Provoking a Graceful Bloom Novel

---- Chapter 249 "| didn't like you practicing martial arts, so you've been hiding it from me all these years?" Frederick's voice was hoarse and laced with hopelessness. His face was ashen, drained of all color. "Ridiculous!" Selena's reply was as simple as it was cutting. The black wolves lunged again. Selena swung her spear, and the first two attacking wolves were sent flying. But the wolves seemed to have adapted their strategy. From a high slope, a pair of wolves howled, then charged directly at Frederick and William from behind Selena.

"How cunning!" Selena frowned, spinning her spear ina sweeping arc. She first drove off the wolf leaping toward Frederick, then the other one headed for William. But two more fierce wolves immediately replaced them. Selena's footwork faltered for just a fraction of a second before she snapped back, flicking one wolf aside with a clean strike. The other's claws grazed her arm. ---- "Lena! Watch out!" Frederick shouted. Though he was in despair, he was still concerned for her safety. The scene made his heart pound Selena's eyes darkened.

With a sharp swing of her arm, the black wolf was hurled away. But behind her, the two men were attacked once again. Over and over, the attacks continued, and Selena's arms began to show several new cuts and scratches. William stood by Frederick's side, equally scarred from the fight, The prince's gaze followed Selena, filled with both pain and despair. "Lena, just go. Don't worry about me. Don't risk your life for me. I'm not worth it!" Regret surged through him.

This extraordinary woman had been by his side all along, yet he'd foolishly allowed himself to be captivated by that ignorant, rude woman. When his mother warned him that Freya was a wild, uncultured girl, he had defended her, insisting she had her merits. Now, he realized he had been blind all along. All eyes could see clearly, yet only he had been deceived. What he had mistaken for true character was in fact crude, rude, and vulgar. He was the only one who had failed to recognize the genuine treasure right beside him. "I'm sorry, Lena.

| really don't deserve you-" ---- "If | leave, my family will be in deep trouble!" Selena frowned, utterly exasperated with him. "Please stop reading too much into it, Your Highness! | don't like you anymore, yet you keep. whining. It's disgusting!" As she spoke, a flash of silver shot forward. A black wolf fell under her spear, but more wolves surged toward them, their numbers seemingly endless. William froze, feeling a mix of awe and awkwardness. Did Selena have to be that blunt?

Frederick had been moved just moments ago, but now his face turned from pale to flushed red and back to ashen in rapid succession. The whirlwind of emotions nearly suffocated him. Suddenly, Selena's eyes brightened, and she called out loudly, " Liam! I'm here!" Ina flash of silver, Liam's towering figure landed beside her. It was one of Nathaniel's men! Frederick felt a choking pressure in his chest, coughing up blood as darkness overtook him. In that fleeting moment, his last thought was that Selena was already so close to Nathaniel's men. Did Frederick even have a chance with her?

---- In the end, Selena managed to rescue Frederick, but a new problem had arisen. After gathering news of the situation, Yuvan returned with a concerned look on his face. "My lord, my lady... the royal physician says that Prince Frederick's leg is ruined!"