Chapter 10
"Then, were you unable to contact him after he left?"
The Grand Duke, Lesche Berg, asked the guard coldly. His eyes were red as if he was about to behead someone, and the guard who came to report the news lowered his head under Lesche's ruthless gaze.
"Yes, Your Highness. He cut off all contact with Marquis Haneton."
"Are they crazy? Have they gone mad along with the Saint and Marquis Haneton? Does he know that his wedding with Stern is in two days?"
"I think a snowstorm hit suddenly, and they lost their way."
As the guard said, there was a sudden snowstorm two hours ago. The sun had already set, and the darkness outside somehow seemed distressing. Lesche stood up immediately and said,
"Prepare a search team."
"Sir Elliot is already preparing it."
"No. I'm going."
"What? Your Highness?" The guard said with a look of surprise on his face.
"Now!"
Lesche clenched his teeth and stormed out of the office.
He knew how important and dangerous the wedding with Stern was. Punctuality and location compliance. If either of them were violated, the divine power of a Stern would explode like a firecracker in their body. Unable to withstand the impact, Stern would vomit blood and be injured, or in worse cases, die.
That's why Stern's wedding had to be in a designated place. Since Lesche knew this, Kalis must have known it too. After all, he was chosen as Stern's man.
Kalis, who had already completed the pact ceremony in the temple, had to be more modest and quiet than anyone until the wedding was over. He shouldn't have done what he did. Unless he had gone completely mad, it would be hard to understand the Saint's intentions from God's side.
"But he still left."
Lesche thought that if he had known this, he would have knocked Kalis unconscious the first day he arrived at the mansion and put him in a temporary prison in the castle. So something like this wouldn't happen.
One of the few places that could house Stern's main altar was Berg Castle. Although the owner of Berg, Lesche, hated it, he had the damn duty of managing it. Both trouble and irritation arose simultaneously.
Lesche called Linon and gave him some instructions, then suddenly looked out the window. A brief moment later, he frowned. This was because Seria Stern was seen in a search team with several lit torches.
"Is Lady Seria Stern going with you?"
"What? Yes! Maybe she's worried about her fiancé..."
"Worried?"
"Yes, Your Highness..."
Lesche's office was on the second floor. And, like any knight, he had very good vision. It wasn't difficult to see that Seria Stern's deep blue eyes were sunken.
It was really strange. Last year, he could see the arrogance in her eyes. The same happened with her attitude. She seemed to behave gracefully in front of the Grand Duke, but not with others.
The description of her, 'a wild colt in social circles,' fit perfectly.
Could someone who had been acting so boldly change like this in a year? Did she love Kalis so much? Would a person change so much when in love?
Lesche had an incomprehensible feeling.
"It's funny. If she were the same as before, she would let them freeze together while displaying the Stern badge."
It was harsh, but the guard didn't even panic. Lesche Berg was vigilant. When he hunted beasts, he often insulted.
"Tell Lady Seria Stern that she cannot take a single step outside the castle."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The guard saluted and ran out. Lesche, with a thick fur cloak over his armor, headed straight into the snow.
"Aren't there two days left until your wedding?"
It was an unwritten rule for designers to check wedding dresses until the day before the wedding. Designer Begonia, who was mending her wedding dress, had already heard rumors. She looked very confused.
"This is the job I have been most worried about this season, and because of this scandal..."
Scandal.
Begonia described it as a scandal, but she said it was a rumor from outside. Two days before the wedding, the young and handsome marquis and the bright and beautiful Saint went to the glacier on a winter night and disappeared.
"I'm sorry."
Begonia was a designer who was very proud of her work. When Seria apologized carefully, Begonia frowned slightly.
"Why is Lady apologizing? Lady Seria, you may feel bad, but this is... What's the difference between this and an affair?"
Seria had nothing to say. She knew it wasn't her fault, but the shame was inevitable.
"Whether they are found or not, I really don't understand why they had to create so much fuss. How humbly they think of others besides themselves. Regardless of whether they are a Saint or a Marquis."
Begonia said as if she was really in a bad mood.
Then, Abigail entered with a knock on the door. Her head, shoulders, and cloak were covered with white snow. The maid hurriedly brought Abigail a towel to dry herself. After thanking her, she wrapped her frozen hands in the towel.
"Did you find Kalis and Lina?"
Seria looked at Abigail with some expectations, but she shook her head.
"The blizzard gets worse as it approaches the glacier, so we couldn't go any further. With a wrong turn, the whole team could get lost."
"Really?"
"Half of the search team returned to the castle, and the other half decided to set up camp at the glacier and spend the night. As soon as daylight comes, we will continue the search."
The search team was extremely large. Not only did the high-ranking knights of Haneton, who were in Berg estate to attend the wedding, join, but also the Knights of Berg. Begonia, who was listening quietly beside Seria, shook her head.
"How far did you go?"
It felt like something was coming out from inside her. Seria held it tightly and blinked, but Abigail suddenly used her cold hands to grab hers.
"My lady. I have a message from the Grand Duke Berg for you. Can I say it here?"
"Huh? Yes."
Abigail smiled as Seria nodded. But in an instant, her smile vanished. Suddenly, her eyes shone intensely.
"I will tie that bastard with a rope and throw him into the wedding hall even if there is no news of him until the wedding day, Seria Stern."
(Note: Abigail is imitating Lesche's voice here.)
Seria was surprised by the fact that Abigail was really reciting what she heard from Lesche. She even copied his tone and deadly eyes.
"Lady Stern should be prepared in advance. The wedding will proceed as scheduled, no matter what."
When the solemn declaration ended, Abigail's eyes returned to normal.
"That's what he said. I don't know why he said it so frightfully."
Seria nodded.
She wondered why Lesche had told her so much because she knew she had to be in the wedding hall at the appointed time. She was repeatedly told about this in the temple. Stern's wedding was all about punctuality.
Even if the guests believed the scandal of Kalis and Lina and laughed at her and decided not to show up. Even if the wedding hall was empty, she had to stand at the altar.
"But..."
Somehow she felt something strange in Lesche's message.
Suddenly, Begonia said.
"Let's go, young lady." While holding her arm lightly. "Since the Grand Duke has spoken so terrifyingly, I want to do my best to prepare. It's not bad if the wedding is delayed a little. All the guests will need time to appreciate this dazzling wedding dress."
"Yes."
As Begonia was a person who paid great attention to her work, she was being very considerate at this moment. However, Seria could only look out the window once after putting on fifteen pieces of jewelry on her head.
The outside was covered with white snow. The glacier's blizzard was still intense. She wondered if Kalis would return in time for the wedding. She prayed he wouldn't be late.
She couldn't sleep until late at night.
The next day.
The search team didn't return.
The morning of the wedding day.
They didn't return either.
"The blizzard doesn't stop..."
Lina murmured by the window, listening to the roaring blizzard. It wasn't like this at first.
Shortly after entering the glacier, it started snowing. It was dangerous when it snowed, so when Kalis said to return, Lina wasn't satisfied, but she couldn't help it. However, on the way back, the snow fell heavily, soon turning into a blizzard. The two quickly got lost in the snow.
After wandering for a while, they managed to find a cabin.
The glacier was enormous, and the winter weather volatile, so these cabins had been built here and there for a long time in Berg. There was also a map showing the location inside. Kalis was able to figure out where they were by looking at the map.
With a serious face, he said,
"We went too deep. Did we really wander so far?"
"Did we stray too far?"
"It's dangerous. I'm glad we found this cabin."
Just in case, when they left the castle, Kalis brought food with them.
Berg had been protecting the glacier for a long time, the manuals and backpacks for glacier inspections were always available. Almost all of them were items to maintain body temperature.
Even in the small cabin, there was dry firewood, a small stove, thick blankets, and beds to avoid the cold from the floor along with canned food. A blizzard shouldn't last the entire season. It was enough to hold on to sustain their lives. The problem was time.
Kalis knew he had to return to the castle on time somehow. If he didn't, he would feel irreparable regret.
"Lina..."
"Kalis...?"
Lina, who was sitting on the bed, opened her eyes wide when she saw Kalis putting on his cloak.
"I have to return to the castle."
