It's now one in the afternoon. All women just came back from their task of gathering all the things Isabel needed in the pageant tonight.
She got the items to create a firecracker. Lady Isabel and the prince were a strange couple. Both have asked the same dirty things, powdered charcoal and rotten plants and vegetables soaked in urine.
"Maybe they have this strange kink or something." One maid commented when Lady Isabel was not in their sight. Then they all laughed at what she said.
Isabel closed her eyes, tried to imitate her grandfather making firecrackers and sold them on Korean New Year.
"Alright, let's get grinding," Isabel asked the ladies to bring her to a place as far away as they could to any buildings.
She combines the chemical formula, adjusts it to her desired proportions, and then tests it on the spot. The servants are horror trucked. Looking at each other, they gossip about their lady master in front of herself.
"Nice! Now let's go back." After she made the perfect bomb for her presentation tonight, she walked back to Hash's mansion.
"Why is Hash being called at the palace today? Is he a high-ranking official?" The ladies all nodded in unison.
"Prince Hash is also an Armies' general." Isabel thought they said something like a prince.
"Did you just say Hash is this kingdom's prince?" She even snorts a little because she thought she misheard it.
"Yes, My Lady, he is the heir of the throne." The supervisor said she was proud that she was serving the crowned prince himself.
"Wait, what?!" An heir to the throne? That's ludicrous! Oh, well, then she's not wrong about joining the competition. Her dream man was also her prince charming. From a small snort that she let out earlier, it became a loud, evil laugh.
The servants got spooked and moved away from her. Isabel walked in a trance had a smile on her face. Hash was not only her dream man but her prince charming, too. How nice! And then she giggled again.
Her attendants shook their heads. In the twenty-first century, she looked like someone that was a resident of a mental institution.
At the prince's manor, another set of servants was waiting for her.
"Good afternoon, Lady Isabel." They greeted her in the living room. Lo was also among them, waiting.
"We will give you a bath, miss, and help you dress," Lo said, but it overwhelmed Isabel.
"No, I will clean myself. Take me to the bathroom, please." Lo had already described her to the other servants. In a way, they're no longer surprised.
Hash's bath was insane! Isabel's jaw drops. It's complex engineering that she can only see in one of the highest-paid architectural designs. There's even a shower, a nicely polished faucet, a bathtub, and something that looks like a bidet.
And for goodness' sake, it has an artificial stream surrounded by plants. The entire scene was a replica of a millionaire's bath in Malibu. So this must be the afterlife, she had concluded. Lathered her whole body, she felt luxurious.
The servants, including Lo's team, assisted her. They put her clothes on her and did her make-up. With her instructions, they achieved the perfect look she wanted. The way they made her hair, she looked like a fairy.
"Perfect! Let's go get my man." She grinned and animatedly did the seven dwarves' hi-ho march.
It's almost six in the evening. Isabel got on a carriage and was driven to the king's palace. It made her anxious. She felt like she's back at the twenties party again.
She stepped back nervously. Isabel collided in someone's body.
"The tournament will start in a few minutes." His voice was thick and dreamy.
It was a habit of her to bite her lip whenever he took her breath away. She gave him a wide grin.
"You look dashing tonight." She said. Smitten with Hash's appearance.
He threw his head in the air because of what she said. Shouldn't a guy's job to give girls compliments? She's just so bold.
"You look stunning too." He complimented her, lowered his head, and stole a kiss on her lips.
"You're mine, do you understand?" She said aggressively, which made Hash laugh hard.
She's like a kitten that tried to intimidate a grown-up tiger. She looked cute that he can't help but hug her.
"I understand, but go have fun." He kissed her forehead and eventually left.
They gathered the contestants in one room, and everyone looked beautiful. Isabel was the only Asian-looking girl in the crowd and wore a deep red dress that made her slightly stand out.
She leaned on Lo's head and whispered in her ears.
"Which one is Lady Gwin?" She subtly asked and looked around, tried guessing who Lady Gwin was.
"The one who wears a blue dress and butterfly embroidered hijab." She immediately recognized Lady Gwin. Indeed, she was beautiful, with a tall and slender body.
She had an olive skin tone. She calmly stood in one corner, confidently stared at other beauties that are practicing. Shit! Isabel cursed silently. She looked nothing compared to Lady Gwin.
"How about Lady Mau?" Lo didn't speak, but turned, pointed her face to the woman beside her wearing a yellow satin dress with bright flowers embroidered to her hijab.
The thick air constricted her abdominal muscles, making her pores produce cold sweats. Her confidence was wavering, doesn't want to continue anymore.
Describing Lady Mau, she looked extraordinary, flawless, and goddess-like. She had silky chocolate-colored skin, a well proportioned facial physiology, that had hair that was cooly geared.
"My Lady, are you not going to fulfill your words?" Lo, reading her subtle moves, asked Isabel naively.
She really would run away, but she was being called out as the first contestant to compete. They pushed her in the middle of the hall, looking terrified, ready to cry and run away.
But her eyes caught Hash sitting in the middle.
"What are you doing?" He didn't mutter any words, but she heard him. It surprised her that they could speak in their heads, but she had to get going.
"What do I need to do?" Unsure what to do, she kept staring at him.
"First easiest talent you got." Hash looked frustrated and clenching his jaws. He was pointing his chin at her for her to go on and do something.
Isabel turned to Lo, signaled her to play the drum beats from her iPad with the improvised loudspeakers. Isabel moved her hips to the rhythm and took off some clothes, revealed some of her skin. She tried her best to look seductive to please Hash, but his expression was far from being pleased.