Chapter 135

“Prince Dietrich died like this…….”

“Grandfather.”

The old man fiddled with the black ribbon in a wet voice. Agnes looked at her grandfather in the eye and said,

“How many troops are available?”

“If you subtract the number on the southwestern front, it’s 5,000.”

“What if you add up to the number on the front?”

“It’s a little less than 40,000.”

Marquis Songrad, who was giving a gentle answer, leaned forward to see what determination he had read from Agnes’ face.

“What are you going to do?”

“It’s time to move.”

Laslo added quietly. Agnes exchanged glances with him. He wasn’t surprised because they already talked about this enough. The only problem is that the timing is earlier than expected.

“Move? Are you talking about doing it now?”

“Grandfather, the king is desperate now.”

“Desperate? Of course, the plague was getting worse and the beast invaded the palace, his status was greatly reduced….”

“The treasury has already run out and the war with Devon is likely to be defeated.”

“…….”

“The food is long gone, and there are mountains of people who have died from the plague. The resentment of the people is soaring.”

“Well.”

The Marquis of Songrad let out a low sigh.

“You’re right, but I’m not sure. We don’t have any justification to lead an army to the capital.”

“The king will give us the cause himself. Marquis.”

“What’s that?”

“Whenever Sebastian had an internal problem, he would solve it by making an external enemy.”

Agnes said with a cold smile.

“You’ll see. Grandfather, you’ll soon know how he’ll turn out.”

A cornered mouse is bound to bite its opponent. Sebastian is in more trouble than in the past. It’s obvious where the end of his anger is headed.

Agnes smiled and reassured his grandfather.

***

“Maybe I should go down sooner.”

Laslo came into the bedroom sweeping down his wet hair. Agnes sat on the dressing table, combing her hair, and looked back.

“You’re going back to the front?”

“Since Prince Dietrich is dead, we need to be more careful.”

“That’s true,”

“We can’t bring the troops in right now, but we have to be prepared.”

“What’s the situation on the Southern Front?”

Laslo shook his head. He put his hand lightly on Agnes’ shoulder.

“It’s slow. Devon and our troops have lost a lot to the plague, so there hasn’t been a turn since I left for the capital.”

“Then are you just keeping your seat?”

“It’s almost like a truce.”

“His highness keeps rejecting the negotiations demanded by Devon. What the hell is the king thinking?”

It takes a huge amount of food to feed those hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Even in this situation, holding out not to end the war is like useless determination.

Agnes clicked her tongue. Laslo picked up the comb on the dresser and slowly began to brush her hair.

“Maybe he believes in investing in a spice ship. With that money, he can lead the war for another half year.”

“I’ll have to destroy that hope as soon as soon as possible”

Despite the harsh words, Laslo only smiled as if he were seeing something cute. Then he put down the comb and kissed her on the head.

“It would be difficult to end this war, it would be nice if the ceasefire could be completed properly.”

“I know. I’m nervous. We could have a three-way race with Devon.”

It was impossible to distribute troops on the southern front while they were focusing on the capital.

In addition, Chavolti and Sophia in the capital were also problems. He could be taken hostage by Sebastian. There is more than one thing to consider. Her head began to throb at the thought of it.

Originally, the death of the second prince was a matter that had not been considered deeply since the ceasefire negotiations with Devon took place.

“Let’s go to bed for now and think about it tomorrow.”

“Hmm.”

The couple went to bed late that night. Agnes had so many worries that she couldn’t fall asleep easily. She kept tossing and turning in her sleep and woke up completely at the sound of a minute conversation outside the door.

“What’s the matter?”

“Madam,”

The young maid’s cheeks were red in the early morning breeze.

“I’m sorry for the noise. The herbalists who just went to Deor came back…….”

“Who’s here?”

“Defon, Lian, and Adrienne are back.”

“What?”

She woke up completely. Her voice was so high that Laslo, who was sleeping next to her, tossed and turned and stood up.

“Hmm. What’s wrong?”

“Miss Adrienne is back.”

“Who is Adrienne? Oh, the herbalist?”

“Right, I’ll go see her, you sleep more.”

Agnes hurriedly changed her clothes, leaving Laslo behind. The hallway was dark and cold, the first chicken did not crow yet. She doesn’t know why the road to the drawing room feels so long. Eventually, when she saw the door of the drawing room from a distance, she ran almost half way.

“Adrienne!”

“Madam,”

Adrienne, who was sitting on the sofa, staggered out of her seat.

She took off her cloak. He looked haggard as if she were showing her hard work.

“Last time I got your letter, I heard you had a plague.”

“I found a cure.”

Adrienne took a piece of paper out of her arms. Her body was dry, like firewood, but her eyes glowed as if they were burning.

“How…….”

“I was lucky.”

Adrienne smiled faintly.

“When I got the plague, I thought I was going to die, I didn’t know the last thing I tried would work.”

“You did a great job. This will save many lives.”

Agnes moved up and down with excitement. With this treatment, they can save countless people who will die in the future.

“Wait. I have one thing to tell you. This treatment isn’t complete. That’s why I came here myself.”

“What do you mean by not being perfect?”

“After administering the medication to others, there is a fifty-fifty chance that they will be cured unless they are in the early stages of the disease. In fact, it’s hard to say that it’s half.”

“Oh…….”

Agnes let out a low moan.

“I came up here because I needed the help of a wizard to complete the medicine.”

“Is it true that a cure was found out?”

Laslo hurried over there. Adrienne nodded and spoke.

“Yeah. But it’s not yet complete.”

“That’s great. With this…….”

Laslo murmured something in a low voice. Agnes willingly took Adrienne ‘s muddy hand.

“Thank you very much. You did a great job.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Adrienne smiled brightly. After hearing the news belatedly, Niall kicked the door. He always had neat clothes, but his hair was messy and his tie was crooked.

“Woah, Adrienne is back…….”

“Niall.”

“Oh my. Thank you.”

Niall walked around and hugged Adrienne. Adrienne also hugged him. Laslo, who was watching the lover’s hot hug, was quite surprised and lost his words for a moment.

“There are times when you’re like that.”

“Let’s leave them alone. How happy he must be. Now that we know the cure, let’s mass-produce the medicine right now.”

Agnes smiled and pulled Laslo away. Laslo opened his mouth with a serious look.

“Agnes, I have an idea.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I think we can negotiate an end to the war with Devon with this.”

“Do you want to tell the king the cure?”

“No.”

Laslo grinned.

“It will not be the king, but us who will negotiate the end of the war.”

“Hmm?”

“Devon is also suffering a lot from the plague. If we could give them a cure, wouldn’t they welcome us with open arms?”

“I suppose so.”

“I will meet with the Duke of Epsilon in person and negotiate with him.”

He shook the paper containing the cure.

“Epsilon? Commander-in-Chief of Devon?”

“Well, he’s the only one in Devon who opposes the end of the war. He won’t stop until he gets revenge for his son who died because of Sebastian.”

Agnes finally realized what Laslo was talking about. She looked up at him with her mouth slightly open.

“You want to negotiate with the Duke of Epsilon to end the war on our side, not with Sebastian.”

“That’s right. Then you don’t have to worry about what’s behind you.”

He nodded and called Adrienne and checked again.

“Are you sure about the cure written here?”

“Yes, my lord. In the early stages of the disease, the patient’s recovery is completely cured, and if the severity is severe, the probability will gradually decrease.”

“How many people have you taken medication with?”

“So far, there are more than 500 people.”

“Yeah, I see.”

Laslo turned his head and stared at Agnes. Now she could tell what he was going to say just by looking at his eyes.

“You’re going to leave now, right?”

“Yes, as soon as possible.”

“……Do so.”

Preparations for leaving for the front had been completed a few days ago anyway. Laslo hugged her tightly once and left the drawing room.

Within hours, the news spread throughout the city that Adrienne had found a cure. Agnes called Andrassy as soon as dawn broke.

“I heard that the herbalist has found a cure.”

“Then you know what I’m going to tell you.”

“Yes, if you let me know what materials or tools you need, I will schedule the production of the treatment as soon as possible.”

“Okay, and I have one more thing to say.”

“Go ahead.”

“When is the ship going to sink?”

“In ten days.”

“Put it off for a while until I tell you.”

Laslo had to wait until he secretly concluded negotiations with Devon. Agnes tapped the table with her fingers.

“Andrassy.”

“Yes.”

“When you’re desperate, you make ridiculous choices”

“That’s what I said.”

“Let’s test it out.”