Chapter 7: A Quick Infusion of Agnes
“IT’S been a while since the three of us had tea like this. Would the kitty like a drink? Milk, perhaps?” Benoit was gazing at Ciel sitting at Agnes’s feet. Sitting still like that, he looked like a stuffed animal.
“No, Ciel is—”
“Rawr,” Ciel mewed excitedly, licking his chops.
Ciel lived off of Claude’s magical energy and had monsters for a snack. What did he need with milk? Maybe he could eat anything, after all.
“Yes, he’d like some,” Agnes said.
“Certainly.” Therese immediately prepared a saucer of milk, which Ciel began happily lapping up.
“I was expecting some dangerous beast since Claude conjured it for your protection, but he’s actually very cute, isn’t he?” Kevin’s comment was laced with a touch of sarcasm, but Agnes had to concede a smile.
Yes, Ciel did look like a sweet fuzzy pet. Still, the fact was he was a sacred beast. When roused, he became a ferocious tiger, but she wasn’t about to tell them that!
“So, you had something to discuss?” Benoit prompted.
“Um… So, Claude is going out on an…inspection soon,” Agnes began.
“An inspection? Touring his dukedom, I suppose?” Benoit guessed.
“Er, not that. He’s going to inspect the national defenses.”
Only those involved knew about the hole in the wall, and the role of the royal family and the Crest Bearers wasn’t public knowledge, either. Anyway, how could Agnes possibly explain it?
“Ah, yes. Prince Claude also serves as a knight. Is it something to do with that?” Benoit asked.
“Y-Yes! That, exactly!” Agnes jumped on that explanation.
“What’s that got to do with you, Sis? Are you so worried you can’t sleep at night? Something like that?”
“No, it’s not that… I was thinking of going with him. On the inspection.”
Kevin was teasing Agnes while nibbling on cookies, even though he was off the mark, Agnes found herself blushing.
“What for? I know Claude’s always going on about never wanting to be separated from you, but I can’t see him putting you in danger like that.”
Honestly, for a teasing younger brother, Kevin really was sharp.
“What does Prince Claude say about this?” Benoit brought up.
“I consulted him about it,” Agnes said. “He said okay, but he’s going to prioritize my safety above all else.”
“Okay, but why are you going in the first place?” Kevin kept circling back to the glaring question even though Agnes had felt the conversation’s course was corrected.
If she brushed it off, she’d end up worrying everyone. It would probably be faster all around if she just explained honestly.
“Because… Because I myself want to accompany him,” she confessed.
Though her family knew about Agnes being descended from Oreillian royalty, she couldn’t talk to them about the rupture, or the divine blessing of the spirits. Agnes wanting to go would be a convincing reason enough. It was still embarrassing to openly voice what she wanted, though.
“I… I see,” Benoit let out slowly.
“Tch. Here I was thinking congratulations were in order. But it’s just you being sappy, isn’t it, Sis?” Kevin sighed and began scoffing down cookies again. “Bo-ring!”
“I, too, completely jumped to that conclusion,” sighed Benoit.
“WHAT conclusion? What are you both getting at?!” Agnes trembled with shock, but Kevin shrugged, unbothered.
“I mean, you’re already officially engaged to a royal, your new house is all ready, and we’re all just waiting for the wedding ceremony. What’s the big deal about jumping the gun a little?”
“It is a BIG deal!” Agnes spluttered in protest, but Kevin just sipped his tea and nodded placatingly.
“If you want to go on a little pre-wedding trip together, then what’s the issue? We know Claude would never put you in any danger. And if anything did happen, he’s man enough to protect you. Unlike a certain slimeball I could, but won’t, mention.”
“Right. And Agnes, even if you decide to have kids early, we’ll be here to support you.”
“What are you talking about?!” She glared at Benoit, who for some reason had started to blush and clear his throat.
“No, but anyway…Kevin’s right. If the two of you have decided together to take this trip, we have no right to comment. Besides, all we want is for you to find your own agency, Agnes. Knowing that you’re beginning to express your wishes makes me very happy.”
After all the trouble and worry she’d caused her family, how could she complain now when they were both saying such kind things?
“Kevin and I will support whatever decision you make. As Prince Claude said, remember to prioritize your safety first.”
“Right. Well, please water my plants while I’m gone, will you?” Agnes requested. Fungi aside, she was growing those medicinal herbs for Cesar; it would be terrible if they withered up.
“You don’t need to fuss so much. They’re plants, not kids,” Kevin remarked.
“Well, I worry about them. Those plants are family to me. Ah, I know.” Agnes’s green eyes sparkled as a great idea suddenly struck her.
“What?” Kevin replied with a quizzical look.
“Claude asked me to draw on the power of mushrooms more often. Maybe I’ll ask them to look after you in my absence, Kevin!” Agnes exclaimed.
“What for? I’m in no danger. Claude told you to prioritize yourself, right? What do you mean by asking mushrooms to look after me?”
Kevin was saying this and that, but Agnes wasn’t to be stopped.
“Mushrooms! Guard the family while I’m gone, please!” As she finished this impassioned request, there was a series of pops like loud applause.
Dark pink Pleurotus djamor grew all over Kevin’s arm while yellow-brown Hypholoma fasciculare with olive-colored folds were found on the windowsill. White Amanita cokeri with big warts took up residence on the table alongside an ochre-brown Amanita viros, which sported a depression in its cap.
Ciel let out an excited growl, no doubt explaining for everyone’s benefit that the mushrooms were, indeed, very motivated.
“…The Mushroom Unit has sprouted for duty,” Kevin spoke with a stunned expression, poking at the new sentries that had sprouted on his arm.
“They seem to be poisonous, but sort of reliable in a crisis situation at the same time, no doubt,” commented Agnes.
“…Sis, that prince has certainly rubbed off on you,” Kevin said dryly.
Agnes would like to deny it, but how could she after such a fungal-sprouting display? It was she who’d called on the mushrooms—Agnes had to own it, didn’t she?
“They are a part of her personality, a part she’s suppressed for a long time as a result of external pressure. But she should be proud of them, as she was before he-who-must-not-be-named. You must do you, Agnes,” assured Benoit with smiling eyes.
“…I will!” Agnes beamed back, and even Kevin had to break into a wry smile.