Although the night was extremely long and painful, Agnes finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning.
When she woke up, it was already close to noon, and the sun finally broke out from the clouds that had been covering it for days, shining bright sunshine into the window.
Agnes, who had just woken up, blinked her eyes to adjust to the blazing light.
A new day greeted her with sunshine. Although the first clear sky after the rain could not warm her heart, it at least brought her a sense of comfort.
Yes, no matter what happens, you can only face it bravely. Crying and giving up on yourself cannot solve the problem. You can only face the difficulties and push through it.
She quickly got off the bed, and after a brief familiarity, she changed her clothes again and pushed the door open.
She didn't eat all day yesterday, and now she was ravenous, and it was definitely past breakfast time, so she ran to the kitchen to get some preserves to satisfy her hunger temporarily and replenish her strength for the new day.
"Agnes!" Just as she was walking downstairs, her father stopped her.
"Dad?" Agnes stopped and looked at her father doubtfully.
At this time, the Duke was also observing his daughter, and after confirming that she seemed to have returned to "normal sanity", the father also breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're in a bad state of mind, so I didn't let anyone disturb you. It looks like you slept well. Are you feeling better now?"
Agnes nodded slightly.
Agnes naturally still remembered the quarrel last night, and she felt quite embarrassed at this time.
The father hesitated again, then suddenly apologized to his daughter.
"Sorry, my mental state was too bad yesterday, so I may not have taken care of your emotions and said something that made you unhappy. Please don't take it to heart."
Agnes clearly noticed that her father's face showed indescribable fatigue at this time, as well as the helplessness of a middle-aged and elderly man who was unable to cope with the disasters of life.
Agnes was already feeling guilty, and she felt even more distressed when she saw her father in this state.
"Dad, it's me who should apologize to you...I shouldn't have spoken like that." So, she solemnly apologized to her father.
"That's good...child, although I don't know what happened yesterday, I believe that no difficulty can stump you. You have always made me proud." As usual, the father patted his daughter's cheek affectionately.
He used this to make peace with his daughter, "I have already prepared some snacks. Come over and eat."
The long-lost warmth filled Agnes's heart with emotion.
Now she is a little less naive, so she can guess that the kindness shown by her father today is also a kind of gentleness. He was frightened by his performance last night, so he tried to comfort himself and let himself
Act according to his will.
However, even if it is mixed with too much utilitarianism and calculation, it is still the fetters of family ties that she cannot break away from.
After all, father is father.
"Thank you, I will taste it well." So, she responded to her father with an innocent smile, "By the way, I will go out after eating."
"Are you going out again?" The Duke was surprised and asked quickly, "Where are you going this time?"
"Go find a solution for our family." Agnes replied briefly, "Don't worry, I will find it -"
Then, she ignored her father, who was still in shock, and walked straight towards the restaurant.
After eating, Agnes rushed to the Earl's residence that she knew without stopping. Of course, she didn't know now that the Earl had found another "comfort home" for herself and was no longer here often.
As a frequent visitor here, she came to the house easily.
However, this time she missed the opportunity and did not find the count.
She did not give up and suspected that the count was deliberately hiding from her, so she searched for the count everywhere regardless of the obstruction. In the end, she was stopped by a tall man.
"Miss Agnes, I'm glad we met again." Captain Foresty asked others to leave while looking at Agnes warily, "Originally I was worried about you, but seeing that you are so energetic today, I
I feel relieved.”
Agnes looked at the person opposite with wide eyes. She remembered that he was one of the people present when the master was attacked yesterday, but she could not remember who he was - after all, although they had met several times in Switzerland,
We met in person, but had no communication, so she had no impression. She was not that attentive to begin with, so naturally she would not deliberately ask or remember the other person's identity.
"Sir, I'm here to see the count. Can you please let him come to see me? I have important things to discuss with him." So Agnes used a general address.
"Are you really looking for the count? Or are you looking for someone else?" the captain replied coldly and doubtfully, "Unfortunately, whoever you are looking for is not here now."
Hearing the other party's allusion to the master whose life and death were still unknown, the pain in Agnes's heart was aroused again. For a moment, a fierce look flashed in her eyes, which made the atmosphere here even colder.
Fortunately, she has finally grown up and ignored this provocation.
She deliberately spread her hands to show that she had no intention of taking action, "As you can see, I am not here to cause trouble today, but I am unarmed and here to visit my friend as a friend. As an unrelated person, you are not qualified.
Interrupting the matter of friends, please let the count come to see me! If he personally says that he does not admit that we are friends, then I can turn around and leave."
Agnes's response made the captain frown.
Hostility quickly spread between the two people, and it seemed that it was about to explode violently. However, the defenseless Agnes smiled and looked at the other party with an attitude of fearlessness.
Perhaps out of respect, perhaps out of pity, the captain backed down slightly.
"I told you, he's not here. I won't lie."
"Then let him come to see me! Anyway, I want to see him. If he doesn't come, I will wait here for as long as I want!" Agnes replied loudly.
Then, she found a seat and sat down directly, as if she was waiting until the count showed up.
Seeing her stern yet stubborn expression, no one could misunderstand her determination.
What do you want to do? What's the point of being so stubborn? Do you really think you can undo what has happened? The captain asked in his heart.
Although he left early yesterday and did not witness the scene of the sisters turning against each other with his own eyes, he could imagine how heartbreaking the pain was for the innocent Miss Agnes.
And this kind of pain was caused by my own participation.
So, how much sadness is hidden in her smile?
The more he thought about this, the more guilt and sympathy aroused in him.
After all, he violated the honor he upheld out of loyalty.
At least in this matter, let's make some compensation to her. Anyway, it's up to the earl to decide.
"Then you wait here for a while, I'll go find him." So, contrary to his previous alertness and hostility, he bowed and saluted Agnes, and then drifted away.
Time passed slowly, and the anxiety in Agnes's heart became more and more intense, but even so, she was still glued to her seat like a statue, without moving at all.
She didn't know if her waiting would be fruitful, and she didn't know if the person just now had also lied to her and didn't inform the count at all. She didn't even know if this kind of waiting would be self-defeating, but she still kept waiting, no matter how long she waited.
To wait for.
After an unknown amount of time, the door was opened again, and then another tall man walked in.
And this is exactly the person Agnes is waiting for.
With a feeling of relief, Agnes finally stood up from the chair, then dragged her stiff body and looked at the Earl with a smile on her face.
"Earl, it seems that you finally recognize me as your friend, I'm relieved."
This smile and these words made Edmund feel a twinge of pain in his heart. After all, he could be said to be one of the main persons responsible for Agnes's current situation and the tremendous pain she endured.
Although this is something that must be done, how can it be done with a clear conscience?
"Miss Agnes, what are you talking about? I am sorry for you. It is my lifelong honor to be regarded as your friend. I am only afraid that you will take back this honor-" He answered from the bottom of his heart.
"I...I'm very sorry for you. I know that any apology is just hypocritical, but I still want to say, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I'm not angry with you." Agnes shook her head slightly, "You were just following orders, and I can't blame you. The person who planned the attack is my sister, and I won't vent my anger on you.
Your."
Although he was not good at discerning people's hearts, the Earl was not a profound person, so Agnes could easily tell that the Earl was indeed feeling guilty about her.
She didn't know that this guilt came not only from Bianca's incident, but also from the fact that the Count had secretly brought her family to a desperate situation - but she knew that this guilt could help her achieve her current goal.
"Is my master okay?" Agnes asked after a moment of silence.
"It's not very good, but at least it's out of danger." The Earl replied with a wry smile, "Miss Agnes, I can only tell you this about Bianca. If you want to ask about her whereabouts, I can only
I can say I have no comment."
This answer made Agnes feel a little sad - but this was also the result she expected. Being a friend does not mean that the other person will help her unconditionally.
With what the master has done, if he falls into their hands, they will definitely not let him go.
"I won't embarrass you, so I won't ask any of these questions." Then, she steeled herself and asked the other party, "Then can you take good care of her?"
"Of course you can." The count immediately replied decisively, "Only your Majesty is qualified to judge the crimes she committed. I will never let her die before receiving your Majesty's order. You can trust me on this."
.”
This reply actually made Agnes smile again.
"Then...it's up to you."
Agnes imagined that the decisive battle, whether victory or death, would be full of honor, but reality, with its cruel humor, made everything completely different.
Who was at fault? She couldn't tell. Maybe everyone was at fault.
Agnes put aside all the sadness and emotion that came her way and cheered up again.
"Actually, I found you today because I have something else to ask of you."
"Please tell me - as long as I can do it, I will be happy to do it." The earl nodded immediately.
Like the captain, the earl felt guilty about her, even several times more so, so he was naturally very willing to help the girl as much as possible without violating his principles.
Agnes opened her mouth, but found herself speechless.
So she calmed down again, subconsciously pushed her hair behind her ears, and then relaxed.
"Give me a message to your master." Her voice suddenly changed from crisp to hoarse, showing both unwillingness to bow her head and confusion about the future. "I thought about it carefully. Maybe he had
His proposal is quite interesting...I want to try it and ask him..."
When she said this, Agnes's originally fluent voice suddenly got stuck, but she still bit her lip and continued, "Please forgive me for my previous rudeness and offense, so that I can also be grateful for his
I would like to contribute - it would be a great honor for me."
I did it, I really did it...
When he heard these words, Edmund knew that this meant that Miss Agnes bowed her head to His Majesty personally.
This also includes his huge "contribution".
However, what filled Edmund's heart at this time was not a trace of relief or pride, but only a sense of loss.
As a client, he knows almost better than anyone else the difficulties and disasters faced by this girl. So many blows happening intensively to any one person may lead people to despair, but even so, Miss Agnes
But he still kept a smile on his face and tried desperately to defend what was left of him.
This is more than just sad? It's simply tragic.
Didn't you have to spend more than ten years in jail because of a group of people's secret conspiracy? You knew how painful it was, so why did you let the disaster happen to her?
There was a voice in his heart questioning him, torturing his remaining conscience, making him painful and guilty.
"Earl?" Seeing his silence, Agnes was a little confused. "Do you think... I am not sincere enough in saying this?"
"No, that's too sincere, simply too sincere, Mademoiselle Agnes." Edmond Dantès replied loudly in agitated mood, "I believe your Majesty will be very satisfied. Not only will he be satisfied, but also
I will be grateful to you...I think he will also try his best to repay you so that you will not regret it!"
"As for saying it so seriously?" Agnes felt a little funny.
"Of course, you are worth it." Edmund nodded again. "If His Majesty fails to live up to your friendship in the future, I...I would rather give my life to remonstrate with him! I understand what you have faced and what you have let go of.