Runaway Princess

Chapter 48: Runaway Princess

The two beauties quickly recovered their composure after a brief moment of astonishment.

The blonde girl raised her head, "Hmph, Northwest Bay it is then. Just as long as they can't find us."

This demeanor, this tone, how should he put it? Paul suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. After pondering for a while, he suddenly realized, Tsundere, wasn't this just tsundere? Before he transmigrated, he thought it only existed in the world of anime, but he never expected to see it in reality after transmigrating. He felt a little excited for some reason.

"Where are you two from?"

He inquired once again, his tone extremely polite, because the decorations on the blonde girl's clothes under her cloak were obviously not something ordinary people could wear, not even ordinary nobles. This wasn't something that could be bought with money.

At least in Paul's memory, he had never seen nobles in the Northwest wear anything like it. But it wasn't as if he had no impression at all. Oh! That's right, he had seen similar styles of decoration in a painting Old Greiman had collected when he was a child.

He vaguely remembered that it was a portrait depicting a big shot from some country. This little girl's identity was not simple.

He should be polite to these two...

"We are from the Gabella Empire. My name is Betty Diaz, and I am a wandering scholar. This is my guard, Mary."

Scholar, another scholar? Paul thought to himself, Is there any scholar who dresses like this? It's too suspicious. Laddie's attire is more normal.

However, he didn't plan to meddle in other people's business. Whether the other party was a noble lady who had run away from home or a descendant of a royal family exiled from another country, it was her freedom to come and go. If her family or enemies came looking for her, they could deal with it themselves.

He wouldn't interfere as long as they didn't break the law, but if heinous incidents such as kidnapping or murder occurred in his territory, he would definitely intervene—provided that the other party's fists weren't bigger than his.

Speaking of which, shouldn't he establish a public safety department to be responsible for managing the security matters within the territory?

"Who are these people?" Just as Paul was thinking about this, the blonde girl asked.

"Oh, sorry, the ones on horseback are my subordinates, and the others are from the Lichman Adventurer Group from the south. Oh, right, it was this green-haired Laddie who shot and killed that Black-Spotted Tiger with her bow and arrow. Speaking of which, she's also a scholar like you."

Paul felt a pang of shame, having forgotten to introduce the person who had contributed the most.

The two beauties bowed to the scholar miss to express their gratitude, their etiquette flawless. Paul was even more certain that they came from a noble family.

The scholar miss returned the greeting, her gaze lingering briefly on the blonde girl who claimed to be a scholar.

The tall beauty asked, "I wonder if there is a place to stay nearby?"

Paul raised his riding whip and pointed in the direction of Lakeheart Town, "If you go east for another half a day, you'll reach Lakeheart Town, which is also where my manor is located. If you don't mind, you can come with us."

"Then we'll have to trouble Earl."

The group returned to the resting place, where Queller, who had been waiting, widened his eyes: This kid went out for a while and brought back two beauties. Could it be that a bloody scene of a hero saving a beauty occurred?

Paul had the two beauties and the members of the Lichman Adventurer Group sit in the carriage together, ordered the entire army to assemble and continue marching towards Lakeheart Town, and there was no conversation along the way.

As evening approached, the team arrived at Lakeheart Town. The soldiers were dismissed and given two hours of free time before returning to the barracks to rest. Quiller Foster and the members of the adventurer group were arranged by Paul to rest in the Lord's Manor. The two girls who had joined along the way asked him for the location of the inn, bid farewell, and went to the inn to stay on their own.

"Really, wouldn't it be better to stay directly in my castle? It's so much safer." Paul shook his head, thinking with a hint of regret in his heart.

He walked into the gate of the Lord's Manor, where the castle steward Philip and the Keeper of the Seal Ford were already standing there to greet him.

Paul said to them cheerfully, "Ah, you two, I've missed you a bit during this time. We fought a great battle."

The two hurriedly complimented, "Congratulations, Earl," "Earl's use of troops is like a god."

"Was everything in Lakeheart Town normal during my absence?"

Chief Steward Ford replied, "Everything is normal, my lord. However, that royal commissioner who left some time ago has returned?"

"Royal commissioner?" Paul was stunned for a moment, and then he reacted: "Oh! That Baron Hansel Abbott. I thought the baron had been scared back to the Royal Capital by the pirates, hahaha! What is he doing here again?"

"The baron is originally stationed here as the representative of the royal family, but he seems to have returned this time to discuss important matters with you."

Paul curled his lips: "I get angry just thinking about his appearance last time. Forget it, this Earl won't hold a grudge against petty people. I'll meet him tomorrow."

Chief Steward Ford reported to Paul on a series of matters such as the sales of new types of paper and the expansion of paper mills. The situation was quite gratifying. They could sell so well in the culturally backward Northwest, so there would be no problem if they could be transported to those wealthy areas.

Afterwards, the three talked about matters in Franklin Harbor, including the public trial, the establishment of the Navy, the construction of ocean-going ships, the opening of trade, and so on. They also mentioned Queller, the son of Marquis Foster of the Horn Bay Alliance, who was rescued from the pirates.

The Chief Steward's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he strongly suggested that the Earl build a good relationship with this Foster young master. As long as he could get on the Foster Family's line, Alarda Territory would be able to sell goods to the commercially developed South.

"Then, please invite Foster young master to have dinner together tonight, and Chief Steward Ford will also stay to accompany us to enhance the friendship between the two families."

The Earl decided.

In a superior room at the only inn in Lakeheart Town, the two beautiful women rescued by Laddie were staying.

"Your Highness, shall we set off east tomorrow?"

"How about we stay here for a while first? What do you think, Lia?"

That's right, these two were none other than Princess Irene, the Second Princess of the Auldo Kingdom, and her female guard, Lia, who had secretly run away from the Royal Capital.

After learning that her father wanted to marry her to Duke Viblun of the Eastern Territory, Princess Irene, without hesitation, took her personal female guard and ran away from home.

Originally, the two wanted to detour through the northeastern region to seek refuge with their mother's family in the Gabella Empire. However, they seemed to lack a bit of talent in finding their way, and as they traveled, they unexpectedly ended up in Northwest Bay.

Fortunately, the princess had brought her private money and jewelry with her before running away from home, so the two did not lack food or clothing along the way. Moreover, their aristocratic attire and Lia's swordsmanship deterred many who had malicious intentions.

Even so, for the princess, who had grown up in the deep palace with fine clothes and sumptuous meals, this long journey of more than half a month had reached the limit of her endurance.

This morning, they suspected that someone was following them, so they spurred their horses into the forest. When they dismounted to rest, they unfortunately encountered a Black-Spotted Tiger. Their mounts were frightened away, leaving the two of them to confront the beast. Fortunately, Paul and his party, who were passing by, rescued them.

Although her experience growing up in the palace environment allowed the little princess to maintain at least a semblance of composure on the surface, her already exhausted heart was finally about to collapse.

This tiger encounter left her with considerable psychological trauma. If someone hadn't helped, she and Lia would probably have become food for the beast.

If they continued on, they didn't know how many dangers they would encounter along the way, but the little princess would rather die than return to the Royal Capital and obey her father's arrangements.

"Let's stay in Lakeheart Town for now. The lord here doesn't seem like a bad person, and the place is remote and isolated. As long as we hide well, it probably won't be easy for those guys from the Royal Capital to find us here."

Lia thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "Then let's do that, Your Highness. In that case, staying in a hotel isn't a long-term solution, and there's too much contact with passing travelers. Tomorrow, I'll take a walk around the town and see if I can buy a house to live in."

"Mm! Thank you for your hard work, Lia."

In fact, there was another reason why the little princess decided to stay in Lakeheart Town temporarily: with their sense of direction, it would probably take until the Year of the Monkey for them to reach the Gabella Empire if they continued on