"Strip."

Freya never thought once in her life that something this perverted could happen in Odessal. She knew that during the selection process for the new crown princess of the kingdom, girls went through several elimination rounds.

She thought they would be judged by beauty, talent and body shape only but what she didn't realise was that she would have to be naked in front of a group of women.

When the person in front of her emerged from the tent with a dejected look on her face while pulling at her garments Freya was still unaware of what she was walking into.

What made it worse was that that young miss was also in there waiting to torment her. She honestly thought that that girl had left but when she walked into the tent she saw her sitting there with a malicious smile on her pretty face.

Freya bowed politely greeting these women who were staring at her like they were examining a turkey for Thanksgiving at the grocery store.

"Strip," said Isabella excitedly like she had been waiting for this very moment.

Freya furrowed her brows with a look of confusion. Strip what exactly? "Are you deaf? I said strip. If you don't strip now, you can walk out and never come back," said Isabella enjoying every second of it.

Freya pursed her lips recalling what her aunt said to her. She said to her that this journey was going to be the most difficult in her life and could end in misery. Freya needed to be prepared for anything.

She tugged at the half-corset strings and shed all the pieces of clothing one by one. With her back at them, she peeled off her dress her movements unhurried and graceful.

Because of the heat from standing outside for so long the sheer material of her inner garments was sticking to her back from the sweat.

She folded her dress neatly on the wooden rake and turned to face the group of women. With her gaze locked on the matron, she pulled down her inner garments revealing tender white skin and a prominent collarbone.

Isabella wanted to mock her like she did every other girl who walked in before Freya but when she saw the toned muscles on her abdomen she held back. Even she had to admit it looked good. That realisation made her feel irritable.

"You should be part of the queen's guard. That job suits you better. You look like you endured heavy labour since birth. His royal highness can never like someone as stiff as you. It's like sleeping next to a man," said Isabella as two of the women walked over and began to examine her. Freya didn't pay attention to Isabella. She just wanted this to be over and done with.

The matron looked at her face and said, "When it comes to the future mother of Odasal we have special requirements. The offspring that will be bore by the future queen should be normal in every aspect and have the looks of an immortal as they are the embodiment of gods."

As the matron said this the women were inspecting every inch of her body. They examined her face, hair, and skin carefully and checked her body odour. After they were satisfied with the preliminary inspection they started to measure her arms, legs and feet. They even went as far as inspecting her bosom and private parts checking if they were normal and appealing.

Freya closed her eyes her jaw clenched tightly. Such a dehumanizing thing gave her another reason to hate the crown prince even more. To get her through this without blowing her top she imagined the moment she would watch him die a painful death over and over again in her mind.

After it was done Freya pulled her clothes up with an unfeeling gaze. When she was done tying her half corset the matron said, "Congratulations Freya of the Wright family. Please follow Amilda to your temporary residence," with an evil glint in her eyes.

Freya thanked them and followed behind the maidservant she was referring to. As soon as she stepped out of that tent she took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her fingers were itching to drive an arrow into something to alleviate the turmoil in her heart.

As they left the gates of the training grounds, the servant girl known as Amilda tried to start a conversation but her training taught her to read the atmosphere. She could tell he was upset so she didn't say anything and continued walking with her head half lowered. It was because of this that she couldn't react fast enough when someone bumped into her deliberately.

The person pushed her away while yelling, "Don't you see where you are going?" Soon after that, he spewed endless profanities that weren't even worth mentioning as they would dirty people's ears.

When she raised her head and saw it was Prince Kian II's personal attendant she hastily bowed before him her entire body trembling in fright.

Prince Kian ll casually lowered his gaze and issued a command, "Since she has eyes and can't use them then what's the use of keeping them," as he leaned against the tree trunk lazily.

Amilda's face turned pale and her lips quavered so much that she couldn't even plead for mercy.

Freya had seen everything that led up to this moment. She could summarise that this prince was bored and was seeking other forms to entertain himself that included tormenting defenceless little girls.

On instinct, she wanted to reach for her bow but she soon realised where she was. Gone were the days were she would put such evildoers in their place at will. Her aunt told her to keep her head low several times but seeing how pathetic she looked kowtowing at this menace's feet she couldn't ignore it. She had a goal and didn't want to jeopardise that but she couldn't restrain herself.

"Your Highness is rumoured to be benevolent and merciful over those walls but it turns out that isn't the case," she said as she raised her head slowly to meet his gaze.

Prince Kian II who hadn't really paid attention to any of them met the young woman's gaze and his breath lurched that very instant.