“Princess. Stop crying and calm down. Alright?”
Laslo was extremely flustered and didn’t know what to do.
He continuously wiped away the tears flowing down her cheeks.
“I don’t, I don’t want to die. I… How did I endure until here? What kind of life…sniff..did I live with until this…sniff…day? Where is this…sniff“
She felt wronged and angry.
When Sebastian finally killed Vivian, when he kissed Vivian’s pale forehead and covered the coffin, when Chavolti fell and became crippled.
She decided to give up many things.
She thought that was the only way to survive.
Agnes raised her wet cheek to look at him.
“I really don’t know what to do. What should I do?”
“What do you mean?”
“A way to save you.”
“What are you talking about? I will take care of my life well, so the princess doesn’t need to worry about that.”
He lightly tapped Agnes’ back as he let out a soft sigh.
His touch was so warm and affectionate that her tears that had barely stopped came back.
“You’re going to die. Because of me. Because of me…”
“I won’t die. I won’t die because of you.”
Laslo gently wiped her cheek.
“If only I had a little more ability. If I were smarter and knew more.”
Perhaps I could have saved you.
She swallowed the words she couldn’t spit out.
“Princess, you are enough as you are now. You have learned a lot in the palace, haven’t you?”
“All I’ve learned is useless imperial studies.”
Would the situation have been a little better if she had learned something else during the time spent learning useless imperial studies? She even felt self-loathing.
“What’s wrong with imperial studies? You can make use of it.”
Laslo said in a nonchalant way.
“How can I make use of it? Unless I become king…”
Agnes raised her voice to try to express how absurd his words were.
At that moment, a certain thought passed through her mind.
“That’s right. Imperial studies are useless unless you become a king.”
She repeated the same sentence several times over as if possessed.
What if I become a king? If I strike him before Sebastian attacks Sutmar? What if I kill Sebastian before he kills me? Then, perhaps both I and Laslo and our child who will be born someday can survive.
“Princess?”
Laslo called Agnes who was blankly blinking her eyes.
Perhaps she wouldn’t have dared to imagine it if she hadn’t experienced that terrible past. She had long since given up her ambition for the throne.
“Duke Arpad.”
“Yes?”
Fortunately, it’s not entirely impossible.
Agnes vaguely knows about the future three years ahead. If she can make good use of that…
“I must.”
She lifted her head to look at him. Her once watery blue eyes had suddenly hardened.
“I will protect you.”
“From what?”
Even Laslo’s face became serious in response to her seriousness.
“From the world.”
From the world that tries to kill you and me.
Having lowered herself, held her breath, and endured, the outcome was still death. Now, it was time to rise.
Agnes made up her mind at that moment.
To kill Sebastian and become the King herself.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Sigh…”
“Why are you pondering so deeply?”
Niall had arrived and stood beside her, holding a stack of papers.
Agnes straightened her previously hunched back, stood up straight, and stretched.
“How have you managed to hold on with this money until now?”
She rummaged through the ledger several times.
No matter how carefully the income and expenses were recorded in the ledger, only sighs came out.
Recurring famines, escape of territorial people, increased military expenses due to frequent beast invasions.
When all three of these come together, the situation of the territory is worsening day by day.
It was amazing that they were still holding on.
“To be honest, we’re almost hitting the limit. I can’t guarantee how much longer we can hold on.”
“What about the copper mine…?”
“It’s completely dried up.”
When Agnes asked with a glimmer of hope, Niall’s firm response was all she got in return.
The Arpad Duchy was not always this poor from the beginning.
However, various misfortunes such as man-made and natural disasters have been occurring for decades, leading to gradual decline.
“Is there no other way?”
When it comes to usurpation, the most important things are indeed money and justification.
Right now, she doesn’t necessarily need a justification, but money is urgently needed.
Despite racking her brains, no sharp solutions came to mind.
Even if she knows what will happen in the future, if she doesn’t know how to use it, it’s useless.
“Like the merchant who came by this morning, I feel like selling flour mixed with herbs claiming it’s an Elixir of Eternal Life.”
Agnes expressed her feelings with a sigh, and Niall, feeling the same way, threw an unexpected joke back at her.
“What are you talking about?”
“This morning, a certain herbalist came and claimed to have made an Elixir of Eternal Life. When I asked her to bring it, she mixed a few herbs in flour, claiming it was a miraculous medicine, so I kicked her out.”
“Well, with the public sentiment being so gloomy, there are all sorts of strange swindlers…”
Agnes stopped laughing at the absurdity.
Elixir of Eternal Life? Where did I hear about that?
It took Agnes quite a while to realize why that word sounded so familiar. Niall glanced at Agnes, who was strangely silent.
“Madam?”
“Oh!”
“Is there something wrong?”
“That, That person!”
Agnes suddenly stood up from her seat. She was too excited to speak properly.
“Yes?”
“Bring that person here right away!”
“Oh, I have already scolded her so that she won’t do such things again. There’s no need for Madam to…”
“No. I’m not going to scold her. I want to meet him face to face and have a conversation, so please bring her politely.”
“Right now?”
“Now. Immediately!”
Nialll unconsciously nodded his head several times at how serious Agnes was.
“I will bring her right away.”
“Very, very politely.”
“Yes.”
Agnes couldn’t stand still and paced around. Elixir of Eternal Life. The medicine with this amusing name is not a real Elixir of Eternal Life.
It has no actual healing effects. However, this medicine gained nationwide fame because if taken steadily for more than a month, it had an amazing effect of brightening the skin and reducing freckles.
Due to this innovative effect, it became extremely popular among not only the nobility of Nirseg but also among noblewomen in neighboring countries.
The Count who first distributed the medicine quickly found himself sitting on a money cushion.
As the medicine became famous, rumors spread about the herbalist who developed the medicine. It was revealed that the herbalist originally sold it by calling it the Elixir of Eternal Life.
People who heard the story often joked that she would have made more money if she actually created a real elixir of life.
Agnes, who resided in the outskirts of the west, learned of the existence of the medicine belatedly when the queen sent her a letter along with the medicine.
The queen had actively recommended it to her, so Agnes gave in and tried it for a month. She also remembered how she had been doubtful at first but was astonished when the medicine’s effects actually manifested.
‘If that person is really the herbalist who made that medicine.’
As time passed, her excitement subsided. Nothing was certain yet.
It was still unknown whether the herbalist who came to the castle was the one who made that medicine. But her hopeful heart remained steadfast.
It was when Agnes anxiously paced around the reception room.
“Madam.”
It was the first time in her life that she heard Niall’s voice sounding so welcoming. Agnes calmed her trembling voice.
“Have you brought her?”
“Yes.”
“Bring her in.”
A person wearing a dirty gray cloak entered with Niall.
Agnes smiled warmly and gestured for her to sit in front of her.
“I hope I didn’t trouble you by bringing you here. Please, have a seat.”
The herbalist fidgeted nervously, unable to hide her anxiety, then suddenly knelt before Agnes.
“I-I’m sorry, madam! I have committed a grave sin.”
The voice of the herbalist sounded a lot younger and higher than from what Agnes had expected.
Agnes quickly lifted the herbalist to her feet.
“What have you done wrong to me? Don’t do this, get up quickly.”
“If it was because of the nonsense about the miraculous medicine for longevity, I will never utter such words again. Please forgive me just this once. Madam.”
“I didn’t call you here to punish you.”
She prostrated herself so flat on the ground, trembling like a maid caught stealing a valuable item that a princess possessed.
Agnes, speaking in the most merciful voice possible, urged the herbalist to stand up and finally managed to seat her.
“You may leave us.”
After dismissing Niall as well, Agnes could finally start the conversation in earnest.
“Why don’t you take off your cloak?”
“Ah, yes, Madam.”
The herbalist was startled and hastily took off the cloak she had been wearing.
Her appearance matched her voice. A young woman around Agnes’ age looking like she had just come of age. She seemed normal, but what stood out was her pale complexion that was unusual for a commoner.
She fidgeted nervously, observing Agnes’s reactions carefully.
