Lorene listens to the questions and tilts her head, confused.

«I came here as a replacement of the candidate that was initially selected. Asteria thought that not sending anyone would offend Ethiro and the crown, so I was chosen to take the place of the ill lady. I didn't have time to prepare enough about this matter, so I hope you'll forgive my ignorance.»

Oh, as expected. It's a tricky question, and I myself don't know the answer.

She chose not to answer, but this isn't a place where her cute face will make her pass less stressed in such a situation.

«We won't be offended by a wrong answer,» I say. «You may tell us your personal opinion.»

«Opinions can be wrong, your highness. I do not dare to say mine. I'm too young to understand such complex matters as the ruling of an Empire.»

«We are asking you to,» the Duchess points out. «There's no daring and not daring.»

«The Ethiro Empire's Empress's duty?» she murmurs. Then, she raises her head with inspiration. «To give an heir to the throne.»

«Only one?»

«Enough to make the royal family's position stable.»

«That's not wrong,» the Duchess sighs. «But that is what any woman does. Making babies. We wouldn't be selecting an Empress with this long process if it was just a matter of descendants.»

«I will accept your criticism and think about the matter,» she says, pretending to be humble.

«I also have a test,» one of the advisors says.

He's also one of mine. I've given him a set of questions to ask every girl so that they don't think there's something fishy going on. And these are pretty much what will make me prune the names from the list.

«It's audience day. His majesty has just listened to a noble complaining about his farmers not paying taxes in the last few months. The land has been flooded, and the farmers lost all of their livestock. The fields are still drenched. Hence the farmers can't start working. Whose fault is it that his majesty didn't receive the taxes? And also: what would you do if you were advising him?»

«I'm sure that the Empire wouldn't crumble just because of some taxes,» she says. «But at the same time, the law is clear about evasion punishments.»

She thinks about it for some time and then nods to herself.

«I would advise his majesty to postpone the taxes for a later period. The farmers will pay the amount when their work permits them.»

«What about the lord?»

«The lord?» she murmurs.

«He hasn't paid the taxes,» the counsellor points out.

«It isn't his fault if there were floods,» she points out. «He will pay when the money arrives. In the end, it will just mean a few months of delay.»

It's the point of view of a local lord. But she can't think like this if she's the one ruling over them. This is why princesses don't fall into this trap.

This same question has many other traps for princesses: it's not that easy. And there isn't a right answer. Anything can work.

But the point is that the rest of the counsellors can see the girl's character and check how she reacts to unexpected situations.

«Wouldn't that mean that the rest of the lords could use the same excuse?» my proxy continues.

Lorene winces.

«Oh, that wouldn't be nice. I guess that pardoning the debt isn't an option,» she says. «There needs to be a punishment for the delay, right? Maybe, the lord can be sentenced to pay interest on the delayed debt so that he doesn't make it happen again. This way, only unforeseen circumstances will lead to this kind of behaviour.»

«I have finished,» the counsellor says.

«Fine,» I say. «You can go, Lorene. Please, let the lady waiting out there know we're ready for her.»

«Sure,» she says, getting up. «I wish you a good continuation.»

I can see some disappointment in the judges' eyes. They thought they had the perfect candidate, yet it looks like she's not capable of imagining herself as the highest charge of an Empire. Her points of view are those of a lord's daughter, which means she'll be favouring the court nobles or a faction of them.

Three candidates later, it's Caroline Grahm's turn.

She's been educated for this. Her answers are good but not excellent. The time she takes to think is noticeable but not long.

She's trained for this; I knew it.

Even the answer she gives to the hard question seems good at first sight.

«The lord has to be punished. He let the situation go out of control For many months, right? His majesty shouldn't allow the lords to fail like this.»

«What about the people?»

«Taxes need to be paid. It can't be helped.»

Her logic is understandable. She showed us the cold side of her character, and the other people noticed as well.

It's part of the answer to the question Duchess Prim loves to make to random girls.

«What's the role of our future Empress?» I ask her.

«To accompany his majesty through their lives. To offer him support and help any time she's needed but not when she's deemed not necessary. It's a difficult task of finding a balance between being an unnoticeable presence and being too much.»

«His majesty, the Emperor, is the stud around which our Empire rotates. His firmness and wise decisions are already renowned at such a young age. Do you think he needs help?»

«Oh, that's not what I wanted to say,» she replies, opening her eyes wide. She asks me, with her gaze, why am I making things difficult.

«An Empress's duties are to complete his majesty with qualities he has not or can't afford to possess. Compassion and humanness are two of them,» I explain. «There isn't any need to find the best solution that will solve the problem for the crown. The whole council and delegation of officers working for his majesty already do that.»

«I understand,» she nods. «I didn't realise this part of the question. I'm sorry, I didn't hear I had to play the part of the Empress.»

She bows her head with a sad face. A fake one, at that. She even glances at me to check my comforting smile.

«In fact, none of that was said,» the advisor points out. «Most candidates just assumed it on their own.»

«I didn't dare to imagine myself as an Empress. It's not my place, and it won't be unless I'm chosen.»

Her answer satisfies most of the judges, letting them forget her ruthless considerations of a while ago. She smiles at me, grateful that I saved her from the trap I set.

I still need her on the shortlist. It will make Duke Grahm easier to handle. He won't be that eager to invest in the other factions if he thinks he has some serious chances of having his granddaughter as the highest-ranking woman in the Palace.

Another few candidates pass by, including Georgia. She does unexpectedly well. She knows the answers to most of the questions and makes up something for those that she doesn't.

At the critical question, she scoffs and rolls her eyes.

«Lords always make up some excuse to avoid taxes,» she comments. «I guess that cutting his head is not an option, ah?»

The judges hold their breath in dread while Duchess Prim opens her fan for the first time. She hides behind it to giggle.

I'm the only one with a straight face.

If there weren't lords refusing to pay taxes, Alexander wouldn't be travelling right now. Beheading a few until the rest understands what they risk could solve part of my problems...

«Punish him,» Georgia continues. «Make it clear that not paying their fee to the throne means coming short of their duty. It doesn't have to be something painful, but we don't want his majesty to have headaches because of this. Do we?»

The judges nod, surprised by such harsh words coming from a female mouth.

We aren't all that different, by the way. We, women, know how to be cruel as well. It's just that we can't kill directly because of our lack of muscles and, often, of training.

«His majesty's health is more important than some ridiculous amount of money,» Georgia finishes.

Her words are too sincere to be thought of in advance. She's witnessed her own father sweating over similar problems. It seems that being the daughter the King of Myrya dotes on isn't as useless as I thought.

But still, she's not fit to be Empress. She lacks self-awareness.

«You can go,» I say. I think we all heard enough for today.

In fact, no one has other questions for her. They all nod their heads and accompany her walk with their gaze.

«You can tell your sister to come in,» I add.

Let's see if Eliza has the right qualities to be an Empress. Once out, if she passes this phase, I'll move on to more serious plots than making her meet the Emperor in the woods.

But she has to earn it.