At that moment, just in that short span of time, I, for a millisecond, had forgotten everything: my mother, Gray, this damn selection, Prince Natsu. For me, in that moment, none of it mattered anymore.

I had completely forgotten about all of it. I didn't want to admit it, but my feminine instinct and the damn competitive spirit were warning me that, among all those competitors, I was one of the ones with the best chance of winning.

(Come on, Lucy, you can do it.)

Lucy thought as she lightly slapped her cheek to focus. After performing that somewhat embarrassing act, she let out a small sigh of relief because the photographer had his back turned. When he turned around, she adjusted herself in the chair and gave a wide radiant smile to the photographer, who then took the picture.

ONE WEEK LATER...

MAGNOLIA

Exactly one week had passed since the day I took that picture, but for me, it felt like I had been waiting for several months. To make matters worse, my mother didn't let a single day go by without bothering me, warning that if I didn't pass, she would send me somewhere else or something worse.

We were all in the living room, eagerly awaiting the announcement that would happen today at eight in the morning on Magnolia's official newspaper. Even though I didn't want to be there at all, I was kind of forced/threatened by my mother. And the worst part was that we still had to gather in that tiny room, sitting on that old and worn-out sofa, almost falling apart, with that brown color that looked more like mud.

Since I couldn't go against my mother's decisions, I just accepted it, it was easier, and besides avoiding unnecessary trouble, I could also shut her up by agreeing to everything she wanted. After accepting her demands, I sat in the center of the sofa. My mother, to make sure I didn't escape that torment, sat next to me. On my mother's side was my father, Jude Heartfilia, and on my other side was my sister-in-law Mira, with my little niece who was already falling asleep in her lap.

The atmosphere in that room was filled with anticipation from my country and my brother, but for me, it was more like a feeling of nervousness mixed with fear, both for the imminent fear of having passed the selection and for being forced to accept all that without being able to do anything.

After letting out a long and tired sigh, Lucy quickly began to scan her tired eyes over the already quite worn walls of the room, trying to clear her mind.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

I kind of knew that no one was obligated to watch the news, but it was kind of foolish not to, especially when, in addition to receiving such important news like the selection, you could also find some work if some rich person needed someone and announced it in the newspaper.

The newspaper was so important that, just to give you an idea, even the 'eights' that is, the homeless and the wanderers who traveled from city to city, never missed a day, especially when it was an official announcement from the royal palace.

My house by itself was already a complete mess, but it got even worse when my mother, who was already a bit... how can I say: crazy, ended up getting very obsessed with this selection thing. And as the date approached, she became even more unbearable than she already was.

The Magnolia Country newspaper was hardly seen by anyone, but that changed drastically when they started broadcasting something or some important announcement about the royal family, after all, it was almost a patriotic obligation for us, as the people who lived there in some way, to honor the royal crest.

I, for example, almost never watched the news. However, there I was, at seven fifty-nine on that rainy Friday morning, being tortured/threatened by my mother, against my will, to watch that damn announcement.

"Do you think they'll announce the participants who managed to pass today?"

Mira asked, with that smile of hers that, for everyone looking from the outside, seemed beautiful and sincere. But for me, who had known her for quite some time, I knew very well that, besides being fake, it could also be very scary when she wanted to threaten in a loving way.

As I thought about it, a chill began to run down my spine, reminding me of the fateful day when she almost scared my brother to death with those lovely, how can I say... sincere smiles.

"I find that very unlikely because in the announcement, they emphasized that the participants would have up to nine days to submit the forms, so we probably won't know for about two weeks."

Layla replied, looking at Mira, who was now braiding my niece's hair. After saying those words, my mother laid her head slightly on my father's shoulder, who, finding it all very cute, turned his face a bit and planted a kiss full of affection on her cheek.

"I can't wait any longer. My curiosity is killing me."

Declared my brother, leaving the kitchen and walking toward the old armchair on the other side of the sofa. After my niece saw her father, she didn't let her mother finish the hairstyle, and she ran towards him, jumping into my brother's arms and sitting in a well-behaved manner on his lap.

"I spend nine months of my life carrying this little thing in my belly, and she ends up going crazy for her father."

Mira said, pretending a small cry of irritation while looking somewhat casually at her daughter, to see if she was paying attention or worried about her. But, to our surprise (or not), she didn't care at all. This ended up making Mira even more indignant. Seeing that she couldn't do anything else, she started braiding my hair since Yumi had given up.

RECOGNITION TO MEMBERS:

Matthew Jimenez🤝 - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MAHAYANA PRISON".

Gkiller ⛩️ - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MALEVOLENT SANCTUARY".