He did not necessarily add that Baron Leslin’s legs were all broken, and his face was covered with tears and mucus as he apologized.
[Did you get hurt?]
“I didn’t.”
He casually raised his arm. Agnes carefully examined Laslo’s whole body.
[Thank you for your hard work.]
“No need for thanks.”
Walking through the corridor with Agnes, he replied casually.
“When would be a good time to go back to the territory? I think we can finish packing in two days.”
When Agnes heard that, she briefly wrote something down in the paper.
[I got an invitation from the Kiske family]
“What kind of invitation?”
[They are hosting a party to celebrate their 150th anniversary this time.]
“Arpad’s lineage has been around for over 300 years.”
Laslo stopped walking with his arms folded.
“Your throat hasn’t fully recovered yet. Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m almost completely hea…”
Agnes was about to voice her protest, but seeing Laslo’s stern gaze, she quickly closed her mouth and twirled the pen.
[It’s fully healed now. Really.]
However, Laslo’s expression remained stern.
[We already made a promise before.]
“…….”
[Erica decorated the mansion with light orbs and asked me to come.]
“…….”
[I want to go]
Agnes’ shoulders drooped. It was a written message, not verbal, but the disappointment was felt so well.
“But.”
Agnes silently lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers.
Soon, a faint sigh was heard from above her head.
“When is the banquet?”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Thank you so much for coming, Duchess.”
Erica approached with a friendly smile.
“Welcome, Duchess.”
The Marchioness of Kiske approached Agnes and bowed.
Surprisingly, the mother and daughter did not look alike.
The Marchioness, who had gorgeous blonde hair and a more dazzling appearance, looks like Milan.
“The light orbs you sent to us last time were used as a decoration in this party instead of a candle.”
“Are they useful?”
“Oh my.”
At Agnes’ question, the Marchioness covered her lips and laughed.
“Of course. It’s much more useful than my son.”
“Mother.”
Erica glanced at the Marchioness with a slightly embarrassed expression.
In return, the Marchioness of Kiske smiled beautifully and said,
“Please enjoy the banquet, Duchess.”
The mother and daughter bowed and disappeared.
Agnes sipped over the fruit wine and looked around the banquet hall.
As Kiske had a neutral political stance, the most influential nobles were in attendance.
After sending Laslo and the knight off appropriately, Agnes planned to contact Roland.
“Sir Matron.”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you enjoy the banquet too?”
“I am enjoying myself sufficiently while protecting you, Madam.”
The issue was that Matron, a knight given to her by Laslo, was overly loyal and naive.
No persuasion or threats seemed to work on him, making it challenging to outmaneuver him.
“Why don’t you ask a lady you like to dance?”
“Unfortunately, there is none here.”
Matron replied very bluntly.
As Agnes pondered with a furrowed brow, a group of nobles gathered around her.
“Duchess.”
Most of them were unfamiliar to her.
“What’s going on?”
“I’ve only heard of rumors, but I didn’t know that light orbs were this beautiful.”
“It feels like my dark world is brightening up.”
“Hmm?”
Agnes blinked in confusion, not understanding their intentions.
When she didn’t respond, one of them cleared their throat and asked tentatively,
“If possible, can I buy light orbs?”
“If you want to buy it, send a letter to the West.”
“I’ve sent them. However, due to a backlog, they mentioned that we could only receive the goods by next winter.”
A man lamented and explained with a sad expression.
“I will hold a big banquet in our territory this fall, and I hope there will be light orbs.”
“Well, if you need it, I’ll talk to the person in charge.”
Agnes shrugged nonchalantly. The man’s face lit up with joy.
“Thank you, Duchess!”
He left happily. Watching this, other nobles gathered around with their eyes twinkling.
“D, Duchess! I also have an urgent situation.………”
“My family will hold a very big banquet in the summer. if possible…….”
Eventually, they crowded around so much that Matron had to intervene to stop them.
“Princess!”
As they finally managed to break free from the nobles, someone she had been waiting for appeared.
“How long will you insist on using that title?”
“Oh, what’s the harm?”
Roland chuckled softly.
She already knew what he really liked, but he was so adept at acting that he seemed completely ignorant.
“By the way, princess. I’m planning to show you something I mentioned before. Is that okay?”
“The thing you mentioned before, ah, you mean that?”
“Yes, I hid it in the garden!”
The Sandor family was one of the closest households to the Sebastians.
Therefore, Agnes had carefully orchestrated her encounters with Roland as chance meetings at social gatherings.
“I’m looking forward to it. Erica bragged about it so much.”
“You can look forward to it. You’ll be surprised when you see it.”
The two naturally came out of the banquet hall and walked together to the garden.
Matron quietly followed them from behind.
“You came with a tail.”
“It’s not my intention.”
Roland whispered in a very small voice. Agnes also spoke in a hushed tone with a smile.
“What should we do?”
“We need to get away from him. You go ahead. I’ll follow you soon.”
“Yes.”
The night garden decorated with light orbs was surprisingly beautiful.
“Oh, by the way, Princess. I forgot to bring a bag of rice.”
“You’re so forgetful.”
“I’m sorry, but please wait here!”
Roland dashed off hastily. Matron silently stood guard behind Agnes.
“Sir Matron.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Could you go and fetch some cold water? With ice in it.”
“Shouldn’t that be done by the servants?”
“It shouldn’t take long, right? It’s so hot that I can’t endure it.”
Although hesitant, Matron nodded as soon as he sensed Agnes’s impatience.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Alright.”
As Agnes fanned herself with her hand, Matron disappeared from her sight and she ran to the agreed meeting place.
“Here it is.”
As she headed towards the designated spot, Roland appeared out of the shadows.
“I’ll send you the details in the west, but the more I investigate, the more suspicious it becomes.”
“Hmm?”
“We started investigating in earnest after Emmerich Cellon became a Count, but despite that, there were more smuggled and trafficked items beyond the black market than we initially thought.”
“What exactly are they smuggling?”
“On a small scale, it ranges from alcohol and tobacco leaves to larger items like wheat, copper, and iron.”
“Oh? They’re quite daring, aren’t they?”
Wheat and iron are items strictly controlled by the state. If caught, it’s a serious offense that could lead to trial for treason for colluding with foreign countries.
“That’s right. As we continued the investigation, I started to doubt whether the Count Cellon I know is really who he claims to be.”
Agnes wrinkled her nose. It seemed like the situation was getting more serious than expected.
“That’s one way to put it…”
“It’s not just that.”
Roland lowered his voice significantly.
“Is there anything else besides this?”
“Yes. According to informants, it seems he has a close connection to the pirate king.”
“Pirate King? Are they collaborating with him?”
Roland nodded his head instead of answering. Agnes’s expression grew more serious than before.
“Do we have solid evidence?”
“We have testimony from insiders. While we have obtained information about a double ledger in the smuggling aspect, his connection to the pirate king is still unclear.”
“In that case…”
At that moment, there was a rustling sound coming from a little distance away in the bushes.
Both of them fell silent simultaneously. Agnes gestured towards the bushes with her chin.
Roland cautiously walked towards the direction where the sound came from.
“It must have been a cat.”
A small cat disappeared into the bushes like a flash.
“What about Count Barania?”
“She’s so clean there that it’s weird. She didn’t commit that common usury once.”
“Hmm.”
As for Barania, it was expected to some extent, so there was no big disappointment.
“Is there anything else unusual?”
“Well, recently, it seems that Count Barania’s youngest daughter went missing.”
“What?”
“It seems like they’re keeping it inside the family, but she seems to have run away with her escort knight.”
“Oh, the Count must be greatly worried…”
Agnes paused for a moment. The silence lingered longer than expected, causing Roland to look puzzled.
“Duchess?”
Suddenly, the unfortunate memory of the Count’s youngest daughter being found dead came to mind.
And she recalled hearing about the discovery of the daughter’s body in a city in Leana.
“Look through Leana.”
“What?”
“It’s in the east. The name, what was the name…”
No matter how hard she squeezed her brain, only stammering sounds came out, and she couldn’t find the answer she was looking for.
“The coastal city of Leana?”
“Yeah. We need to find the Count’s youngest daughter as soon as possible. Before anything happens to her. Do you understand?”
Agnes’s expression was so firm that Roland couldn’t come up with any other objections.
