Chapter 222: The Other Royal Selection Candidates!
The luxurious dragon carriage sped through the streets of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica and soon arrived at the royal castle, entering the royal capital through the main gate.
"We have been awaiting you, Lady Emilia. Please follow me."
The moment the carriage stopped, a fully armed guard bowed to Emilia.
Without waiting for Shiro or the others to respond, he turned around and began leading the way.
Seeing this, Shiro hopped down from the dragon carriage in ordinary clothes.
He had originally planned to change into something more formal for such an important occasion.
But after seeing that Roswaal was still wearing his usual clown makeup, Shiro immediately gave up on the idea.
They followed the guard through lavish corridors decorated with glittering gold, murals, and countless works of art.
Eventually—As though designed specifically to display the royal family's authority and oppressive grandeur, an enormous door stood at the end of the passage.
It was so tall that one had to crane their neck just to see the top.
"The other two Royal Selection candidates have already been waiting for some time."
"Please enter as soon as possible."
With that, the guard stepped aside and left the remaining path open for them.
His movement also allowed Shiro to finally see the room beyond the doors.
Brilliantly decorated walls.
Luxurious chandeliers hanging from an impossibly high ceiling.
The sight before him was countless times more extravagant than any royal palace Shiro had ever seen on television.
Looking farther along the floor covered by a crimson carpet—At the far end of the hall stood an elevated platform lined with seats.
And at the very center of them—More luxurious than every other chair—Was a crimson throne positioned before a wall decorated with the image of a dragon.
The throne of this kingdom.
"Let's go."
Emilia's expression became solemn.
Leaving those words behind, she stepped forward in her silver boots and walked toward the front of the hall.
Shiro and Roswaal tacitly fell half a step behind her, one on either side.
The moment the three entered through the main doors—The fully armed guards and civil officials standing along both sides of the hall turned their gazes toward them.
These people represented the civil and military officials of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.
On such an important day, naturally, all of them were expected to attend.
However—The moment they saw Emilia's silver hair and the pointed ears marking her as a half-elf, their brows furrowed almost simultaneously.
The next instant—
Hatred.
Disgust.
Contempt.
Countless complicated gazes poured over Emilia and those accompanying her.
These men, who normally represented courage and loyalty, looked at Emilia as though school bullies had suddenly encountered their favorite victim.
Whether their reasons were justified or not—They simply wanted to vent all the resentment accumulated inside them through their eyes.
Only now, standing beside Emilia beneath all those gazes, did Shiro truly experience the malice she endured for absolutely no reason in everyday life.
It was no exaggeration to say—For Emilia to grow up beneath this kind of pressure, her heart might actually be much stronger than Shiro had assumed.
After all, were there really so few people in the world who took their own lives after being bullied?
Emilia, meanwhile, had come here to participate in the Royal Selection while enduring something close to the hatred of an entire world.
Yet she seemed long accustomed to the disgust surrounding her.
Under everyone's gaze, Emilia merely furrowed her brows slightly.
Then she calmly walked to the center of the red carpet before the elevated platform.
Two people were already waiting there.
One was a noblewoman dressed in a black military uniform.
The other was a girl wearing a white formal dress.
"You're sooo slow."
"How long are you planning to keep me waiting?"
"With this much time, I could've gone back and made even more money."
Seeing Emilia arrive, the petite girl in white released the violet curls she had been idly playing with and complained in a distinct Kansai accent.
Unlike most people in this kingdom—She displayed no hostility toward Emilia.
She was simply annoyed that Emilia had made her wait.
However—Anyone who assumed the girl was kind merely because she did not discriminate against a silver-haired half-elf would be making a serious mistake.
If one carefully observed her eyes while she spoke—There was only one thing visible within those blue pupils.
Calculation.
The girl's name was Anastasia Hoshin.
She had been born an orphan in the Kararagi City-States.
Born at the very bottom of society, Anastasia had never surrendered to her miserable circumstances.
Instead, relying on her extraordinary mind, she had forcibly built one of Kararagi's great trading companies from nothing.
Her legendary rise from poverty could easily be turned into a bestselling book even today.
After experiencing so much, Anastasia naturally developed the habit of viewing everything around her through the eyes of a merchant.
What should she say at any given moment to maximize her advantage?
When should she win someone over?
Calculations like these frequently hid beneath her gentle appearance.
In truth—
This meeting would not begin until every Royal Selection candidate had arrived.
As long as Emilia was not the final candidate to appear, whether she arrived early or late had nothing to do with Anastasia.
The reason Anastasia complained was simply because she was accustomed to controlling every available condition.
She hoped to make Emilia feel guilty—And perhaps coax her into voluntarily revealing what she had been doing before arriving in the royal capital.
"Indeed."
"For an occasion this important, one should arrive at least half an hour early to prepare for any unexpected problems."
At that moment, the green-haired girl in military attire beside Anastasia nodded and offered her own opinion.
Compared with Anastasia—Her tone was far more sincere and openly proud.
It was obvious that she was genuinely offering Emilia advice out of goodwill.
Crusch Karsten.
That was the military-clad girl's name.
Within the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica, it was a name known by virtually everyone.
For generations, House Karsten had served the Lugunican royal family and had been granted the title of duke.
With the royal bloodline now extinct, House Karsten was the noble family closest in status to royalty.
And this girl—Crusch Karsten—Had inherited leadership of House Karsten from the previous head at only seventeen years old.
Her exceptional competence had already earned her considerable prestige throughout Lugunica.
A merchant from the Kararagi City-States.
A noblewoman of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.
What could possibly have caused two women from such completely different backgrounds to stand beside Emilia today?
The answer was simple.
Aside from their identities as merchant and noble—Crusch and Anastasia shared one other status.
They were both Dragon Maidens of Lugunica.
Or, put another way—They were both candidates for the throne of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.
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