Temple Sword

Chapter 70 Stone House
1307, first day of Christmas month (December)

Buda, Hungary
—

The lily flag shivered in the cold wind, and two hundred riders dressed in Anjou blue held spears, waiting for the sleigh drawn by two horses to slide on the hard ice of the Danube.

In front sits a gray-haired old man who in his previous earthly life had served Buda, but since the knight of the lilies saved his life his heart has been drawn to the young warrior .So old Stephen became the night watchman of the Dominican convent, and Antal's right-hand man, and, if necessary, his sleigh-hand.

Two young men sat in the back, both with shoulder-length black hair and cropped beards.One is in blue and the other is in white.They are less than a year apart, like a pair of brothers.

"I still don't want to believe it," said the King, "I'll give you a whole castle and you ask for a little stone house..."

"I've had enough castles to live in," Antar explained, "and when I can finally go home, I want peace and quiet. Whenever I'm around you, I'll be surrounded by servants, guards, soldiers Surrounded by , priests and nobles, however..." He paused for a moment, then continued to speak softly, "She prefers this way."

"You don't know women, my friend!" laughed Charlie. "Which of them do you think would prefer a little stone cottage in the moor to a grand castle?"

"You're wrong," Antal replied, "she's been dreaming about it for years, that's why I love him, she's different from everyone else!"

When the sled reached the shore of the island, the two jumped out excitedly, almost fighting.

"Then, as we discussed," Charlie Robert smiled at his chief knight, "I'll go in, and you wait at the door."

"I don't understand why you insist on not letting me in." The knight shook his head, but the king just smiled wider.

"A good show," he straightened his wool-trimmed robes, "anticipation and surprise are often more important than you think, my dear friend."

—

No matter how hard she tried, Agnes couldn't imagine what the king wanted her to do.But it did happen, and he sent for her, however strange it sounded.Her heart was pounding, and her whole body was shaking with excitement.

"The King himself has come to visit us!" exclaimed the novices in the monastery excitedly, as their equally agitated counterparts tried unsuccessfully to silence them. "He must have come to choose a new queen for himself!"

Agnes hurried into the courtyard, even thinking that something might have happened to Antal, but she quickly dismissed the thought.When she saw the delighted look on Charles of Anjou's face, she was sure the king had no bad news for her.

"Your Majesty." The novice nun knelt in front of him and kissed the bottom of the man's robe.Charlie smiled softly and stood up from the ground holding her elbow.

"I heard you're not a sworn nun," Charlie said after confirming that it was just the two of them.

"Indeed not, Your Majesty." She lowered her head and said, not daring to look directly into the king's eyes, blushing hard.

"But I've heard that you've lived here for many years, in this Dominican convent," continued Charlie, who enjoyed the game very much, "and I've also heard that people your age, Take the oath and become an official nun."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Agnes replied obediently, "but I am not going to take an oath. I will continue to be a novice."

"Good girl, did you quit the world voluntarily, or were you forced?" asked the man who was three years younger than Agnes.

"No one forced me to do this, it was my own decision."

"But you don't want to be a sworn nun?"

The Maiden did not understand what the King meant, but she could not refute, nor could she question the reason and purpose of this whole conversation.In response, she just shook her head.

"Why is that, Agnes?"

Hearing her own name, the novice nun raised her head. She looked into Charlie Anjou's eyes for the first time, and was surprised to see a hint of encouragement in them.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I cannot answer that question."

"Why not?" The king looked at her pretending to be surprised, "Are you hiding some secret that even I cannot know?"

"No...I can't tell you," she stammered, dropping her eyes again. "I have to do this, it's my most important secret."

Charlie took a breath and tried to look extremely serious.

"Are you planning to quit the order one day?" he asked with feigned anger. "You have a secret lover, don't you?"

Agnes shuddered, but stood her ground and didn't answer.The king continued to enjoy his game.

"You went against your father's will to wait for your lover who couldn't marry you for many years, didn't you?"

The novice could take it no longer, fell on her knees in front of Charlie, and began to cry.

"You see through me, Your Majesty," she sniffed as quietly as possible, so as not to be heard by the sisters who were eavesdropping nearby, "Please, don't tell anyone, please keep my secret!"

Charlie felt that he seemed to have played too much, so he helped the girl up again, patted the white snow off the corner of her robe, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with his thumb.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," he assured, with another smile on his lips, "but I have one condition..."

"I'm listening, Your Majesty." Agnes nodded.

"You have to come with me, now."

"Where are you going, Your Majesty?"

"Not far, right here, to the gate." The king pointed ahead, "but go farther, if you wish."

Charlie held out his right hand to Agnes, and took her by the arm as he walked toward the door.

She saw Antal outside, his eyes were shining.After a heartbeat, she understood what the king was playing with her.Looking at the knight's robe in front of her, she only saw the coat of arms of Anjou, without the red cross, and she clearly understood why Charlie came to the monastery to look for her in person, and she also knew what the king's next words would be.

"Well, girl, how do you decide?" Charlie Robert cleared his throat, and he was a little embarrassed himself. "Will you stay in the Dominican monastery, or marry my most loyal knight? Be careful, you must make a decision now, and you must not go back on your word later!"

Agnes didn't hesitate for a moment, and her answer hasn't changed over the years.

(End of this chapter)