“We arrived. Madam.”
The coachman said.
Niall quickly got off the carriage and escorted her.
Unlike usual, the front of the temple was quiet.
As she stepped down the stairs and reached the entrance, a young priest recognized Agnes and opened his mouth.
“Oh, ah.”
“Tell High Priest Katerina that I want to see her.”.
“Oh, yes, yes!”
The young priest, who was likely to be ten years old, threw away the colander he was holding and ran inside.
Not long after, a male priest with dark hair walked in.
“I see the Duchess.”
“I ask for the high priest.”
“She entered the prayer room.”
“When will she come out?”
“I don’t know that either.”
A faint hostility was seen in his eyes. The voice was hard and the gaze was rude.
Normally, she would have pointed out that attitude, but Agnes silently opened his mouth.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Then the priest turned around and started walking without saying a word. It was rude enough that made Niall frown.
However, seeing Agnes persevering, he too could not say anything.
After going through a long hallway, they arrived at a room.
“You can wait here.”
“Isn’t there nothing here?”
“This is the waiting room.”
“At least give me a chair so I can sit and wait.”
“It is impossible because there is a significant shortage of workers in the temple.”
The priest said with a crooked sneer. He even left the room without saying goodbye.
It was literally a place without any furniture, so the two stood in the middle of the room and waited endlessly for the high priest to come.
“If there is something you haven’t said yet, tell me now. We will probably have to wait a few hours.”
“No, there isn………”
As he was about to say no, he suddenly remembered something. Niall picked out the words to say slowly.
“What is it?”
“After the Madam collapsed, the king sent a carrier pigeon several times. I don’t know the details but it seems to be urging the lord to come into the palace.”
“Why does Sebastian want Laslo to go to the palace?”
“I don’t know. The lord received the letter and burned it all without answering.”
She raised one eyebrow. It must be about the deal between Laslo and Sebastian.
It would have been nice to have all the remaining letters, it was regrettable that all of them were burned.
“The problem is, on the eighth day after Madam collapsed, a messenger from the king arrived, and he got very angry when he checked the letter he had brought. therefore…….”
“Why did you stop talking?”
After Niall dragged on the backstory for a while, Agnes said lightly. He slowly looked into Agnes’ eyes.
“He told them to cut off the messenger’s arms and drive him out.”
“What!”
Agnes jumped as if struck by lightning.
To cut off the arm of the messenger sent by the king.
This is clearly an act of quasi-treason. If you go there, you must really prepare for war with the king.
“No, that’s what he ordered, but fortunately, there was no such unpleasant thing as Zoltan managed to stop it.”
“Sigh.”
“However, the problem is that the messenger heard the order in person. I barely managed to appease him and send him up to the capital, but after that, a messenger came again and the lord was forced to leave.”
Agnes shook her head. She had a sudden headache.
What kind of conversation did the two have?
What made Laslo so angry?
There are so many things I don’t know. I was confident that I knew everything about him, but that thought gradually faded.
“Laslo.”
At that moment, Agnes missed the man very much.
His warm breath, his low voice, and his smiling face at her came to mind all at once.
The sun was halfway down by then. Her legs were getting numb and sore.
Niall snooped around the closed door, but did not think of opening it.
“Why don’t we leave today and come back next time, madam?”
“If you can relieve her anger by waiting, it works cheaply.”
The sun completely set.
My back and legs were sore. She was sweating even though it was not a hot day.
She is said to be relatively healthy, but Agnes got out of bed after 15 days. It was never a normal body.
“The prayer is over.”
The door to the room opened after dark. The priest spit out those words briefly and walked ahead.
It wasn’t a fast pace, but she almost fell down several times because her legs were weak.
“I heard that you woke up in 15 days. Duchess.”
“Long time no sees. high priest.”
Agnes struggled to walk across from her with a smile.
She looked at Katerina’s face head-on, but couldn’t read any emotions.
“Please sit down.”
“Thank you.”
She wasn’t treated to a common cup of tea, but it didn’t matter. Shw had already waited a long time, so she immediately got to the point.
“The reason I came to the temple today is to apologize for the rudeness of the Lord Arpad.”
“….is that so?”
“I got the news late because I was taking care of my health. There was a misunderstanding.”
“What do you mean misunderstanding?”
Katerina smiled as she faced Agnes.
“The Duke of Arpad seemed to have great confidence. I’ve told him several times that it was a misunderstanding, but he didn’t listen.”
“I deeply apologize for that on behalf of the duke. He had a big misunderstanding. It’s all just an unexpected accident. When the duke comes back, we’ll come together and clear up the misunderstanding.”
Agnes bowed her head and apologized repeatedly. Katerina just looked at her, sitting across without saying a word.
“Are you feeling well?”
“I feel better.”
“That’s a relief. Your Excellency was very worried that day.”
Perhaps because of accumulated years of experience, Katerina did not easily reveal her feelings.
As time passed, she became more anxious. The silence grew longer because she couldn’t speak up prematurely.
Then, as if suddenly remembered, Katerina spoke out of nowhere.
“Do you know why the ritual of oath is increasingly being forgotten by people?”
“There must be a big problem with succession.”
“That is also a problem, but when one side dies, the mental impact on the remaining side is very great. It completely collapsed and it’s hard to get back up.”
“Is that so?”
After she collapsed, she heard that Laslo was acting like a scumbag.
Actually, she thought it was complacent.
Because of that, she thought that she could fully bear the risk of the oath ceremony.
“There are some requests from the temple to correct this misunderstanding.”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“I have already sent it in writing through someone.”
Katerina stood up at the end of the sentence. Her face was pale but calm.
Agnes, who had prepared to receive the High Priest’s anger, was puzzled when the task ended so easily unexpectedly.
“Thank you. High Priest.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
She turned around and looked straight at Agnes.
“What do you mean?”
“Because the Duke Arpad already paid the price.”
“He paid for it?”
“You will find out when he returns.”
Katerina left only one indifferent word and issued a congratulatory order.
Agnes went back to the castle, leaving his troubled mind behind. Just in time, Zoltan greeted her.
“Princess! Welcome. There’s something we need to discuss.….”
“Sir Zoltan. I mean. We just came back from the temple. You must have something to say to me?”
“That, that…….”
Agnes, as she had done to Niall, poured out harsh rebukes, even worse than him.
Niall, who was standing behind him, stuck his tongue out.
Thanks to that, Zoltan couldn’t even raise his head in front of Agnes for a while.
* * *
Ten days have passed since Agnes went to the temple.
It was a short time, but a lot of things happened.
“Madam. This is a report on the armor we produced this month.”
“We are experiencing a surge in light sphere orders; how do we deal with it?”
“I have started harvesting wheat, how much should I leave out for military use?”
“Shall we send the harvest offerings requested by the temple now?”
The castle, which had stood still, in other words, paralyzed after Laslo’s departure, began to roll quickly.
Agnes frantically dealt with the big things and small things of the castle.
“It’s soap that Miss Adrienne made with the wizards.”
“Oh. Is the finished product finally out?”
“Yes.”
Aspel, the new administrator to assist her, put out a square soap.
The surface was rough and the scent was not good, unlike what the aristocrats usually use, but it doesn’t matter.
“What’s the effect?”
“It’s less foamy, but there’s no big difference compared to whale oil soap.”
“Very good.”
Agnes smiled satisfactorily with it.
It was no coincidence that Adrienne collaborated with wizards to make soap at a time when preparations for war were in full swing.
– So, no matter how much you find a cure, if you are not clean, you can get sick again.
– Then how can you maintain that cleanliness?
– It would be better if you just wipe your body clean with soap, or even if you wash your hands frequently… ….
– Hmm. Soap is a luxury. The quantity is not enough to distribute to soldiers.
– Then, um……. Should I try making it?
– You? soap? Can you do something like that?
– Yes! I learned it at school.
Adrien smiled brightly and nodded her head.
“We arrived. Madam.”
The coachman said.
Niall quickly got off the carriage and escorted her.
Unlike usual, the front of the temple was quiet.
As she stepped down the stairs and reached the entrance, a young priest recognized Agnes and opened his mouth.
“Oh, ah.”
“Tell High Priest Katerina that I want to see her.”.
“Oh, yes, yes!”
The young priest, who was likely to be ten years old, threw away the colander he was holding and ran inside.
Not long after, a male priest with dark hair walked in.
“I see the Duchess.”
“I ask for the high priest.”
“She entered the prayer room.”
“When will she come out?”
“I don’t know that either.”
A faint hostility was seen in his eyes. The voice was hard and the gaze was rude.
Normally, she would have pointed out that attitude, but Agnes silently opened his mouth.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Then the priest turned around and started walking without saying a word. It was rude enough that made Niall frown.
However, seeing Agnes persevering, he too could not say anything.
After going through a long hallway, they arrived at a room.
“You can wait here.”
“Isn’t there nothing here?”
“This is the waiting room.”
“At least give me a chair so I can sit and wait.”
“It is impossible because there is a significant shortage of workers in the temple.”
The priest said with a crooked sneer. He even left the room without saying goodbye.
It was literally a place without any furniture, so the two stood in the middle of the room and waited endlessly for the high priest to come.
“If there is something you haven’t said yet, tell me now. We will probably have to wait a few hours.”
“No, there isn………”
As he was about to say no, he suddenly remembered something. Niall picked out the words to say slowly.
“What is it?”
“After the Madam collapsed, the king sent a carrier pigeon several times. I don’t know the details but it seems to be urging the lord to come into the palace.”
“Why does Sebastian want Laslo to go to the palace?”
“I don’t know. The lord received the letter and burned it all without answering.”
She raised one eyebrow. It must be about the deal between Laslo and Sebastian.
It would have been nice to have all the remaining letters, it was regrettable that all of them were burned.
“The problem is, on the eighth day after Madam collapsed, a messenger from the king arrived, and he got very angry when he checked the letter he had brought. therefore…….”
“Why did you stop talking?”
After Niall dragged on the backstory for a while, Agnes said lightly. He slowly looked into Agnes’ eyes.
“He told them to cut off the messenger’s arms and drive him out.”
“What!”
Agnes jumped as if struck by lightning.
To cut off the arm of the messenger sent by the king.
This is clearly an act of quasi-treason. If you go there, you must really prepare for war with the king.
“No, that’s what he ordered, but fortunately, there was no such unpleasant thing as Zoltan managed to stop it.”
“Sigh.”
“However, the problem is that the messenger heard the order in person. I barely managed to appease him and send him up to the capital, but after that, a messenger came again and the lord was forced to leave.”
Agnes shook her head. She had a sudden headache.
What kind of conversation did the two have?
What made Laslo so angry?
There are so many things I don’t know. I was confident that I knew everything about him, but that thought gradually faded.
“Laslo.”
At that moment, Agnes missed the man very much.
His warm breath, his low voice, and his smiling face at her came to mind all at once.
The sun was halfway down by then. Her legs were getting numb and sore.
Niall snooped around the closed door, but did not think of opening it.
“Why don’t we leave today and come back next time, madam?”
“If you can relieve her anger by waiting, it works cheaply.”
The sun completely set.
My back and legs were sore. She was sweating even though it was not a hot day.
She is said to be relatively healthy, but Agnes got out of bed after 15 days. It was never a normal body.
“The prayer is over.”
The door to the room opened after dark. The priest spit out those words briefly and walked ahead.
It wasn’t a fast pace, but she almost fell down several times because her legs were weak.
“I heard that you woke up in 15 days. Duchess.”
“Long time no sees. high priest.”
Agnes struggled to walk across from her with a smile.
She looked at Katerina’s face head-on, but couldn’t read any emotions.
“Please sit down.”
“Thank you.”
She wasn’t treated to a common cup of tea, but it didn’t matter. Shw had already waited a long time, so she immediately got to the point.
“The reason I came to the temple today is to apologize for the rudeness of the Lord Arpad.”
“….is that so?”
“I got the news late because I was taking care of my health. There was a misunderstanding.”
“What do you mean misunderstanding?”
Katerina smiled as she faced Agnes.
“The Duke of Arpad seemed to have great confidence. I’ve told him several times that it was a misunderstanding, but he didn’t listen.”
“I deeply apologize for that on behalf of the duke. He had a big misunderstanding. It’s all just an unexpected accident. When the duke comes back, we’ll come together and clear up the misunderstanding.”
Agnes bowed her head and apologized repeatedly. Katerina just looked at her, sitting across without saying a word.
“Are you feeling well?”
“I feel better.”
“That’s a relief. Your Excellency was very worried that day.”
Perhaps because of accumulated years of experience, Katerina did not easily reveal her feelings.
As time passed, she became more anxious. The silence grew longer because she couldn’t speak up prematurely.
Then, as if suddenly remembered, Katerina spoke out of nowhere.
“Do you know why the ritual of oath is increasingly being forgotten by people?”
“There must be a big problem with succession.”
“That is also a problem, but when one side dies, the mental impact on the remaining side is very great. It completely collapsed and it’s hard to get back up.”
“Is that so?”
After she collapsed, she heard that Laslo was acting like a scumbag.
Actually, she thought it was complacent.
Because of that, she thought that she could fully bear the risk of the oath ceremony.
“There are some requests from the temple to correct this misunderstanding.”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“I have already sent it in writing through someone.”
Katerina stood up at the end of the sentence. Her face was pale but calm.
Agnes, who had prepared to receive the High Priest’s anger, was puzzled when the task ended so easily unexpectedly.
“Thank you. High Priest.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
She turned around and looked straight at Agnes.
“What do you mean?”
“Because the Duke Arpad already paid the price.”
“He paid for it?”
“You will find out when he returns.”
Katerina left only one indifferent word and issued a congratulatory order.
Agnes went back to the castle, leaving his troubled mind behind. Just in time, Zoltan greeted her.
“Princess! Welcome. There’s something we need to discuss.….”
“Sir Zoltan. I mean. We just came back from the temple. You must have something to say to me?”
“That, that…….”
Agnes, as she had done to Niall, poured out harsh rebukes, even worse than him.
Niall, who was standing behind him, stuck his tongue out.
Thanks to that, Zoltan couldn’t even raise his head in front of Agnes for a while.
* * *
Ten days have passed since Agnes went to the temple.
It was a short time, but a lot of things happened.
“Madam. This is a report on the armor we produced this month.”
“We are experiencing a surge in light sphere orders; how do we deal with it?”
“I have started harvesting wheat, how much should I leave out for military use?”
“Shall we send the harvest offerings requested by the temple now?”
The castle, which had stood still, in other words, paralyzed after Laslo’s departure, began to roll quickly.
Agnes frantically dealt with the big things and small things of the castle.
“It’s soap that Miss Adrienne made with the wizards.”
“Oh. Is the finished product finally out?”
“Yes.”
Aspel, the new administrator to assist her, put out a square soap.
The surface was rough and the scent was not good, unlike what the aristocrats usually use, but it doesn’t matter.
“What’s the effect?”
“It’s less foamy, but there’s no big difference compared to whale oil soap.”
“Very good.”
Agnes smiled satisfactorily with it.
It was no coincidence that Adrienne collaborated with wizards to make soap at a time when preparations for war were in full swing.
– So, no matter how much you find a cure, if you are not clean, you can get sick again.
– Then how can you maintain that cleanliness?
– It would be better if you just wipe your body clean with soap, or even if you wash your hands frequently… ….
– Hmm. Soap is a luxury. The quantity is not enough to distribute to soldiers.
– Then, um……. Should I try making it?
– You? soap? Can you do something like that?
– Yes! I learned it at school.
Adrien smiled brightly and nodded her head.
