The interviews continued unabated despite the security risk. I decided to sit in the garden with each contestant so that we could speak candidly about what they wanted from this, and so that I could press them for information about what was going on around the palace in search of a hint of what to do next.

The first two left little impact on me and walked away with slumped shoulders. They both knew they were not making it to the next round, as they fumbled through the conversation and struggled to come up with aught of interest to relay. That was impressive given that I was the one taking the lead!

The third boy was a year older than me. He had messy blonde hair and freckled cheeks. His name was Felix, and I remembered him because of his somewhat confrontational tone during the first discussion in the meeting room.

“Good evening, Lady Maria.”

“And the same you, Felix.”

In his eyes, remembering that name was more than the others had gotten out of me, but whether he wanted to win this contest or not was an open question. It was never easy to presume that any of them were genuinely hopeful that they could land a marriage at this age. It was a lot of commitment even when they were hammered over the head with messages about how important it was.

“This may be rude of me to say, but I’m impressed at the number of suitors you’ve accumulated with your letter. Every branch of the great family tree was alight with excitement about pairing you with their wayward sons.”

“It is an astute observation, but would you consider yourself wayward?”

Felix gripped the edge of the table, “I certainly don’t have any solid plans for the future. My father speaks of taking a safe seat in parliament – but my uncle insists that no man wishes to see a Van Walser running for an elected position at this moment in time.”

That would be a few years into the future after he left schooling, and his uncle was correct. The association with the royal family would be a drag on his appeal to many voters. If the party that took him on had a primary process – it was likely that he would lose and never get on the ballot versus a safer option. The parties also had their interests and powerbrokers, and there was no guarantee that they would sacrifice a safe seat to someone outside of the club.

“Are you interested in politics, by chance?”

“Yes, but not as a candidate. I’ve been enjoying the political history and sciences lectures at the academy. It’s intriguing to me.”

“Then perhaps the more astute path to walk would be one where those skills could be put to use.”

Felix shook his head, “My father would never agree to that. He never shuts up about how much he despises the ‘intelligentsia.’ He’d have a heart attack if his eldest son asked to become a lecturer of history at one of those ‘worthless’ universities.”

Yet he was perfectly fine with sending his son to an expensive boarding school where those same intelligentsia educated him on all manners of things that stuck-in-the-past nobles hated. The one aspect that unified all of these people was rank hypocrisy.

“What do you want to do, besides marrying one of our unfortunate lot?”

Of all the questions he could have asked, he somehow stumbled across the one for which I did not have a good answer. Even my lies didn’t sound convincing in my head. I was going on a day-by-day basis – dealing with crises and trying to stay alive when the world was going to hell.

“I am uncertain. One day I will be responsible for all of the businesses that my father manages now, and that will surely demand much of my time and attention. I do not expect to have a choice in the matter besides.”

It it was a position of immense power and influence, but I expected to meet a grisly end before that ever became a part of my personal calculus. It was too much of a reward for the likes of me, living a life of privilege and comfort.

“My father always says that industry is the heart and soul of our society, more than politics and royalty.”

“He is correct. The biggest changes to towns and cities across Walser do not occur at the behest of politicians. Where factories are built the railroads follow, as do the homes that house the workers and the other businesses that they become customers of. In my eyes building such a thing is more effective in bringing change than any election that has been held in the past decade.”

Felix’s eyes trailed down to the table, “Is that not a touch sad? All of that sacrifice and fighting – and the outcome has not had the impact that anyone expected.”

“I think that one day parliament will become more important, if that is what you mean. Other nations are following on Walser’s wake with every year that passes. People are demanding to become to masters of their own destiny, to project a national image of their own that is disconnected from royalty or religion.”

A lot of what I was saying flew over his head. That was all spoken from the perspective of someone who was over a hundred years ahead of where this world was at now. It was easy for me to chart the path of history as these major changes swept across the world – but for the people on the ground it was all too big and obscured for them to understand.

The ‘marriage interview,’ which had devolved into us lamenting about our lives of fabulous wealth and comfort, was rudely interrupted by the arrival of one Theodore Van Walser. Wearing a long coat and reading a book, he waltzed through the rear doors of the patio and blindly walked past where we were seated.

I didn’t think anything of it, but Felix did. He stood out of his chair and pointed at him with an accusatory finger.

“Theodore, bugger off!”

He looked up from the book and shrugged, “What? I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you are. You’re walking past on purpose! You want to distract us while we’re talking about the betrothal.”

Felix stepped down from the pavilion and got into his personal space. This was a battle of fragile egos – and Felix had gotten off to a bad start by being the one to blow up at Theodore for the grave offence of walking by without paying attention to what we were doing. Felix seemed to believe that I was so stricken by his appearance and status that he was already screwed out of the running.

“I was not even aware that you were involved, Felix.”

“Say all of the damn excuses you please, but I am not buying them! How many times has this happened now? Some young lady in waiting visits the palace and you have to make a show out of yourself, without fail, every time!”

Theodore snapped his book shut and turned to face him fully, “That is a very unbecoming accusation.”

The tone in his voice was grave and deep, it was part of the reason why he commanded so much respect and awe at the academy. All of the students saw him as the most mature.

“Why do you always feel the need to meddle in everyone else’s business?”

“I’m not meddling. I was simply walking by until you called attention to my presence.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“That’s more than enough for most the girls who visit the palace for interviews! Every single time, without fail, you gormlessly wander past during a meeting and they’re immediately smitten with you. You don’t even have the good manners to accept their proposals when they turn to your door.”

“Then surely your claim fails to pass muster? If I were so interested in stealing these maidens from you, would I not accept their offers?”

“It’s not about that. You’re just happy to keep the rest of us at the bottom of the ladder so we can rot! You’re never going to have to scrap and claw for a lady of good breeding, that’s for sure.”

Theodore’s arc in the game was fairly straightforward. He was the third child in line for the throne, he felt inadequate compared to his brothers, yet he refused to utilise his station to fulfil his ambitions. Maria manipulated him into becoming her partner in crime at the academy with a surface-level relationship designed to polish their images and little else.

Samantha would become friends with him during her conflict with Maria and he’d learn a life lesson about forging his own path. It was all saccharine and very on-the-nose, exactly the kind of plot one would expect from a romance-focused visual novel. He had to be sympathetic enough for the player to want to see his route, but have a hard edge so that he contrasted the other male characters.

None of that had happened in this timeline, nor was it going to. Theodore has remained in the same place he started because I derailed all of that. Samantha was my friend, we’d never butted heads at the academy, and I never intended to ensnare him in a fake relationship to varnish my reputation.

“There’s no need for you two to argue,” I interrupted, “Theodore and I are already acquainted.”

Felix scowled, “So it’s already too late. You’ll be lavishing him with praise soon enough, I’m sure of that.”

“You’re welcome to withdraw from the marriage contest if you feel that way,” I snapped in response.

The ice in my voice made him sit up straight in his seat. Felix’s face spoke of the internal uproar that was happening in his head. That was the wrong thing to say when dealing with a lady you were trying to marry; accusing her of infidelity or not taking it seriously before you even get deep into the running.

I wasn’t taking it seriously – but he didn’t know that.

“I apologize. Theodore is blessed with... good looks.”

And he was third in line for the throne. While it was unlikely that he’d sit on the throne before he died of old age, it was still a position of significant leverage that would have every ambitious noble slobbering like a hungry beast at the thought of it. No wonder they dropped everything and pursued him.

“You needn’t sweeten your words for my sake, Felix. They are not interested in my good looks or my intelligence or manner. They simply see me as an opportunity to get closer to Father.”

“No, no. They all say the same thing. All of those girls go along with their parent’s demands because they believe you’re the most handsome member of the family,” Felix contested.

I had no horse in the race of who the most handsome royal was, but Theodore had that reputation in the game and in this world for a reason. The boy looked like a statue – with perfectly proportioned features and flowing hair. The ‘appeal’ of Theodore in the game was that he was supposed to feel unattainable, that he was too perfect to date a commoner like Samantha.

“I can assure you that Lady Maria is not one to place all of her value in one’s appearance. Rather, she seems to weigh the status and looks of others very little when she is speaking with them at the academy.”

Theodore was astute. He had noticed that I was polite to everyone unless they annoyed me. He would not have called that out if he didn’t also believe that it was exceptional in some way. In his eyes, it went beyond being taught good manners by my father.

Felix turned to me, “Is that true?”

“I’ve always been a poor judge of my behaviour, but I do try my utmost to treat everyone with respect and fairness. I am certainly not smitten blind by Theodore.”

Was he happy to hear me say that? It must have been a relief to find a noble girl who wasn’t chomping at the bit to lock a ring on his finger as quickly as possible. Felix’s face lit up like the fourth of July.

“And just so you know, girls don’t like that jealous act. It’s offputting.”

And he slumped over again, defeated.

Theodore adjusted his reading glasses, “The only reason I’m out here in the garden is because they’re making a lot of noise inside at the moment. There appears to be some kind of security panic that has them flustered.”

“Security panic?” Felix repeated, “I bet one of the ladies-in-waiting found a mouse in her room again, and all hands have to be mustered to catch it.”

“I’m afraid that the ladies-in-waiting have been told not to summon the guards for banal reasons like those. I suspect that it is a serious matter.”

“And we’re still performing these marriage interviews?”

He turned to me. I offered my perspective, “Mister Fleur warned me that there was an incident with an intruder earlier. I said that I was happy to remain here in the safe hands of the Royal Guard. I see no reason to pack my things and flee the palace. It must have been a vagrant who wandered inside.”

I was the one who knocked him out, but they didn’t know that.

I had to find out who he was leaving those packages for, as well as locate and remove them before they could be used against Thersyn and his family. It could have been any manner of assassination tool, although if Farnham was able to sneak through with a gun on his person – then there must have been a good reason for them to smuggle them through the on-site post office.

It didn’t get much more conspicuous than a gun, but perhaps the assassin they sent was hoping to ensure that it was not a suicide mission. Some variety of poison was my next best guess. But Thersyn would have a taster who risked their life to avoid that kind of attack, and the killer would know that he would not eat anything he was given before that test was performed.

But all of that was additionally contingent on the assassin thinking this through rationally and coming to the same conclusions that I was. Nothing so convenient could be relied on when there was a clear and present danger. I had to go outside the box and consider the facts that made this world unique and different to my own.

If not a gun or poison, then what? There were magical items like Adrian’s watch that could possess a variety of powerful effects. It was possible that Welt and his benefactors possessed an item that could make killing Thersyn an easy job. All they had to do was get it into the property.

There was a key benefit to that plan. The item would look inconspicuous if someone were to open and investigate the package for foul play. Farnham was given them to deliver to a different spot in the palace without being seen. The assassin would be visiting to pick up his tools.

Welt knew about the Horr. His attempts to squeeze information from Genta were foiled by his stubbornness, but there were still surviving cult members who possessed that information. The package could have contained a bag of blood and instructions on how to create a summoning circle. Unleashing a demon into the palace was imprecise but deadly.

There were other esoteric possibilities too. This was a world of magic, and strange creatures as an extension. My knowledge of what could be utilised to kill a person was limited considering the sheer size and scope of the world that surrounded me. Finding information wasn’t as easy as opening my laptop and searching for it either. I had to dive deep into books and archives, and corroborating the information within was difficult.

“I’ll be on my way. Good luck, Felix.”

Theodore bowed his head and took his leave, punctuating the end of a tumultuous marriage interview for Felix. I could sense that he felt he had completely wasted his chance to make a good impression on me. It was lucky for him that I had no intention of picking a winner in the first place. That would be better for his ego on the other side of it all.

We headed back to the sitting room where the others were patiently waiting for their turn. However, it turned out that one of them had spied Theodore walking through the gardens, and an air of inevitable doom had cloaked the space. Why did they believe that I was so easily swayed by someone just because of their good looks? It was insulting.

“Is this the waiting room or a funeral parlour?” I commented bleakly.

Felix put his hands on his hips and shook his head, “Is this because of Theodore?”

“It’s over!” one of the bachelors cried, “We can’t compete with him!”

“She’s going to dismiss all of us right now. I can feel it in my bones.”

A murmur of agreement travelled across the room and into my ears. Felix was one to talk when he immediately launched into an argument with the guy because he walked past us on accident a few minutes before.

“I have no intention of ending the process here and chasing Theodore down the garden. Is there anybody who is not presently too busy wallowing in their self-imposed inadequacy to take the next block of time?”

None of the boys stood from their seats. What the hell was going on around here?

“I think Mister Fleur will have to come and talk some sense into them,” Felix suggested.

I sighed, “Mister Fleur is busy with the security problem, is he not?”

I did need to go and find out what Franklin was doing. He still hadn’t returned to the sitting room long after I anticipated him to be done dealing with the Farnham issue. This was a good excuse to step out for a while and see what was going on. I snapped my fingers and tried to get their attention, but they only groaned and swayed from side to side like a pack of zombies...

The decision was made for me; “Very well. Let’s go and find him. They’re all catatonic anyway.”

Felix had a sour expression, and none of the other suitors noticed as we slipped through the door and closed it behind us. I had a good idea of where Fleur and Franklin could be. They were likely loitering by the room where we trapped Farnham earlier. I took off and Felix followed closely behind me.

I also kept my eyes peeled for any suspicious packages along the way.