The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0290
Terry continued, listing each girl as well as the points they earned.
Toward the end, he said, “Susie. Two points.” He offered no explanation. Susie looked relieved.
“As for our final candidate,” Terry began. I held my breath because by now, I was the only one who had yet to be mentioned. “I
recommend the royal family dismiss her from the competition entirely.”
My breath caught. Some of the other girls turned to look at me. I wanted to crawl out of my skin.
Terry looked straight at the camera, as if speaking directly to the viewers at home. “This woman attempted to seduce me in my
own home. She flirted relentlessly. When I attempted to refute her, she grew violent.”
He turned toward the royal family. “Please. I implore you. For the sake of the competition... For the good of the kingdom...
remove this girl that has been nothing but a blight among us.”
The Luna nodded, clearly agreeing.
The King frowned, seemingly less sure.
Beside me Nicholas started growling.
I felt numb, like I was trapped inside of a nightmare. This couldn’t be reality. He couldn’t have just stood up there on that stage
and insisted to the entire world that he was the one who was wronged. That I was the one who attempted to assault him, and not
the other way around.
In the King’s hesitation, the Queen stepped forward. “Bring Piper to the stage,” she demanded.
Guards began to weave through the crowd.
Nicholas tugged me behind him. As the guards came close, he snarled, “F ucking try it, and I’ll tear your throat out.”
The guards seemed unsure, their brows crumpling.
“I said, bring her to the stage,” the Queen said again, more forcefully.

The guards began to inch forward again. The hierarchy was clear. In the royal family and beyond, the Queen’s word weighed
more than the prince’s.
Nichol a s’s growl became louder. His body tensed. His hands curled like they might become claws.
+15 BONUS
It was strange. Maybe it was the anticipation of seeing Terry, or the knowledge that he was in the same building, but my nerves
pri ckled since coming here. Even with Nichola s’s closeness, I could not release the tension of my shoulders.
All too soon, Nathan cleared his throat and the event began. It felt more informal, compared to the rest. The candidates were in
our nice gowns, with our hair and makeup done in the modern fashion. But there were no other guests, and no fanfare.
The royal family came in them, Terry among them, with Julian sauntering along behind.
When I saw Terry, my stomach clenched uncomfortably.
The royal family all moved onto the stage, sans Nicholas who stayed beside me as promised.
On the stage, the Queen was standing between the King and Terry, though she was physically much closer to her brother than
her husband, almost as if an invisible barrier has separated her and the King.
The King did not look at her once while he stood there, nor did he so much as glance at Terry, even, after his introduction, Terry
began speaking.
“I will now reveal the distribution of points for the evening event at my mansion. The points were accrued through the candidate’s
decency as a dinner guest, including politeness, demeanor, and general likeability.”
A skewed scoring criteria for sure. Terry would just arbitrarily assign points to whoever het felt like, to hell with the rest. I could
only imagine the type of mind games he wanted to play with me. Would he assign me many points or only a few?
The points would go toward our standing. Those with more points would do better in the overall competition.
I wasn’t ready for this. I wished I could escape back to my room.
Terry cleared his throat. “Only one candidate received full points. This woman is not only a delight to converse with, but a beauty
to watch. Congratulations, Olivia.”

The candidates and royal family politely clapped.
Olivia smiled graciously, though she didn’t seem all that surprised.