The noble girl’s face turned even more red when she heard Zanillia’s laughter behind her. She gnawed on her lips, wishing she could dash out to teach her a lesson. But recalling her earlier embarrassment, she could swallow back her raging anger.

Since the allegation had already been cleared, I walked towards the beautiful girl and thanked her “Thank you so much. If you hadn’t stood as a witness for me, I wouldn’t have known how to liberate myself from her evil scheme.” 

“It’s no problem.” The girl's mouth turned into a smile when she heard my words of gratitude. “I’m also glad to be of help.” 

“Thank you again. My name is Be… I mean Zanillia.” I immediately corrected, stopping myself from blurting out my actual name. 

“Xinger.” The girl also introduced 

“Singer? That’s a nice name.” I flashed a grin as I complimented her. 

“It’s Xinger with the X.” She explained to me nicely.

“Oh.” I then realized that I’d made a mismatch with the first letter of her name and instantly blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I thought it was Xinger with the S.”

“It’s no problem at all, and nice to meet you too, Zanillia.” After the friendly complimentary, Xinger and I parted ways since our short relationship was only that of an aid.

Before long, the thick voice of the guard captain sounded through the whole plaza. 

“Everyone, gather around. His royal majesty has arrived!” At his shout, everyone immediately organized themselves and formed a proper line-up. I also followed suit. 

“Oh my goodness, that’s his majesty!” One of the ladies let out a low squeal due to excitement. 

“I can’t believe that we get to see the king before the commencement of our journey to the immortal realm. This is surreal.”

Low whispers pervaded the whole plaza. I silently stood behind the ladies; my gaze focused on the middle-aged man who was standing on the higher platform of the plaza. The man was dressed in a red luxurious robe, embroidered with the image of a six claws dragon, signifying his identity as a ruler. Standing beside him was his entourage of eunuchs and maids whose duty there was to make his appearance seem even more imposing.

“Silence everyone!” The guard roared out again.

This time with the king’s grandiose presence, everyone present observed a quick taciturn.

Seeing the proper decorum, the king began his speech. “It’s a great honor for me to witness this magnificent change in the history of mankind. Millions of years had passed. A lot of people died in the hope of witnessing this day. Unfortunately, the heaven doesn’t decree so for them. I’m so fortunate that in my time of reign, the immortal realm which has been shut off from the human realm for millions of years would finally open up its sealed gate to the mortal world. Now that the divine decree has come forth to the lord of the seven realms to select his predestined bride from the mortal world, I’ve decided to let the Princess join in the participation of the bride selection to form a strong alliance between the mortal and immortal world.” 

The moment the king ended his speech, the listener below burst out into an uproar. 

“What? No way!” 

“Isn’t that a big kill? Everyone knows that the princess is the most beautiful maiden in the kingdom. Contending against her is the same as a smelly dung next to a fragrant flower.” 

“I previously had my hope up earlier. Now with the princess's participation, I don’t think I’ll ever stand a chance beside her.” 

“This is unfair.” They all grumbled. 

“Enough!” The king roared. “That is all I have to say. I hope that you’ll treat the princess with care and respect during the journey to the immortal realm. Anyone who dares to go back on my order would have every member of their clan executed.”

It was clear that the king was directly threatening them to give up the competition. This doesn’t sit well with the noble ladies. Who doesn’t want to be the bride of the immortal lord? Although a lot of them were dissatisfied with the king’s words, they didn’t dare to voice out their complaint for fear that the king would use them as an example to all. Hence, they could only swallow back their discontentment.