DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE BEST THING in this whole situation? The fact that it's all being broadcasted to the entire Kingdom. That's probably why the Queen didn't scream at me and Rai as she probably would in private, and why she tried to brush away the fact that the Crown Prince hurt me.
You see, the science here is quite good, and they can broadcast through a kind of water image that allows the people to see what's going on in the Crowned Princess Trials. Hov explained it all to me, so I could make better use of my situation, by bringing the people to my side, even if the people here all hate me. After, they may not be the ones to vote, but their voices are louder, and if they like me, the people here will hesitate to treat me like shit during the evaluations.
However, Hov told me that it's only broadcasted during the girls' evaluations, like today.
That's why I decided to give a strong impression because all the others have been in the view of people for about five weeks, plus today. I need to catch up and show them I'm more interesting. Yeah, it's risky, but everything in here is. I'll make sure to be the talk of the Kingdom until next week.
The Princess refused to sit down and just decided to ask me the questions of the first test right away. I can't even imagine the criticism she'll receive for this, it'll be so delightful. Then, I waited. "15 questions, darling," the Queen advised her.
"First question," I could even tell she had an arrogant smug thanks to her tone of voice. "Related to geography and the world map," thankfully, I love geography. "On the western side of the map, there's another continent, what is its name?" Does she think I'm stupid?
"United Kingdoms."
"Well, that was easy, even kids know that," here we go with her arrogance again. "Name all the Kingdoms in it, in order of political power!" She must think I dumb, for Gods' sake.
"Four Kingdoms. In order of power, hm? Alright. The Kingdom of Uzuri, in the northwestern region. The Kingdom of Raen, in the midwest region. The Kingdom of Absalom, in the eastern region. The Queendom of Accorsa, in the northern region. And lastly, the Kingdom of Kimaya, in the southern region of the United Kingdoms. Also commonly known as the UK!" As I said, I counted them in my fingers.
She scoffed, "That was also easy," not to most of the girls in here, I bet. "What is the environment of each of the five Kingdoms?" I feel like a 7-year-old.
"Uzuri is known for its hot and humid weather, with constant rains, which usually causes the Kingdom to flood, and that is why their architecture is elevated, in a way to avoid their houses from being swallowed by water; but they don't have beaches as many may think, because the continental side of the Kingdom is full of cliffs. Absalom is known for its arid weather, with its surface being full of deserts, but with underground lakes that are the source of the water for the people; its worth mentioning that the people from this Kingdom are easy to spot thanks to their darker skin tone and caramel curly hair; oh, and they also are very rich, thanks to their gold mines and their spices commerce. Those two Kingdoms in special are the ones with the hardest living conditions in the UK as well," I searched a lot about this.
After all, I was planning to leave the Maximillian Kingdom and go live in the UK. Who would have thought that my knowledge of this would come in hand like this? I doubt the other girls knew all of this.
I kept going. "Now, the Kimaya Kingdom is the one famous for its beaches, it doesn't rain often, but when it does, it doesn't flood as Uzuri does, and this territory is also known for its never-ending summer because it's never cold in there. On the other hand, the Accorsa Queendom is known for its never-ending winter, its mountains, frozen lakes, and snowy weather; not to mention its famous volcano that is used to warm the hot springs, that is, pools of warm water where the common folks usually go to warm their bodies and have a good time with each other. Lastly, there's Raen, it's the only Kingdom that possesses all the four seasons during the year like us; it's also the only territory that possesses both deserts, beaches, and mountains; and is known for being the best Kingdom to live in the UK."
Everybody was dead silent as I finished answering the Princess's question gracefully, genuinely enjoying answering it. "How? How do you know all of this?" The Princess asked.
"Interesting choice for the 4th question, Princess," before she could say anything, I spoke again. "I used to know someone who didn't have time nor patience to study all of this, and she dreamed of being able to know other places beyond our Kingdom's borders. So, she asked me to search everything I could find about the UK, and teach her about it. After searching a lot, I did my best to help her out, and I ended up kind of loving my research as well," they waited for more, but there wasn't it. "That's it!"
"Who was it?" The Princess almost ordered the answer.
"Is that your 5th question, Your Highness?" I asked politely and she groaned again.
"Yes. Now, answer it!"
"You should be professional, Princess, and refrain from asking a personal question that doesn't concern you. Doing so, it's like abusing your power as the daughter of the King and the Queen," I heard some gasps. "But I'll answer it. It was someone who used to know me better than anyone!"
She made a very bizarre sound, "What's the name of the person?"
I smiled softly. "Will this be your 6th question, Princess? Because now you are kind of crossing the line in here." I turned to her mother, "Am I wrong, my Queen?"
"Answer her question, Princess Nsomi," let's see what the folks will say regarding her actions as a Queen, tomorrow.
My head turned to her reckless daughter, "Her name was Avyanna Amirah Maximillian." Even the Queen gasped. "I wasn't going to say it, but you and the Queen insisted. Now, it isn't my fault. So, do not be reckless and blame me for your stubborn curiosity, Princess."
"You... You freak... How dare you?" She seemed exasperated.
"Did you expect me to lie, Princess? Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not that kind of person. You must be used to having liars around you if you expected that from me. But the truth tends to be very shocking for those who aren't used to hearing it," I spoke very calmly. "Now, why don't you begin being professional and get back to the questions?"
I felt Rai's hand on my shoulder. It gave me a strange assurance, I couldn't explain.
But then I sensed when Daisuke came closer, "I'll ask the next 10 questions, sister. Drink some tea, you need to calm your nerves," then throw her in a bathtub with ice cubes, because tea isn't going to work on this stupid girl. "How many languages are there in our world, Princess? Both dead, old and new, please." Thankfully, he went directly with the question.
"Three dead languages, eight old ones, and seven new languages. Eighteen in total. Three of them aren't used anymore, while the other fifteen are still spoken by old and young folks," and out of the fifteen, I speak nine.
"You are right. Next question, history related, what was the name of the first civilization in the world?" I also love history.
"The name was raenyalomsarian," I used to love saying this word when I was younger because, at the time, it was the most difficult one I knew.
"Eighth question, still on this topic. What happened to that civilization?" He's surprisingly good with the question. I never took him for an intelligent person. I guess I was mistaken.
"70% of that people traveled to where the Maximillian is now and founded our Kingdom. While the 30% that stayed in their homeland, were divided into five different territories, that are now known as the UK," oh, how I wish my ancestors had stayed there.
"Right again. Now, two questions in a roll. What was the first mineral discovered within the territory of the Maximillian Kingdom? And what is the main mineral that is being mined in the Kingdom, today, and by whom?" Interesting question.
"The first mineral is now known as zircon crystal. However, the main mineral that's mined nowadays within the Maximillian Kingdom, is diamond. And the House responsible for it, it's House D'Arcy!" That was easy peasy!
I heard Rain chuckling softly with amusement behind me. Then I focused on the bastard again. "Hm, how wouldn't you know that, hm?" He probably thought my family kept me in the dark. "More two questions, pay attention. About 2978 years ago, the first book written by a Maximillianian citizen, was published. What was the book about? And who was the writer?"
"It was a woman who pretended to be a man to be able to publish the book, once the people were narrow-minded and thought a woman should be a subject to be used by the man, and a machine to make children, nothing more than that. Her pen-name was Micheil MacCuinnleis, but her actual name was Màiri Matharnach. And the book was a romance called A Love for Saoirse. It was the story of Duke Brion Breaslain who was betrothed to a random noble lady since birth but fell in love with a peasant girl called Saoirse Lochlainn, who was lovely and kind, but not with him, and that's what made him fall for her," it was the first book I read, Avy gave it to me in my 5th birthday, and it's my favorite up until today.
And I've read it so many times that I know every single word on it. "I'm surprised you also know this."
"I'm glad I was able to surprise you, Your Royal Highness," bullshit and more bullshit. How wouldn't I know things about my favorite book?
He seemed annoyed by it, and I let a soft smile take over my lips. "What are the oracles?" Now, that's a tricky question. One I was already predicting to pop up.