In the center of the banquet, the princess of the Papal State, Emilia, radiated a pleasant smile, her manners impeccable and her demeanor graceful.
Every expression and gesture exuded nobility and courtesy, perfectly showcasing her royal bearing in front of the new generation of nobles.
As a direct descendant of the Arelinde family and heir to the papal throne, Emilia was well aware of the image she needed to project in front of others.
The Arelinde family, descendants of the divine phoenix, were granted the papal position of the Yating Empire by the founding emperor.
They had always stood by the emperor’s side, expanding territories and guarding the northern borders of the Yating Empire until the capital moved south, gradually distancing from the empire’s jurisdiction.
They never forgot the honor of being the Pope of the Source Church, nor their promise to the first emperor of Yating two thousand years ago, even though the Yating Empire no longer existed.
The Arelinde family had few members, a common issue among families with golden bloodlines, with extremely low birth rates.
In this generation, Emilia was the only child, and her parents had long passed away.
The current Pope was Emilia’s aunt, her father’s sister, who seemed to have no intention of marrying due to a long-standing affection.
If nothing unexpected happened, Emilia would be the next queen of the Papal State.
With her unparalleled lineage, stunning beauty, extraordinary talent, and textbook royal etiquette, this girl, who carried the hopes of the entire Papal State, was showered with the blessings of the goddess Sera.
No one is perfect, yet no one could embody the word ‘perfect’ as thoroughly as she did, to the point where no flaw could be found in her.
As expected, such a girl made a stunning debut, captivating all the nobles.
The entire Papal State, regardless of age or gender, was filled with admiration for her, creating a sense that the princess was justice itself, and anything she did was inherently just.
But was that really the case? Very few people in the world knew of Emilia’s character flaws, not even her closest aunt was aware of her hidden secrets.
Coincidentally, Mo Li was well aware of the princess’s secret.
Humans are ultimately human, and no one can be truly perfect.
If someone appears flawless, Mo Li would definitely stay away from them, as such a person must be deliberately hiding their unsightly flaws.
Deliberate actions make such people the most dangerous, and Mo Li’s greatest fear was being noticed by them.
However, things didn’t go as he wished.
From the moment Mo Li accidentally stumbled into her bathroom, he was destined to be unable to escape, as he had already caught Emilia’s attention.
Bored, extremely bored.
Emilia, with her polite smile, was warm and friendly to everyone, but only she knew she didn’t enjoy the banquet.
In this masquerade ball where no one showed their true feelings, all she saw was flattery and sycophancy.
These men valued nothing but her appearance, status, and the identity of the Papal State’s heir.
Marrying the only princess of the Papal State meant the Papal State was essentially theirs, and their offspring would have a claim to the papal throne, making it possible to overthrow the entire kingdom.
Seeing through the essence, Emilia had no interest in the flattery of these high-ranking officials and even felt a deep-seated disgust.
If not for her status as a princess and the face of the Arelinde family, she wouldn’t want to deal with these hypocritical faces at all.
“Men, these creatures that scatter like pill bugs in times of crisis, this princess neither wants nor needs.” The more they tried to please her, the more she was repulsed.
The so-called ‘being unable to help oneself’ probably referred to her situation.
As a princess, to win over the nobles under her command, she had to be all-encompassing, no matter how much she disliked these men in her heart.
A boring banquet, unchanging men, unchanging greed.
Disgusting.
At least, that’s what she thought until not long ago, until an interesting figure entered her world…
When she saw her pendant emit a brilliant light beside that boy, Emilia memorized the boy’s face and name.
For some reason, she increasingly wanted to see him again.
At least that assassin was much more interesting than these boring nobles, but it seemed there was no chance, as she was about to enroll in Lanyin Academy.
However, to her surprise and delight, at this banquet full of false flattery, she saw that figure again.
Since Emilia had no interest in the nobles who came to toast and chat, her gaze remained fixed on the entrance.
In fact, she had noticed Mo Li the moment he stepped into the banquet and perfectly captured with her peripheral vision his panicked attempt to nonchalantly leave the banquet, only to be caught and brought back.
“Pfft…” For some reason, seeing the boy’s appearance, as if afraid of being associated with her, Emilia’s lips curled into a genuine smile, not the formulaic business smile, but one of genuine joy.
So, while dealing with the nobles, she observed Mo Li’s reactions until he was pressed down and drank some wine, becoming slightly intoxicated.
She then slowly moved towards him, intending to surprise him.
However, just as she was about to surprise him, she overheard Mo Li’s candid words.
“Her, how should I put it, I think she could never like you.”
“Why? To be blunt, she’s bent…” This princess, bent? Princess Emilia had some understanding of the term ‘bent,’ which roughly meant having an abnormal sexual orientation, liking the same sex.
When Mo Li said this, she was stunned for about half a second.
Do I like the same sex? In silent contemplation, Emilia found herself unable to answer this question.
She indeed didn’t like men, even to the point of disliking them.
In contrast, she didn’t dislike women, but that was all.
If she had to choose a partner between men and women, she would probably choose women without hesitation…
She didn’t understand where Mo Li had learned about her personality traits, and her gaze towards him became increasingly peculiar.
Then, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she leaned on Mo Li’s shoulder, blew a cold breath at him, and whispered in a teasing and seductive voice in his ear.
“Oh, so this princess is bent, huh~~”
“?!”
She could see that when she said this, Mo Li’s body instantly stiffened, his head trembling as if wound up, not daring to turn around and face the truth.
Rumor has it that in the last moments of life, a person’s life flashes before their eyes.
Mo Li thought this saying was probably subjective because, at this moment, he felt the threat of death, as if the scythe of the Grim Reaper was hovering less than half an inch above his head.
Yet, at this moment, he could do nothing, his heart cold with fear, unable to move his body.
“Gulp!” Mo Li swallowed hard, clearly feeling someone standing behind him, blowing a cold breath into his ear, mocking the gossip he had spoken behind others’ backs in a teasing tone.
Is it an illusion? It must be an illusion, right? Yes, it must be an illusion… That person should still be busy dealing with the nobles and wouldn’t have the time to notice him, right? How could she suddenly appear behind him like a ghost? Illusion, illusion! The fact that he’s still alive is the best proof; it must be because he’s too afraid of that woman that he’s hallucinating!
“Long time no see, Mo Li, how have you been lately?~~”
“…” Ha, haha, it must be because I’ve been traveling overnight and am too tired, my ears are starting to ring with strange sounds.
“Ah, it’s the princess!!… I am Pan Lin, the eldest son of the Kendi family, at your service, Princess.” Pan Lin, not too drunk, rubbed his eyes and, after confirming several times that the person standing behind him was indeed the princess, hurriedly stood up to salute, nervous with admiration and love.
The nobles around him weren’t much better off.
Their goddess had noticed them, insignificant little nobles, for the first time, and was so close to them for the first time that everyone held their breath in nervousness.
Thus, a very discordant scene appeared, with all the nobles bowing to Emilia, except for Mo Li, who sat firmly in his chair as if glued to it.
…It’s over.
From the moment Pan Lin exclaimed, Mo Li knew everything was over.
Ultimately, he was deceiving himself; the fool was himself.
“Mo Li, this is the princess!” Seeing Mo Li still standing like a wooden figure, Pan Lin couldn’t sit still, quietly reminding him not to lose etiquette towards the royal family and to quickly stand up and salute.
“…Oh, oh.” Mo Li nodded twice, as if just realizing, stood up, and awkwardly turned around like a penguin.
“Greetings, Princess.” Mo Li kept his head down, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
“Raise your head and look at me.” Emilia’s voice was light, her tone concise, yet it carried an undeniable nobility and authority from her lineage.
“I… dare not look directly at the royal majesty.”
“Then what if I, as a royal, order you to raise your head~?” Emilia had never shown her assertive personality in public, but at this moment, she couldn’t help it.
She really wanted to tease this interesting boy.
“…” Mo Li swallowed hard, hesitantly raised his head, and when his gaze met those pearl-like brilliant golden eyes, his heart turned to ashes.
“You seem quite afraid of this princess,” Emilia said with an amused smile.
“You’re quite different… Can you tell this princess what exactly makes you so scared of me?”
Everything about you scares me!
“I have never witnessed the true appearance of royalty before.
Seeing it today, I am overwhelmed by the majesty and dare not offend…”
“Never witnessed?” Emilia seemed to have heard a very funny joke, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
“So, is this our first meeting?”
“A humble villager meeting the princess for the first time dares not have any offensive thoughts…”
Mo Li dared not admit to knowing her, only hoping that this princess didn’t remember him too well, perhaps just a vague impression.
After all, he was just an obscure little assassin.
