episode_0286

The opportunity to ask Agnes about what had happened recently came sooner than expected.

Right after the barbecue party started, Antonio, who had been getting meals from Agnes the whole time, was the first to leave the table as he finished eating. Agnes, who was left alone at the table, struggling to finish her meal, it wasn’t difficult to strike up a conversation with her since she wasn’t receiving attention from anyone else.

As I mentioned before, Agnes has no friends other than me and Seraphine. And Seraphine is currently in the midst of a fierce competition between Cerista and Selena, so it’s natural for Agnes to be left alone.

Fortunately, Edan didn’t stop me from approaching Agnes to talk. Edan wasn’t the type to restrict me as long as I wasn’t talking to a hero or another man.

“Agnes.”

“Lily.”

“What happened earlier today? You seemed a bit complicated with Prince Antonio.”

“…Not really.”

“Could it be related to Agnes that Prince Antonio got injured?”

-Flinch.

She didn’t bother to speak, but her gesture was already an answer. Well, I had half expected it since Agnes had volunteered to take care of Antonio when he injured his arm.

From the moment Agnes, who had no interest in anyone else, voluntarily got involved with Antonio, even though she found him annoying, the conclusion was already drawn in my mind.

If Prince Antonio hadn’t returned with his arm injured, Agnes would have been the one injured, a simple logic.

“I think I have a rough idea from your reaction.”

“What… what do you think you know?”

“Just, why Prince Antonio got injured, that’s all.”

“….”

“So, you’re really not going to tell me? What happened at the lake?”

Agnes, who thought she had been caught, had a subtle change in expression, so it didn’t take long for her to respond.

“Don’t tell anyone else.”

“Sure thing.”

***

To cut to the chase, Agnes didn’t know the reason why the three-headed hydra appeared at the lake.

She was just on guard, thinking that a monster might approach the lake as usual when it suddenly appeared.

It was probably a hidden monster from the Luminaire Academy’s Witch’s Forest event, or maybe the kind of monster that appears when certain conditions are met in a battle event.

Or maybe, as the number of people and average level increased, the roaring crescent bears and moonlight wolves appeared together. It was a complex reason that couldn’t be confirmed.

Well, since the Witch’s Forest event was almost over, it wasn’t really important. The real important issue was something else.

“The relationship between Prince Antonio and Agnes is more important.”

Why did Agnes, who had openly disliked the fact that she and Antonio were in the same team just a few hours ago, suddenly volunteer to take care of Antonio’s injury? Through Agnes’s story, I could confirm what had happened between the two.

“…It was my mistake.”

“What kind of mistake?”

“I should have kept my distance and cast spells from afar. If I had picked off the heads one by one from a distance, no one would have been hurt, but I panicked and started casting attack spells as soon as it appeared.”

I had expected the action to make it stumble or hesitate after blowing off one head, but the three-headed hydra didn’t stop attacking even after two heads were killed.

Above all, it seemed that the guy had never expected all three of the hydra’s heads to target him.

Fortunately, one of the three heads was cut off by Colt’s amazing sword, and the other one exploded before reaching him thanks to Agnes’s magic. However, Agnes claimed that there wasn’t enough time to prepare for blocking the last one.

And it was Prince Antonio who bought that brief moment of time before Agnes could cast the next spell, precisely by sacrificing his right arm.

“To be honest, I was a bit shaken. I never thought I couldn’t even properly cut off one hydra head.”

“….”

“…But, anyway, the fact that he didn’t get hurt is thanks to him. I have to take responsibility.”

It seemed that Agnes had no intention of denying that she was able to cast the second spell thanks to Prince Antonio blocking the head with his arm.

Although the injury ended with just one arm breaking when the prince collapsed immediately after blocking the head, it seemed that Agnes was concerned about Prince Antonio, who was injured while trying to protect her even after the battle.

It seemed that the current situation of “Antonio Prince’s Repayment” had started as a way to repay the debt and find a way to apologize.

“…I can’t repay with money anyway. Our family’s budget is not enough, and I’ll just hear that it’s ridiculous to estimate the value of the prince’s body.”

“….”

“So, I have to repay in this way. After all, he got hurt because of my mistake. I have that much conscience.”

Hmm.

It seemed that the atmosphere around Prince Antonio was not as rosy as I thought it would be.

“It’s not Agnes’s fault that Prince Antonio got hurt. Probably, Prince Antonio himself doesn’t think he got hurt because of Agnes.”

“But, if I had judged a little better, I wouldn’t have known.”

“It was great to respond immediately to a situation where you didn’t know if a three-headed hydra would come out or what would come out. And if Agnes hadn’t made an immediate judgment, there might have been a bigger sacrifice than one of Prince Antonio’s arms, right?”

“…That’s true. Thank you for saying that, Lilith.”

Agnes, who had a slightly softened expression, seemed to be somewhat comforted by my words.

“Now, then. How should I lead Agnes and Prince Antonio’s relationship…”

Honestly, I wasn’t actively supporting Agnes and Prince Antonio’s love affair. Since Agnes was my only close friend, it wasn’t necessary for Prince Antonio to be the one next to her to make her happy.

However, in the current situation, the person who had the greatest potential to make Agnes happiest in the future was undoubtedly Prince Antonio.

After all, I had seen Agnes’s “eternal single ending” countless times in my past life.

Natalina Seraphine and characters like Luke had someone to take them even if they didn’t end up with a hero, but characters like Agnes or Cerista would end up solo if they didn’t end up with a hero.

Especially in Agnes’s case, due to her difficult personality, there was practically no one willing to take her. Adding to that, the strict evaluation from her family’s prestigious background.

There were hardly any men of higher status than Agnes who would approach a woman with a troublesome personality like hers.

And if a non-nobleman approached Agnes, she wouldn’t accept it. Specifically, the Elizabeth House, which designated Agnes as the successor, would interfere and prevent it.

As a result, Agnes was destined to grow old without finding a suitable partner and live her life without any romantic ties until the end. Even the hopeful hero romance route or harem member route were impossible in the current situation.

In that sense, Prince Antonio was not from a bad family like the Elizabeth House, and he was the only nobleman (or rather, royal) who could tolerate Agnes’s troublesome personality.

‘Even so, it’s too pitiful to grow old alone without any romantic ties for the rest of my life.’

Wouldn’t it be nice to at least give Agnes the opportunity to meet a man who is suitable for her level and likes her?

Seeing how he was willing to sacrifice his own arm without hesitation in Agnes’s time of need, it didn’t seem like he had any ill intentions towards her.

Since Prince Antonio was already deeply in love with Agnes, if I could just bring them a little closer, their relationship would surely work out well.

“Anyway, Agnes, you’re going to be attending Prince Antonio’s banquet for three days, right?”

“…Well, for now.”

“In that case, you wouldn’t need my help, would you? Like, knowledge on how a female servant should behave around a male employer.”

“Huh?”

“Have you forgotten? I am a former maid of the Blackwood House and Ethan’s personal maid.”

“…It’s not something to boast about, is it?”

…Well, that’s true.

“Anyway, my point is. Wouldn’t it be wiser to listen to the advice of someone who has more experience? If you’re going to attend Prince Antonio’s banquet, at least make sure Agnes doesn’t do anything ’embarrassing’.”

“…I see. What should I be cautious about?”

-Chuckle.

This is an opportunity.

A chance to become the cupid of Agnes and Prince Antonio’s love!