Chap 1. End

“Wake up!”

It was an urgent voice unfamiliar to me.

She always knew Laslo Arpad as a lax man.

He had probably left his impatience in the womb.

“d.a.m.n it. Wake up, princess! There's no time to waste lingering around.”

But today was different.

“What?”

Agnes woke up to a strong hand waving itself in front of her.

I was still half-asleep and drowsy. I opened my eyes and couldn't see anything in the dark.

“Duke Arpad. For what brings you here. The chicken hasn't even c.o.kcrowed yet”

No matter how much ties a couple has with each other, it's important for them not to visit their wife's bedroom without notice.

“I don't have the time to spare you an argument, princess.”

He threw a worn out package at me. Whatever was inside of it was pretty heavy.

“What is this…….”

When suddenly, a man's scream resounded throughout.

Agnes noticed that her readily-armed husband had frowned at her earlier.

“Come with me right now.”

“What's going on?”

“The gate is open.”

Agnes gasped. The calamity outside came to a stop. Laslow calmly looked into her eyes.

“There's no time.”

She was sometimes afraid to look into his eyes.

Because it felt like all of her darkest secrets were being dug out.

From the first time I stepped into this castle until now.

“What do you mean? The gate is open……. Isn't Estar a thousand years old?”

“A thousand-year-old fortress is bound to fall apart.” He smiled bitterly.

I was informed that the king's army was surrounding Sutmar. I knew that things weren't going as well as I thought and anxiously rushed out the hall.

Although I never would have imagined that the gates would open up so quickly.

“Hurry up.” He urged.

Agnes just got up. Her eyes still hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet so she clumsily put on her clothes. She wasn't aware of how hard it was.

“Can't you get dressed properly?” Laslo croaked and clicked his tongue. He took the strap that Agnes was holding while she looked on in a daze. He skillfully knotted it for her.

“Are we leaving?”

Agnes calmly looked down at his dark golden head. There weren't many options to choose from if the gates were open.

It was either we surrender or run away.

“Yes. To Cyclosiro.”

“Cyclosiro? That far?”

It would take a full two months on horseback to travel that far south. I've heard about that place but never have I been there.

“Zoltan will go with the princess instead of me.”

“Why?” She asked.

“I wonder why?" He asked back.

“Is he the most fit for the job? What about you?”

His hands that were tying up the sash went a slight bit slack.

“I can't leave as the castle's lord.”

“Such a thing!”

Laslo neatly ended the knot of Agnes's fur cape before retaliating.

“It's done. Don't forget to take care of that package. Food and coins are in. There are also commoner's clothes that you can change into once you're out of the castle.”

“What?”

“Ah, I stuffed some jewelry in there too but don't sell them until you've left for good. The pursuers might notice.”

“Duke Arpad.”

“Get a ticket to Arahan Island once you arrive at Cyclo.”

Laslo continued without stopping,

“Duke, wait.”

“Selling the jewelry will allow you to buy a small piece of land. They're expensive so you'll be able to last a few years if you save them up. And-……”

“Wait, wait!”

Agnes barely managed to stop Laslo's rapid barrage of words.

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to imply that you'll stay behind?”

“I will stay. Go and leave me behind.”

“Will you surrender? Then I will remain as well.”

“I won't surrender.”

She was ready to mouth words of protest but couldn't say a thing after that. Laslo once again said with strength.

“I stay here.”

If one neither surrenders nor escapes, the only option left is to fight.

He's going to fight the king's army till the very end.

“……Duke Arpad.”

It's been three years since I got married to him.

Agnes still remembered the day she first saw him. He was so tall that she had to bend her neck to look up. Every member of the royal family was short, so Agnes felt like he was a giant from a fairytale for being one head taller than her.

“Princess.”

Laslo tightly gripped her shoulder.

She gulped after realizing what was coming.

“But, but…….”

She kept shaking her head several times.

Laslo was the fallen Duke of the West and she obviously didn't want to marry him as the Nirisu's princess. Her sister, Princess Vivian, died when she was in a weakened state during her menstrual cycle.

The culprit was one of Vivian's relatives and Agnes' half brother, Prince Sebastian.

A few years later, her kindred brother Chavolti had become a cripple. She swiftly begged Sebastian for mercy at this revelation. Agnes' mother pleaded for an alliance with the second king.

– Prince. Please save our poor princess.

Once Agnes became an adult she was married off to Duke Arpad right away.

With no congratulations or dowry.

“Give me your hand.” He said bluntly.

“Hand?” Agnes inadvertently extended her right hand.

“No, your left hand with the crest.”

He pulled out a long bandage from his pocket. Agnes gently gave him her left hand.

“Don't ever untie this. Even commoners know that having a crest on the back of your hand is a sign of royalty.”

Laslo covered the crest with fairly skillful movements. Agnes exchanged subtle glances alternating between him and her crest. It was not a happy marriage. At least for Agnes. She had expected just a shred of kindness from her husband, even knowing that it was foolish to wish for a happy marriage as a member of the royal family.

-You are now my husband, so you can refer to me as Agnes. She said to him on the first night of their wedding, under the flickering candle lights with utmost courage.

-Princess seems to be a good enough t.i.tle.

He calmly looked at Agnes' figure on the bed and left.

She was so mortified and ashamed that she dared not call him up again.

Laslo Arpad was an amazing and wise lord but a heartless husband.

For 3 years they were living together as a married couple without spending a single night with each other. It was only recently that the elders had put pressure on the issue of obtaining a heir that they forcefully slept with one another.

“Brother!”

At that moment, an angry man's voice could be heard from outside. He thumped and knocked on the door many times.

“Keep my words in mind.”

Laslo handed the pack to Agnes without a word.

Soon after that, he grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.

The door swung open and there stood a man wearing a thick bear skin coat.

“I figured it out. The motherf.u.c.ker who opened the gates.”

“Whom?”

“Matron. Might as well feed him dog food considering how he wags his tail at Sebatian all the time.”

Zoltan's face was burning with such fiery that it was visible in the dark.

A glimmer reached Laslo's eyes as he muttered Matron's name.

“Leave that son of a b.i.t.c.h to me and escape with the princess.”

“Now?”

“Right now.”

Laslo a.s.serted vigorously. Agnes freed her wrist in an act of defiance against him.

“I will stay!”

Both of them looked at Agnes in unison. The brothers were similar in height and towered over her like giants.

“Don't be stubborn. What help would it be if you stayed behind?”

Agnes could feel the concern behind his words contrary to his usual indifference towards her.

“There's nothing wrong with it.”

Zoltan shot Agnes a piercing sharp glare.

Agnes immediately shrank under his cold stare.

“Zoltan!”

Laslo strictly reprimanded his brother.

“Don't be silly and leave the castle at once. You must leave Sutmar before noon. End of story.”

“s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+T!”

Zoltan couldn't contain his temper and kicked the door. It made a dull sound. The door was made of giant trees over 100 years old.

“Why are you trying to fight? Just send me as an envoy to the king.”

Agnes looked at Laslo and said:

“Bowing down to Sebastian saved my life once, but it won't work twice.”

They were coming to attack us, under the king's name, because of a possible rebellion.

Agnes scoffed after hearing such nonsense.

This poor land was barren and had no special products. Beasts would also attack livestock through the northern line of defense at frequent rates.

It was for this reason that the Arpad dukedom was always poor.

I wouldn't even dream about something as expensive as treason.

Everyone turned static cold at Agnes' words.

Zoltan and Laslo were silent.

“… Take her with you.”

Laslo weakly pushed her shoulder.

“Duke Arpad!”

“Let's go. Princess.”

Zoltan rudely pulled the hem of Agne's s.h.i.+rt with brute force.

His grip was so strong that she struggled to keep herself upright.

“Let go. I am also the owner of this castle. I won't run away–ah!”

Zoltan's face gradually crumpled up as she continued to struggle. It was full of irritation and annoyance.

“My wife.”

Laslo heaved a sigh. Agnes immediately stopped flailing around. But her husband was quiet gain.

Agnes blinked rapidly. She desperately tried to focus on those overpowering green eyes.

“Just now, what did you say."

It was the first time. He addressed her as his wife.

He had always called her princess, as if he despised the royal family's bloodline.

I knew the Duke didn't welcome me.

She neither had a strikingly beautiful appearance nor a bountiful dowry. Their marriage was ordered by the king and judging from that alone, she could tell what the duke thought of her.

“Please be healthy.”

“Why do you have such eyes…"

Agnes was at a loss for words.

She was unable to overcome the shock of it and collapsed to the ground.

Zoltan held her up like a sack of potatoes. The brothers shared a short goodbye. Doing anything more than that was unnecessary.

Zoltan wet his lips and left. Laslo watched their leaving backs for a long time.

And that was the last they saw of the living Laszlo.

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