I'm not a lord

Chapter 239 One boat goes west, one boat goes south

Upon learning of Chloris's disappearance from a court attendant, Earl Brun's eyes widened instantly: "What exactly happened?"

"My lord, we are currently investigating the specifics. All we know so far is that Her Highness the Princess disappeared before lunch today, along with her mother, according to the palace maids."

The court attendant in charge of monitoring Chloris chattered on and on, constantly wiping the sweat from his brow, whether hot or cold, it was hard to tell.

Just then, King Maurice, who was sitting in the reception room, heard the commotion outside and rushed to the door with two trusted officials: "What did you say? Chloris is missing?"

The attendant hurriedly knelt on one knee, bowed his head in fear, and said, "Your Majesty, please give me a moment. I assure you, I will bring her to you."

Before the servant could finish speaking, Maurice suddenly raised his leg and kicked him to the ground, shouting almost maniacally, "I don't want your promises, I want to see her! I want Chloris standing in front of me right now!"

Then he drew his long sword from his waist, seemingly intending to kill the negligent palace attendant with a single blow.

His two trusted aides behind him knew from this that His Majesty the King had fallen into madness again.

In the past few days, Morris has been going on a sudden rampage, cursing those around him at the slightest provocation, not even sparing his wife and children, and sometimes even hitting or threatening to kill people.

Earl Brun reacted quickly, shouting at the two men, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help His Majesty to his bedchamber to rest!"

The two men immediately realized what was happening. They first knocked the sword out of the king's hand, and then each grabbed one of the king's arms and ran towards the palace.

Surely we can't really let the king kill this servant, can we?
The palace is currently in turmoil. What if we rashly kill someone, especially a palace attendant responsible for guarding the palace, and it triggers a mutiny?
We still need these servants to escort us as we flee to the southern border.

In fact, Maurice wasn't really crazy. How could he not understand such a simple truth?
But to whom can he vent his anger?

Since he was crowned king, nothing has gone according to his wishes.

From the crushing defeat north of Coron, the loss of vast territories, the two battles for Amber Harbor, to the current precarious situation, it seems that even the last remaining title of king is about to be lost, and he can only slink away to the southern border to become a homeless dog.

If it were a ruler with a weak heart, he would probably have already hanged himself from a crooked old tree.

Although Maurice was being held by two men, and the sword he hadn't been gripping had fallen to the ground, he still kept talking: "I'm going to kill you, you piece of trash! You can't even watch over a little girl properly. Even a dog would be better than you! You piece of trash!"

For Morris, Chloris was an extremely valuable political asset, especially now that he had lost most of his political assets.

Chloris is the biological daughter of the former king; she is young, beautiful, and exceptionally intelligent.

If Maurice could take her to the Southern Territory, plenty of nobles would be willing to pay a high price for this once-noble but now impoverished princess.

With the funds obtained, Maurice will be able to recruit more troops, naturally increasing his chances of successfully retaking the North.

But now Chloris has suddenly disappeared.

Even a fool could guess that the cunning little fox had most likely already secretly escaped from the palace.

That's why he drew his sword and attacked people in a fit of rage.

A dozen or so fully armed palace attendants couldn't even keep an eye on a little girl? What else can they do besides drive up the price of bread?
And indeed, things turned out exactly as Morris had predicted.

Just as chaos erupted within the palace.

Having shed her glamorous dresses and now wearing only a simple linen coat and a black hood, Chloris has escaped the palace and is wandering through the filthy dock area at the easternmost end of Amber Harbor.

Today, a merchant ship carrying cloth happened to be heading to the Valley Duchy, and she had already used her own and her family's influence to establish a relationship with the captain.

Although the western walls of Amber Harbor were fiercely attacked by the Duke of the Marsh, the city's waterway traffic with the outside world was not greatly affected due to the city's strong naval forces.

Due to considerations of the diplomatic situation and 'international image,' the Duke of the Marshland did not dare to follow Lynn's example and block the Tranquil River waterway with iron chains.

Merchant ships can still enter and leave the port normally, provided they have permission from the Amber Harbor City Council. The siege has been fought in such a manner that it's unprecedented in the history of the North.

As luck would have it, Maurice only decided to flee to the South today, and Chloris will only be able to completely clear the escape route today.

If Morris had made up his mind half a day earlier, Chloris would most likely have been dragged along to the Southern Territory.

Chloris's mother, the former Queen Katarina, followed behind her daughter, also dressed in simple linen clothes, accompanied only by two maids and three of her most loyal guards.

As Katarina walked along, she glanced at the hungry refugees by the roadside and asked with deep concern, "Where are we going?"

Before leaving the palace, Katarina was unaware of her daughter's full plan. She only knew that her daughter was trying to seek refuge with other nobles in the North, but she didn't know which one specifically.

Katarina did not object to the escape.

Her position in the palace was equally awkward, and remarriage was definitely not an option.

When the war ends, her final destination will most likely be a secluded monastery.

She wasn't particularly opposed to this, after all, she came from a count's family in the Southern Territory, was a devout follower of the Trinity Church, and many women in her family spent their lives in monasteries.

Deep down, however, she longed for the world outside the palace and the monastery.

That's why she finally made up her mind to run away with her daughter.

House Urenius's rule over the North is coming to an end; there's no need for her to go down with this rickety ship.

"We'll talk about it once we're on the ship." Chloris held her mother's hand tightly, her bright blue eyes fixed on the icy sea to the east.

Judging by the time, it will be at most three days before Otto III's fleet reaches Amber Harbor with the help of the sea breeze.

The Duke of the Swamp launched wave after wave of attacks outside the city, and it was even possible that he could reach the city's territory before Otto could.

These next two days are the last chance to escape.

After some trouble, Chloris finally boarded the merchant ship with her mother, maids, and guards.

The escape was very hasty, and they carried very little luggage, only a few sets of clothes to change into, a small amount of gold and silver valuables, and a stack of land deeds.

Most of the valuable treasures and jewelry were left in the palace.

Chloris stood on the ship's railing, looking back at the pristine white walls of the royal palace, then at the familiar city buildings and the billowing black smoke from the city walls, her heart filled with reluctance.

Finally, she bit her lower lip, turned and walked towards the cabin: "Captain, please set sail."

I don't know when I'll be able to return to this city again.

The next day, at the same location, King Maurice, along with his wife and two sons, boarded a large and sturdy grain ship.

He gripped the railing of the ship with both hands, looking back at the city that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Suddenly, the raging sea wind made his golden hair very messy.

On either side of him stood a group of court officials, their faces streaked with tears.

Ultimately, they were all a pack of homeless dogs who had fled to other countries.

Leaving their hometown and abandoning their families, they sailed to a completely unknown shore.

(End of this chapter)