Fortunately, Chloe came upon a fork in the road and used her sword to cut pieces from the hem of her dress, placing them on both paths. She left traces in both directions to confuse her pursuers about which way she had fled.

After running for quite some time, when she no longer saw any mercenaries, Chloe hurriedly began climbing a tree. She ascended swiftly and lightly like a flying squirrel, and from her perch, she could see the mercenaries searching for her belatedly.

Knowing that making noise could give her away, Chloe covered her mouth and looked down while holding her breath as much as possible.

Fortunately, the wind was blowing, causing all the leafy trees to rustle, which helped mask the sound of her breathing.

The men didn’t seem to have anticipated that Chloe would climb a tree. They looked around, and when they couldn’t find her, they moved elsewhere.

Even after the men left, Chloe continued to catch her breath in the tree. She couldn’t come down yet since there was no guarantee they wouldn’t return.

But she couldn’t just stay put either. She looked around to check if there was a village nearby.

Luckily, the forest wasn’t far from a village. She could rent a carriage there.

Since it would only take a day to travel, this place couldn’t be too far from the palace, so returning wouldn’t be difficult.

Chloe kept watching in the direction of the village to memorize it. Meanwhile, she spotted the mercenaries searching for her several times.

“I don’t see her. Looks like she left the forest.”

“What kind of woman runs this fast? Wasn’t she the Crown Princess? Is that even possible?”

“They said she was caught after running away. Maybe she lived in the wild during her brief escape. We underestimated her.”

Unable to find Chloe, they eventually had to leave empty-handed. When she heard their grumbling voices, her heart pounded so hard that she had to clasp her hands together, close her eyes, and pray to God not to be discovered.

Chloe came down from the tree after sunset. She checked her disheveled appearance and brushed off the small pieces of wood stuck to her body.

“Do I have to leave the forest looking like this?”

She hadn’t paid attention until now because of the urgent situation, but Chloe was barefoot with bare legs.

She couldn’t help feeling embarrassed since parts of her body that shouldn’t be casually exposed to others were clearly visible.

Moreover, her feet were bleeding quite a bit, perhaps from getting scratched while running. Only after noticing this did she feel the stinging pain.

But in her current situation, she had no choice but to go to the village in this state.

Just as she was about to leave the forest, she encountered villagers who had come to gather firewood. They appeared to be a couple, elderly with generous expressions.

“Miss, are you alright?” The woman approached Chloe with surprised eyes.

“Ah, I’m fine,” Chloe replied with an awkward smile.

“My goodness. Judging by your attire, you seem to be someone important who’s gone through some trouble. I happen to have spare clothes with me. Would you like to change? They’re new and clean. The shoes might be a bit big, but they’ll be better than walking barefoot.”

“If you’re willing to lend them to me, I would be most grateful.”

“My, you’re truly a person of refinement. My clothes must seem shabby to you.”

The woman was surprised to see Chloe accept the clothes with such graceful movements, elegance clearly ingrained in her bearing.

“They’re really fine,” Chloe assured her.

After asking the man to turn around, Chloe changed her clothes. Then, with their help, she was able to reach the village.

“Where are you planning to stay tonight?”

“I was thinking of taking a carriage home…”

Chloe stopped mid-sentence. She belatedly realized she had no money. Seeing her troubled expression, the woman smiled kindly and said:

“Would you like to stay at our house for the night? We happen to have a spare room where you can sleep.”

“You’ve already lent me clothes, and now you’re offering a room too. Thank you.”

Though she felt bad about imposing, Chloe was in no position to be particular. Since it would be difficult to return today, she planned to accept their hospitality and contact the Limerick family tomorrow.

At the palace, they would think Chloe had run away, but they probably hadn’t announced it to other nobles yet. Going there in her current state would be like announcing her escape herself.

Considering all circumstances, going to the Limerick family was the best choice.

After walking for quite some time, they arrived at the couple’s home, which was small but cozy and clean. Exhausted, Chloe washed up, applied the medicine the woman gave her to her feet, and immediately fell asleep. It had been an incredibly draining day, both mentally and physically.

* * *

The fourth escape…

Lucius, hearing the news belatedly, was shocked beyond measure, like lightning striking from a clear sky. Much more than when Chloe had left for the Epha Empire.

He tried to take deep breaths and calm himself, but he simply couldn’t. Was this what it felt like when your heart crumbled?

He tore up the letter Chloe had left stating she was leaving because she wasn’t suited to be Crown Princess. He wanted to erase it completely, to make it seem like it had never existed, but he couldn’t. The torn pieces of paper merely scattered across the floor.

The handwriting had already been verified. So he had no choice but to believe she had voluntarily left the imperial family.

Even after he had honestly revealed his feelings, she still left…

“Am I that detestable to her?”

He had expressed his love with his entire being, and he thought Chloe had responded to it. But that was just Lucius’s delusion.

He had been bothered that he hadn’t heard her say she loved him last night…

He thought she would say those words someday, even if not now. But that wasn’t the case. Once again, she chose to run away rather than stay by his side.

“D*mn it!”

The curse escaped his lips involuntarily.

“Are you alright?”

This was the first time Lucius had ever looked so unstable, so his aide asked with concerned eyes.

“I’m fine. There’s no problem.”

Contrary to his words, his tightly clenched fists trembled.

This wasn’t the time to be like this. He needed to go find Chloe again.

Sadness washed over him, but Lucius knew this wasn’t the time to focus on his emotions. He had to find Chloe somehow before she went too far.

He had no intention of losing her again. It was okay if she didn’t love him. He felt he could be satisfied just having her by his side.

“Has the search already begun?”

“Yes. I ordered a search of the surrounding area the moment we confirmed she was missing.”

“So where did she run to this time?”

“She disappeared without a trace, so we haven’t found any evidence yet. We thought she might have gone to the Epha Empire, but she didn’t board any smuggling ships heading there.”

The only place Chloe could go was the Epha Empire. Anywhere else, she would be caught by him immediately. This meant there was a possibility she was still in the Nate Empire.

“Go immediately and arrest Duke Granard as a suspect in the Crown Princess’s kidnapping, and find out where Chloe has disappeared to.”

Duke Granard was one of those who had been displeased with Chloe becoming Crown Princess. Lucius knew he had been pretending to accept the Crown Princess in public while secretly approaching Chloe, offering to help her escape.

He had left it alone because he wanted to trust Chloe. He hoped she would reject the Duke’s offer and choose to stay with him of her own will.

But she eventually left. This was already confirmed by the soldiers at the Crown Princess’s Palace.

Though he had anticipated she might run away, he couldn’t help feeling frustrated.

“If he merely helped her leave voluntarily rather than kidnapping her, there will be protests from the Granard family.”

“To me, it’s kidnapping either way. And didn’t I warn everyone in advance? That anyone who helped her escape would be severely punished for kidnapping the Crown Princess. It’s their fault for acting so thoughtlessly.”

Lucius had firmly warned those who couldn’t accept Chloe as Crown Princess that he wouldn’t tolerate anyone helping her escape.

His threats seemed to work, as most nobles were cautious. Yet some family still dared to act boldly.

It wasn’t that everyone was obedient because they feared him. It was because Lucius had leverage over the nobles. The reason he had been so busy was not only because he was assisting with state affairs but also because he was conducting these investigations simultaneously.

So he thought his threats had worked, but not with Duke Granard. This suggested the Duke either lacked situational awareness or was simply oblivious. Or perhaps both.

“Go immediately and investigate Duke Granard’s movements. And increase the pursuit team.”

“Understood.”

Lucius didn’t care what kind of person Duke Granard was. He had no intention of letting him off after spiriting Chloe away.