206: Chapter 206 Princess Alice Secretly Leaves the Capital! Caroline's Choice!

Deep within the palace, in the Queen's living quarters.

The curtains were half-drawn, and the air was filled with a faint, natural scent of flowers.

Princess Alice stood before the floor-length bronze mirror in the room, letting her mother adjust the waistband of her new dress.

"Mother, I still cannot understand why Brother Mason would do such a thing?"

Queen Elena's movements were gentle as she adjusted the waistband of the moonlight brocade dress to the perfect position. She stepped back half a step, examined it for a moment, and then nodded with satisfaction:

"It fits perfectly. Moonlight brocade is a material that demands a certain temperament; those with less than fair skin will look dull wearing it, and those lacking a calm disposition will look frivolous. But on you, it is just right. You look truly beautiful!"

Princess Alice, however, had no heart to admire herself in the new dress in the mirror.

She furrowed her brows tightly, finally unable to help but stomp her foot, her voice filled with a trace of anxiety and grievance:

"Mother! Are you even listening to me? I am talking about Garuvi! It is impossible for her to have committed treason! There must be some hidden truth behind this!"

Hearing this, Queen Elena's movements faltered slightly.

She sighed softly, put down the waistband she had just adjusted, and looked up at her daughter's face, which was slightly flushed with excitement.

There was a complex weariness in her gaze.

She was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Princess Alice, you must understand your brother's difficulties."

Princess Alice was stunned, not understanding why her mother would suddenly say that.

Queen Elena continued: "After his failure to break through to become a Sky Knight, he has been under immense pressure."

"In the imperial court, the military, and even within the royal family, there are many people whispering behind his back. He needs some achievements to solidify his position. And the Northern Territory is his last hope."

Princess Alice's brows furrowed even tighter: "What do you mean? What does this have to do with Garuvi?"

Queen Elena did not answer directly.

She turned around, walked to the window, and looked at the lush laurel tree in the courtyard outside. After a long silence, she said softly:

"The Northern Territory is about to fall into chaos; this is inevitable. Various factions are restless, and everyone is making preparations for it."

"Your brother is doing the same."

She turned back and looked at Princess Alice:

"Therefore, do not bother your brother again. He has his own path to walk."

After listening, although Princess Alice was still confused, she understood that her mother would not support her in continuing to investigate this matter further.

She bit her lip, said nothing more, just bowed to her mother, then turned and walked out of the luxuriously decorated room.

...

After leaving the palace, Princess Alice returned directly to her residence and plunged into her study.

She spread out the intelligence regarding the situation in the Northern Territory on the desk, took out a detailed map of the empire's northern region, and began to analyze the current situation.

The intelligence indicated that Garuvi had successfully broken through the siege and escaped at the moment Cangyuan City fell.

The direction of her flight was to the south.

Princess Alice's fingertip moved slowly across the map, tracing the route south from Cangyuan City.

And to the south was Gino County!

Princess Alice's fingertip stopped at the location marked as Gino County on the map, her gaze flickering slightly.

She thought of the new Count Golden Flame.

A thought quietly sprouted in her heart.

She pondered for a moment, then made a bold decision.

After writing a short note, she packed her bags overnight, quietly left the imperial capital alone, and rode her horse along the main road leading north.

...

Outside Gino City, the night was deep.

Garuvi stood at the edge of a sparse forest outside the city, leaning against the trunk of an old tree, panting heavily.

She felt a burning pain in her chest, and every breath carried a metallic scent of blood.

Her vision had begun to blur; the scenery before her was sometimes clear and sometimes distorted, as if separated by a layer of rippling water.

She could no longer remember how long it had been since she had a proper rest.

The pursuers from Duke Weiduns Estate were like maggots on a bone; no matter where she fled, they always managed to sniff out her trail, forcing her to constantly change her location.

She looked down at the attire on her body.

A worn-out gray cloak, with the hood pulled very low, covered most of her face. Beneath the cloak was a set of female commoner's clothing stained with dust and blood.

This was something she had "borrowed" from a clothes rack along the way; her original silver-white light armor was too conspicuous and had been discarded shortly after she escaped from Cangyuan City.

She had smeared mud and ash on her cheeks and hair to cover her overly striking appearance, and had pilfered a wide-brimmed soft hat while passing through a market.

But all this disguise was merely a stopgap measure.

She knew very well that she was at the end of her rope.

The battle qi in her body was nearly exhausted, and her injuries were constantly worsening. If not for a sheer force of will supporting her, she would have long collapsed in some desolate wilderness.

And what made her feel even more desperate was—

She had become a wanted criminal of the empire.

She learned of the charges pinned on her from the notices posted along the way and the idle chatter of passersby:

Colluding with the enemy and committing treason, causing the fall of Cangyuan City and the death of the old Marquis. Bounty notices were plastered all over the towns and cities of the Northern Territory. She dared not enter any place with imperial officials stationed, and dared not seek help from anyone.

She knew what would await her once her identity was exposed.

But her body could no longer hold on.

If she could not find a place to rest in peace soon, she would quickly die in some unknown place, dying like a stray dog on the roadside.

She gritted her teeth and fished out the silver token from her bosom that had been soaked with sweat and blood.

This was an emblem engraved with the royal crest and Princess Alice's personal mark.

She gripped the emblem tightly, feeling the stinging pain of the metal edges digging into her palm.

Then she looked up, gazing at the silhouette of the city in the distance, shining brightly in the night.

Gino City.

That was her last hope.

"I can only gamble on this."

She whispered to herself, her voice hoarse and weary, carrying a sense of desperation, like burning one's bridges.

She adjusted her cloak, lowered her hood, and followed a secluded path, bypassing the heavily guarded main gate of the city. Relying on her years of combat experience, she found a corner where the city wall's defenses were relatively weak, and during the gap between the patrol teams' shift changes, she climbed over the wall and entered the city.

After entering Gino City, she did not linger, avoiding the main roads the entire way, moving along alleys and shadows toward the towering castle at the highest point of the city.

Although her movements were far from her peak, she still maintained the basic skills of a knight.

Her footsteps were light, her breathing steady, and her form moved close to the shadows of the walls, making almost no sound.

Finally, she arrived beneath the outer wall of Golden Flame Castle.