Princess, Please Fall in Love with Me-Chapter 67 : Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Bewilderment, Paths That Do Not Belong to Each Other
"I wanted to invite you to return to the Eryus Empire with me. I wanted to personally train you."
Facing my curiosity, Kavita spoke his intentions without any concealment.
From the moment the Grand Duke of Saito’s recognized me as kin, he had been observing me.
"You were the talent I had been searching for. I could have provided you with unimaginable help, including, in the future, defeating the Duke, or even reaching that level…"
"What did you need me to do?"
I wasn’t surprised by his invitation or the conditions for recruitment.
After all, with his hidden identity and strength, he could likely have fulfilled those conditions easily.
But as the saying went, no reward came without merit.
For him to offer so much, he must have expected me to pay an equivalent price.
But if I really left with him, wouldn’t that mean I’d be leaving the princess.
"I knew what you were thinking, but leaving now was the best choice for both you and her. The Duke knew about your relationship, and the Grand Duke of Saito’s couldn’t protect you both at all times."
Kavita’s voice lacked its usual flippancy, replaced by the calm and solemn analysis of a sage.
I sat up straight, listening intently.
"Had you ever considered what would happen if the Duke captured both of you to threaten the Grand Duke? Even though you were half their savior, the Grand Duke wouldn’t sacrifice his bloodline for you."
"Or, from another angle, if the Duke captured you to threaten the little princess, or used the little princess to threaten you, as long as he held one of you, you’d never have been able to defeat him."
Seeing my expression grow darker, Kavita seemed to sense he’d struck too hard.
He flashed a smile, trying to comfort my persistent silence.
"Don’t be so pessimistic. Once you both grew stronger, wouldn’t the Duke have been helpless against you? Besides, the Duke’s men were probably preparing to target this place soon."
Kavita handed me a gleaming coin, distinctly different from common currency, adorned with iridescent patterns that reflected sunlight.
"If you made up your mind, you tossed this coin into a place touched by sunlight. My people would have been watching the Duke’s men all week."
With that, Kavita, whether deliberately or not, mimicked my habit of climbing out the window and vanished outside the room, nowhere to be found.
"What a strange guy, tripping on the grass and scurrying off in embarrassment. Oh, right, Loka, was it? Your little princess was waiting for you outside. Hurry up, I wanted to sleep."
Yileta, somewhat impatiently, draped a wide, oversized coat over me and quickly pushed me out the palace gate.
Yiwen, with a carriage, had been waiting for some time.
"Let’s go. I already talked it over with them."
"Talked what over?"
Yiwen excitedly pulled me onto the carriage.
In the secluded compartment, I was still utterly bewildered.
But seeing Yiwen’s confident expression, I couldn’t bear to interrupt her, so I let her ramble on excitedly.
"You and I went back to the Saito’s Empire together."
When Yiwen raised the question, Kyle and the Grand Duke had guessed she’d insist on bringing me along.
After all, I had helped them so much.
After some discussion, the Grand Duke and Kyle readily agreed.
The reason they still called Yiwen over alone was mainly to confirm her intentions regarding me.
Kyle had seen my cunning and knew about the extraordinary strength of my subordinates.
If there was ever a chance we’d become enemies in the future, they had to plan ahead for Yiwen’s sake.
But since Yiwen chose to take me with her, at least they wouldn’t have to face a day where we’d truly fight each other, right?
"That’s how it was. You left Austin with our carriage. When I returned, you stayed by their side, hiding for a while."
"Let me think… how about you posed as Uncle Kyle’s adopted daughter? That way, you’d have someone to protect you later."
Yiwen was still daydreaming when I suddenly tackled her to the floor of the carriage. The carriage jolted to a stop after a violent collision.
"Sorry, ladies, my horse suddenly went out of control. I was willing to cover all the damages to your carriage."
A curtain parted, and an anxious middle-aged man’s apologetic voice came through.
I was about to get up, but Yiwen pulled me into her arms.
"What were you talking about? What two ladies? There was only ever me here."
Yiwen lifted the curtain with a look of disdain.
The man froze for a moment before switching to a fawning expression, though his eyes still darted around.
"Oh, it was the Sixth Princess. My apologies. I’ll go discipline that useless driver right away."
The middle-aged gentleman turned away, somewhat disappointed.
Hidden under Yiwen’s coat, I leaned against her, hearing the entire exchange.
There was no way he’d known there were two women in the carriage without reason, let alone come to apologize deliberately.
He was clearly probing for me.
This reminded me of what Kavita had said before leaving.
"Once you lacked the ability to protect each other, you’d only become each other’s greatest weakness."
"Your Highness, you might have had to go back alone."
Yiwen grabbed my hand, looking at my resolute expression.
She glanced at me with concern but let go after a moment.
As the sun sank behind the mountains, I made up my mind.
Shielding myself with the coat, I rushed out of the carriage.
The streets under dusk were dim, the sunlight fading.
I hurriedly wove through the streets, while dark figures had already appeared behind me, unbeknownst to me.
The shadows chased relentlessly.
I dodged while scanning for my target with my peripheral vision.
Finally, at a plaza’s fountain, sunlight still lingered.
The moment a blade from behind aimed for me, I tossed the coin into the fountain.
As the sunlight reflected a unique radiance off the coin’s patterns, the black-clad figures behind me were suddenly subdued to the ground.
"It looked like you believed my perspective."
Kavita, leading his men, casually dealt with the dispatched grunts.
They had been hounding my scent like a pack of hunting dogs.
"I’d say this: unless they saw your corpse with their own eyes, even if you were lying on the ground, they’d still check your heartbeat."
I looked at the lifeless bodies. Kavita didn’t even need to lift a finger; those behind them had a thousand ways to end themselves.
"I understood. But at least let me say goodbye or leave some token behind, even if it was a silent departure."
"Little Highness, I prepared a late-night snack for you. You ate a bit first, then went to the balcony to wait for Miss Loka."
Yiwen leaned on the balcony railing, watching the distant mountains’ colors gradually fade.
Under the cover of Kavita’s men, I unhurriedly climbed down the garden wall.
Gazing at the pitch-black night sky, I felt immense melancholy.
Only the bright moonlight illuminated me—and her on the other side.