Chapter 4 The Baron in Disgrace
Hansel Abbott, a noble baron in the Aldo Kingdom, at least in the eyes of the common people, he is indeed noble, but now he is in embarrassment with a group of ragged people Refugees running on muddy country roads.
"Damn rebels," he muttered again.
Just a week ago, Archduke Giles, known as the "Greedy Wolf", launched a rebellion. The king was suffering from a serious illness and had been in a coma for many days. Her Royal Highness the Princess, who was the only one who could suppress the rebellion, led Her knights traveled to the eastern highlands to drive out the barbarians that were infesting the kingdom's borders.
Although everyone knew the ambition of Grand Duke Tanlang, the royal family's strategy towards him was still to appease him. No one expected that the rebellion would happen so quickly.
What's worse is that Sir Hals, the commander of the Royal Capital City Guards who has always been loyal to the royal family in the eyes of the public, turned out to be a hidden chess piece buried by the Grand Duke in the Royal Capital. He took advantage of the royal army's elite outing to directly carry out a heart-wrenching tactic.
The Abbott family has always given people the impression of being die-hard loyalists to the royal family. Hansel, who happened to be outside the city, was so frightened when he heard the news that he did not even dare to return home. He went to the highlands with his personal servant overnight. Fleeing direction.
The order in the entire Jingyao area seemed to have collapsed overnight. Bandits from all walks of life appeared overnight. The city guards also began to raid the surrounding area, burning, killing and looting. They were like a family of soldiers and bandits.
Coupled with the notorious reputation of Grand Duke Giles, a large number of civilians and small and medium-sized nobles loyal to the royal family began to flee to other places.
Hansel intermittently heard some rumors from the refugees. It seemed that the rebels did not find the king after they rushed into the palace.
The royal party received the news at the last moment before the rebellion. The martial arts students of the Royal Academy were mobilized urgently. Together with the small number of royal guards, they protected the still unconscious king and some other important members from the north city gate. .
Hansel saw a convoy with royal symbols on the road, but he did not follow it like those refugees who were eager to seek asylum.
At this time, he was still showing off in the name of the royal family, and he felt that something was wrong.
He is now leading his servant Tommen to take another road. Of course, there are many refugees on this road.
The carriage got stuck in a puddle just now. The servant Tommen whipped the horse's buttocks open and did not pull the carriage out. Just when they were complaining about their bad luck, a group of passing robbers came again. They took away the horses and the few remaining money.
All the baron can do now is curse the rebels who caused all this over and over again.
Just when the master and servant were about to take a rest on the roadside, an aristocratic-style carriage caught up with them, and the family crest on the car had been obscured.
While passing them, a face appeared in the car window that made Hansel feel extremely queasy on weekdays, but now he felt a little inexplicably friendly.
"Hey, isn't this Abbott?"
The flash of schadenfreude on the other person's face made the little intimacy disappear.
Even so, the group of fully-armed knights behind the carriage made him feel at ease, and he decided to hitch a ride on the carriage no matter what.
I had no choice but to bite the bullet: "Old friend Matthew, I was robbed by a group of shameless robbers. For the sake of being brothers for many years, can you give me some help?"
< br>Matthew smiled playfully and said: "What's wrong with this? Can I let my good friend, Baron Hansel Abbott, hang out in a stinking mud among a group of refugees like he is now? If this spreads, This is a major blow to the image of our nobles. "
He said loudly in a very exaggerated tone while opening the car door, attracting a group of refugees who happened to be passing by to stop and watch.
“Thank you, I knew you wouldn’t ignore your old friend.”
Hansel got into the carriage, vowing in his heart to ridicule the other party when he was in trouble.
Matthew Stallman, Hansel’s classmate, was also his biggest rival throughout his student days. Every time a debate was held, the two of them could always be seen making impassioned tit-for-tat speeches, making their faces red-faced. , the sky is dark and the earth is dark, and in private they have hidden each other behind their backs countless times, dismissing each other as sinister villains. Now, he had to escape with the help of his mortal enemy.
“Everything in the world is unpredictable!” Hansel sighed, and then he was glad that his mother and sister, who were traveling far away to visit relatives, were not in the royal capital.
"Hansel, stop crying and tell me what your plans are."
Hansel straightened his collar and regained some energy, "At this time when the kingdom is in turmoil, it is natural for me to serve under the eldest princess. Although my personal talents are low, it is my duty as the Abbott family to solve problems for the royal family. Responsibility. "
"Humph, it's still as grand as ever, no matter what, I have this plan anyway. Our Stallman family's loyalty to the royal family has never been inferior to others."
" I wonder if Her Royal Highness will take us in if we go to the military camp. Matthew, where did you come from before you fled?"
"I was checking accounts in the manor outside the city and received my father. The notice told me to quickly go to the high ground to join the eldest princess.”
“I saw the royal family’s motorcade on the road. Why didn’t you follow it?”
"Didn't you follow me? With such a chaotic war and so much fanfare, do you think I'm a fool? You still look down on people as before."
The two of them were talking without a word. Suddenly the carriage stopped. The two of them were worried, wouldn't they run into rebels and robbers?
I heard someone outside the car shouting with a foreign accent: "Are you from the Stallman family? Can you get out of the car and see me?"
Matthew and Hansel had no choice but to After getting off the car, I saw an old man standing next to the carriage on the roadside. He bowed slightly and made an aristocratic salute.
The old man introduced himself: "I am Baron Wackley Ford, the Lord Seal of the Earl of Grayman on the northwest coast. I would like to say hello to you two on behalf of my lord."
"Hello, I am Baron Matthew of the Stallman family, and this is Baron Hansel of the Abbott family. What can I do for you?"
"I went to the royal capital for an audience due to territorial matters. Your Majesty, I saw a large number of civilians fleeing north with their families along the way. They all said that there was a rebellion in the royal capital, so I would like to ask you two about the specific situation."
"The distinguished guests have come from afar. I must not know that it was all because of that guy Giles, who betrayed His Majesty the King."
"Oh? Is it the Grand Duke who is known as the 'Greedy Wolf'?"
"Yes, now that the royal capital has been occupied by his accomplices, I advise you not to go."
"I haven't been to the royal capital in the past ten years, and unexpectedly encountered such a big thing when I came. Giles is really hateful."
"Yes, we are also afraid of falling into the hands of the rebels, so we plan to go She defected to Her Majesty the Princess, who is currently leading the troops to drive away the barbarians in the highlands. With Her Majesty's ability, she should be able to return to the army and put down the rebellion soon."
"I don't know, Your Majesty the King..."
"Your Majesty must have been rescued. If you are willing, Mr. Ford can go with us to find the Princess Palace. Your Majesty fell ill not long ago and has handed over all matters to the Princess to handle."
"Is that true? Well, I'll trouble you two on the way."
(End of this chapter)