Princess, Please Fall in Love with Me-Chapter 31 : Chapter 31

Chapter 31 : Caged Bird, How to Escape the Trap
“Hello, I wish to meet the Grand Duke of Saito's and Knight Kyle.”
Kafu, panting in the garden, watched helplessly as Loka took the silver sword belonging to Her Highness.
He did not choose to seek out the Sixth Princess Yiwen, who was still being tormented by the Empress, but instead turned and arrived outside the residence of the Grand Duke of Saito's.
Years ago, as a shadow guard, Kafu had followed the young lady when she left Saito's Empire.
As someone who had fought side by side with the Grand Duke, he was like an elder to the young lady and young master.
It was precisely because of this that he had agreed to her absurd request.
“Either you don’t tell my father my whereabouts, or I’ll die right in front of you .”
Back then, the young lady was like the Grand Duke in his fiery youth, fearless and bold.
But their experiences were so similar, and when they both reached that point.
“Kafu, it seems I can never go back. My Yiwen, she still lacks the strength to survive in this unfamiliar place. I beg you…”
Even though her voice had faded into the air, the bastard she had placed her faith in still failed to recall her, buried within the palace, leaving only that tender sprout silently watching me.
“Your Highness, I swore to your mother to protect your future with my life. This place is no longer noticed by the Emperor. Please, come with me.”
Kafu had planned to take the little Highness to rest and recover within the country, but the girl clutching the silver sword looked at me with cold, resolute eyes, just like her mother had years ago.
“Kafu, I will stay.”
Yiwen, only six years old, had lost her mother not long before, who had gently caressed her face before passing away, leaving only the silver sword brought from their homeland.
“I will take revenge on them all. I will stand in that person’s place—let him see what his heartlessness brings him. I will make them all pay the price.”
Those who abandoned them, despised them, framed them, abused them, or looked down upon them with disdain—she would spare none of them.
She would prove that she, the most overlooked existence, could replace the lofty king and reach heights the king could never touch.
That stubborn gaze seemed like it was from yesterday, but now a new crisis had already extended its claws toward Her Highness.
Rather than letting her fight alone, the protection of blood ties was always safer.
“Sir, please follow me. The Grand Duke and Mr. Kyle will arrive shortly.”
The situation was urgent, and Kafu dared not think too much.
He hurriedly followed the servant through the gate, but as he observed the direction they were heading, he realized the Grand Duke had never been one for the elegance of taking tea in the garden.
The respectful servant led Kafu to a corner of the mansion, a place not meant for meetings or discussions.
Looking at the unfamiliar servant before him, Kafu instinctively assumed a fighting stance.
“Your Excellency Kafu, why so agitated? Aren’t shadow guards supposed to remain calm and composed, even with a blade at their throats, without so much as a flush? Or have you grown soft serving such a master?”
From among the servants stepped a black-clad figure, a cunning smile visible beneath a silver mask.
Though they tried to conceal it, a glimpse of a gold-embossed griffin badge was still noticeable at their waist.
Meanwhile, though the sun hung high in the sky, its scorching rays forcing the maids to seek shade under the trees, one figure still struggled to move gracefully in the garden’s sunlight.
“Yiwen, your movements are still somewhat uncoordinated. Do it again.”
“This stance looks too crude. Do it again.”
“Do it again…”
The Empress lounged on a reclining chair, haughtily directing the maids to nitpick Yiwen’s etiquette practice.
Yiwen, with a cold expression, repeated the clearly satisfactory movements over and over.
The Empress’s demands were so strict that even she, once the fiancée of the Crown Prince, had never met them herself.
Yet now she imposed these impossibly high standards on Yiwen, her gloating expression showing no sign of relenting.
“Your Majesty, isn’t this a bit…”
The noble young ladies watching the scene grew uneasy, timidly glancing at the Empress’s smiling face.
But a single cold glance from her silenced them, leaving them to stand quietly by.
Naturally, mere daughters of ordinary noble families could not defy the Empress, who was backed by the might of both the Kelake Royal Family and the Clover Family.
Erasing their families from history would be a matter of a few strokes of her pen.
How could they dare oppose her?
“Yileta, what do you think?”
The Empress squinted, sizing up Yileta, who had been observing from the sidelines.
As the daughter of another of the Emperor’s consorts, Yileta came from the weaker Morris Kingdom, but she could not be treated like an ordinary noble’s daughter.
The Empress’s glance at Yileta was also a subtle warning, urging her to mind her own business.
“Your Majesty, I think my sister’s etiquette still lacks a little polish. How about I personally guide her?”
Yileta said with a smile, stepping forward and dismissing the nearby maids.
She began correcting Yiwen’s movements with strict precision, which made the Empress beam with delight.
Since someone was willing to play the villain, the Empress could avoid tarnishing her own image.
If things went wrong, she could still retreat unscathed.
“Why are your hands so clumsy? They’re like the splintering fence in the back garden. Don’t tell me you sneak out through a corner of your palace garden?”
Yileta’s mocking laughter echoed in Yiwen’s ears.
Yiwen said nothing, merely observing her opponent’s hypocritical smile and nodding.
“No way, really? Is there actually a big hole in the corner of your back garden for you to slip through? Those northern gardeners must have ruined such a fine garden.”
Yiwen gracefully completed her final movement, bowing slowly to Yileta in a gesture of thanks not found in the etiquette manual.
While everyone was puzzled, Yiwen swiftly darted toward the garden’s corner.
“Not good, she’s escaping! Stop her!”
The Empress realized something was wrong and called for the maids to swarm forward.
But Yiwen, despite her frail appearance, ran swiftly, weaving through the garden’s haystacks and vanishing from sight.
When the maids searched the area, they were surprised to find a hole in the fence at the garden’s edge.
The corner was so secluded that even the gardeners had overlooked it.
Yiwen had slipped through the gap.
“Where are the guards? She can’t have gone far—catch her!”
The Empress, no longer concerned with royal dignity or grace, grabbed her fan and rushed out of the garden in a fury.
The remaining noble young ladies sighed in relief and quickly left the chaotic scene.
Yileta merely found a shady tree to lounge under, reclining leisurely.
A small scar on the back of her hand, though treated with the finest ointments, still bore faint traces.
It was a mark from when she, as a child, had playfully wandered into the Empress’s garden and was whipped with a vine by her brother for tarnishing the royal image.