Chapter192

Much more important was that royal temple ceremony.

Even though he had set a trap certain to kill her, she not only survived but boldly wrote an invitation letter to Northern King Commander Shu for his return at the end of the year. She secretly and openly used Commander Shu to threaten and pressure him, allowing her to successfully head south to Marigold City.

After she arrived in Marigold City, for several months, only fragmented news came through. Among these messages, almost nothing useful was included.

Then came the shocking and overturning revelation for him.

The eldest princess, once dismissed by him as clever but insignificant, had somehow grown to this degree.

She could counterattack Edelweiss, such a powerful third-rank country. She also managed to quietly remove the garrisons he thought were safely hidden, one by one.

Lord Gregory suddenly broke into a cold sweat.

This was no longer about a traitor among his men.

He had fundamentally underestimated and misjudged the woman who appeared to be obsessed with men.

Since climbing to this position and holding power alone, the Gregory family could not remember how long it had been since they felt this way.

Various confusing thoughts combined with the behaviors of Plumera before leaving the capital rushed through Lord Gregory's mind.

He suddenly grabbed a scout, his dark triangular eyes filled with fierce determination, his fingers tightening.

"Go, deliver my orders! Immediately have the chief general of the royal city surround the palace! No one is allowed to enter or leave the palace gates!"

"Yes, yes!"

Lord Gregory then looked at the family heads of the Zhu, Yan, and Lin families, who were still calming their chests, and spoke angrily.

"Get up at once! If you don't want to die, gather all remaining forces for me! Surround the entire Plumera City! Seal it like an iron bucket! Not a single fly can get in!"

The Zhu, Yan, and Lin family heads paused, then hurriedly asked.

"Lord Gregory, have you thought of a way to respond?"

Lord Gregory's face was fierce and ruthless, and he smiled with cruelty.

"If she doesn't want me alive, I'll drag the whole Plumera City down with me!"

"Lock up all the citizens in Plumera City!"

"And that useless emperor inside the palace! Bring all other royal bloodlines of the Plumera royal family here! Tie them and hang them on the city walls!"

"As long as Aragorn and General Qi dare to lead troops to pressure the city, for every day, I'll execute one!"

In Plumera City

In the Princess's residence

In a hidden corner of the back garden wall, two men—one tall and one slender—stood facing each other under the shade of a tree.

The tall man was over 1.9 meters. The fitted black outfit on him highlighted his broad chest muscles and narrow waist. His long and strong legs were wrapped in black pants, faint outlines of perfect muscles showing, full of explosive power.

"You're really not leaving?"

The man spoke with a deep and smooth voice, his handsome brows slightly furrowed. He was Damon, who had spent the past few months helping Elara develop the Bai Family's Business outside Plumera.

The man in front of him was thinner but not short, also over 1.8 meters. His refined features were gentle like jade, and his calm and elegant demeanor made him stand out. He was Mathias, who had been staying in the Princess's residence in Plumera during these past few months.

Mathias shook his head, glanced back at the now cold and silent residence, then looked at the group of male servants behind Damon who had disguised themselves as ordinary commoners.

"I still can't leave. Her Highness is already a thorn in Lord Gregory's eye. After being defeated by the Princess in the south, he definitely won't let the Princess's residence in Plumera go."

"These male servants don't draw attention. Take them out of the city to the business estate first. When Lord Gregory comes to seize the residence, he won't notice them. But we can't leave the place completely empty. If I stay behind to deal with Lord Gregory and his men, we can avoid raising suspicion too soon and ruining the plan."

Damon's brows furrowed more tightly. "But Emory has already arranged substitutes using death-row prisoners for most of the people here, including you. They'll arrive soon. If you don't leave and Lord Gregory locks down the residence, even if you try to deal with him, he won't let you go. Then you'll face torture and maybe even lose your life..."

Yesterday, they had received a message from Elara detailing the war situation in the south.

Her Highness had predicted that Lord Gregory, once cornered, would lash out without restraint, so she had them prepare early.

And today, they received news from Emory sent from inside the Gregory estate.

Lord Gregory, realizing that his forces were badly defeated and no longer matched Elara, now wanted to drag the whole city of Plumera down with him!

How outrageous!

Upon hearing this, Damon immediately took action.

Some of the people he had trained at the business estate quietly went to help evacuate civilians from the city. He himself brought a team to the Princess's residence to take everyone there to safety.

Lord Gregory would surely be filled with hatred and vengeance. He would never spare the Princess's residence and would send people to raid and seal it off first!

Mathias, known as the Princess's most favored consort before she left Plumera, was also the eldest son of Plumera's prestigious Pei Family. Naturally, Emory had also prepared a substitute for him.

But Mathias shook his head and refused.

"A substitute made from a death-row prisoner, no matter how similar, isn't me. I was born and raised in Plumera, and Lord Gregory practically watched me grow up. If I leave too, he will definitely notice something is wrong."

If that happened, their plan to evacuate people in secret would be exposed. Lord Gregory would tighten surveillance and imprisonment, and the rest of the rescue efforts would be cut off.

All the remaining innocent civilians and merchants in Plumera would then be used as leverage against the Princess.

Mathias's long lashes lowered slightly. His face remained calm.

He wouldn't let that happen.

The people and merchants of Plumera had already suffered enough.

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Damon pressed his lips together and stopped trying to persuade him.

He simply took a thumb-sized red insect from his palm and handed it to Mathias. "This is a puppet insect Her Highness gave me. If you're in danger, or... truly can't hold on anymore, feed it a drop of your blood. I'll send someone to save you immediately."

Mathias nodded. His pale fingers gently picked up the red insect from Damon's palm and watched it crawl into his sleeve.

Damon looked at his always calm face, then after a pause, said, "I don't know what the Princess used to be like. But whatever she was, it doesn't matter to me. I only know she saved me, helped me hide my identity, valued my abilities, and agreed to help me get revenge. Mathias..."

The elegant man looked up at him.

"The Princess..." Damon paused as if searching for words. "The Princess values you too. And... you're still the person beside her. For her to entrust this entire residence and all the key matters in Plumera to you shows that you matter to her. Don't disregard yourself. Hold on. Once she returns to the capital, she'll definitely come to rescue you."

Mathias's gentle eyes froze slightly.

Damon had already turned and mounted his horse, leading all the disguised servants quickly out of the residence.

Outside the Princess's residence

Two of Damon's deputies rode behind him and whispered to each other.

"Boss really has a big heart, huh? He even told his rival in love that the Princess cares about him?"

The other deputy immediately raised his brows and stroked his chin with a mysterious look. "What do you know? This is called... advancing by retreating? No, maybe it's called playing hard to get? Wait, that's not quite right either! Anyway, you've definitely heard of Mathias, the capital's top talent. Not only is he good-looking, but he's also extremely capable and comes from a prestigious family!"