Princess Asteria glared at Lord Eros to signal him and stop the fire before it could burn the whole castle.
The concubine fanned herself, "Is it getting hotter here?"
Lord Eros cleared his throat, "Oh, my parents seemed to take fond of the name… I quite get that a lot." Lord Eros joked, playing it cool and changing the topic. "But I came from another Kingdom called Nethilor."
Oh, he came prepared to come up with an excuse about his identity.
Nethilor? Is that even a real kingdom? They all know that it's Nighthelm that Lord Eros Moncada's territory before the betrayals happened…for now, the land was considered a wild land with dangerous plants and wild beasts roaming around.
Her father seemed to believe that and so far, her father didn't further question that. "I see."
"Well, I guess we'll have to stop talking about Lord Eros and my great great great great grandfather's long history. Without them, the kingdom wouldn't even have prospered despite all betrayals." Her father added.
She could see Lord Eros's fist tightening at the mention of the name and she raised his eyebrows.
"I see I have another competitor." Prince Galician chimed in.
The King laughed at that, "Many love my daughter. William and I had thought of a better way to pick the right one. I decided to make all Princess Asteria's suitors to compete for each other. " The King suggested.
Princess Asteria bit her lip, fearing for the worst. Prince Apollo, Ares, and Atlas stood up in unison, clearly against this idea.
"Are you sure about this, your majesty?" Asked Prince Apollo, still calm and composed as ever but with a hint of worry.
"Father, you're complicating things for our sister." Prince Ares interjected, although his eyes shimmering with excitement as if he's enjoying this sudden turn of events.
Prince Atlas, still a child, of course, looked at everyone with curiousness, "What is a contest?"
But the King just silenced them. "Quiet, you three. I will announce this sooner in the whole kingdom. But the one who wins in the contest will get my daughter."
"I'm sure you are alright with this idea, dear daughter?"
She gulped, feeling all eyes from the table now fixated on her.
Her reply is the final answer.
One wrong move.
One wrong…answer, and she's risking her life with death.
"Yes, your majesty." Her mouth answered instantly, shocking her brothers, including Prince Galician. Lord Eros smirked.
King Xander clapped his hands, "Well, I am happy everything's settled. Everyone, prepare for the upcoming event. It will be held sooner than you think. I won't say the exact day so you'll get surprised, but I'm warning you all early so you could train your fighting skills."
"So soon?" Prince Galician asked.
King Xander furrowed his eyebrows, "What? Aren't you prepared? The moment you wrote your interest in asking for my daughter's hand, you should have already prepared for your life."
Prince Galician was too stunned to speak and he just bowed his head.
She just smiled and glared at her brother Prince Ares who has been looking at her curiously.
"What are you staring at brother?" She snapped harshly.
"Nothing." He sing-sang in reply.
"Sister, eat this strawberry!" Her cute little brother Atlas exclaimed happily, munching on some strawberry as he fed another strawberry.
She instantly accepted it and smiled at her brother, "Yes it is!"
"Prince Galician, what a charming young man." Commented Mistress Geneva as she smiled at Prince Galician. "How's the Warkinless Kingdom? It has been such a long time since I went to my home country."
Oh right, they share the same country…
Prince Galician flashed his gentleman smile, "It's still the same, but much more progressive, thanks to you and your majesty's help to us."
The both continued to chatter while Princess Asteria couldn't help but stare into the space emptily.
Looking around, she only realized the fact that out of all her 20 or so suitors, it's only Prince Galician and Prince Griffith here who was invited to dine with them personally. That's a huge step forward, meaning, her father is indeed approved of them and it's his way of saying to her that these two are his top choices, except Lord Eros who appeared out of nowhere to butt in…
Was it even a good choice to get this three suitors, competing for her, in one room?
As the royal maids stepped in to place the ten dishes for them, they started to eat as his father kept on chatting with the princes, now to Prince Griffith.
While eating, she couldn't miss all the little stares Prince Galician makes but she chose to ignore him all the way and ate quicker than ever.
"Asteria, eat slower. You'll get indigestion." Reminded her brother Apollo.
"She must be excited to use all the presents she had from last night." Her brother Prince Ares snickered.
Prince Atlas's ears perked at the word toy, "Oh, is there a toy? I want to see it too!"
Well, she wanted to get away and as far as possible from this situation Prince Galician so she ate fast. But soon as they finished, her father stopped her. Being sandwiched and having all her suitors stare at her for the entire time is a bit weird.
Princess Asteria dunk in a glass of water when her hand accidentally slipped, making the glass fall to the ground.
She yelled in shock, earning all the men's attention.
She instinctively kneeled to get the pieces of glasses but a shard got in her hand, making her bleed.
"You're wounding yourself dear daughter!" Her father yelled in panic, stopping her.
In an instant, all her three suitors were already stood up from their seats, surrounding her.
"Stop, you're injuring yourself." Said Prince Griffith with concern lacing his tone as he tried to grab her hand but Prince Galician stopped him.
"Let the maids handle it, your highness." Interjected Prince Galician."
A hand softly held her shoulder, "Come, I'll heal your wound." Lord Eros added.
She looked at their hands holding her and felt her head spinning.
All these three men are after her, as if licking the ground she walks on with how they compete for her attention.