[Fiore's Castle, the King's study room - late morning]
The only ones remaining in the room was the king, the queen and the remaining of Emily's members.
So, it was obvious the room was dead silent.
The air surrounding the room was thick and tense as the king walked to his table. Indubitably, his heavy footsteps were definitely not helping with the lingering tension in the room.
With every step, somehow, the room got even tenser than before.
"What is he going to say?"
"Is he upset? Is he about to shout at all of us?"
"Are we going to get punished?"
These were the only things that they could think of.
An awkward squeak sound was heard as the king pushed his chair slightly back to a comfortable position that could allow him to take a seat. Once he did that, he let out an exhausting sigh, before planting both his elbow on the table, so that he could place his chin on his intertwined fingers.
"So..."
His monotonous voice started, pulling them back to reality. "Since the resignation of the princess is most likely spread to the rest of Fiore and the other regions by now, we will have no choice to make this official. In other words, the throne for the princess will be vacant."
Lying back on his comfy chair, he tilted his head slightly upwards to stare at the ceiling as he continued, "So, there is two option for you all. First, I'll assign the next candidate I have in mind and all of you will be the members of the new successor and serve—"
Before the king could finish, Yukiko folded her arms and abruptly spat out, "Screw that, I quit."
"Same here." Lavi joined with a raised arm.
Seeing the two of them, Mary gave the king an apologetic bow, "I'm sorry, your majesty. But, the only person I will serve is Emily. I wouldn't want to serve anyone else."
What Mary was exactly what the other members were thinking and with a mere 'I quit', one by one, Emily's members began to resign themselves. With that, they started to move towards the door to excuse themselves from the study room.
Suddenly, the queen started chuckling to herself.
Placing her teacup on its saucer, she looked up at them, "Don't you all want to listen to the second option before leaving?"
The whole group came to halt upon hearing what she said. Turning their heads, they gave the king their attention.
Besides, listening to the second option wouldn't hurt, right?
Clearing his throat, the king shifted his gaze to them, "The second option is we will hold a competition for the Fiore's fourteenth successor throne. In other words, this competition will be open to everyone, regardless of which region they are from. So, you could still retain your position, but you have to beat every single group."
"So, what is your choice?"
Though it was this question is made from mere words, somehow, it holds so much meaning.
Feeling a surge of an adrenaline rush, Yukiko looked at the king straight in the eyes and grinned, "Why are you even asking? The answer is obvious, isn't it?"
"We're in."