MYKBH 10

Chapter 10

“Agnes! You’re coming back soon, right?”

“You’re not going away and never coming back, are you?”

“They said Agnes is getting married now! That’s why she won’t come back to us!”

“That’s not true, right? Agnes can’t get married because she doesn’t have any money!”

“If Agnes isn’t here, we’ll have to go to boarding school!”

“We won’t play pranks anymore. Okay? Don’t go!”

The twins, who had never shown much of a reaction whenever Agnes went away on vacation before, suddenly clung to the hem of her skirt.

Taken aback by their ridiculous claims, Agnes hurriedly shook her head.

“What are you talking about?”

“Then why are you leaving? You suddenly said you were going because those people came!”

The hands clinging to her felt unfamiliar.

Looking back, Agnes had always thought that she was the only one chasing after the children all this time. But perhaps that wasn’t really the case after all.

Their manner of speaking was still far from polite, but somehow it made Agnes smile. She reached out and gently patted each of the two children in turn.

“I’ll come back. And you mustn’t stop studying just because I’m gone, all right?”

“Okay, Agnes!”

“You promised! You really have to come back!”

Leaving the two children waving their hands behind her, Agnes climbed into the carriage.

Kesenor and Silmare were already inside.

I wonder if they heard what the children were saying?

Agnes was worried, but Kesenor was staring out the window with an indifferent expression, while Silmare looked rather sullen.

His fine brows were deeply furrowed, and it turned out that he simply disliked the carriage.

“To bind a free spirit like a horse in such a manner!”

“There’s no other way for us to travel.”

“Wizard, use teleportation.”

“Moving three people would be exhausting. Especially you.”

“Weren’t you a Celesta? Are you really that incompetent with magic?”

It was an obvious jab at Kesenor’s abilities, and Kesenor frowned just as deeply.

Ah… I can’t breathe.

Suppressing a sigh so that neither man would notice, Agnes deliberately put on a bright smile.

“It’s all right. It won’t take long. We’ll reach the Laverose estate in half a day.”

While the two men continued bickering and Agnes tried to placate them, the carriage had already crossed the border into Valdemar territory.

As soon as they passed the territory’s boundary, the scenery noticeably changed.

The farmland was poorly maintained and overgrown with weeds, while the uneven roads made the carriage jolt with every bump.

The two men stared out the windows without saying much, but Agnes felt as though her chest were being tightly squeezed.

She had traveled this road countless times before, yet for some reason, she felt embarrassed now.

“The departure of the territory’s residents has gotten worse since the Rift…”

The words slipped out like an excuse, and both men responded at the same time.

“I suppose it’s the same everywhere these days.”

“It is more wrong to deliberately interfere with the nature bestowed upon us by the World Tree.”

Agnes knew they were trying to comfort her, but she still flinched and lowered her eyes.

Fidgeting with the wrinkled hem of her skirt for no reason, Agnes tried to calm her unsettled heart.

The carriage passed through a village that looked rundown in every possible way and continued toward the estate.

The residents occasionally glanced at the carriage, but most of them showed little interest.

Even though they surely knew it was the carriage carrying Agnes, the eldest daughter of the lord, they acted as though it were nothing special. After all, carriages probably didn’t come through very often anymore.

Soon, the carriage came to a stop in front of the estate.

The tightness in Agnes’s chest had spread into a dull ache, making it difficult to breathe properly.

Pretending to be calm, she accepted Silmare’s assistance as she stepped down from the carriage.

But the moment she saw what lay before her, Agnes squeezed her eyes shut.

The Laverose estate was truly in ruins.

Moss covered the walls in blotches, while rose vines had grown wildly and tangled together in an untidy mess.

The garden, which must once have been quite magnificent, was now overgrown with weeds.

Most of the windows of the mansion visible beyond the garden were closed, and there was no sign of anyone coming and going.

It almost looked as though no one lived there.

This was the ‘Laverose estate’ that Agnes had worked as a governess to protect.

When she pulled the rusty doorbell, someone soon came running out of the mansion.

He was an older man with patches of white hair.

It was Alfred, the butler of the estate.

The moment he spotted Agnes, his face broke into a wide smile, and he hurried to open the door.

“I had no idea you were coming! We received no notice!”

“I had to come in a hurry. It’s been a long time, Alfred.”

“I received the letter you sent last time! Good heavens, Miss Amy is alive!”

“That’s right. Rupert is doing well, too.”

Aware of the guests standing behind her but eager to share the good news, Agnes quickly showed him the letter Rupert had written.

Alfred’s eyes reddened, and tears welled up in them.

Wanting to lighten the atmosphere, Agnes gestured toward the guests standing behind her.

“The two of them even met in person.”

“Oh, thank goodness! To bring me such wonderful news…!”

Seeing Alfred so delighted eased some of the gloom and embarrassment that had been weighing on Agnes.

Wanting to surprise Alfred even more, Agnes had brought a small box from the carriage.

“You’ll be even more surprised when you see this!”

“What is it? If it’s that heavy, you should have told me.”

When Alfred opened the box and recoiled in shock, a brief commotion broke out.

Only after Agnes explained the whole story did Alfred finally laugh through what looked like tears.

“Ho, ho, ho… Our youngest young lady… What on earth happened in the Rift?”

“Anyway, do you think this will be enough to hire at least a few workers?”

“Workers?”

“Yes. From what I saw on the way here, it seems you’re short on manpower. Is that why you haven’t been able to farm the land?”

“Not just farming. Everyone is preparing to flee almost every other day… Ah, dear. I shouldn’t be talking about such things in front of our guests.”

“Well, they didn’t come here without knowing about the situation. We also need to prepare somewhere for them to stay immediately.”

“Indeed. We haven’t prepared anything at all, so I’m not sure what to do.”

As though reassuring the troubled Alfred, Agnes spoke gently.

“That’s why I wanted to ask you to use this to hire people. Farm workers would be good, as well as maids or servants.”

“But I don’t think it’s enough money to hire people for very long.”

Alfred seemed to be assuming that all the money they had was what was inside the chest. Seeing his worried expression, Kesenor stepped forward.

“I suppose I’ll be needed, then.”

“Pardon?”

“It seems the time has come to fulfill the contract. Rupert told me that this estate has a large basement. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. There is a basement.”

Agnes remembered it because she had sold off everything that had once filled the basement in order to pay off the estate’s debts.

Of course, there would be almost nothing left in it now except for a small amount of food supplies.

“Then please show me the way.”

Alfred left to prepare the guest rooms, saying that he would get everything ready for their stay.

The three of them headed toward the basement alone.

For some reason, Kesenor seemed excited.

His expression was as impassive as usual, but his eyes were noticeably sparkling, and the corners of his lips were raised ever so slightly.

“I’m going to create a vault that only Miss Agnes can access using magic.”

“How? Right now?”

“Of course. I am Kesenor of Celestial. This is a commonly used spell for storing important items.”

With that, Kesenor stood in front of one of the basement walls.

When he placed his hand against it, golden particles rose from his fingertips and began etching a magic circle into the wall.

“This will be a good opportunity to show you my magic.”

Apparently, Silmare’s earlier remark—‘Weren’t you a Celesta? Are you really that incompetent with magic?’—had gotten under his skin.

Once he completed the magic circle, Kesenor took five magic stones from his pocket.

He embedded one into each of the five corners of the magic circle.

The magic circle immediately began to shine brilliantly.

Glittering motes of light gathered toward its center.

Then, centered around Kesenor, who stood in the middle, an intense, dazzling light burst outward as though exploding.

Flash!

The ground rumbled.

The earth beneath their feet shook.

It felt as though the entire basement might collapse.

Just as Agnes staggered, Silmare quickly approached and steadied her by the shoulders.

Kesenor noticed this from the corner of his eye, and the tip of his eyebrow twitched slightly.

Finally, the vibrations subsided.

“It’s finished.”

Kesenor announced it in a deep, solemn voice.

Agnes stared at Kesenor standing amid the mass of light, filled with awe.

It was as though the wind itself lingered only around him.

His long hair fluttered, and his black eyes shone brilliantly like amethysts.

Sparkling golden lights circled around him as though praising him before being drawn into his chest and disappearing.

The basement soon grew dark again.

Only the magic stones embedded in the wall continued to emit a vivid glow unlike before.

“Would you like to open the door now?”

“How?”

“Place your hand on the circle in the center over there.”

Agnes placed her hand on the circle in the middle of the magic formation.

The magic circle responded and began to move.

Without producing either light or sound, the circle rotated halfway around.

And then, behind the wall, a vast space was revealed.

Inside the chamber, filled with a soft, lingering glow, even the faintest light was enough to make everything shine brilliantly.

“My goodness… You said it would be worth more than the Empire’s annual budget…”

Just as Kesenor had said, gold coins were piled up there like a mountain.