Chapter 44: Performance
Immediately, everyone's gaze was attracted over, looking at the center of the hall.
No one noticed when she had arrived, but a tall and beautiful woman walked out with an icy-cold expression and said, "Mader, stay your hand! Knight Kailin is a guest who I invited; how can you treat him with such disrespect?"
Even though her expression was cold, her eyes were filled with fury, "Leave this banquet immediately!"
As the icy-cold voice sounded out, it sounded incredibly dignified but also faintly enraged.
Hearing this voice and looking at her figure, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. She was like a furious lioness, and she was incredibly terrifying.
"Princess Olivia…"
At the center of the hall, hearing Olivia's words, Mader looked quite conflicted, as if he was reluctant to stop. However, he still obeyed and obediently turned and left.
Looking at Mader's actions, Princess Olivia's expression softened as she turned and looked at Chen Heng with a slight smile, "Knight Kailin, are you alright?"
"Apologies."
Her expression was sincere and apologetic as she said, "I invited you to this banquet but had never thought that something like this would happen.
"Mader has always been like this; when he sees other exceptional Knights, he can't help but want to challenge them. Please don't blame him for this."
Princess Olivia continuously spoke.
She looked incredibly sincere, as if none of this had anything to do with her and was just something that had happened unexpectedly.
Of course, whether this really was unexpected, or if it was something that Princess Olivia had secretly planned, there was no way for Chen Heng to verify it.
However, he knew that no matter what Princess Olivia was planning, he could not resist it.
He was not even a true Knight, and even if he was, facing the Kutu Principality's Crown Princess, who wielded much power, he could not do anything.
After all, her status was far above his. Even if he was a true Knight, he would be nothing compared to her.
In fact, from what he had heard, Princess Olivia was a powerful Knight herself. This was partially why she was able to survive cruel conflicts as a woman and reach where she was today.
Chen Heng smiled. Facing how sincere and enthusiastic Princess Olivia seemed, he could not help but seem somewhat overwhelmed by favor.
"I'm fine."
He hurriedly lowered his head and bowed to Princess Olivia as he put away his sword, and he smiled as he said, "After all, Knight Mader is my senior, and I'm sure he just wanted to test out my skills. I trust that he did not have any ill intentions, so I hope that Princess will not make things difficult for him…"
"No!"
Princess Olivia's expression was serious as she said, "Mader dared to attack one of my guests; that is a grave crime. Don't worry, I will banish him from Kutu."
The Princess chasing away a famed Knight for him—if this happened to anyone else, they would most likely feel incredibly touched and grateful.
However, Chen Heng's heart was as still as water. Let alone touched, he did not feel even a trace of emotions.
To him, this was an incredibly empty guarantee.
It did not provide him with any benefits, nor would Princess Olivia necessarily follow through with this. It did not have much meaning for him.
However, what he thought was one thing, and how he actually reacted was another.
Looking at Olivia, an incredibly moved look appeared on Chen Heng's face. He opened his mouth, appearing to try to say something, but in the end, he remained silent, seeming like he was overwhelmed with emotion.
Looking at Chen Heng's expression, Olivia gave a slight smile and did not think too much about it.
He was still young, and just a bit of favor could make him feel this grateful.
She was already very proficient at using little tricks like this.
It had to be said that Princess Olivia was very beautiful and was currently wearing a red dress. She looked like a beautiful fresh flower, seeming incredibly alluring.
Standing before Olivia, Chen Heng could even smell a faint fragrance coming from her body.
Smelling this fragrance, Chen Heng thought for a slight moment before secretly circulating his life energy in his body.
As his life energy circulated around his body, Chen Heng's face became slightly red and took a small step backwards, opening up some distance between him and Princess Olivia.
He acted like a pure boy who had never interacted with women much before, seeming incredibly shy.
Seeing Chen Heng's performance, Olivia felt somewhat surprised.
However, thinking back to the reports she had heard about Chen Heng never having come into contact with many women, she could not help but smile and felt more at ease about him.
As such, she thought for a second before holding onto Chen Heng's hand in front of everyone.
She pulled Chen Heng to one side and had him sit in a corner.
"You can sit here."
Olivia looked at Chen Heng with a slight smile.
"I have other guests who I need to entertain, so I'll be leaving now. I'll come and find you after a while," she said somewhat ambiguously, as if she was hinting at something.
If it was an ordinary young man, they would feel incredibly charmed and fall into all kinds of delusions.
Even the people of the noble circles were quite open, Olivia's actions were a bit over to the top, and it was easy to overthink her actions.
After bringing Chen Heng to that corner, Olivia turned and sensed Verna's gaze.
Verna was standing in the corner, looking at her furiously as if she was accusing her of breaking her promise.
It was her who had liked Kailin first, so why was Olivia making a move on him?
Sensing her little sister's gaze, Olivia only smiled and did not pay her much mind.
So what if her little sister liked him? It was not as if they were together already.
Moreover, even if they were together, it was not like she could not flirt with him.
For nobles, nothing was impossible.
Of course, Olivia was just casually testing the waters and did not actually want to do anything.
However, for the people around them, this was already a big deal.
After sitting down, Chen Heng could sense many people's gazes on his body.
Sensing these gazes, Chen Heng could not help but inwardly frown.