing alone, her hand somewhat mid-air, completely stunned by what had just happened. It had only been a matter of seconds between Cessilia’s entrance, her bow to the King, and her walking away, but now, reality was starting to hit slowly, as if time resumed for everyone else. Inevitably, many stares fell on the young lady left alone and utterly embarrassed in the middle of the banquet hall.

Finally, she let her hand fall down, and instead, clenched it into a fist, glaring at the Princess. Her anger and embarrassment were blurring her judgment and thus, right now, she was feeling like the main cause of her humiliation was the foreign Princess, not the King who had ignored her. She turned her step toward their little group, and walked over there angrily, her heels loud against the polished floor. Several people even hurriedly jumped out of her way, although everyone remained close to witness the next part of the act.

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