She Belongs To The Devil

King Dragomir was sitting on his throne inside the King's Court. He was wearing his royal outfit and red cape with the dragon emblem as usual. The golden crown was sitting very proudly on his head. A sense of superiority and power was being reflected from the King.

Inside the Court, all of the King's 7 councilmen were present in front of him. They all bowed to the King and the meeting had officially commenced.

One of the councilmen stepped forward and then put forth his concern, "Your Majesty, our youngest Princess has also already turned sixteen years. So we all believe that without any further delay, we should choose an auspicious date for the test of worthiness. The faster we choose the future ruler of this Kingdom, the easier it will be for you."

It was not that the King was not thinking about the test at all. It was just that he was worried about his youngest daughter. The older children had more time to learn about the ways the world works, they were more seasoned and more experienced in every aspect than Adeline.

And King Dragomir was worried that it would be unfair for Adeline and other younger children as well. In a way, their elder brothers and sisters had an edge, a competitive advantage, over the younger ones.

The King stroked his beard and replied calmly, "Can't we postpone the test for a year or two? The younger ones will at least get some time to prepare for the test of worthiness. They have not even been sent out on any missions of the Kingdom yet. They have so much more to learn about the world outside of this Palace."

Another councilman stepped forward and then spoke firmly, "With all due respect Your Majesty, you should not postpone the test any further. Yes, I agree that the younger ones have a lot to learn. But they can keep on doing so even after the test is completed."

The councilmen were mostly all prejudiced regarding the Royal Children. They believed that the best fit future ruler of Wyverndale was either Prince Edwin or Prince Alan. And they had this thought that those born from the concubines were not worthy of the title of future ruler. After all, the concubines came from comparatively less powerful clans than the Queens. And the younger Royal children were all born from the concubines.

Thus, in their eyes, all the strong contenders for the title of future ruler were already well-prepared to take the test. And they did not want to postpone the test just for the sake of the younger ones.

However, the King was still adamant about postponing the test. "All I am saying is that we have to fairly prepare all the Princes and Princesses to make the test unbiased. And it's not like I will die within the next two years to make it harder on all of you. I am just 58 years old, and I am still healthy and capable of ruling the Kingdom for few more years to come."

The councilman bowed to the King apologetically but continued to persuade the King, "I am sorry Your Majesty that is not why we are trying to rush things. We are just trying to rush things because you need to teach everything about this Kingdom and its ways to whoever gets selected."

And then Councilman Gilbert stepped forward to put forth his own view "Your Majesty, if we are to talk about fairness then we also have to be fair with the older Princes and Princesses. Some of them are already approaching their 30s. Now, is it fair to them to make them wait any longer? Their youth and their energy will dry down, while waiting for the test."

Then another councilman immediately added, "Yes Your Majesty, if we are to be fair, then we have to be fair with every one of them."

Even with the immense power that the King had, he was not able to do whatever he pleased. The council was there for the very reason, to keep check and balance on the ruler.

After the pressure from his councilmen, the King finally sighed and agreed to what they had said. "Very well then, call the Royal Astrologer and set an auspicious date for the test. I will then make an announcement to everyone in the Palace."

The King looked at everyone and asked, "Is there anything else to discuss?"

"No Your Majesty that was the main issue that we wanted to bring to your attention today." One of the councilmen replied.

The King nodded and then said, "If so this meeting has ended. Inform me when the date is fixed."

All of the councilmen bowed to the King and then left the court.

After they left, King Dragomir glanced at the court guard and then asked, "Is there any news from the prison guards about the death of that Prisoner?"

The guard slightly bowed his head to the King and answered, "Your Majesty, the guards said that body was taken for examination to the healer. And according to the healer the death was caused because of suffocation. However, there were no marks on the body's neck. And there was also not a single scratch on the body."

King Dragomir rested his hand on his jaw and inquired again, "Hmm… then what have they concluded? Was it a natural death or was there a different reason behind it?"

"Since there were no marks on the body, they concluded that the death was natural." The guard replied.

The King did not ask any further questions. From the examination of the body, nothing suspicious was found and the King also trusted the judgment of the healer and the prison guards. He looked at the court guard and then ordered him, "Ask the soldiers to inform that man's family about his death and hand over the body to them."

"Yes Your Majesty" The court guard bowed to the King and immediately went out of the King's Court to carry out his order.

All of the councilmen handed the task of calling the Royal Astrologer to Councilman Gilbert. He gladly accepted the task as he was one of the junior councilmen and then he sent a messenger to the Astrologer's home.

The Royal Astrologer was from the Guju clan who lived at the outskirts of the village. The first born son from the Guju clan would automatically be selected in that position. And that clan had been serving to the Palace since a long time.

The duty of Royal Astrologer was to predict the possible future events of the Kingdom, look at the stars of the Royal Family and tell them about their future, foresee any possible disasters or wars and help to minimize the damage, etc.

However, King Dragomir was not really a believer of the astrology and never really consulted that much with the Royal Astrologer. And seeing that his work was not much appreciated, Royal Astrologer Kai Guju also distanced himself from the Palace.

The messenger arrived in front of Kai's home. He got off from his horse and then knocked on the door. "Mr. Kai, I have a message from the Palace."

A middle aged man opened the door and greeted the messenger. "I thought I would never get a message from the Palace in my lifetime."

The messenger handed a scroll to the Royal Astrologer and then bowed to him before dashing off towards the Palace.

Kai opened the scroll and read the message out loud, "Respected Royal Astrologer, you are invited to the Palace by the council under the order from His Majesty. You are expected to see for the auspicious date to conduct the test of the Princes and Princesses. You are to be present at the Palace tomorrow at 10 AM."

Kai rolled back the scroll and sneered. "They didn't even remember me for years and now they want my help. Turns out I am not that useless after all."

---

The next day, Kai arrived at the Palace with his astrology books and lunar calendar. The guards led him towards one of the meeting hall which was close to the King's Court.

Inside that hall, all of the councilmen were already present, waiting for the Royal Astrologer to arrive. More than the King, and the Princes and Princesses, it seemed as if the councilmen were in a hurry for that event.

As soon as Kai stepped inside of that hall, all of the councilmen greeted him. All of them were sitting on the cushion on the floor and Gilbert gestured towards the empty cushion at the front and said, "Please take your seat Mr. Kai."

Kai gracefully sat down on the huge cushion and took out all of his required material from his bag. He arranged the books and calendar by his side. And he also took out a chalk made out of rice flour mixed with red color. Then he started to draw some boxes and symbols on the floor.

After drawing, he looked at the lunar calendar and then started to write numbers inside the small boxes that he had drawn.

After doing some careful calculations, Kai looked at all the councilmen who were watching him closely and then puckered his lips.

One of the councilmen noticed the hesitation in Kai's eyes and asked, "What happened Royal Astrologer? Is there any problem?"

Kai sighed and then spoke, "The auspicious day to hold the test of worthiness for the selection of the future ruler would be on the second day after the next full moon. I urge all of you to hold the test on that day no matter what. If you miss that day then there is a chance that no new ruler will be selected in the next 30 years.. You all are lucky that you called me in time."