Princess, Please Fall in Love with Me-Chapter 51 : Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Surprise Attack, The Destroyer’s Ball
"Your Highness, I’ll go save that maid you mentioned, but promise me you’ll keep yourself safe. Kafu, you too, watch over the old man."
"I’m counting on you... Uncle."
Yiwen watched Loka leave, how could she not guess that something had happened to Lina?
So, she quietly found Kyle.
Compared to the heavily watched Saito’s Grand Duke and the targeted Kafu, Kyle was more low-key and convenient to act.
After Kyle quietly left, the orchestra’s melody began, and the banquet smoothly transitioned into the dance segment.
Without Loka’s heroic rescue this time, Yiwen simply sat aside and observed.
"Your Highness Yiwen, may I have the honor of a dance with you?"
A young master from some family eagerly approached Yiwen.
Now, not only was Yiwen favored by the Emperor, but her maternal lineage was also immensely powerful, making her a coveted prize in everyone’s eyes.
"Sorry, I’m not in the mood to dance with anyone."
Yiwen turned her head away, bluntly rejecting him without any courtesy.
Seeing others rebuffed, some hopeful young masters could only retreat.
At the center of the dance floor, Emperor Miles personally led Empress Orion in a slow dance under the crowd’s gaze.
Perhaps because today’s events delighted him, the Emperor’s eyes held a bit more warmth toward the Empress.
Yiwen sat in a corner chair, leisurely watching the lively scene.
It seemed such clamor didn’t belong to her, but the smug looks of those people always gave her a sense of disgust.
"Your Majesty, on such a joyful day, why not share this happiness with the children?"
The Empress, leaning into the Emperor’s arms, suddenly whispered tenderly in his ear.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too intimate, or perhaps the Emperor’s mind was swayed by his pillow talk, he inexplicably nodded in agreement.
"Then, my children, come dance with your Majesty, enjoy the blessings this feast brings, and may glory protect you."
Without further ado, the Empress’s attendants were already waiting by the princes and princesses, gently inviting them to the dance floor.
Yiwen, seeing the First Prince grumbling ignorantly, had no choice but to comply.
"Kleo, my eldest son, you start."
At the Emperor’s signal, the Empress led the First Prince to the center of the dance floor.
For the princes, their mother led the dance, while for the princesses, their father, the great Emperor, personally led.
As the First Prince, raised as an heir from childhood, though his character was immature, he had learned basic dance etiquette well under his mother’s urging.
Next was the Second Prince.
The mysterious foreign princess, who had never appeared due to her frail health, finally showed herself.
Her hair, like her daughter Yileta’s, was a pale purple, exuding a faint lavender scent.
The Second Prince held his frail mother’s hand.
The woman’s smile was gentle and serene, her dance calm and mild, elegant yet courteous.
As a princess of a nation, she naturally radiated nobility and grace from within.
"Yileta, my Third Princess, extend your hand."
Soon it was the Third Princess Yileta’s turn, inheriting her mother’s gentle and serene temperament and beautiful, refined appearance.
Though only about fourteen years old, she had already captured the hearts of many young men.
Despite her maternal lineage being a foreign royal family, the vassal state’s status was far less powerful than that of other princes and princesses, and her family could offer her little practical support.
If things continued this way, once the Empress’s position was solidified, she and her brother might only serve as stepping stones to bolster the First Prince, ultimately unable to escape the fate of a political marriage.
"Yes, esteemed Father."
Yileta smiled and extended her hand, following the Emperor’s steps slowly across the dance floor, her gentle demeanor closely matching his movements, fully focused on cooperating with him.
Having understood her situation from a young age, she naturally knew to comply and emulate, catering to those in high positions to earn their mercy.
The Fourth and Fifth Princes each held one of their mother’s hands.
As the eldest daughter of the Oak Family, she had been trained in business experience and tactics from childhood but was sidelined and suppressed by her brother due to her gender, forced to become one of the family’s sacrificial pawns.
Due to the interests between the two major families and the old family head’s authority and seniority, the Emperor treated her with formal respect, their interactions resembling official business.
Thus, despite the Emperor’s occasional attempts to get close to the twins, they remained lukewarm toward him, far closer to their mother and maternal side.
"Yiwen, it’s your turn."
The inevitable couldn’t be avoided.
The Emperor finally looked at Yiwen, who had tried to lower her presence.
By now, every prince and princess had taken their turn, and the crowd tactfully made way for them.
With no choice, Yiwen reluctantly extended her hand, trying to mask the aversion in her eyes.
Just as the Emperor’s hand was about to grasp hers, the chandelier on the ceiling suddenly shattered, plunging the dance floor into darkness.
"What’s going on? Why did it go out? Someone, come!"
The guests, startled by the sudden darkness, scrambled in panic.
Suddenly, a loud scream erupted from the dark, followed by the clash of swords and shrieks.
Yiwen stood still, warily scanning her surroundings.
A rush of hurried footsteps came, and following the sound, Yiwen decisively threw the dagger hidden at her waist.
With a tearing sound, the window was sliced open by the dagger, revealing faint moonlight that barely illuminated the banquet hall.
A group of black-clad assassins rushed into the dance floor through the darkness, surrounding the Emperor and Yiwen.
I knew being with this guy would bring trouble.
"Assassins! Protect His Majesty the Emperor!"
The speaker was Duke Victor, observing from the sidelines.
He was the first to break through the encirclement, leading the Emperor and Yiwen to quickly escape the center of the dance floor, but assassins seemed to appear from every direction, forcing them to keep fleeing.
What was going on? Where were Kafu and the old man? Why was there no movement? Weren’t they supposed to have prepared for an assassin attack? Or were these assassins targeting her and the Emperor from the start? Damn Empress!
With no time to think, Yiwen decisively followed behind Emperor Miles.
His tall figure was obviously more conspicuous than hers.
As long as they weren’t fixated on her, the Emperor was the perfect shield.
"Your Majesty, come with me. The palace has been surrounded by assassins. It’s no longer safe here!"
The three passed through the corridor, reaching the end of the palace hall.
Looking at the Duke who had stopped, Yiwen realized something was wrong, tightly gripping her dagger.
"Duke, what does this mean?"
"Still don’t get it? Your Duke is with us!"
A masked assassin leader appeared with a sinister laugh, followed by aggressive assassins who had already surrounded them, leaving them isolated and helpless.