She Was Sent by God

 

 

Chavolti mulled over his words with a sarcastic tone.

 

“To be poisoned by your brother. The palace is truly an incomprehensible world.”

 

During dinner, Agnes showed no reaction after receiving the mushrooms from the attendant. So he naïvely thought she must have liked mushrooms.

 

“The reason Agnes is suffering like that…”

 

He paused for a moment, then forced out the words.

 

“Once, Sebastian poisoned Vivian’s food during a meal where Agnes was present.”

“What!”

“Fortunately, Vivian didn’t die because she had an antidote, but she collapsed, vomiting blood from her ears and mouth.”

 

Chavolti still felt pain recalling that day.

It was a sunny day. Agnes came to Chavolti’s palace, wailing.

 

“I remember it. It was when she was less than ten years old. She came to me in a dress stained with blood.”

 

Surprised, he asked what was going on, which Agnes said with wet eyes.

 

‘I don’t want to die, Chavolti. I don’t want to die like Vivian.’

 

After that day, Agnes vomited everything she had after eating with Sebastian.

She became obsessively afraid, to the point of ruining her digestive system.

 

“She lived her whole life in such fear. Despite looking fine on the surface, she was shattered inside.”

 

Laslo looked at Prince Chavolti silently.

 

“She married the Duke to live.”

 

He confessed. All the alcohol left in the bottle was poured into his glass.

Laslo didn’t know what to say, so he remained quiet.

 

“She doesn’t want to die like Vivian.”

“……”

“So please take good care of my sister.”

 

Chavolti inhaled the glass at once and called in the servant, who was standing far away and left.

Laslo lingered for a while before returning to the mansion.

 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

 

“She has just fallen asleep.”

 

The doctor who examined Agnes stood in front of Laslo and reported her condition in detail.

“She has a slight fever, but since she took antipyretics, she’ll be fine tomorrow morning.”

“I see. Good job.”

 

The doctor nodded and walked away. He walked towards the bedroom located deepest in the room.

Agnes’s maid, who had been dozing off nearby, was startled awake at the sound.

 

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.”

 

The maid, who had woken up from her sleep, jumped up in surprise.

 

“I’ll take care of the princess; you can leave.”

“Yes.”

 

The maid silently left the room after opening the door.

Laslo sat on the chair where the maid was sitting and looked at Agnes.

Her face, which had turned white in the carriage, now slowly returns its color.

He unconsciously reached out and stroked Agnes on the cheek.

Her cheek felt soft, like spring.

He lifted his hand from Agnes’ cheek. Then, he carefully brushed away the sweat-drenched strands of hair.

— He married the Duke to live.

Chavolti’s words and expressions lingered in his mind.

— I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t even want to live like that. I’m tired of living without breathing properly. I want to live without worrying about others. Sniff…

Suddenly, he remembered what Agnes had said while crying over the castle wall.

She had just barely come of age. But how much pain and suffering had she endured?

The words that she didn’t want to die now touched his heart.

Thinking of the princess, who had traversed countless thorny paths until this day, made his heart ache.

A mixture of emotions flooded him—compassion, sympathy, pity, admiration, astonishment, excitement, and affection.

Though he couldn’t quite put a name to these emotions, one thing was certain: She had become quite precious to him.

Laslo quietly stood by her until dawn before leaving the room.

 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

 

A few days later, they moved when they heard that the repair of the Arpad Townhouse had been completed.

 

Chavolti grumbled and said, “Are you already going?”

Laslo called Beller, who had come to the capital with them, to his office.

“Did you call me, Master?”

“You must be familiar with the affairs of the palace, having frequented it often.”

“What kind of situation are you talking about?”

“Was the princess’ life threatened when she was in the palace?”

“…do you know what Prince Sebastian is like?”

 

Beller hesitated in his response. There was much significance in the omitted sentence.

 

“Agnes is a princess who’s 10 years younger than the prince and has no power.”

“Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean the princess’s right to the throne disappears.”

 

Beller replied calmly. Upon hearing him, Laslo felt a surge of complexity in his heart.

He realized that he was thinking too simply about the situation.

He had thought that with Prince Sebastian ascending to the throne, all threats against her would vanish.

However, seeing the prince openly suggesting poisonous mushrooms at the dinner table didn’t seem like he’s letting his guard down.

Laslo swept his hair somewhat roughly.

 

“How many elesh do we have now?”

 

Then Beller rubbed his chin with a troubled face.

 

“Five, no, seven people are currently training.”

“Put half of it on Agnes.”

“What?”

 

Beller’s eyes widened twice their usual size. He tilted his head in disbelief.

 

“No, isn’t Elesh specified to protect only the head of the family and his successor?”

“Without the princess, there is no successor.”

“Master, but that’s…”

 

Beller’s face hardened.

 

“Sir Beller, I know your loyalty. But you should know who it is for.”

“……”

“I’m the owner of Arpad. Don’t you know what that means?”

 

He spoke calmly.

Laslo’s expression and tone were no different than before, but somehow Beller could not resist his words.

 

“I’ll pass the message to the Elesh.”

“If anything dangerous happens to her, they are to inform me immediately, and otherwise, they are to keep hidden and observe for the time being.”

“I’ll do that.”

 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

 

The incident in which Laslo poured gold coins on the head of the Viscount Eres became as much a topic of conversation among the nobles as the king’s coronation ceremony.

Some of the more well-informed individuals had already caught wind of the Arpad family’s newfound wealth and flocked to Agnes like bees to honey when she appeared at the ball.

 

“Duchess, it’s such an honor for me to meet you here.”

 

Someone suddenly interrupted the noble woman, who was about to introduce herself.

A noble woman in a dress decorated with colorful jewels made a fuss.

 

“Oh, my. Duchess! Did you see the invitation I sent you? I’m going to have a tea party at my mansion in 10 days, and I really want you to come.”

 

Agnes clearly remembers what she said to Laslo when she first came here.

It was amusing to see how nobles could change their demeanor depending on the situation, but it was ridiculous how their attitude towards her had completely shifted in just a few days.

 

“I think it will be difficult to attend due to my busy schedule.”

 

Agnes said bluntly.

 

“Then, when will you have time? We’re going hunting early next month, but if you don’t mind.”

 

She persistently bit and stretched.

 

“Hunting? Hunting is good. Sutmar is a place where the Duke cannot eat meat unless he hunts it himself. That’s great. I’ll tell the Duke to attend.”

 

Agnes responded with a face devoid of amusement. Upon hearing this, the lady’s face paled for a moment.

 

“What’s wrong? He might want to attend. By the way, make sure to prepare some black bread for lunch when we go hunting. The Duke and I enjoy eating it like commoners.”

“That, that…”

“Why? Do you have more to say?”

 

Though Agnes was about half a head shorter than the woman, the air of authority emanating from her entire being was impossible to ignore.

 

“I-I’ll take my leave now, Duchess.”

 

Not only her, but other ladies also subtly avoided her presence. After dispersing the ladies surrounding her, Agnes leisurely walked over to Laslo.

 

“Your Grace, this is truly a golden opportunity that won’t come again. Please reconsider once more.”

 

A nobleman with black hair and a petite stature was fervently pleading in front of Laslo.

Laslo lanced at him with a sullen expression.

 

“Can I know what the opportunity is?”

“Oh, Duchess.”

 

Agnes pointed at the man with her chin. Laslo shrugged and said,

 

“He said he’s Baron Lerlin.”

“I am Baron Pal Leslin. Your Excellency.”

 

Baron Leslin corrected his name while twitching his nose.

 

“Yeah. Baron Leslin. What’s that opportunity?”

“The truth is, Duchess.”

 

Baron Leslin looked around once and lowered his voice.

 

“I recently discovered a sapphire mine on my estate.”

“Oh, congratulations on that.”

 

Agnes said half-heartedly.

 

“According to experts, the reserves are also significant.”

 

The baron opened his eyes and lowered his voice further.

 

“But I’m trying to sell some of my mining rights due to unavoidable circumstances.”

 

The baron squeezed his chest with a sad expression as much as possible.

 

“You’re going to sell the sapphire mining rights?”

 

The moment I heard that far, Agnes had a feeling.

He is obviously a scammer.

There is no way a proper person would sell off mining rights that could generate wealth for another person.

In other words, it’s not a legitimate mine.

 

“I have a wife and two daughters. My eldest daughter’s name is Beatrice, and the second daughter is Kira. Both of them have reached marriageable age, but due to our poor financial situation, they haven’t been able to marry yet.”

 

Baron Pal Leslin unfolded a tale of woe with a torrent of words, his eyes dry of tears.

Agnes, who pretended to listen moderately, couldn’t stand the boredom when the baron’s sick wife was mentioned.