Chapter 5 (Part 5)

Having received her orders, Agnita began to irritate Meryl in various ways where no one could see, to get fired. Meryl, in her rage, slapped Agnita and threw things at her.

She was hit more than usual, but it was alright. For the sake of getting fired quickly!

But it seemed she had irritated Meryl too much. She needed to go to the lady’s side.

How could I get fired when I was sentenced to a week in the solitary cell?!

Agnita’s usually expressionless face cracked a bit at Meryl’s shout of a week in the solitary cell.

‘It seems that tick-like creature has no intention of letting me go.’

Hiding her frustration, Agnita was locked in the solitary cell.

Late at night, Juan visited Agnita, who was locked alone in the narrow solitary cell. The cell was just big enough for one person to lie down, without even a blanket.

Juan looked sympathetically at his sister lying down and spoke.

“Agnita, are you alright?”

Agnita had worked hard to irritate Meryl to get fired. She answered curtly and coldly on purpose, made sarcastic remarks, and even talked back. She made many mistakes on purpose. Each time, Meryl only beat her instead of firing her.

But it felt good to irritate Meryl and say what she wanted to say.

“Why won’t she let me go?”

She fired other servants so easily, so why wouldn’t she fire me!

Was getting fired originally this difficult?

“Why won’t she fire me?”

Juan had watched from the shadows how Agnita had done her best to irritate Meryl and make mistakes. She should have been fired long ago, but Meryl, as if venting her anger, only beat her and locked her in the solitary cell.

“You seem difficult to fire.”

“Why?”

“Because she knows you’ll endure at the duchy even if you’re beaten. Everyone at the Hatzbellua Duchy knows that.”

Agnita had believed she would be fired, but she agreed with Juan’s words.

Seeing Agnita starving and locked in the solitary cell, Juan hardened his expression, frowned openly, and sighed.

“Take this.”

Juan opened his magic space and handed Agnita a heavy bag.

“What is it?”

“It’s a magic bag given by the lady. It contains food and water. Everything you need, including a change of clothes, is in there.”

“Okay.”

Receiving the bag, Agnita nodded with difficulty.

“Thank you, brother.”

Juan opened his magic space again and took out a basket of food.

Having starved for several meals while being beaten, Agnita started eating the food frantically. Juan watched her with a bitter expression.

Juan took out ointment from his pocket and applied it to her wounded face.

“Eat slowly. Drink milk too… You’ll get indigestion…”

He wanted to sprinkle holy water with divine power on her wounds, but if they healed too quickly, Meryl might become suspicious. So, all he could do was apply ointment.

Agnita, continuously stuffing food into her mouth, nodded at Juan’s words.

Watching Agnita with worried eyes, Juan packed the empty basket and stood up.

Seeing his sister continuously beaten was not pleasant. He had thought about rescuing her if the current order was too difficult, but Agnita was resilient.

“I’ll come again soon, so hang in there.”

“Okay.”

Agnita, full from the food Juan brought, smiled happily.

“Brother.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I can get fired?”

“Agnita, don’t worry. You will definitely get fired. If not, we’ll find another way.”

“Brother… Tell the lady. If I can’t get fired, this Agnita will risk her life…”

“Risk your life?”

“To cause trouble.”

Juan chuckled and spoke to Agnita.

“Even if you cause trouble, don’t burden the lady.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

A week passed, but Agnita’s solitary confinement did not end.

Meryl continued to beat her and ordered that only a little water and bread be given to her, then locked her in the solitary cell.

The servants, seeing Agnita suffer such treatment, shook their heads at Meryl’s cruel nature. Agnita could no longer endure it.

“I wanted to get out proudly by being fired… but there’s no choice.”

Agnita stood up, ate all the food in the magic bag, and burped.

She checked her body to see if there was any fresh blood.

“The blood has dried, so I can’t use it. There’s no choice.”

Taking out a well-sharpened knife from the bag, Agnita slightly cut the tip of her finger.

After confirming that blood was dripping, she started writing on the wall of the solitary cell with it.

[Goodbye.]

Agnita smiled satisfactorily, sucked her finger to stop the bleeding, then threw off her maid uniform and changed into pants.

That night, Agnita boldly escaped from the duchy.

Bang!

Agnita broke every door. She easily subdued the knights who came running at the noise.

“Weaklings… tsk tsk.”

Rumble, bang!

At the sound of breaking and collapsing doors, everyone in the duchy woke up. Caught off guard by the incident that occurred in the middle of the night, the duchy was in a state of emergency. Fortunately, there were no signs of an intruder inside the duchy, but it was clear someone had escaped.

The subdued knights all pointed to ‘Agnita.’ They confirmed that the door of the solitary cell where she had been locked was broken.

The servants did not blame Agnita for escaping.

They all sympathized, thinking, ‘How desperate must Agnita have been to escape?’

As soon as she escaped, Agnita took out the dye from the magic bag, dyed her hair, and wrapped her chest with bandages. She drew freckles all over her face with makeup.

After changing into male clothing, Agnita quickly booked a ticket under an alias for the Teillon ship heading to the Mage Tower.

‘Lady, please wait a little longer.’

***

Theodore woke up early in the morning, took a clean bath, wiped the foggy mirror, and looked at himself in the reflection.

As soon as he opened his eyes, thoughts of Meia made the corners of his mouth lift.

A sweet pain in his heart and a rush of excitement filled his entire body.

“Are you awake, master?”

Venable, who had entered through the door, greeted Theodore.

“Where is Lady Meia?”

As if expecting him to ask, Venable immediately replied.

“She is in her room.”

“Wasn’t she uncomfortable in an unfamiliar place?”

“Don’t worry. I am preparing a room for Lady Meia, who will become the Grand Duchess.”

Hearing that Meia would become the Grand Duchess, Theodore felt a warm satisfaction and happiness flow through his chest.

Currently, she was in the Grand Ducal residence. She was in the same house as him. Feeling the happiness of reality, Theodore wanted to see Meia even more.

“I want to see her quickly.”

Although he had suddenly brought up the topic of a contract engagement, he did not regret his words at all. He had debated whether to say it or not but took courage remembering his father’s words.

<Only those with courage can gain love.>

<Just do it first.>

He knew well that his father had made many efforts and sacrifices to win his mother’s love.

As a child, he didn’t understand the meaning of those words, but now he understood his father’s words better than anyone.

And Meia’s response was…

<I’ll think about it, the contract engagement.>

It wasn’t a 100% satisfactory answer, but it wasn’t a rejection either. This meant that an engagement could happen.

If they get engaged, no one will be able to touch Meia, and she will be safely protected within his boundaries. If she wishes, he would cleanly wipe out Carpen with force.

Theodore, humming a tune, stretched and walked into the bathroom.

“I’ll just take a quick shower and wash my face.”

“No, master.”

Theodore was eager to wash quickly and go out to meet Meia, but Venable opposed him.

However, his butler was unusually serious and his eyes were sharp.

“Why?”

“You need to groom yourself. Have you forgotten already? I personally procured the best beauty tools and materials so that you can become even more beautiful than that man named David. I will do my best to ensure you become more beautiful than you are now, morning and night, even while you sleep. So please, follow my advice this time.”

“I had momentarily forgotten. I’ll follow your advice, Venable.”

“Yes.”

Since Meia arrived, Theodore’s lovesickness had visibly improved, which relieved Venable and made him satisfied. But he couldn’t rest easy. Meia’s blushing cheeks when talking about the man named David sent a dangerous signal. He didn’t know how beautiful David was, but Venable was determined.

After a 30-minute meticulous massage, Theodore admired his glowing face in the mirror.

“Amazing.”

Venable straightened his shoulders at the praise.

“What should I wear today… Should I part my hair to the left? Venable.”

Venable couldn’t help but smile benevolently at his master, who was in love and pondering what to wear.

“You look good in anything, master, but Head Maid Hannah informed me that Lady Meia is wearing a beige dress today. I will prepare a matching uniform.”

“But what if she doesn’t give me an answer today? What if she says no to the engagement?”

The thought of Meia rejecting him, especially because of David, made Theodore’s whole body tremble and he couldn’t calm down.

“She might not give you an answer. In such cases, you must remain calm. Act as if nothing is wrong and give her space. Love is not something you can gain by being impatient. Never show your urgency.”