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A shoutout to one of my earliest readers- ‘WillTheThrill’. He is my highest golden ticket supplier till now and his contribution points exceed 1.2k. Thank you for your wondrous support till now. Stay tuned!

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Both Adrian and Evelyn walked to a corner of the hall and took the carpeted stairs to the first floor. Vanessa and Mia stayed below.

There was a long table and there were chairs on only one side. Everyone would face the gigantic chandelier below which lied the hundreds of round tables. Everyone sitting down would be able to clearly see the faces of the royals and their most esteemed guests.

Adrian did not look at the table for long before he shifted his eyes to the branches and the green leaves of the tree which acted as if they would protect the ones feasting at the table with all their might.

He smiled again. His mysterious actions intrigued the princess. She squinted and rubbed her chin in thoughts. But moments later, she gave up with a sight. Getting inside his head was impossible.

“Looks like we are the first ones to arrive. Let’s sit and wait.” Evelyn took out a chair left from the central ones and sat down.

Adrian sat beside her.

She suddenly let out a mouthful of air, one of her legs was shaking voluntarily.

“Nervous?” Adrian smiled.

“Yes.” To her, Adrian was now one of the closest persons, if not the closest. She had already decided to not hide anything from him. Else, it could lead to her failure.

“Relax. I always wanted to take the virginity of a queen.” He looked into her eyes. “And it isn’t possible without making one myself. Relax.”

“You!” She shouted in a very low voice, low enough to make it sound like a whisper. She looked around before scowling at him. “Shhh… most of my family has already reached high level. They might hear you.”

“So what? I don’t mind taking your virginity in front of them, let alone speaking about it.”

She briskly reached out her hand and tightly covered his mouth. “But I do!” She whispered with a blushed face.

But her face suddenly flinched. “What are you doing?!” She scowled harder, making sure her voice was low as always.

“Oh my.” A charming feminine voice entered their ears. “Look how my granddaughter has all grown up- already being lovey dovey with a young man.”

Evelyn abruptly removed her hand and curled into a fist, hiding her saliva coated palm. She aggressively shook her head. “It’s not what you think, grandma.”

A beautiful woman who looked as is she were in her late forties entered the scene. Her actual age was a lot higher than that. She was wearing an emerald green dress and jewellery embedded with exotic stones.

“Relax.” She giggled. “I did these things all the time with your grandpa. And I still do.” She winked at her granddaughter.

“It’s really not what you think.” She turned back to the table and looked down. Her face was redder than before.

The woman gently shook her head with a teasing smile before looking at Adrian.

Adrian looked at the newcomer and smiled.

“Oh my!” The woman took her right palm to her right cheek. “Looks like Ernic lied to me. He said that you were as handsome as him in his prime. But he either seriously underestated your looks or greatly overestimated himself. Where were you forty years ago?”

“Grandma!” Evelyn abruptly turned around, almost breaking her neck.

“Relax, child. I am not stealing your man…” the lady giggled before whispering, “for now.”

“You!”

The woman laughed and gave Adrian one last glance before taking out the left one of the two centre-most seats before sitting on it.

“Young man!” Soon, the high king joined. He had a wide grin on his face. “Welcome to the royal palace. Have you taken a look around?”

Adrian only looked at him, not bothering to stand, bow or show any sign of respect. “No, I didn’t.”

“Oh, you should have. You are going to-“

“Ernic!” The the lady scowled at her husband.

The high king suddenly stopped speaking. His face grimaced as he voluntarily bit his tongue. “Oops. I am sorry, your Majesty.” He bowed towards his wife like a gentleman before sitting to her right. The grin on his face had yet to die down.

Now, the two centre-most seats were occupied.

Evelyn frowned at the suspicious interaction between her grandparents. Why was everyone acting so mysterious?

Soon, a young maiden came to the dining table.

“Evelyn!” The beautiful green eyed blonde opened her arms.

“Maria!” Evelyn got up from her seat hugged the newcomer.

“How have you been? I haven’t seen you for more than three years.”

“That’s because you did not want to enter the Academy.” Evelyn broke the hug and snorted.

“Why? It’s more fun here in the palace.” The one called Maria winked. She then took a peek at Adrian. “Oh my, Evelyn! You already found yourself a boy?!” Her shout echoed through the hall.

Evelyn hurriedly covered her mouth as she looked around. Adrian had the same carefree smile on his face while her grandparents looked at her with a teasing smile. She scowled at Maria before pinching her shoulder with her other hand and removing the hand from Maria’s mouth.

“Why’s your hand wet, Evelyn? Are you sweating in this cold weather?” Maria licked her lips before taking her mouth to Evelyn’s ear. “Or did I just indirectly kiss your lover?”

“You!” Evelyn’s eyes almost got bloodshot as she pushed Maria away.

Maria giggled and sat beside Adrian on the other side. Adrian smiled at her and she smiled back. Evelyn stomped her foot before sitting back down.

A few minutes later, a middle aged couple stepped in. The man had blond hair and green eyes. He gave Adrian and Evelyn a glance before looking at the empty seats on the right of the table. He sat right next to the High King. The high king and the high queen were indifferent about his arrival.

The woman had black hairs like most of the people on the continent, but the traits that made her stand out of the crowd was her blue eyes which shined like jewels. She stared at Adrian for a few seconds before sitting between the high queen and Evelyn.

“Good job, Aretha.” The high king praised. “I have checked, and everything’s perfect.”

“Thank you.” She bowed towards him with a slight smile.

The high queen patted her shoulder. She bowed towards her as well.

“Where is Reynolds?” The High King scowled. “Is that brat planning to be late on the day of selection?”

“I apologise, grandfather.” A masculine voice sounded in everyone’s ears. “I was in the midst of some last minute preparations.” A young man came and sat beside the blond middle aged man.

The man who had a straight face till now smiled at his son.

“Greetings, father.” The young man bowed to him before bowing at the other three at the centre. “Greetings, everyone.” He looked at his sister and Adrian before turning ahead.

The high king looked to his right, then to his left and finally down on the hall.

“Is everything ready?” He asked.

“Yes!” A shout came from below.

The high king took a deep breath and shouted.

“Let the Selection begin!”