The royal heir had been searching for several years for a girl with the perfect waist and forced every candidate to undergo a strange test with a huge golden hoop; when a very full-figured girl stepped into the center of the hall, everyone around her began laughing and insisting that the hoop would not even fit over her 😧
But just a few minutes later, the prince did something that left everyone frozen in complete shock 😳
For almost four years, the same unusual selection had been held regularly at the palace.
The heir to the throne was named Damian. It was long past time for him to marry, so girls came to the palace from all over the kingdom: daughters of wealthy merchants, aristocrats, foreign beauties, and even young women who had been specially prepared for months to meet the prince.
But Damian had one strange condition.
He wanted to personally check how perfect the proportions of his future wife were.
For this purpose, the court craftsmen made a huge round hoop out of wood and gilded metal. There were special markings inside it, and the hoop was placed around the waist of every candidate.
The girl had to stand straight, pull her shoulders back, and remain still for several seconds while the master measured her proportions.
No one really understood why the prince attached so much importance to this.
Because of it, the girls practically went crazy before each new selection. Some barely ate anything for months, others wore extremely tight corsets, while others hired the best instructors and trained every day just to make their waists look even slimmer.
Some even fainted right before the test because they had barely touched food for several days.
But Damian still chose no one.
He carefully watched as the master placed the hoop around the girl, observed her for a few seconds, asked her two or three questions, and then calmly said:
— Thank you. Next.
And so it continued for years.
The advisers were already beginning to grow irritated because no one could understand what exactly the heir wanted.
One day, another grand selection was held at the palace. Several dozen girls in luxurious dresses gathered in the main hall, while courtiers, relatives of the candidates, and numerous guests stood along the walls.
Damian himself sat on a raised platform and showed almost no emotion.
One girl followed another. On some of them, the golden hoop seemed to fit almost perfectly.
The courtiers whispered that this time the prince would finally choose a wife, but once again he merely nodded to the master and asked him to invite the next candidate.
Then suddenly, at the very end of the line, a girl appeared who immediately drew everyone’s attention. Her name was Rosaline.
She was very full-figured, with wide hips, a rounded stomach, and plump arms. She wore a simple light-colored dress without a corset and made absolutely no attempt to hide her figure.
When Rosaline confidently walked into the hall, several girls exchanged glances and began to laugh.
— Did she really come for the waist test?
— Did anyone even explain to her what they do here?
— That hoop won’t even make it down to her waist.
The laughter grew louder and louder.
One young courtier even looked at the huge wooden circle and said mockingly:
— Looks like the master will have to bring a bigger hoop.
Another burst of laughter followed.
Rosaline heard every single word perfectly, but she kept walking forward with a completely calm expression.
When she approached the master, he was visibly confused.
For several seconds, he looked back and forth between the girl and the hoop, then awkwardly said:
— My lady, I’m afraid this hoop was made for different measurements.
— I can see that, — Rosaline replied calmly.
— Then why did you come?
The girl smiled slightly.
— Because the invitation was for all unmarried girls in the kingdom, not just the slim ones.
After those words, several people laughed again, but much more quietly this time.
The master carefully tried to place the hoop over Rosaline, but it almost immediately became clear that it really was too small.
He stopped and looked at the prince in confusion.
Everyone waited to see what Damian would do. His action made everyone freeze in shock 😨😧 The continuation of the story can be found in the first comment 👇👇
But the heir suddenly rose from his seat. In four years of selections, he had almost never done that. The hall instantly fell silent. Damian slowly walked down the steps and approached Rosaline.
For the first time, the girl looked visibly nervous, but she did not look away.
The prince watched her for several seconds, then turned toward the other candidates.
— Over these years, hundreds of women have stood before me, — he said calmly. — Many of them had exactly the measurements that are considered perfect here.
The girls began exchanging glances.
— But almost every one of them walked in here frightened. One worried about her stomach, another thought her hips were too wide, a third apologized for gaining a few kilograms. Even women who fit this hoop perfectly still found something wrong with themselves.
After those words, no one was laughing anymore.
Damian looked at Rosaline again.
— And you came here knowing perfectly well that this hoop would not fit you.
— Yes, Your Highness.
— And you knew people would laugh at you?
— I suspected they would.
— Then why did you come anyway?
Rosaline was silent for a moment.
— Because I am not going to spend my entire life hiding just because someone does not like my body. I know what I look like. I do not consider myself perfect, but I am not going to be ashamed of myself either.
The prince suddenly smiled.
Then he took the golden hoop from the master’s hands and placed it on the floor.
— Then the test is over.
The adviser immediately rushed up to him.
— But, Your Highness, she did not even pass the test.
Damian calmly replied:
— On the contrary. She is the only one who has truly passed it in all these years.
A surprised murmur swept through the hall.
The prince stepped even closer to Rosaline and held out his hand to her.
— I never needed a woman with the smallest waist. I needed a woman who does not build her entire life around other people’s opinions and does not hate herself just to please me.
Rosaline stared at him in astonishment.
