“It’s done, Duchess.”
“Good job. Hm? But why isn’t any light coming out?”
“If all thousand of them emit light at once, I’ll go blind.”
Theo grumbled and lightly tapped the light orb twice. It was only then that it began to shine.
“Oh. So you can turn it on and off.”
Agnes, with a happy expression, showed it to Laslo and Niall.
Their reactions were as expected.
“That’s incredible.”
Laslo carefully inspected the light orb in his hand. The mention of its lasting for several years left him speechless.
“Madam.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Are we really going to be rich?”
Agnes giggled somewhat frivolously at Niall’s vague question.
“Niall, this is only the beginning.”
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
The restoration of the collapsed defense line and the placement of magic stones on the castle walls to create defensive magic were nearing completion.
With all twelve magicians fully engaged, the work was finished earlier than expected, in less than a month.
Everyone seemed eager to quickly finish this tedious task and return to the tower.
“Everything is ready, Duchess.”
Ranke arrived and politely bowed his head.
“Shall we begin?”
“Let’s do it.”
Laslo said. Agnes waved her hand to Eva, who was standing in the distance, giving her signal.
Finally, the long-awaited day of the completion of the castle wall magic has arrived.
Agnes and Laslo came to a remote place with some knights. This is to confirm the magical robustness of the magic defense wall.
Coincidentally, they received reports that Eva’s magic was somewhat successful, providing an opportunity to verify two magics simultaneously.
Gradually, a glow emanated from around Eva. At her feet, magic stones were laid out in a complex pattern.
Kugung-
An eerie sound, as if scraping the bottom of the sea with iron, echoed.
Unconsciously, Agnes shivered and leaned closer to Laslo.
Sensing her reaction, Laslo gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
The light disappeared at some point.
kwaang!
At the same time, the ground shook with a tremendous roar. The wind blew so fiercely that it was difficult to keep one’s eyes open.
“Gasp.”
One of the knights nearby gasped in astonishment.
Agnes cautiously opened her eyes and looked around.
Dozens of trees behind Eva had fallen. The ground around her had caved in deeply, sending up a cloud of dust.
In contrast, the castle wall that faced the magic was unscathed.
“Amazing,” Agnes muttered.
Eva, with a grimace on her face, approached Agnes.
“That explosive magic is truly powerful.”
Laslo marveled sincerely. Even though he was very far from Eva, he could feel the impact.
“Great job.”
Eva approached with a frown and said, “It was a failure.”
“Yes?”
“Originally, according to my expectations, the impact should have been strong enough to send the duchess flying halfway.”
‘Ah, what on earth is the problem? The spell formula? No. It seems to be due to the casting method rather than the spell formula.’
She started muttering to herself again. By now, Agnes had grown accustomed to it.
“It’s a success, Duchess.”
Ranke casually pushed Eva behind him and smiled brightly as he spoke.
“Is it complete?”
“Yes.” Ranke replied.
“With this, Estar will truly be called the fortress of a thousand years.”
Theo suddenly interjected with a comment.
Laslo looked around the castle wall with a nostalgic expression.
“A fortress for a thousand years.”
Although Estar had been known by that name for quite some time, experiencing the reality of it was rare.
The defense line had always been maintained precariously. In fact, it is not that surprising that the defense line has been broken this time.
At that moment, Agnes subtly took his finger.
“Don’t worry.”
Laslo noticed the warmth in her touch and looked at the finger she held.
“Now, no one will dare to challenge this place.”
She spoke calmly.
Laslo looked into Agnes’ blue eyes and was swept away by unknown emotions.
“Yeah.”
He released her finger and instead firmly grasped Agnes’s hand.
His heart was beating very hard. Now, even when he doesn’t see Agnes, the color of his world changes just by thinking about her.
When he’s with her, he laughs and misses her when she’s not around him.
Day by day, it became increasingly difficult to conceal these emotions.
Now, Laslo had come to understand the true nature and name of these feelings.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“I heard you called for me.”
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“I am grateful every day for the grace you bestow upon me.”
Andrassy words were softer than cotton.
“How are things going?”
“I’m so busy that even if I had two bodies, it wouldn’t be enough. As you can see from the report, we are planning to deliver Elemer to the palace in earnest starting this year.”
He spoke cheerfully about his business dealings. Agnes quietly listened to his story, then put down her cup of tea.
“Why did you become a merchant? I heard that you were from a noble family.”
“We were a poor baron family and I had three brothers above me. We had to do whatever it took to survive.”
“What about now?”
It is no exaggeration to say that the shop led by Andrassy now represents Nirseg.
Through Elemer, he accumulated tremendous wealth and became richer than most noble families with territories.
Surviving was no longer the issue; that had been resolved long ago.
“Now….”
He brushed his chin roughly and locked eyes with Agnes.
“I hope that everyone in Nirseg uses the products sold by my merchant group.”
For a brief moment, a strong light emanated from his eyes. Agnes did not miss it.
“To do that, I still have to wait a little longer.”
“That’s a good aspiration.”
Agnes nodded quietly and handed him the prepared box.
“What is it?”
“Open it.”
Though puzzled, he followed the princess’s words and opened the square box, from which light burst out.
“What is this exactly?”
“Light orb.”
Agnes explained briefly with a smile.
When he heard that it was made using magic stones and can last for about three years, his eyes began to get excited.
“But how many magic stones can you obtain as the raw material?”
“Oh, don’t worry about the magic stones. We can produce them.”
She spoke with a very gentle smile.
“What? What do you mean…?”
He looked bewildered, not understanding Agnes’s words.
“Not long ago, a golden age relic was discovered in the Black Sapphire Mine, and coincidentally, it turned out to be a device for producing magic stones.”
“What did you say?”
He stood up abruptly without the princess’s permission.
It was a bit rude, but Agnes understood him.
“That, well… no, that…”
Andrassy sat with his mouth agape, breathing heavily as Agnes mentioned that twelve magicians were working day and night to produce magic stones.
“You’ll be able to earn gold coins beyond comparison with Elemer.”
His voice trembled faintly. It seemed like light was emanating from his eyes.
“This light orb may bring about tremendous changes. If the pricing is set right, we can expand the customer base to include not just nobles but also commoners, and then, if that happens…”
Andrassy couldn’t speak properly because he was overwhelmed just by thinking. His body kept moving up and down because of excitement.
“Andrassy.”
“Yes. Madam.”
“Come under me.”
Perhaps because it was an unexpected remark, Andrassy was puzzled.
“Yes?”
“I will grant you a barony. If possible, I will also bestow a new surname.”
“Are you saying…”
“It means you will become a vassal of Duke Arpad.”
The tea cooled down. A maid noticed this and quietly approached to pour tea.
Andrassy remained silent for a while.
“I know what you’re worried about.”
Agnes raised the steaming teacup.
“Your merchant group will remain the same. There will be no changes in name or people. I promise.”
“……..”
“What I need is not the merchant group you have built over a lifetime, but you yourself.”
Her calm and clear words resonated in his ears. Andrassy looked up at Agnes.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have come this far. So please consider it.”
“I… I mean… I…”
Andrassy showed his confusion for the first time. Agnes, who had not shown her emotions, was pleased just by that.
“Of course, rejecting my proposal won’t bring any special disadvantages.”
“……..”
“However, the sale of the light orbs will be auctioned to the merchant who offers the best conditions, just like with Elemer.”
He didn’t speak up easily. The silence lingered, but Agnes did not hastily break it.
“When I first said I’d go into commerce, all my brothers laughed at me.”
Andrassy brought up something out of the blue.
“My father also told me to leave the house if I was going to do such lowly work. At that time, only my wife supported me.”
“I see.”
“So, I lived more tenaciously than anyone else. I wanted to prove myself to them and repay the faith my wife had in me.”
Andrassy suddenly got up from his seat and knelt in front of Agnes.
“I have a request.”
“Say it.”
