Accompanied by soothing music, the young people, as if in unspoken agreement, clustered around Mia and ushered her to the center of the dance floor.
Then, a magical scene unfolded: pairs of young people formed dance partners, but not a single person invited Mia, the girl who had just become the kingdom's princess, to dance.
Clearly, Prince Mabrey's scheme was very successful.
Against the backdrop of the dancing young men and women, Mia, standing alone, appeared incredibly out of place.
This scene also caused the nobles and ministers watching the ball to engage in quiet discussions.
"My beautiful lady, may I have this dance?"
Just as the girl was about to be embarrassed and awkward, a familiar voice came from behind her.
At this moment, Mike was dressed in a medieval black suit, the magnificent formal wear lined with a white silk shirt, making him look like a prince from a fairy tale.
"Mike!" Mia turned her head, clearly recognizing the person, and her face lit up with uncontrollable surprise: "How did you get here?"
Dressed like an adult, Mike seemed to radiate light in the girl's eyes at that moment.
Like a "knight" saving a princess.
"Of course, for you, my Princess." Mike gallantly extended his right hand, then gently wrapped his other arm around the girl's waist.
Accompanied by soothing music, Mia, enveloped by immense happiness, followed Mike's steps, flitting through the dance floor like a joyful butterfly.
"It seems our choice was not wrong." Queen Renaldi, watching her granddaughter's happy expression from beside the dance floor, showed an aunt-like smile.
"I think Mr. Mike still needs to be observed for a period of time," Mr. Joe, who was accompanying the Queen, offered a conservative assessment.
Evidently, this butler did not trust Mike's "character."
"What does it matter? Mia is young and has the right to make mistakes. Besides, I wasn't much better than her back then..." As if recalling some interesting past events, Queen Renaldi's smile became even brighter.
Unlike the cheerful atmosphere on the Queen's side, Prince Mabrey's face nearby was terrifyingly gloomy.
"Londo, can you explain to me what's happening now?" Mabrey stared angrily at the Minister of Finance beside him: "You seem to have messed up my plan."
The Minister of Finance was a plump, bald middle-aged man, and seeing the Prince's angry expression, his thick chin trembled a few times.
"I assure you, I carried out all your requests. As for that young man, I had never seen him before," Minister of Finance Londo explained cautiously, then suggested, "Do you want me to go kick him out now?"
The Minister of Finance and Prince Mabrey both belonged to the radical faction; their previous plan was to make Mia, the kingdom's new heir, embarrass herself at the ball, thereby undermining the Queen's faction's influence in the kingdom.
However, Mike, an unexpected factor, ruined all their plans.
"You idiot, do you want us to become a laughingstock?" Prince Mabrey glared at the Minister of Finance like an old fool.
Genovia's current governance system is still a constitutional monarchy. It can be said that Queen Renaldi alone represents the will of the entire nation.
Therefore, Prince Mabrey only dared to resort to petty tricks behind the scenes and did not dare to openly confront the Queen.
And the Minister of Finance's suggestion would clearly expose the actions targeting Princess Mia.
From every perspective, this was a terrible suggestion.
Londo also realized he had made a terrible suggestion, and he shrank even more fearfully, trying to avoid Prince Mabrey's gaze.
"Fortunately, this is just an appetizer; the real show is yet to come." The gloomy Prince Mabrey seemed not to have put all his eggs in one basket.
However, this is understandable: if Mia had not appeared, then Mabrey, as the kingdom's Prince, would have been the most likely next heir to the throne.
Therefore, his plan targeting Princess Mia would clearly not be so simple.
However, Mia, as another party involved, did not know at this moment that someone was meticulously plotting against her.
"Mike, how did you end up here?" Having experienced emotional ups and downs, Mia asked her initial question again.
It must be known that Mike's timing was simply too coincidental.
And his sudden appearance almost made the girl forget her previous unpleasantness.
"Of course, it's because I felt the summons of a certain princess," Mike said boastfully, smiling, "How about it, isn't it cool?"
Mike, dressed in formal wear with his hair styled like an adult, exuded a mature and charming aura. In this appearance, his smile was enough to captivate any girl.
However, this apparently did not include Mia; the girl's eyes darted, and she mischievously said, "Your suit is indeed very handsome~"
The fact proved that the girl was not unimpressed by Mike; she just didn't want to see him continue to be smug.
"Alright, I admit the clothes are handsome. But it also depends on who wears them." Mike, who knew no embarrassment, found a way to save face for himself.
But then again, the formal suit he wore today was indeed very handsome; from its cut to its style and color scheme, it was all perfect.
If Mike had to prepare it himself, he might not have had such taste.
Yes, this outfit was prepared by Mr. Joe, the royal butler. And Mike was able to appear at the ball so promptly because Mr. Joe had informed him of the exact time of the ball in advance.
Of course, none of this matters.
What matters is that Mike appeared here and completed his "hero saves the beauty" mission.
Half an hour later, the soothing music stopped, indicating the official end of this social dance for young people.
Princess Mia, as the center of attention, also showcased the essence of Genovia's dance with Mike's help, thus winning warm applause from the guests.
One of the true purposes of this ball was to test Princess Mia's social skills.
Clearly, the girl's performance had passed this test.
"Come on, I'll take you to meet my grandmother and mother..." The socializing part ended, and Mia pulled Mike towards the side of the dance floor, feeling like she was taking her boyfriend to meet her parents.
This kind of royal social ball, for single royal members, indeed also served the purpose of "matchmaking."
"Your Majesty, Princess Mia has already proven her social ability. However, I wonder if she can perform like this with a different group of people?" Prince Mabrey went to the Queen first, speaking before Mia.
"Oh, what does Prince Mabrey wish to express?" Queen Renaldi resumed her dignified demeanor, her expression showing no change.
Not letting joy or anger show on her face was a basic quality of the Queen.
"In a few days, the leaders of several neighboring countries will be bringing their children to visit and exchange with our country. I think the task of hosting the princesses and princes from other countries can be given to Princess Mia." Prince Mabrey unleashed his big move.
The situations of several small neighboring countries are similar to Genovia, so every year their leaders come to Genovia to visit and learn.
And the work of hosting these people is not easy; Genovia must, on the one hand, show its goodwill, and on the other hand, demonstrate its national strength.
There is an invisible competition between nations in this process.
And within this, naturally, there is also a comparison between the heirs of the various countries:
Personal cultivation, diplomatic ability, leadership skills, etc., are all aspects that the heirs compare.
Prince Mabrey saw that Mia was a "wild girl" who had not received much aristocratic education, so he wanted her to embarrass herself in front of foreign guests.
His purpose was self-evident.
It can be said that to suppress the Queen's faction's influence, he was already resorting to all means, even at the expense of his own country's "interests."
"Your suggestion is good; Mia should indeed endure more tests." In front of all the kingdom's high-ranking officials, Queen Renaldi agreed to Mabrey's suggestion.
The task of hosting the heirs of various countries could indeed easily make Mia embarrass herself again. However, this was also a good opportunity for her to showcase her abilities in front of everyone.
After all, power and ability are complementary; the greater the ability, the greater the power.
As the kingdom's heir, Princess Mia will eventually reach the point of inheriting the throne. Under this premise, letting her become familiar with her scope of work earlier is not a bad thing.