Chapter 6
As an actress in a different dimension, Lina showed her simple and gentle charm throughout the entire story. Perhaps because of this, she couldn’t get used to the luxurious and idle bathing services typical of nobles.
So, after rejecting the maids who tried to wash her, Lina always washed herself. Therefore, she discovered the star-shaped mark on her body very late.
However, wasn’t the mark placed on the inside of her thigh? It was in a very intimate place. It’s strange to think about that. Anyway, how did Seria find out about the mark?
The original Seria had a strong belief that Lina couldn’t be a Stern. So she thought nothing would happen if Lina touched the Relic.
It was not a good idea.
No one else in the world would wish Lina wasn’t as Stern as Seria. She had to establish her position. She made Lina touch the Relic by placing it on her heart.
And the result?
Lina was a Stern.
All sorts of precious things belonged to the original female protagonist. And Seria, who had been half-mad since that moment, went completely insane.
After committing all sorts of bad deeds for a while, her throat was slit, and she died. Since then, her name never appeared again in the original story.
‘I have to be careful...’
She had to go to the Haneton estate quickly after the wedding and stay there. She wouldn’t show her presence again until the original story was over. Recalculating her life plan, she took steps to go see the ladies who were waiting for her.
—Oh my God! The wedding hall is so beautiful!
—The Stern wedding hall is really different, it’s so amazing!
—Stern means star, right?
(N/T: The German/Yiddish word Stern means “Star”)
The noble ladies had a sparkle in their eyes and looked around the wedding hall.
They were the ladies of the Haneton estate and had just arrived yesterday. They had just had a small tea party as hospitality from the hostess and upon hearing that the wedding preparations were complete, they went together to see the wedding hall.
It was beautiful.
The high ceiling that reached the second floor had a vibrant crystal chandelier that looked like drops of water. The marble columns covered in golden spirals were elegant, and there were sculptures of angels singing songs. The white muslin hanging from the ceiling looked like clouds.
Above all these elements, there were dozens of shiny metal badges decorated as if they had been sprayed with gold.
Seria saw the unique decorations that were in the original story, “A decoration with deep traditional value… that was only used in the wedding of a Stern.”
It didn’t look like this when she looked around the first day. It was a luxurious and deep atmosphere back then, but now... Did it definitely look like for a Saint?
It was colorful and dazzling enough for a Saint to get married. The priests wouldn’t decorate it like this.
Was this an order from Kalis?
They couldn’t have the tea party in the garden due to the winter cold. Still, the villa that the Berg Castle opened was nice, and they could enjoy a tea party with a good atmosphere.
Moreover, the baker’s skill was excellent.
In fact, the owner, Lesche, didn’t like sweets. But in the original story, he hired a talented baker for a rather cute reason. Thanks to him, the ladies chatted happily while savoring the eclair sprinkled with chocolate.
—Lady Stern, Haneton Manor is really beautiful. There are also several large theaters.
—The only thing missing is the presence of the hostess.
—Now Lady Stern is the hostess of Haneton!
The ladies were kind to her. This was the reason why she wanted to gain their favor before officially becoming the Hostess of Haneton. Well, they treated her well in front of her anyway, so there was no reason to hate it.
If I go to the Haneton estate, it’s good to get along with the ladies there. Moreover, it’s best to gain the favor of housewives wherever you are. There’s nothing good about being against them. The tea party was quite enjoyable.
The music from the harp played by one of the ladies was quite catchy. She hummed and took a silver branch from a tree. It was these silver tree branches that were indispensable for the glacier inspection.
Unlike ordinary laurel branches, these silver leaves shone silver.
It was said that pure silver, salt, sweet iron, and sage herbs burned with flames purified the space, these silver tree branches purified the glacier, the beast’s tomb, and further strengthened the barrier. Since it wasn’t enough to lower the temperature of the Star’s armor cornerstone, the knights in the absence of a Stern usually carried silver branches as substitutes.
“If Stern were to become a plant, it would be like a silver tree.”
If you placed a branch of a silver tree in the snowy field of a glacier and saw it after a while, it would be completely dead.
Therefore, the probability of demons appearing significantly decreased the more often new silver branches were inserted during the inspection. Of course, this was a job that ordinary Sterns didn’t like much.
The Winter glacier was very cold with the northern chill. But Seria didn’t hate it.
As long as she sincerely fulfilled her duty, her reputation had improved, so there was no reason not to like it. It was good that her miserable death could be avoided. She was vigorously collecting the silver branches.
—You look happy, Lady Stern.
Seria looked back in amazement. Silver hair that shone like snow and bright red eyes. Incredibly beautiful appearance.
—Your Highness.
It was Lesche. His red eyes looked directly at her, so she lowered her head slightly.
—It seems your wedding is approaching. The castle is quite noisy.
—Is it noisy? I’ll be careful.
—I don’t mean that.
—Yes?
Lifting her head, she dropped the silk bag she was holding, and the silver branches fell to the ground. Immediately she squatted in a panic.
She felt she could die of embarrassment because she was doing this in front of the man whose status was too high.
Then she quickly picked up the dirty bag, brushed it off, and tried to leave, but Lesche bent his long legs in front of her and with his long fingers picked up the silver branches.
What is this situation?
—The bag?
—Yes.
Lesche took the silk bag from her and placed the silver branches in it.
—Thank you, Your Highness.
Seria thanked him, and when she turned around, she heard Lesche’s voice from behind.
—Are you going to the glacier today?
—Yes, Your Highness. Sir Elliot decided to go.
—I don’t understand.
—What?
Lesche looked at her with an expression as if he were seeing a rare creature.
—I’m aware that Linon meticulously took care of your wedding hall. Is there still something more lacking?
—What do you mean?
—I doubt there’s a real need to check the glacier again.
She knew Linon. As Lesche’s chief aide, he meddled quite a bit in the original story. If he was the one who prepared all this, then...
No, His Highness prepared it. Lesche had the wedding hall decorated in exchange for checking the glacier.
The original male protagonist had a defined personality for reward and punishment.
However, the decorations were more beautiful and luxurious than she thought. She had mistakenly thought that Kalis was the one who prepared it.
—Didn’t you work hard in the hope of that? Whenever you came to the castle, if you didn’t like something, you yelled.
Lesche said with an indifferent expression.
—You never did that in front of me, but more than 100 servants said they were sick of serving you.
A cold sweat ran down her face. What did the original Seria do that caused the suffering of more than 100 servants? All Seria currently knew was from the fragmentary memories that remained in the original Seria’s body.
Fortunately, the learning abilities, knowledge, and habits of the original remained perfect. If not for that, all the gestures typical of a noble lady would have evaporated.
That’s why she was glad she could make this awkward smile immediately.
—I’ll check harder to compensate for the 100 people who suffered last time.
Lesche laughed.
‘Did he laugh?’ ‘Did he know how to laugh?’
Seria stared at his smile and found it unfamiliar.
—Then it’s a shame that Lady Stern is going to Haneton.
She doubted her ears for a moment. Was he going to be sad? Him? Was this person really Lesche? All sorts of questions passed through her mind, and whether she looked at him strangely or not, he added.
—There’s no way a Stern like you will come next year, Lady Stern.
—Ah.
Indeed, no Stern would check the glacier every day for a week like she did. But since she heard that from the male protagonist... It was like a safety check that saved her life.
Seria laughed a little.
She was full of hope that when the next year came, if she worked hard, the really bad ending would disappear forever.
Hope comes with motivation.
That day, when she checked the glacier through the cold, she felt much better than usual. When she returned to the room, an unexpected gift awaited her.
—My lady! You have a gift! Look!
The two maids assigned to her were excited.
—Weren’t all the gifts organized yesterday?
—This is a new one from the Marquis Haneton!
—From Kalis?
—Yes. Look, this sapphire is really clear and very rich in color! Moreover, silk ribbons made by a capital designer, and a shabo (lady’s hat with ribbon and lace hanging from a wide brim), with feathers from the tail of a precious bird.
After choosing some of the gifts to give to the ladies of Haneton Estate tomorrow, she tilted her head a little. Based on her memory, she opened one of Seria’s travel boxes and saw a shiny bracelet.
—Please finish this.
—It’s an amethyst bracelet.
—Isn’t this very valuable? Do you want to give it to the Marquis Haneton?
—Yes.
—Okay! How about you write the Marquis’s name here yourself?
—Yes!
—Should I do that?
—Wouldn’t it be nice if the Marquis Haneton was happy with your gift?
—That is... That’s correct.
She followed the maid’s advice. The maids seemed touched, but the truth was...
‘It’s not that.’
Seria owned almost no money. It’s not that I don’t have any. But to be exact, she had nothing to her name, no wealth or savings at all.
