“Princess!”
He quickly walked over and embraced Agnes.
“Duke Arpad.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No. But what’s going on.”
In response to Agnes’s question, Laslo shook his head.
“I don’t know yet either. I was in the office when I heard a loud noise, so I came over here immediately.”
He looked around with a serious face.
“I already sent someone to know what happened.”
“Is it the beasts?”
The defense line is not completely repaired yet.
Worry filled Agnes’s face.
However, the culprit turned out to be an unexpected individual.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Eva, Duchess.”
“My name is R, Ranke. Duchess.”
Beside Eva, a man with brown hair looked uncertain and kept glancing at Agnes.
On the other hand, Eva’s attitude, the main culprit of this case, was calm.
“Explain.”
Agnes commanded, touching her temple.
As it turned out, the culprit of this incident was the twelfth magician who had recently joined.
The research lab where she had been staying was completely burnt down, and all the windows were shattered.
It was surprising that she came out of there intact without any wounds.
As Eva was about to speak, Ranke quickly intervened.
“I’m truly sorry. There was a magic Eva was working on during her research, and it went wrong.”
“What do you mean went wrong? I succeeded.”
Eva intervened abruptly. Ranke waved his hand, urging her to stop speaking.
“Oh, well, it’s not a complete success. If it were a real success, the castle walls would have collapsed.”
However, Eva continued without batting an eye.
“Hmm. What’s the problem? Do I need to pour more magic stones? No, if I pour more there, it might cause an overload.”
As Eva began to mutter to herself, Ranke, sweating profusely, spoke up again.
“I apologize, Duchess. My fiancé’s personality is really nice, but once she’s onto something she can’t get out of it.”
Ranke made excuses to somehow defend her.
“What kind of research were you conducting?”
“Explosive magic.”
Eva responded out of the blue.
“If it succeeds perfectly, it’s a powerful magic that can kill all living beings within a radius of several hundred Haeru (1 haeru is approximately 50cm).”
[TN: Haeru (헤르) a unit of measurement in Korea, roughly equivalent to centimeters.]
Her eyes sparkled strangely.
“Such magic exists?”
“Yes. Each casting requires a tremendous amount of magic stones.”
“Tremendous!? You only need eighty-three!”
Eva immediately protested against Ranke’s words.
“Eighty-three? Two days is not enough to list the magic spells that can be done with them.”
For a moment, they forgot that Agnes was present in front of them and began to argue among themselves.
“Explain it in detail. What is explosive magic?”
Agnes stood up straight.
In response, Eva became excited and began to explain her research.
She spoke in such detail that she had to cut her off at times.
“So, if this explosive magic is used properly, the castle walls will collapse?”
“Yes.”
Eva nodded confidently. A strange smile crept onto Agnes’s lips.
“Good. Continue your research.”
Ranke’s mouth, who was anxiously waiting for Agnes’ ruling, was wide open.
“However, move to another place. Luckily no one was hurt this time, but such powerful magic could lead to casualties.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you!”
Ranke bowed repeatedly. She waved her hands and sent the two out.
Unintentionally, they had acquired a powerful weapon.
If Eva’s words held true and it proved to be effective, it would be a great asset in future conquests.
Conquest.
The word that had once seemed distant now lingered at the edge of her thoughts.
Sutmar has regained some stability.
While Laslo was pleased with the significant progress made in just a year, Agnes still felt that there was room for improvement.
“At least we can expand the soldiers as much as we want.”
Unlike other domains, there was no limit to the number of soldiers that could be held in Sutmar.
It was a condition set by the royal family, allowing them to take full responsibility for magical defense while pretending to be merciful.
‘I can do it.’
At least when the magic placed on the castle walls is completed, they will not collapse as easily as before.
She clenched her fist secretly.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
As a result of that incident, the magicians came out of Estar Castle and started building a tower to live in among themselves.
What kind of tricks did they do? Somehow, a towering tower was erected within just a week.
“Magic is truly amazing.”
Agnes said, looking into the tower.
“It’s all thanks to the duchess.”
Theo smiled brightly and gently brushed his palm.
“What else do you need?”
After spending a few months together, Agnes could roughly guess what he wanted to say by looking at his expression.
“Hehe. If you could provide a little more support in this month’s budget…”
“Again?”
“Magic requires a lot of money, you see.”
When they first wanted to move here, they shouted loudly that they only needed Magic stone, but the amount of money that the wizards demand is increasing exponentially.
“I see. I’ll tell Niall.”
“Thank you, Duchess.”
He bowed briskly.
“But there are no windows here, yet it’s very bright inside.”
“Oh, it’s because of the light orbs.”
“Light orbs?”
Theo quickly walked over and caught a floating mass of light to show her.
“It emits light by colliding the power inside the magic stones. It lasts much longer than oil or candles.”
“Can I touch it?”
With curious eyes, she asked, and he willingly handed over the light orb.
“Yes. It’s not fire, so it’s not hot.”
As Theo said, it only emitted a faint warmth and was not hot at all.
Although it was only the size of a palm, the light it emitted was dazzling to the eyes.
“How long does it last?”
“Well, with this size, it easily lasts two to three years.”
“What? It emits light for two to three years?”
Agnes was surprised and stopped walking and looked back at Theo.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Uh… Is it a good thing?”
Theo blinked his eyes.
Agnes felt frustrated.
No matter how good Theo was at strategy among the magicians and knowledgeable about worldly matters, he was still a magician.
But when he talks, you can often see his ignorance.
“Of course. Do you know how much money oil and candles cost?”
“Oh, I see.”
Only then did Theo nod.
“How many magic stones are needed to make one of these?”
“Well, with one magic stone, you can make about ten of these light orbs.”
“Oh?”
Agnes’s eyes widened.
She had been worried about needing many magic stones, so she was relieved.
“How long does it take to make one?”
“Well, the principle of the light orb itself is very simple, so there’s nothing much to making it. You just need to split the magic stone and harness the internal magic power. But why do you ask?”
Theo belatedly felt a chill down his back and stumbled over his words.
However, Agnes had already heard everything she needed to hear.
Agnes smiled softer than ever and said.
“You seem to have more to offer me.”
“Oh no! Do you know how much of my research has been delayed? I haven’t been able to enter the lab for a few days because of the magic defense wall!”
He frantically waved his hands back and forth, looking distressed.
“A thousand.”
She said calmly as she walked.
“What?”
“Just make a thousand for now.”
“That’s too much. Please reduce it a bit. I have so much work that I don’t even have enough time to sleep.”
“You asked me to increase the budget.”
“……..”
In an instant, Theo lost his words.
“A thousand.”
“……….”
“Good luck.”
Agnes patted Theo’s stiff shoulder and left the tower.
And as soon as she went back, she called in Niall and instructed to double the magician’s budget.
“Isn’t that too much?”
As expected, Niall grumbled.
“Don’t worry. I’ve found a way to bring back much more than that.”
“You’re going to sell magic stones?”
“No.”
Agnes shook her head.
It is true that magic stones are extremely rare worldwide and therefore expensive.
However, the number of people seeking them is also limited.
Honestly speaking, to the average person, magic stones are just stones with magical power, and without being a magician, there is no way to use them effectively.
But light orbs are different.
They do not require any special manipulation, and everyone needs light.
With a slight adjustment in pricing, they could be sold to nobles and wealthy commoners alike.
It is even a little cheaper than three years’ worth of oil and candle. It would be beneficial to them.
“Niall.”
“Yes, madam.”
“We’re going to be rich.”
“We’re rich enough now, too?”
Niall looked down at Agnes and said plainly.
“Uh-huh. But it’s still not enough”
Agnes gave strength to her stomach and yelled. Niall’s face turned weird.
“Just how much wealth do you aim to amass?”
Instead of answering, she began to laugh. Niall took a step back in surprise.
A few days later, Theo came carrying a box, his eyes had a dark circle around it.
