"Okay, Girls!"
The fifty young women in the garden turned their heads to face the butler, who stood before them with twenty soldiers, all in high-grand class equipment.
"Now! Let us welcome the imperial family!" he bellowed.
"Finally! We get to see the imperial family up close."
"I can't wait."
"Yes! I am so excited!"
The girls all rushed forward, forming a neat row as the King and Queen walked toward them.
"Greetings Emperor and Empress!!" they all bowed in unison.
"Congratulations to every single one of you... Now, your Empress will personally pick her maids," the King said, turning to his wife, who took a step forward.
"I will point at you... And you will step forward," she said, her voice calm as the girls nodded, all anxious and nervous.
The Empress slowly raised her finger and pointed at Olivia.
"Me?" Olivia was stunned.
"Go on," Bella, who stood beside her, whispered.
Olivia nodded, took three steps forward, and bowed. The Queen moved her finger and pointed at the other nine, most of these girls were the one who didn't say anything impolite to the boy earlier.
Olivia was confused. 'Why wasn't Bella picked? And I thought she would pick all the noble misses? Why did she pick commoners? I know this competition was designed for this reason, to separate the talented from the fools... But she only picked two noble ladies, with me being the first... Oh well, I can't question the Empress's decision.' she thought.
The nine other girls stood on either side of her, their heads bowed.
"You ten will become my personal maids... And the rest of you," she looked at the forty girls behind the ten, "Some of you will be disqualified, while others will be picked by my son."
"Disqualified?" The girls were stunned, and the lady who had been disgusted by the boy spoke up. "Sorry for my rudeness, Empress... But the imperial butler said the test and competition is over."
"So after the competition is over, you show your true personality?" the Empress asked with a frown.
".....?!" The girls were confused by the question.
The Empress stared at them, then sighed softly. "Why don't you first apologize to my Son, then I might forgive you and your families," she said.
"Son?"
"Does she mean the Crown Prince?"
"Why should we apologize? We would never go against the Crown Prince."
"Yes... There must be a mistake---"
The girls, including Bella and Olivia, froze in shock as the same boy who had been covered in mud and dirt walked back inside. But now... he was cleaned up, and a crown was on his head.
".....?!"
The group watched as he stopped before the King and Queen, staring straight at them.
"This?" The girls were dumbfounded.
"The... No... You look nothing like the prince," the girl stammered.
Matilda remained silent, her expression calm.
Sunny raised his hand, took the crown off his head, then removed the wig he was wearing... He then pressed a button on a remote, removing the disguise.
"How about now?" he asked.
"...?!!!!"
Seeing the real prince before them, some of the girls collapsed to the ground, their faces pale with fear.
"We... We insulted the Crown Prince."
"How... How come, so I failed?"
"My parents will kill me."
"Only if the royal family spares us."
"Spare us? There is an iron rule, anyone who insults a royal family must be beheaded."
"It seems Lady Matilda and that country girl won."
The girls muttered to themselves, all terrified.
"Don't worry, although I want you all to be punished, nothing will happen to you... After all, this is a competition," the Queen said with a smile, placing her hand on Sunny's shoulder.
"Dear... Make your choice," she said.
"Mom, Dad... Can I have only one?" Sunny asked, looking up at his father and mother.
"Of course, dear," his mother answered with a smile.
"Then I choose her," he said, pointing at a girl.
All the girls, including Olivia and Bella, turned to the girl in shock. She was the only meek girl in the competition; she always had a low score, and with her quiet personality, no one got close to her, not even Bella, who was focused on winning.
'This?! Why did he pick her?' Olivia thought in shock, turning to her friend.
'Oh, Bella.' She stared at her friend, whose head was still held high, not budging an inch.
"Okay then... Those whose names will be called will be out of the castle, meaning you are eliminated," the butler said, stepping forward with his notebook.
All the girls listened as he started calling names, and in less than five minutes, thirty names were called... Leaving only nine girls standing.
"The guards will lead you out, and you'll also get the same reward as the others, 5,000 galaxy crystals," he said.
The girls stood up and silently walked out of the garden, following the guards, leaving behind the nine girls whose names hadn't been called.
"Okay... You girls should follow the butler; he will take you to your rooms... The nine of you will become the maids of the castle," the Queen said, her gaze moving to Bella.
'I picked Matilda to keep an eye on her... I should have picked Bella, but she is just too special,' she thought, her gaze shifting to Matilda, who stood beside Olivia.
The nine nodded and followed the old butler.
_____
"These are your rooms; there are beds in here for each of you," the butler said, turning and walking away.
The first girl took a step forward and opened the door, revealing a huge bedroom, large enough to be a hall.
"Oh my god!"
"Wow... So big!"
"Is this room just for maids?"
The girls were shocked as they rushed inside.
"Miss Bella, come with me."
"Huh?" Bella stared at the butler, who walked away without another word... She looked at the other girls and quickly followed him.
"Do you know where I am taking you?" the old butler asked.
"No, Sir," Bella answered in a low voice.
The butler nodded, saying nothing else.
______
The two made countless turns before stopping before a silver door with a star engraved on its surface.
"We are here." He opened the door and gestured for her to enter.
Bella stared at him, then with hesitant steps, she walked inside. The butler closed the door behind her.
".....?!"
Bella was stunned, staring at the six people in the room. Four were seated, while the other two were standing... One was the same girl Sunny had picked, while the other was none other than Olivia. Judging by her look, she was also confused.
"What?" Bella was so stunned she was at a loss for words.
"Sit down," the King said in a calm tone.
"I won't dare, Emperor!" Bella said, already covered in sweat.
The Queen chuckled, stood up, and walked toward Bella. "You don't have to be scared, dear," she said, placing a hand on Bella's shoulder.
Bella blinked, utterly lost.
"My brother-in-law told us what you did in the city... Helping the kid on the street," she said, gesturing to Vancouver, who sat beside Sunny.
"Kid?" Bella was getting even more confused.
"That kid was sent on a mission," the Queen suddenly revealed, shocking the three girls in the room.
"Let's say, he was part of your test," she explained, turning to Vancouver.
"He was the one to place the kid there... To tell the truth, we also have no idea he made his own test... Maybe he just loves his nephew that much." The Queen smiled and continued:
"Didn't you wonder why it happened close to the castle? That way, none of you girls would miss it... But out of all of you, only three of you stopped and helped... But in different ways." She looked at the two girls, walked back, and sat down.
"Yes..." Vancouver continued, "Olivia helped by paying the men for the money the kid stole, while Miami took the boy and ran... That was funny, though." He chuckled and continued:
"Lastly... You." He looked straight at the still-shocked Bella.
"You not only solved the issue, you taught the men a good lesson... Truthfully, I actually thought you would walk away, but you went for a stick and jumped into the midst of the men, swinging it like a crazed girl... I was shocked. But you not only dealt with the men, you also warned the kid and gave the money to the owners. Not only that, you also gave the kid money."
Vancouver brought out the pouch of money Bella had given the boy, with the money Olivia gave to the men and placed it on the table.
"David was so touched by your generosity that he even wants you to be his elder sister," he said with a smile, adding:
"I investigated your family after that test and discovered you have two siblings, a younger sister and brother, and your family's situation isn't good." He turned to Sunny.
"This is where my nephew came in... He said your family will be taken out of their situation and your debt will be paid in full... From today onwards, your family will be under the protection of the royal family!" he said.
"I... I..." Bella dropped to her knees.
Her sister was only five years old, and her baby brother was just a month old... But with the royal family helping, they would be safe and would live a good life.
She kowtowed to the four. "Thank you, I will find a way to repay this kindness," she said.
Sunny stood up, walked toward her, and offered Bella his hand. "Come on, as my friend, you shouldn't be on your knees," he said.
Bella looked at his hand, then at Sunny's face... She slowly reached out and took his hand, and he helped her to her feet.
"Thank you," she said.
"Okay... Good! Now that this is settled, let's talk about your two jobs," Vancouver said, turning to Olivia and Miami.
"Please, can you take the kids with you?" he added, turning to the Queen.
"Yes." She nodded, stood up, and walked toward Sunny and Bella.
"Come on, you aren't old enough to know this." She placed her hand on both their shoulders and led them out of the room.
"When you are ready, just ask Vancouver, and call this name: Lester Blood," she whispered to the two of them as they walked out the door.
Sunny and Bella looked over their shoulders at the four before the door closed.