Agnes stepped over the dead grass between the paths, and the image of a girl in a blue velvet dress pulling away the lush ivy flashed through her mind.

She raised her head and looked at the people who had stayed far away by the ornate carved stone arches, and quickened her pace towards them.

"What's wrong, Agnes?" Adevina asked acutely as Agnes glanced at the dark green that clinged to the arch on one side.

"I just found a few problems," says Agnes, "like the species of plants in this garden. ”

Okfa subconsciously followed Agnes' gaze to the ivy climbing on the stone arch almost as Agnes said this.

"This is ......" he subconsciously reached out to grab the delicate hairy branch, but retracted it just as he was about to touch it, "how can it be ivy?" Why didn't I notice it before? ”

"Is there anything wrong with the ivies?" Sbasnereki asked with some confusion.

"It's no problem to see such vigorous ivy on the northern continent and on the northern islands of the Sunia Sea," Okfa explained, "but this is an island in the raging sea. ”

"It's too hot and humid here for these plants, which are strong most of the time," he said, looking around the garden, "and the heat and stuffiness will make them stagnate." ”

"Why didn't I notice them before Ms. Poyesia spoke......" he muttered to himself.

"Besides, perhaps you want to know the whereabouts of the young lady just now," said Agnes, "and all I heard was her telling others about her predicament and asking for help. ”

"That lady who is likely to be the somewhat scary lady from before?" With obvious curiosity on his face, Anderson asked, "What is the dilemma?" ”

"Maybe it's because you don't think your marriage is complete? Maybe it's thinking about your own personality independently? Agnes shrugged, "It depends on how you understand it." ”

She recounted what she had just heard in its entirety, without adding any additional comments.

"Only this lady's voice was heard?" Adevina asked thoughtfully.

Agne answered in the affirmative without hesitation.

Adevina didn't ask anything more, just glanced back thoughtfully in the direction Agnes had come.

"The auditorium of this church doesn't have the statue of death you saw in your last exploration," Agnes looked at Anderson, "Judging by the Mass just now, it's definitely not a faith from the Southern Continent. ”

"It's an important difference," Agnes whispered, retracting her gaze, "the change of faith on this island is likely to have more consequences, especially after the War of the Four Emperors, before the Pale Plague. ”

......

Two months.

It had only been three months since Agnes had left Fenerport, and Aurelio pulled out his handkerchief to carefully wipe the mud off the note, folded it up, and put it in his breast pocket, which was mostly used as an ornament.

The note was for him, and Aurerio knew it when he finally calmed down.

Agnes has always been intelligent and sensible, and he sometimes thinks that if she is not too young and in poor health, she must be a more qualified heir than him, and he is always easily affected by the emotions in his heart.

He wasn't surprised that Agnes would have guessed that he would choose Ellesmere Harbor, after all, she knew her brother well enough that Agnes had gone to the Southland, so he would definitely stay closer to the Southland during this time; And in the turbulent situation, my father will definitely let himself leave Fenerport City for a while and start with more basic things.

But the content of the words on Agnes's note made him think more.

Both the extremely happy and the extremely unhappy have a tendency to be cold, and only those whose families are neither poor nor rich, and whose fate is neither bad nor bad, are of a gentle temperament and have compassion.

The contents of the note echoed in his mind, and he inexplicably remembered the conversation that had passed in his mind even though it was only more than half a year ago.

At that time, Agnes looked at the procession outside the carriage and spoke calmly.

"People who can read newspapers have to have at least some social status, and most of these people have a variety of considerations...... We need to woo the people who are really angry with the guild's practices – ordinary citizens. ”

He couldn't help but smile wryly at the thought of the part of the proposal that he hadn't adopted in the end—to create an organization that belonged to the helpers themselves, knowing that it was the most important of the three suggestions made by Agnes.

Why can't it be adopted, adopted?

Is there nothing that can be done? Or do you feel like dust in other people?

"Am I an extremely happy person, or an extremely unhappy person?" He almost muttered to himself.

"Neither," said Lord Bartlet, laughing, "you must be the envy of most people in this world; But for yourself, there must be some misfortune that makes you bitter and regretful. ”

......

"There are two kinds of people who always think more," said Agnes casually, "and one that has been soaked in the sludge of politics for a long time, and even a little breeze is enough to blow up the ripples and dry up there; ”

"The other kind of person is naturally sensitive and prone to overthinking," Agnes shrugged, "and when such a person says that he understands, it is difficult for others to be sure of the way things are." ”

"You're talking about the countess?" Adevina asked.

Agnes nodded, and her footsteps stopped.

"There's someone up ahead." She said in a voice that was only large enough for the people around her to hear.

Adevina stopped before Agnes could speak, and hid with Agnes in the corner chamber obscured by the crimson velvet drapery.

Karpas also hid on the other side with the guards.

For a moment there was silence in the corridor, and there was no sound, and then the voice belonging to the countess rang out, a little more tired than it had been seen less than a quarter of an hour earlier.

"Thank you for your concern, sir."

The voice paused for a moment, then continued, "As long as it's something worth caring about, I'll care." ”

There was silence again, and then faintly, the sound of the curtain rising and falling reached Agnes' ears, and then the crisp sound of the candelabra falling to the ground.

"You know, you said before, it's pain." A voice like a lover's whisper crossed the velvet curtain and reached Angnes' ears in a whisper, and in a moment of shredded voice, the next one followed—

"Yes, you're right...... But the things that make me happy also make me miserable......"

The voice sounded even lower, like the moaning of a dying man.

“...... This pain feels real to me again, like a curse......"

The tiny tearing sound faded away, and the words that followed seemed imperceptibly wet.

"I want you to be as miserable as I am, as much as I am...... Sink into the lightless ocean in a curse......"