Chapter 47
Episode 47.
The thin sandwich, with its crisp vegetables, was surprisingly edible.
Though her appetite was gone, her stomach must have been hungry, as one sandwich quickly disappeared.
“Would you like another?”
“No. This is enough.”
As the empty plates on the table were cleared, new tea was served.
“There’s a rumor going around lately. They say Marquis Aratus and his wife have grown distant.”
As Agatha inhaled the aroma of the moderately warm herbal tea, Antony abruptly brought up the gossip circulating in high society.
“And yet, it hasn’t even been half a year since their wedding.”
Agatha could sense the worry hidden beneath Antony’s probing.
“I am aware of that rumor, Your Highness.”
Just because they hadn’t appeared together in public for a few days, rumors were already spreading.
It was a baseless rumor that would quickly subside if they were seen together, even for a moment.
Instead of going out with Enoch, Agatha chose to let the rumor be. It wasn’t a rumor that would cause significant damage anyway.
“If you’re letting it be, does that mean there really was a problem?”
Seeing Agatha merely shrug, Antony clicked his tongue.
“Agatha, wouldn’t it be better not to give them any cause?”
“Are you saying they’ll send assassins, seeing this rumor as an opportunity?”
“That’s what they always do.”
It was a valid point. Agatha took a sip of her tea and pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen forward.
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Until their divorce, Enoch, her husband, had an obligation to protect Agatha.
In fact, he had even increased the guard detail.
“The Aratus Knights are not to be underestimated, so they won’t easily think of drawing their swords.”
“Is that so?”
Right now, she felt like she wouldn’t mind if assassins came.
Antony stared intently at Agatha with a suspicious look.
“You know there are internal problems within the Aratus family, don’t you? A report from the Marquis even reached my father, stating his intention to reclaim some of the relatives’ titles.”
“Is that so? It seems the internal issues are more serious than I thought.”
“The Aratus Knights even mobilized a few days ago.”
She paused for a moment, but Agatha calmly set down her teacup.
Agatha also knew about the internal problems within the Aratus family from a report by her First Aide, Ethel Masro.
She had also heard news that some relatives, who had only stayed in their territories, had come up to the capital and contacted her husband.
She instinctively knew it was related to Esther, but she didn’t feel like doing anything about it.
Reason returned, and she wondered if she might be misunderstanding something.
“-It’s not that I dislike you.”
Agatha quietly lowered her gaze. She wanted to avoid thinking any further.
“My husband is staying at the mansion with me, isn’t he? What place could be safer than where a war hero resides?”
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Then, can I spend time at the Crown Prince’s Palace today? You say it’s dangerous, so I should spend more time in the safety of the palace.”
Agatha stayed at the Crown Prince’s Palace for several more hours.
She drank tea, played chess, and even detained Antony as he tried to leave, watching him work, until he finally showed signs of irritation.
“Go now.”
“You said you were worried?”
“When did I? Even if I was, I would have retracted that worry long ago.”
“I was just about to head back anyway.”
The sky was turning red with the sunset. For Antony, he had shown considerable patience.
“I’ll come again.”
The Crown Prince, too bothered to see her off, merely waved his hand as Agatha bowed respectfully and left the palace.
“Sir Leon.”
Leon Takran, the First Commander, who had brought the carriage to the palace entrance, was waiting.
“You’re here, Madam.”
“Don’t go straight to the mansion. Let’s stop by the market street for a moment.”
She had bothered Antony for so long; she should send him a gift.
Otherwise, the vindictive Crown Prince might do something next.
“The Marquis also said he would be a little late today.”
Leon Takran advised a swift return home with a worried expression.
“It would be best to return before sunset.”
“It seems things have been quite busy lately?”
“Yes?”
Though momentarily flustered, Sir Leon maintained his composure quite well.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
From experience, it was best to follow the escort knight’s advice in times like these.
“Alright. Then I’ll do as you suggest.”
As Agatha agreed, the carriage headed directly for the newlywed mansion.
Since Agatha had returned while Enoch was away, the mansion was more heavily guarded than usual.
“Madam, shall I have dinner brought to your room so you can eat right after washing?”
“Please do.”
Agatha, who had been gazing out the window, spent the rest of the day in her room.
After washing and changing into an indoor dress, she ate dinner and then lay on the sofa, continuing the book she had been reading at the palace.
“Madam, your nails seem to have grown quite long. Shall I trim them for you now?”
Before bed, her personal maid, Jessie, entered with a nail file, offering her service.
“Would you?”
Looking down, she saw her nails had indeed grown quite long.
Jessie sat before Agatha and began filing her nails. The crisp sound of filing echoed, and Marie, who had appeared at some point, lit an incense stick.
While immersed in the tranquil atmosphere, Jessie finished filing Agatha’s nails and meticulously applied oil.
“All done, Madam. Shall I prepare your bed so you can sleep now?”
“Yes. Please do.”
“What about the incense?”
“The scent is lovely. It would be nice to leave it burning tonight.”
“Then I’ll place it by your bedside.”
After the personal maids drew the curtains, lowered the canopy, and tidied the bedding, Agatha immediately went to sleep.
Perhaps it was the warm light and the subtle fragrance filling the bedroom.
Unlike the past few nights, when she had tossed and turned unable to sleep, she fell asleep remarkably quickly.
It was a deep sleep after a long time.
Her shallow breaths echoed in the cozy bedroom, as if she wouldn’t wake up no matter what sounds came from outside.
Agatha woke up due to a premonition honed by years of enduring ambushes.
She opened her eyes wide; the outside was in chaos.
“……An intruder again.”
The assassination attempts, which had been quiet for a while, had occurred today.
Antony’s words about not giving them cause came to mind. A sigh escaped her lips.
It couldn’t be helped.
Agatha stood at a crossroads.
Whether to continue this marriage, where trust had been shattered, or to be content, feeling she had had enough.
Perhaps ending it was also an option.
Agatha pulled the thin golden cord by her bedside. It was the cord used to summon knights waiting nearby on nights like these.
Then, she took a dagger from the nightstand beside the bed.
She doubted she would need to use it, but…
“……It’s better than being completely unarmed.”
Agatha sat blankly on the bed, her hand gripping the cold hilt of the dagger.
Had Enoch returned to the mansion?
A quick glance at the clock showed it was close to midnight. It was late, so it was likely he had returned.
Noisy sounds echoed faintly from outside.
“Don’t let anyone enter the mansion!”
The voice she had just heard sounded like either First Commander Leon Takran or Second Commander Hubert Karwen.
But why weren’t the knights coming?
It felt like a long time since she had sent the signal, yet no one was reporting the situation or coming.
As a chilling sensation ran down her spine.
Swish—
The bedroom door opened without a knock. Agatha slowly turned her gaze to the side.
Beyond the faint lamplight, intruders in black masks held gleaming blades.
Agatha, spotting several intruders blocking the inner chamber door behind them, let out a small laugh.
“So that’s why the knights aren’t coming.”
“……”
“Break the door! Break through the door!”
The shouts of knights echoed from outside the inner chamber.
The intruder at the very front spoke.
“You’re so calm. Is there something you’re relying on?”
“Not at all. I just laughed because my question was answered.”
“Indeed, Nobilis. It’s surprising you can think like that even in this situation.”
Thump, thump. The intruder, crossing the bedroom, pulled back the curtain.
“……You seem even more beautiful than the rumors.”
Agatha looked up at the intruder wordlessly. A hand wrapped in a black glove caressed her smooth, white cheek.
“Will you come with me? I promise to let you live if you do.”
There had been assailants who had made such offers before.
Sometimes the client had requested assassination, but other times it was abduction.
Or perhaps the intruder himself desired her.
Or they had decided to extort a ransom.
There were various reasons, and normally Agatha wouldn’t provoke the intruders, but today was different.
“What would I do by following someone like you?”
“……!”
“Just kill me. I’ve grown tired of living anyway.”
Thwack. Agatha let out a groan as her hair was grabbed. The intruder, throwing her onto the marble floor below the bed, approached her with curses.
“You’re rushing your end. Do nobles not fear death even before a blade?”
“Huuu……”
She had acted as if she were fine, but she wasn’t truly fine.
Despite her caution, she had ended up floundering, as if caught in the illusion of a true lover.
And then, due to the shattered hopes and the expectations she couldn’t let go of, her heart often felt like it would burst.
