In many fairy tales, the royal son is sure to ride off to woo a bride in the far-off “thrice-ninth” kingdom—some distant realm. As everyone knows, a fairy tale is a lie, but it contains a hint… For ages, kings and princes, dukes and other rulers searched for brides far from their native lands. Why? Because they didn’t want the bloodline to become diluted. And they also wanted to strengthen their states’ connections with those “thrice-ninth” kingdoms.