“For Sebastian, it’s just a chance to kill me. He doesn’t think I can succeed in this rebellion.”
Agnes knew Sebastian as well as he knew her. The reason why he let Agnes prepare for a rebellion was because he didn’t feel the slightest threat to her.
‘He’s probably just having fun like a hunting dog.’
That’s much better. There’s no weapon as good as the opponent’s carelessness.
“Andrassy. What was it that you were going to say earlier?”
“Oh, I got a call from Balint and he said the Marquis of Devorsen would introduce him to the king.”
“Balint?”
“The spice dealer I mentioned before.”
Looking at the rest of the letter from Roland, there was a brief mention of it.
“Let’s make this a bigger issue.”
“What? In what way?”
“It’s not difficult to scrape the pockets of the royalist aristocrats, only if we could pass the suspicious king.”
“How far do you have in mind?” Andrassy lowered himself and said politely.
“After tying Barania, Devorsen, Gent, Jante, and Pierce at once.”
“…….”
“Cut it so they can’t stand up again.”
Agnes’ eyes were as cold and cold as the cold snow of the north wind.
“Remember, the goal of this project now is the aristocracy, not the king. Don’t try to squeeze the king and be careful not to leave any trace of you.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
* * *
Three days later, a letter came from the palace.
The content was simple. It was kindly written that he wanted to see his little sister like a friendly older brother who cares about her, so he wanted her to stop by the palace. Nowhere was it said that Laslo was being forcibly kept in the palace.
“How dare you!”
When she thought it was strange, the hair in the envelope.
It was obviously Laslo’s.
“Call the vassals right now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Niall hurried out of the room, realizing that the situation was unusual. Soon, 17 vassals, including Zoltan, gathered in one place.
“It’s none other than this that I brought you together like this.”
She gave out the letter and explained the whole story. Naturally, the vassals were upset when shelter said that Laslo was detained in the palace.
“Is that reliable news? Why do you think he is being detained in the palace?”
“I can’t fathom the loyalty of the Arpad’s to the royal family!”
“They locked him in a palace without trial or procedure? Your Highness, the Duke? Does that make any sense?”
“Quiet.”
The hall was as noisy as a marketplace. Agnes’ voice was easily buried in between everyone’s voices.
Thump!
“The princess told you to be quiet.”
Zoltan, sitting on Agnes’ left, kicked the stone table. One by one, the vassals shut their mouths at the sound.
“It’s reliable information, so you can trust it.”
“Why would a king do such a thing?” a relatively young vassal said indignantly.
“There must be a slight misunderstanding.”
“What do you mean, misunderstanding?”
“Your Highness seems to suspect that I was planning a rebellion.”
“What? What do you mean……?”
Everyone’s faces are bewildered at the remark that came out of nowhere.
Agnes said, making the corners of his mouth and eyes gloomy.
“Originally, the current king was suspicious even before he ascended the throne. I think he had a big misunderstanding when he saw that we’ve added more walls and more troops to prepare for the demonic beast attacks.”
“What? Is he telling us to just die?”
“If we don’t build a wall or increase the number of troops, how can we stop the demonic beast?”
The interior of the conference room soon heated up. Everyone expressed their resentment toward the king in one voice.
“It’s all because I’m not good enough. When I called the wizards to secure the line of defense and make light spheres to earn gold, the king must have doubted my intentions.”
“Huh, why is it your fault? If it weren’t for the princess, we would have lived like dogs that ate fish.”
As Zoltan immediately defended her, other vassals also added a word or two.
“Sir Zoltan is right. How is this your fault?”
“On the contrary, it is not enough to say thank you for blocking the beast from attacking!”
Agnes tried to smile on their consolation.
“Thank you all for supporting me with one mind. But this happened because of me, so I will take responsibility until the end.”
“What do you mean by responsibility?”
“I’m going to go to the palace myself and visit the king and clear up the misunderstanding.”
“But……… wouldn’t it be dangerous? Even the lord is detained in the palace for no reason, what if he harms you.” The old man spoke cautiously.
“You’re right about that. We’ll get plenty of escorts.”
There was a brief debate among the vassals, but the story ended smoothly. After the meeting ended, Agnes called Zoltan to a quiet place separately.
“Are you sure you’re going? The capital city is in a state of turmoil because of the plague.”
“I have to go. I have to go so I can get him back safely.”
“How did he get caught in there? He just needs to escape.”
Ignorant of the internal situation, Zoltan grumbled insignificantly.
“Sir Zoltan, listen to me.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“If you don’t hear from me within 10 days of my departure, call all the troops on the southern front to Sutmar.”
“What?”
Zoltan’s face was filled with bewilderment. Agnes went on without regard to what he had to say.
“If you don’t hear from me afterwards, bring the troops to the vicinity of the capital with the help of Kiske, Celon and Songrad. I already told them, so one letter should be enough.”
“P, princess.”
He looked at her incessantly, completely bewildered. There were only a few servants nearby, but they moved to a more private place.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m just trying to be prepared.”
“Please explain it properly. I don’t understand what the princess is saying right now.”
Agnes stared up at Zoltan’s face.
“The king is bent on killing me. Maybe that’s why he invited Laslo to the palace as bait.”
“You know that and you’re still going to the palace on your own? Let’s just send a fast-paced knight to help him escape.”
“You have to pay to get what you want.”
“Princess!” Zoltan shouted. Agnes just smiled.
“Did I ever say thank you to you?”
“…….”
“Thank you, Lord Zoltan. From the bottom of my heart.”
“I, I…. I’m scared. Princess, what do you mean soldiers? What should I do if I bring them to the capital?”
“You’ll know naturally by then.”
Zoltan was speechless for a long time. But soon he closed his eyes and nodded.
“I will do as the princess tells me. So, please come back safely with my brother.”
“It’s going to be like that.”
In just two days, all the plans were organized. Everything went smoothly, as if it had been prepared for a long time.
At dawn the day before leaving, Eugene came to Agnes’ room.
“I’ve released the beast near the capital as you wish.”
“Thank you, Eugene.”
“But be careful. Agnes. The dragon blood flowing through your body obviously has a limit. And whoever has the same crest as you….”
“Know. Those who bear the crest are protected by the dragon.”
At any rate, she intended to kill Sebastian as cruelly and painfully as possible. She didn’t want to kill him without pain from the start.
“I will surely tear you apart and hang you on the pole.”
Agnes murmured the words, clutching Laslo1’s hair. The next morning, she left Sutmar for the capital with fifteen knights.
* * *
“How are you?”
“Can you say that after seeing my situation?”
No matter how nicely he was locked up in a palace, an abandoned palace is an abandoned palace. There is no end to listing what is lacking.
“Your Highness told me to serve you without any inconvenience. If you need anything, please let me know right away. Your Excellency.”
Laslo tried to say something, but he broke off. There’s nothing he can do even if he gets angry.
“Get out of here.”
“Yes, sir,”
The only thing he’s worried about now is Agnes. Having cut off his hair, he shuddered at what kind of threats he would make to Agnes with it.
He couldn’t count how many times he had been thinking of escaping the palace and leave or wait until the king’s anger was relieved.
“Your Excellency.”
It was around the time when it was gradually dark and several lights were turned on. An unfamiliar maid approached quietly.
“What’s going on?”
“A precious person wants to see you.”
“A precious person?”
Only the king and queen can be called that in this palace. The king would not call him out in secret like this, so the answer was the latter.
“Your Majesty, the Queen?”
“She’ll be at this palace at midnight, so please keep the door half-open.”
“I see.”
Laslo nodded easily. As promised, the queen went out and appeared in the palace where Laslo was trapped at midnight. The surveillance was quite strict, but she made a light visit to the abandoned palace as if she were out for a walk.
“I see the queen.”
“That’s enough. In this situation, both the duke and I feel uncomfortable.”