Chapter 10
“Agnes! You’ll be back soon, right?”
“You’re not leaving and never coming back, are you?”
“The maids said you’re getting married now! They said you won’t come back to us anymore!”
“That isn’t true, right? Agnes can’t get married because she doesn’t have any money!”
“If you leave, we’ll have to go to boarding school!”
“I won’t play pranks anymore. Please? Don’t go!”
The twins, who had never reacted much whenever Agnes went on leave before, clung desperately to the hem of her skirt.
Their outrageous claims made Agnes hurriedly shake her head.
“What are you talking about?”
“Then why are you leaving? As soon as those people showed up, you suddenly said you were going!”
Their desperate grip on her clothes felt unfamiliar.
Looking back, she had always believed she was the only one chasing after the children.
Maybe… I was wrong.
Their way of speaking was still as rough as ever.
Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t help smiling.
She gently patted each of them on the head.
“I’ll come back. But don’t you dare skip your studies just because I’m gone!”
“Okay, Agnes!”
“You promised! You have to!”
Leaving the two boys waving frantically behind her, Agnes climbed into the carriage.
Kesenor and Silmare were already inside.
Did they hear what the children were saying?
The thought worried her.
But Kesenor merely stared out the window with his usual impassive expression, while Silmare looked thoroughly dissatisfied.
His handsome brows were tightly knitted together.
It turned out…
He simply didn’t like the carriage.
“To imprison a free spirit like a horse inside something like this!”
“It’s the only practical way to travel.”
“Mage. Use teleportation.”
“If I teleport three people, I’ll be exhausted. Especially with you.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be from Celesta? Your magic is that pitiful?”
The remark was an obvious jab at Kesenor’s abilities.
Kesenor frowned right back at him.
Ah… I can’t breathe…
Suppressing a sigh, Agnes deliberately smiled brightly.
“It’s all right. It won’t take very long. We’ll reach the Laberose estate in half a day.”
The two men continued bickering while Agnes tried to calm them.
Before long, the carriage crossed into the territory of House Laberose.
The scenery changed almost immediately.
The farmland was poorly maintained, overgrown with weeds.
The road became uneven, causing the carriage to jolt violently.
Neither man said anything as they looked outside.
But Agnes felt as though her chest were being squeezed tighter and tighter.
She had traveled this road countless times.
Yet today…
She felt strangely ashamed.
“Ever since the Rift… many of our people have left the territory…”
She spoke almost as if making an excuse.
Both men answered at the same time.
“It’s the same everywhere these days.”
“Besides, it’s hardly wrong to leave nature exactly as the World Tree intended.”
She knew they were trying to comfort her.
Even so…
Agnes flinched and lowered her eyes.
Smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt, she struggled to calm the turmoil in her heart.
The carriage rolled past villages that looked abandoned by prosperity itself before finally approaching the manor.
The villagers occasionally glanced at the passing carriage…
But most quickly looked away with little interest.
Even though carriages rarely came through these parts.
Even though they almost certainly knew it carried Agnes, the eldest daughter of the lord’s family.
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the manor.
The tightness in Agnes’s chest had become real pain.
Breathing suddenly felt difficult.
Pretending to remain composed, she accepted Silmare’s hand as he escorted her down.
But the moment she saw the estate…
She squeezed her eyes shut.
The Laberose estate was truly…
Desolate.
The stone walls were stained with moss.
Rose vines had grown wildly in every direction, becoming tangled and unkempt.
The once-beautiful garden had been swallowed by weeds.
Beyond it, most of the manor’s windows were shuttered.
Not a single person could be seen moving about.
It looked as though no one lived there at all.
This…
Was the Laberose estate she had protected by working as a governess.
She pulled the rusty doorbell.
A moment later, someone hurried out of the manor.
The man, whose hair had turned gray in places, was Alfred, the estate’s butler.
The instant he recognized Agnes, his entire face lit up with joy as he hurried to open the gate.
“You didn’t send word! I had no idea you were coming!”
“It was a sudden trip. It’s been a while, Alfred.”
“I received the letter you sent! My goodness… Lady Amy is really alive!”
“That’s right. Rupert is doing well too.”
Eager to share the wonderful news despite being conscious of the guests behind her, Agnes handed Alfred Rupert’s letter.
Alfred’s eyes immediately reddened with tears.
Trying to brighten the mood, Agnes gestured toward the two men standing behind her.
“These two actually met her themselves.”
“Oh… Thank you! Thank you so much for bringing us such wonderful news!”
Seeing Alfred so overjoyed eased much of the embarrassment and sadness Agnes had been carrying.
Wanting to surprise him even more, she retrieved a small chest from the carriage.
“You’ll be even more shocked when you see this!”
“What is it? It’s so heavy—you should have let me carry it.”
The moment Alfred opened the chest…
He nearly collapsed from shock.
The commotion lasted for quite a while before Agnes finally explained everything.
Only then did Alfred laugh through his tears.
“Ha… Our youngest lady… Just what happened inside that Rift?”
“Anyway… do you think this will be enough to hire some workers?”
“Workers?”
“Yes. On the way here, it looked like you didn’t have enough people. That’s why the fields aren’t being cultivated anymore, isn’t it?”
“It’s not just farming. Everyone is preparing to run away at any moment… Ah, dear me. I shouldn’t be saying such things in front of our guests.”
“They didn’t come here without knowing our situation.”
“First, we need to prepare rooms for them.”
“Indeed. We weren’t prepared for any visitors at all.”
Seeing Alfred’s troubled expression, Agnes spoke gently.
“In that case, use this money to hire people.”
“Workers, maids, servants… whoever we can find.”
“But this isn’t enough money to employ people for very long.”
Apparently believing the money inside the chest was all they had left, Alfred looked at it with worried eyes.
At that moment…
Kesenor stepped forward.
“It seems it’s finally my turn.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s time to fulfill our agreement.”
“Rupert told me this manor has a large basement.”
“Is that correct?”
“Yes, it does.”
Agnes remembered it well.
To repay their debts…
Everything that had once filled the basement had been sold.
Now…
Only a small amount of food remained.
The place was practically empty.
“Then please show me the way.”
After Alfred excused himself to prepare the guest rooms, the three of them headed toward the basement.
For some reason…
Kesenor looked excited.
His expression remained as indifferent as always.
Yet his eyes sparkled noticeably.
Even the corners of his lips had lifted ever so slightly.
“I’m going to create a vault that only Miss Agnes can access through magic.”
“How?”
“Right now?”
“Of course.”
“I am Kesenor of Celesta.”
“This is one of the most commonly used spells for safeguarding valuables.”
As he spoke, he stood before one side of the basement wall.
Placing his hand against the stone…
Golden particles flowed from his fingertips, engraving an enormous magic circle across the surface.
“This is a good opportunity to demonstrate my magic.”
Apparently…
Silmare’s earlier taunt—
“Aren’t you from Celesta? You can’t even use magic properly?”
—had gotten under his skin.
Once the magic circle was complete…
Kesenor produced five magic crystals from his pocket.
He embedded one into each of the circle’s five corners.
The entire formation immediately burst into brilliant light.
Countless sparkling motes gathered toward its center.
Standing at the heart of the circle…
Kesenor became the center of an explosion of dazzling radiance.
Fwoosh!
The earth rumbled violently.
The ground beneath their feet shook.
It felt as though the entire basement might collapse.
As Agnes stumbled…
Silmare instantly stepped forward and caught her by the shoulders.
Watching the scene from the corner of his eye…
The tip of Kesenor’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
Finally…
The trembling stopped.
“It is finished.”
Kesenor declared in a deep, steady voice.
Agnes gazed at him in awe.
It was as though the wind itself surrounded only him.
His long black hair fluttered softly.
His dark eyes shone like polished amethysts.
The glittering golden light circled around him as if singing his praises…
Before flowing into his chest and disappearing.
The basement gradually darkened again.
Only the five magic crystals embedded in the wall continued shining with an intense glow.
“Now.”
“Would you try opening it?”
“How?”
“Place your hand on the circle in the center.”
Agnes did as instructed.
The moment her hand touched the central circle…
The magic formation reacted.
Without a sound…
Without even a flash of light…
The circular seal slowly rotated halfway.
Behind the wall…
A vast hidden chamber appeared.
Soft light drifted through the enormous cavern.
Even that gentle illumination was enough to make everything inside sparkle brilliantly.
“My goodness… You really weren’t exaggerating when you said it surpassed the Empire’s annual budget…”
Inside…
Exactly as Kesenor had promised…
Gold coins were piled into mountains.
