Chapter 09
In front of the entire royal family, a line of unmarried young ladies of marriageable age (including Liliana) was arranged, leaving about five meters of space between them.
Liliana, cleverly, had secured the inconspicuous spot at the very end, farthest from the First Prince.
When members of the royal family seek a partner at a party, the usual procedure is to converse while dancing; if they want to get to know someone better, they might invite them to a balcony or another quiet spot to continue talking. If they like the person even more, they may be invited later to a tea party hosted by the queen, eventually leading to a marriage proposal. But Liliana had never heard of a situation where unmarried young ladies were lined up in a row like this.
The magnificent hall was completely silent, with everyone apart from the lined-up young ladies watching from a distance, curious about what was about to happen.
It seemed that the king had instructed First Prince William to do this, because with a look of complete reluctance, he stood up and, almost unwillingly, walked toward the young lady at the opposite end from Liliana.
One could almost hear someone swallowing nervously.
The tapping of the princeās shoes echoed through the hall, slightly muffled by the carpet, yet still clearly audible in the silence.
About two meters before reaching the line of young ladies, he paused for a moment, then slowly walked along in front of them without ever looking at any of them.
The young ladies tried to appeal in any way they couldāsmiling sweetly, performing elegant curtsiesābut his gaze never shifted in their direction.
Finally, he reached Liliana, who was standing at the very end, and came to a complete stop. Without so much as glancing at her, he left behind the extremely rude words:
āThis will do.ā
Then he swiftly departed from the hall alone.
The young ladies, including Liliana, were left standing there in stunned disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
The first to regain her composure was the queen.
She instructed her aide to bring the young lady he had chosen to a separate room. The aide approached Liliana, who had been indicated, and said:
āPlease, this way.ā
But Liliana, completely unprepared for this turn of events, couldnāt move.
At that moment, Ian hurried over.
āLiliana, what on earth is going on?ā
He placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently back and forth as he asked, but Liliana herself was far more confused, desperate to understand what had just happened.
Meanwhile, the other young ladies slowly returned to reality, murmuring among themselves: āWhy did he choose such a plain girl?ā and similar remarks.
