The Princess's Resolution

With the help of Lady Evans and her maidservants, Princess Amelia sneaked out of the palace again.

It was not as if she has not learned her lesson from the last time. But, no matter how long she thought about it, Amelia knew that if she did not come out to do something for the villagers, she would regret it.

This time, she was prepared.

Earlier, she had taken some of her possession and money and handed them over to Lady Evans for her to exchanged them for some food and medicine. Then, Lady Evans had arranged for a few of her guards to come along with them.

The House of Evans was the most prominent merchant group in the continent. Therefore, as the next heir of their clan, Miria was always accompanied by her capable guards.

After changing into a set of clothes prepared by Miria, Princess Amelia successfully snuck out of the palace again.

When they arrived at the village, Lady Evans had already prepared everything that the Princess had instructed her to do. Two of Miria's guards had set up a makeshift tent for them to start distributing food.

The villagers queued in line to get their food. Miria had used her resources to find people to guard around the area. Therefore, none of the villagers dared to cause a scene.

Everything was done in such short notice.

As Amelia looked at the scene before her, she could see that her friend, Lady Evans was someone reliable. Years of training to be the clan's head, it has proved that Lady Evans has become efficient. As these thoughts came to her mind, Amelia began to admire Lady Evans a lot.

She was grateful that someone like Lady Evans was on her side.

Seeing that a smile started to form on the Princess's face, Lady Evans walked over towards her and smiled. "Are you doing alright?"

Amelia replied to her with a nod. "I have to thank you for everything you do to help me today, Lady Evans."

"It was an honor to help you in this project," Miria lowered her head. "You know that I will be by your side anytime you need my help."

Her lips curved into a slight smile. Then, as a thought crossed her mind, Amelia heaved a sigh. "Damian might be angry if he found out that I sneak out of the palace again. He might deploy every guard in the castle to search for me."

Miria laughed a little. "Adviser Damian is a careful man. He wouldn't do anything that would give the nobles a chance to condemn you. Instead, he'll be very discreet even if he finds you missing from the palace."

Amelia thought of the way the adviser had handled the situation when he found that Asher has not returned to the palace and agreed that Damian was someone who liked to do things discreetly.

"Don't worry too much," Miria continued when she saw the uneasy look on the Princess's expression. "Sara would know what to do if the adviser went to look for you. And I promise you, Your Highness, I will help you to return you safely to the palace within time."

Although Amelia had instructed Sara and the other maidservants to refuse any visitor to her quarters while she was away, she was still worried.

At least she knew for sure that the adviser would not be looking for her for any matters for a while, knowing that she would refuse to see him for a while after their argument earlier.

After watching the people that Lady Evans had hired to help them distribute the food, Amelia then volunteered to help and find her chance to interact with the villagers.

Lady Evans noticed the apparent joy and satisfaction on the Princess's face as she continued to interact with the villagers.

Although what she did was merely giving some food and providing some medicine, Amelia thought that it was a big achievement.

At least, there was something that she can do to help the people.

"Are you tired, your highness?" Miria voiced her concern after a while. "Maybe you should take a break and let my guards and attendants handle this task for you?"

"I'm alright," Amelia said, smiling to the villagers as they thanked her for the food. "I want to do this for the villagers until the very end. This is the least that I can do for them."

Miria watched the Princess helped to distribute the food to the villagers to the end. Once everyone had gotten their share, she turned to her attendants and told them to clear up.

Then, Miria signaled to her guards and told them to be prepared to escort the Princess back to the palace. Once she had delegated all tasks to everyone, Miria poured a cup of water and served it to the Princess.

"Thank you," Amelia said, after a gulp of the cold, refreshing water. "I need to thank you for helping me with the villagers. For helping me to sneak out" Amelia chuckled softly. "I didn't think that I would be able to do anything if you decide to oppose my plan."

"You know that I would do anything for you," Miria said. She watched the princess tilted her head up to look at the villagers' kids playing around and smiled. "Your Highness, would you like to share what's on your mind?"

Amelia was quiet for a while. She took a long, deep breath before she turned to look at Miria. "I—I wanted to get stronger," she paused and turned to look away. "I want to become stronger to protect the people in Asher's stead even if it means that I have to stand up against the nobles."

Miria's expression softened at the princess's speech. Her gaze on the princess's face lingered for a full five seconds. "It wouldn't be easy," she pointed out.

"I know that," Amelia nodded. Her expression changed at the thought of what she needed to do and what she will face later on. "But I cannot bear to watch my people continue to suffer because of my weaknesses," she sighed. "I'm going to study harder when I get back to the palace. I want to gain more knowledge and power to rule the country properly. That way the nobles would think twice before they intimidate me with their so-called power."

Miria smiled. "I have absolute confidence that you can do anything, your highness. And I vow to do anything—to lend you my power whenever you need it. I speak this for everyone from the House of Evans."