"We may not have birthed you but you will be our daughter, one way or another. Start with a scholarship and end as the Queen, any path you take is your choice to make."
In a modern-day monarchy, Ari is every bit a struggling student as any other. T...
Ari let the words play over her mind, I wouldn't mind it if it were you. He would be okay marrying her? Marriage was a big word and the consequences of it, even bigger. To marry someone she didn't know, to allow a political transaction like this, was she even capable of it?
"Your highness," Seokmin's sweet voice brought her back to reality. He gestured to the person in front of him in an outfit that screamed young and rich, "Let me introduce you to my friend and one of the important seats at the Council, Boo Seungkwan."
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Ari smiled politely, "Its wonderful to meet you, Counselor. Seokmin-ssi spoke so highly of you that I couldn't help but want to meet you."
"He did?" Seungkwan asked in disbelief, scoffing to himself, "Seokmin would never praise me. Don't believe anything he says about me, your highness. They're all lies."
"Yah!" Seokmin grumbled in defiance. "When have I ever?" But Seungkwan's disbelief only grew when he made a face causing Ari to laugh. They sure were good friends, all right.
"But the Counselor is right, Seokmin-ssi," Ari pretended, tugging at the lie with a smile, "Its not right to speak ill of your friends." She teased him.
Seungkwan too, joined, "Exactly, your highness. Its a shame Seokmin-ie hasn't understood my importance." The atmosphere around them was light and teasing Seokmin was almost too fun as the time passed. Ari was grateful to find friends among strangers and her happy disposition only helped pave the way. She even got to learn a new phrase along the way, one spoken with a small hand gesture of dropping something, 'If you get emotional, you lose.'
"I like you," Seungkwan said as the evening neared its end. Ari smiled, knowing naturally that he meant he liked her as a Candidate. "You're fun to be around and it's about time someone showed Seungcheol some real competition around here." Leaving for his black Mercedes that had been brought out by the valet, they stood by the gates of the mansion, "Do well, your highness." He explained as if some sort of a subtle warning, "I got here because I took the right risks at the right time. You have my attention now, along with many others that visited today. I only hope that you'll become a ruler worth risking everything for."
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