The End of the Event (1)

Having Agnes serve Prince Antonio’s bath naked was an action taken with some calculation behind it.

It wasn’t to tease Agnes or anything. I just genuinely thought this would be the most effective method.

‘Agnes becomes easier to handle if you make her think she’s just following principles.’

First of all, Agnes was the type whose standards became quite lenient when it came to things she categorized as “something I have to do anyway.”

While any normal woman would naturally dislike showing her naked body to a man, her boundaries lowered considerably just by adding the condition that “it’s necessary for bathing service.”

As long as Agnes didn’t realize how strange this was herself, that would be the end of it. There was no way Prince Antonio, who was deeply infatuated with her, would refuse a mixed bath.

‘Prince Antonio may seem rigid, but he’s still somewhat true to his desires for his age.’

That he was true to his desires had already been proven by his actions over the past month. After all, he’d chased Agnes all the way to the Witch’s Forest just to create any opportunity to get closer to her, even though her name alone drew scorn.

So even in this extremely abnormal situation where a rational person would enter the bathroom naked to serve a bath, Prince Antonio would likely keep his mouth shut and not tell Agnes the truth.

From there, it would all fall into place. Prince Antonio, who already liked Agnes, would be a given, and even someone as stoic as Agnes would awaken to romantic feelings with just a little push.

Even if she felt nothing upon seeing Prince Antonio’s body, it wouldn’t matter. Either way, after today’s events, Prince Antonio would pay even more attention to Agnes.

‘Since he’s seen Agnes naked, he’ll feel he has to take responsibility. Or at least think something along those lines.’

That alone would be a success. Once Prince Antonio enters the academy next year and has more interactions with Agnes, their relationship will naturally grow closer over time.

After all, women are happiest when they’re with men who truly love them. I’d even seen research online in my past life that confirmed this.

A study on married couples’ happiness found that men were happier the prettier their wives were, while women were happier the prettier they themselves were.

The reasoning was that if a woman was pretty, her husband would naturally treat her better, making her happier. And Prince Antonio was the man I knew who could treat Agnes the best.

‘Well, even if it doesn’t work out, it’s not really my fault anyway.’

I’ve done all I can-if nothing comes of it, that’s on the prince, not me. I think I’ve done enough.

I was genuinely looking forward to seeing whether Agnes could achieve a sub-romance ending different from the original story.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And so, three days after we defeated the last monster in the Witch’s Forest.

After completing Lara and Lizzie’s witch trials, we stood at the forest entrance, boarding carriages to our respective territories and exchanging farewells before naturally parting ways.

“Th-thank you so much, R-Rosewood… B-because of you, I was able to c-complete the trial…”

“No, Miss Maychilling. There were others who worked harder than me.”

“B-but you helped the m-most… I-I might not have been able to take the t-trial at all without you… I-if that had happened, u-uuuh…”

Lara, who had successfully completed the witch trial alongside Lizzie, clung tightly to my hands as she expressed her gratitude.

She shuddered as if imagining the penalty for failing the trial.

“So. What was the penalty if you failed the trial?”

“H-huh…?!”

“You can tell us now. Everyone here helped you and her with the trial.”

“W-well, um…”

“……”

“M-my name… w-would change…”

“…Huh?”

“Your name?”

“What do you mean?”

Lara trembled as if the very thought was unbearable, while the others focused on her words.

Only Gyeotmwa Josyegigot and I, who already knew the penalty, quietly averted our eyes.

“M-my name… w-would become… Ly-Lyara Maychilling…”

“……”

“……”

“…That’s it?”

“Th-that’s it?! D-do you know how sh-shameful it is for a witch to have her name changed?! I-it sets back my witch rank by a whole cycle! A-and ‘Lyara’ is such a hard name to say…!”

Agnes’s expression stiffened unpleasantly upon hearing the “penalty” from Lara.

I’d deliberately kept her from mentioning it earlier because I expected this reaction.

After all, if the penalty for something the group had risked their lives guarding against for a month was this trivial, it was only natural to feel disillusioned.

“You… you made us go through all that for just this…?”

“Ah! By the way, if you hadn’t taken the trial this time, the next chance would’ve been in ten years, right, Lara?”

“Y-yes… The forest altar only absorbs the purest energy once every ten years…”

“If you’d missed it this time, you’d have had to wait a whole decade. That would’ve been a disaster, wouldn’t it?!”

“Th-that’s important too, but… m-my name…”

“There, there, it’s all over now. The important thing is you took the trial that only comes once every ten years, right?”

Gyeotmwa Josyegigot interjected with additional context about the witch trial. If Agnes got angry here, the forest entrance might very well become a sea of flames.

Honestly, ten years isn’t that long for witches who live for centuries. Of course, it’s not a trivial amount of time, but compared to how humans perceive a decade, it’s much shorter.

Lara didn’t seem too concerned about that part, but Agnes seemed somewhat placated by the fact that the trial only occurred once every ten years.

“…If it was that important, you should’ve said so earlier.”

Agnes, who had lived each day more intensely than anyone else until just before entering the academy, sacrificing even her growth during puberty to focus on magic, couldn’t help but soften at the idea of a once-in-a-decade opportunity.

After roughly convincing Agnes, we split into three carriages to return home.

The merchant carriage brought by the August Trading Company.

The private carriage Gyeotmwa Josyegigot had brought from the northeastern grasslands.

And the imperial palace carriage we’d taken from the capital.

The simplest option would’ve been for everyone to return the way they came, but that wouldn’t have been very efficient.

With Luminor Academy’s second semester starting in just ten days, taking days to detour through the capital or other territories would’ve been a waste of time.

So the eleven of us split into three groups for temporary travel. Those heading to the same destination would move together, and if someone’s path crossed another’s, they’d drop them off along the way.

“See you in a week at the academy, Lilith.”

“Yes, Miss Lizzie. Travel safely.”

First, the merchant carriage Lizzie and Karaham had arrived in.

Since it belonged to the August Trading Company, the August siblings naturally had to return in it. After all, Karaham was the one who’d brought the carriage.

And there was one additional passenger.

“Remember your elective courses for next semester, Lilith? Advanced Spiritology and Applied Flame Magic…”

“Yes, yes. We’re taking them together, so don’t worry, Agnes.”

“…Good. Don’t forget.”

Since one of the Elizabeth family’s branch houses was along the way to the August territory, Agnes also decided to ride the same carriage home.

Originally, Agnes would’ve returned to the capital first before heading to her family’s viscounty, but with so many people needing to go to the capital after joining Gyeotmwa Josyegigot’s group, it made more sense this way.

Rather than cramming into a crowded carriage, she chose to impose on the August family. With only three carriages, we had no choice but to split up.

“Oh, and I secretly packed the mandrake roots in the box you’ll be taking, Miss Lilith. The one with the blue X mark…”

“…Keep it down, Miss Lizzie. I know.”

If Ethan found out, things would get complicated. If he learned I’d bought this, he might think I wasn’t satisfied with our intimate life.

It was just a precautionary purchase-a souvenir from the Witch’s Forest. Not something I’d bought specifically for Ethan.

Meanwhile, Agnes and Prince Antonio were also exchanging farewells.

“Lady Agnes! Have a safe trip!”

“…Yeah.”

“I’ll send letters to the address you gave me! And gifts too-“

“Don’t. That’s unnecessary meddling.”

“Okay…”

“……”

Agnes, who seemed to have grown closer to Antonio, chatting more easily than before, still drew a clear line. Prince Antonio, as usual, looked dejected.

Wondering if my plan had failed, I watched Agnes as she suddenly swung her staff lightly toward the ground before boarding the carriage.

-Whoosh!

A brief flame flickered across the ground, leaving behind charred marks that vaguely resembled letters.

“Lady Agnes?”

“…Dorm address.”

“Huh?”

“…I won’t be at my family home for long. Send letters here if you must. Nothing else.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you, Lady Agnes!”

Judging by this reaction, they’d at least reached “friends” status. They were certainly closer than before, when just hearing his name would make her scowl.

Of course, they still had a long way to go.