My Charlotte Hates Me

Chapter 35: Night Sky

Eli had come into my office looking irritated the next day. I predicted that we would be causing a scene soon, so I ask that everyone else in the room go home early today.

I soon got up from my desk and walked towards him with a smile.

"How can I help, Your Majesty?" I asked.

"Why did you deliver me the portraits of several ladies and leave them in my office?" Eli asked.

This morning, I had left the portraits of several young ladies and their portfolios for Eli to see.

"For what other reason would I leave them for you to see? I want you to choose a young lady from the ones I have selected to become your fiancée," I said.

"...Without asking for my opinion?" Eli asked.

I tilted my head slightly out of confusion.

"I am asking for your opinion though? You get to choose out of a variety of beauties. Any one of them would be happy to become your fiancée [or my Court Lady]," I said.

Eli rubbed between his scrunched eyebrows and frowned.

"I do not need a fiancée...I am perfectly fine as I am now," Eli said as he loosened his expression.

"...This is not a personal matter, but rather, a political one that needs addressing while you are in the midst of solidifying your position," I said as I placed my hands on his face and pulled him towards me.

Most importantly, I want him to be happy.

"...Getting engaged will help me?" Eli asked.

"You will need the support of several families...A female partner can help you with gaining the connections you need to support yourself," I said.

"...I will agree to meet with the people you have chosen," Eli said after a long moment of silence.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," Eli answered.

"That is great news!" I said excitedly as I clapped my hands together.

From how he looked when he first entered my office, I thought that he would be uncooperative.

"I have a few conditions," Eli said.

"Conditions?" I asked.

Eli soon removed my hands from his face and took a large step into my personal space. For whatever reason, I felt slightly intimidated by his overbearing presence and took a few steps back to which he followed after. Before I knew it, my back was to my desk, while Eli had hovered over me with his leg between mine and his hands on my desk, trapping me in all directions.

I could not help but stare back at Eli in a breathless state as I had worried that he might get caught in my exhale from how close he was standing to me.

"...You have to reduce the applicants. I will only accept someone who is stronger, more intelligent, and more beautiful than you," Eli said.

I gulped my saliva out of nervousness for a moment.

"...Why are you using me as the standard?" I asked.

Eli soon backed off and said, "With someone like you by my side all of the time, I think it is only normal that my standards have been raised."

Eli soon turned around to leave and left my office.

I had to take a moment to lean against my desk and sighed heavily while covering my face with my hands.

Why was I...so nervous just then?

In a few days, I had arranged for several candidates to come to the castle in order to test them. Most of the ladies taking part were informed beforehand that this was a test before becoming Court Ladies. As a result, the turnout was much higher than I had expected.