Chapter 27 Early Evacuation: Two servants, one on each side, carried a thick...

Da da, da da.

The crisp sound of horses' hooves echoed through the alleyways, gradually ceasing before reaching the market.

A small hand reached out from the carriage, gesturing for it to stop.

The princess's guard consisted entirely of educated noblewomen who were very obedient and stopped almost silently by the roadside.

Across the wall was the slave quarter of the grand marketplace. You could see rows of iron cages without even looking up, and smell a stench completely different from that of the palace and gardens.

Everyone looked at the little princess with curiosity, wondering what kind of idea she had in mind.

Eleanor shook her head, refusing Coral's embrace, and helped Manju down from the carriage.

She glanced at the market entrance, then said softly, "I've received definite news from someone that there will be a major riot in this market today."

Someone? Who could be that someone?

Everyone looked at Manzhu, but Manzhu was also looking at everyone with a suspicious gaze.

"Your Highness, who exactly is causing this disturbance?" Coral suggested seriously, "If it's some lord who wants to create trouble, we can notify the city guards and have them catch him red-handed!"

Eleanor gave a bitter smile.

She knew, of course, that Coral's decision was the right one.

Why would a princess get involved in such a dangerous situation? Whether it's a noble rebellion or a slave rebellion, wouldn't it be better to tell others what she foresaw and stay in a safe place to enjoy the scenery?

No, because I have my own principles... and my own strength.

Eleanor couldn't resist touching the pendant.

Because she possesses the power to rewind time, she wants to steer everything toward a better future.

In the previous life where "nothing changed," this rebellion must have killed many merchants, citizens, and, most importantly... the slaves themselves.

Are the businessmen innocent?

Even without judging ancient people under slavery using modern moral standards, their actions such as whipping, insulting, and causing others to suffer from hunger and cold were all unnecessary acts of bullying.

However, the law at that time did not judge the merchants and their actions against slaves.

They weren't innocent of any crime; they didn't commit any crime at all.

Can a person kill another person and take their life simply because they are immoral? Before judging them, it seems more appropriate to judge the current law.

If Eleanor still had some doubts about the crimes and treatment of slave owners, she felt nothing but sympathy for the citizens and slaves.

One side is simply maintaining their daily life, while the other side wants to break free from their despairing existence.

If Eleanor didn't have the ability to rewind time, she could say "self-preservation is the first priority," but now she clearly has the ability to change this tragedy.

I can—I must endure the pain of death for a better future.

She breathed softly, her eyes gleaming slightly as she looked up. "Please rest assured, since I have dared to come here in person, none of us will lose our lives because of this!"

If there is one, it will only be myself.

Manzhu touched her chest and replied, "We would give our lives for Your Highness. What should we do?"

"Okay, first up is Thorn, and then there are a few sisters I specifically requested to wear casual clothes."

Eleanor went to the back row, where Thorn and three skilled guards had changed into servants' clothes and disappeared into the ranks of servants.

Aside from Thorn's sufficiently humble demeanor, the others didn't quite resemble servants. But once they changed out of their finery and disappeared into the crowd, who would bother to distinguish between nobles and noble servants?

Very good, the flaws are minor.

The princess nodded with satisfaction and said, "Your mission is quite important. You need to be constantly on guard against enemies who might try to harm you, and you also need to be careful that no one tries to assassinate me from the shadows. She might use a bow and arrow."

"Yes!" Thorn and her three sisters bowed their heads nimbly.

Judging from their somber expressions, other orders could be postponed depending on the situation, but protecting the princess was always the prerequisite.

This is the benefit of being prescient.

In the previous round, someone hid in the crowd and shot an arrow at her. Eleanor didn't see the person clearly at the time, but now that she thinks about it carefully, she can see the flaw.

Her attire was completely different from that of the slave traders, who would not kill each other out of hatred.

Judging from her age, she is just a 10-year-old child, a noble person to be protected. Living would be a greater "drag" on the team's fighting capacity than dying.

Who would order an attack on a seemingly harmless adversary on the orders of the leader?

Norlana did not abolish corporal punishment; commoners or slaves who injured nobles would be subject to extremely terrible punishments.

What reason could possibly drive someone to take such a huge risk to shoot her? The reason of "yearning for freedom" alone is not enough.

Eleanor assigned the special forces, then walked halfway around the remaining guards, gently pointing out half of the candidates, and after thinking for a moment, she pointed out Andra.

"You, you, you, and...you."

Her gaze lingered on Andra for a little longer, then she casually raised her finger and pointed to the gentle slope outside the main gate.

"You all wait over there. Once you hear shouts of fighting or see a signal arrow inside, rush in immediately."

"Yes," the guards responded in unison.

Andra rode up to her, bowing her head in apparent humility, and said, "The tactic of flanking from both sides is indeed excellent, but Your Highness, you need not risk your life..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Coral and Manju out of the corner of her eye, clearly implying to Eleanor: let the two of them barge in as honored guests, and you should stay in a safe place.

Eleanor chuckled and shook her head. "No, there's a difference between princesses and ordinary nobles, and—"

The little princess proudly raised her head and walked up to the attendant to stroke the magnificent white horse.

"There are some things that only I can do best!"

With a nimble leap, she slid down the horse's back.

The horse blinked innocently and slowly knelt down on the ground.

Cough cough.

Her Highness mounted her horse and walked inside with her head held high.

......

The morning sunlight shyly hides among the clouds, gilding the white clouds with a layer of gold.

The guests in the early morning are more unrestrained than the sun.

They all changed into their best clothes and went to the market to select goods, only showing a little embarrassment when bargaining.

The vendors scanned the crowd with eyes sharper than vultures, quickly figuring out who were the wealthy patrons and who had worn-out burlap hidden under their new clothes.

Some guests cannot pretend, nor do they need to pretend.

Da-da-da.

The crisp, rhythmic sound of horses' hooves could be heard not far away.

A dozen or so beautiful young women rode tall horses and slowly entered the market, making no attempt to conceal their presence.

They should dismount.

Although there weren't many people in the early morning, in a few hours many nobles and citizens would come to select "goods," and so many Marcos would be causing a traffic jam.

However, no one paid attention to any of this; their eyes were only focused on the girl in the lead.

She was a little girl with slightly curled black hair, and her petite figure made the horse seem even more majestic.

The snow-white horse had not a single stray hair, which some people might associate with their queen, Eva, who had a particular fondness for similar white horses.

Another group of people were even more direct: Besides royalty, what other noble person could parade around the royal city with a dozen or so brightly dressed young noblemen?

The girl's identity is becoming increasingly clear.

"Your Highness..." The traffickers exchanged excited glances.

Everyone knows that the king dotes on his youngest daughter the most, giving her whatever she wants.

The king bestowed upon this frail and sickly little princess a huge palace adjacent to the Sky Garden, and during any public ceremony, he would allow the little princess to rest in a luxurious carriage.

Such a noble little princess, even if she just spills a little bit of something, it would be enough for us to eat for a year, right?

People can't help but think of mountains covered in gold and jewels scattered all over the ground.

They scanned Eleanor's neck, earlobes, and wrists with eager eyes, and were surprised to find that the little princess was dressed very simply.

Her earlobes were not pierced, so she couldn't wear earrings. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, without a pearl hairnet or a gold or silver crown.

If these things could be explained by the fact that "the princess is still young, and the king hopes that the future prince can personally prepare these pieces of jewelry to show his intimacy for the little princess."

She wasn't wearing a bracelet, and only had a gold pendant around her neck... Her attire was really too shabby.

"Truly worthy of being a princess!"

A sound caught the attention of those around them.

She looked at the girl and said seriously, "Your Highness must have the most delicate skin; only your neck is willing to bear the weight of that jewelry."

Oh~ everyone nodded in sudden realization, but then they realized something was off.

The girl on horseback looks quite energetic; she doesn't seem as weak and sickly as rumored.

Before they could figure it out, Eleanor had already ridden her horse up to the crowd.

Whether they were vendors or ordinary citizens who came to stroll around early in the morning, everyone couldn't help but crowd around, wanting to get closer and closer to the princess.

"Get out of my way! Don't let the assassins in!!"

A pink-haired noblewoman drew her longsword, brandished it at the crowd, and yelled, causing everyone to retreat.

"Alright, alright," Eleanor gestured for Battina to return to the group.

She smiled warmly at everyone: "Good morning, citizens. I'm just here to select some slaves, but... cough cough cough."

The little princess coughed twice, and said somewhat apologetically, "There are indeed too many people, which is dangerous. I'm also afraid of a stampede. How about this, everyone please accept my thank-you gift and come back another day?"

As soon as she finished speaking, two servants came over, one on each side, carrying a thick box, and placed it on the ground with a thud.

Coral bent down, lifted the box, grabbed a handful of copper coins, and then let them fall back down.

Whoosh—the sunlight shone on the warm copper coins, each one a large, thick copper coin, filling a whole box.

The little princess rode her horse to the chest.

Unlike other nobles who would grab a handful of coins and scatter them on the ground during festivals, she said very gently, "Please line up one by one and take twenty coins home for a hot meal."

"Thank you for your kindness!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

No one disobeyed the princess, and everyone's face was filled with happy smiles.

Even though some minor nobles looked down on these copper coins, they still felt that the princess was quite prudent in her actions.

If a madman were to suddenly assassinate the princess, they wouldn't have enough heads to go around. One meeting is enough; let's go, let's go!

Under the watchful eyes of the guards, the crowd lined up and left through the door.

The market vendors also sent their men to guard outside and prevent new customers from barging in and disturbing the princess.

The atmosphere in the market was friendly and lively, with only a few people showing signs of anxiety.

"Tsk," a burly woman with chestnut hair carrying a basket turned and ran into a corner.

But just as she took a step, she heard a girl calling out to her from behind.

"Hey there, my friend~" Eleanor chuckled, covering her face, "Could you show me around here for a bit?"

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Author's note: Andra: Good strategy, using a small amount of money to reduce cumbersome meat shields and leaky mouths.

Eleanor: As long as I evacuate the crowd, no innocent civilians will be injured. [Applause]