My Selection | JENO

Chapter 1

Kang Nara was the princess of Illea, the beautiful country ruled by her parents. As the only child, she was automatically the only heir to to the throne. Her parents, the King and Queen of Illea had tried hard for more children, but they had no luck. This made Nara the first ever female heir to the throne.

When Nara was younger, her days consisted of etiquette lessons, learning the proper way to sit, stand, and talk. As she got older, those lessons turned to meetings with the King and his council, learning about the politics within the country. These lessons were all to prepare Nara for the day that she will rule over the country.

That day, Nara was making her way to her father's meeting room for her weekly meeting with the coutries officials. She wore a lightblue collared dress, her white heels clicking as she walked through the halls.

She greeted her father as he stood outside the room, waiting for his daughter to enter together.

"Nara, you look beautiful today." Nara's father, the King said as he smiled at her.

"And you look dashing as always." Nara said, giving her father a wink as she took his arm.

"My daughter's humour never changes. Let us go inside." The King said. The King's men opened the doors for the two of them, and the officials quickly stood up to greet the royals.

"Please sit." The King said once he had taken his seat. Nara sat beside her father, the Commander of the Royal Guard on the other side of him. The rest of the officials quickly took their seats.

The meeting proceeded as usual, reports from each of the thirty-five provinces, updates on the country's budget, a bit of celebrity gossip, and lastly, the welfare of the people.

"It seems as though the people are uneasy." The Commander said, fiddling with the pen in his hand as he read his notes in front of him. "There has been more crimes this past month than ever before."

"It's like they're bored and have nothing better to do." One official said.

"Are you suggesting something?" The King asked him. The official shrugged his shoulders.

"It's been a while since the country has been excited about something." The official said in response. The King looked towards the Commander who sighed deeply.

"We think it's time for another Selection." The Commander said.

Nara froze in her seat as the last word echoed through the room.

The Selection, a competition that is supposed help the heir to the throne find their partner for life. Thirty-five men from the thirty-five provinces of Illea will compete to win the heir's heart and to be the next ruler of the country.

Her father had one. Her grandfather had one. Her great-grandfather and all the other heirs of the throne had one. Nara was hoped she would be an exception as the first female heir, but judging by the stares she was getting, they weren't going to let her go that easily.

The King leaned back in his seat. "A Selection, you say?" The King said, rubbing his chin. The Commander nodded.

"Illea likes seeing the royal family on television. Your Selection brought quite a tremendous amount of joy to the country, as did you marriage and the birth of the princess. It's been twenty years since then and the people are anticipating it." The Commander said.

"This would also be the first selection with male suitors." Another official added. The King turned to face his daughter.

"Nara, what do you think?" Her father asked her.

Nara was honoured that her father was giving her the final say but as she looked around the room at each of the members sitting around the meeting table, she knew she had to keep her duty as the princess and heir to the throne.