Chapter 16
Originally, the imperial capital townhouse where Seria was staying was a temple. Therefore, it was difficult to decorate it glamorously, and the food only appeared as "three divine meals," but the taste was not that good. So much so that she suspected the reason the original Seria went out every day was to find good food.
The food at the Berg castle was a new world for her. She ate all the elegant food every day. She had to eat a good amount of high-calorie foods because she had to walk around the cold glacier every day.
Since she promised to do her best as Stern, and there was still much winter left.
—Your Highness. I will start inspecting the glacier tomorrow.
—There’s no need to inspect for a while.
—Huh? Why?
—I would like you to be the temporary hostess of the castle. The High Priest will arrive at the castle in four days.
—That’s quick? Ah… Maybe he will use teleportation?
—Yes.
It wasn’t as if he was reporting that the High Priest had died.
Why would he use something so precious?
But when she thought about it carefully, she applauded his decision. From the High Priest's point of view, all the recent news from the Berg estate would have been like thunderbolts.
Seria Stern, who was scheduled to marry the Marquis Haneton, suddenly married the Grand Duke of Berg.
Moreover, Saint Lina suddenly married the Marquis Haneton… Wait a moment.
Something is strange. Did the temple know that Lina and Kalis were married?
—Your Highness. Seria asked carefully. —Does the temple know that Marquis Haneton and Saint Lina made marriage vows?
—Yes.
—...How?
—As soon as Marquis Haneton returned, he requested a divorce. You were unconscious, so you wouldn’t have known.
Lesche frowned.
—If you want to hear more details, ask your lady knight.
Seria raised her head at the sudden mention of Abigail's name.
—Aren't you curious why your knight hasn’t come to see you?
—Abigail?
Actually, Seria wasn’t very curious. Because Abigail was an assassin and always had places to go. She was sure that this time they needed Abigail elsewhere.
However, this time Seria almost died, so why wasn’t she by her side? Where did she go?
After seeing her expression change in response to her thoughts, Lesche spoke.
—Go see her after work. I will let Elliot accompany you.
—Thank you, Your Highness.
She thought it probably wasn’t a big deal, or Lesche wouldn’t be so calm… Actually, no.
She thought this man would still be calm even if Abigail's head was cut off.
I’ll have to go ahead and check.
Seria nodded and left Lesche's office.
As soon as Kalis returned, he requested a divorce.
Seria remembered what Lesche had said before. If Kalis wanted the divorce, why was Lina so happy when she saw him a while ago?
For some reason, she had the feeling that Lina didn’t know anything about the divorce.
Everyone knew about the divorce, but why didn’t Lina? And if Lina knew about this, wouldn’t she be surprised?
“If she does… How will it unfold?”
Reception deteriorated
Seria didn’t know that Abigail was imprisoned. She touched her forehead with concern.
“Throwing punches at ten knights under Kalis’s command…”
Abigail refused to give more details, so Seria couldn’t hear the details of what had happened.
However, when she pursued Elliot (Angel), who had followed her, and saw him shaking his head from side to side, she could get a relatively detailed description of the circumstances at that time.
This is the story.
By the time Kalis finally returned from the glacier, Abigail was already angry. However, Kalis’s status was too high for her to throw punches. With her last thread of patience, she knocked out Kalis's ten knights.
Bibi is like an excavator.
She sighed deeply.
That is a grave insult to Marquis Haneton.
Kalis is the man who governs Haneton in the west.
Of course, the western provinces were strongly controlled by Seria's family, the Kellyden, but the western territory itself was very prosperous.
Therefore, Kalis had a very high status, so the insult accusation was more severe.
Elliot (Angel) consoled her.
—Actually, what Lady Abigail committed was a crime. It wasn’t a duel of knights, but almost a brawl. Isn’t that enough to be expelled from the imperial banquet?
—...Yes.
—She will be out of prison in a few days anyway.
—But the prison is too cold. What if she dies of frostbite?
—Do you think Lady Abigail will freeze to death? Lady Seria… Are you thinking that seriously?
Elliot (Angel) made a strange expression while questioning her, which oddly made Seria feel relieved.
—As soon as Abigail is released, I will bring her hot beef soup and the finest, thickest cloak.
—I will bring it for you, my lady.
—Thank you, Elliot. You are very nice. You are like an angel.
—It’s not a very pleasant expression for a knight to be called an angel.
Every day in her mind, she praised him as an angel.
—I sincerely ask you to stop calling me that.
Finally, she decided to call him Elliot again. Suddenly, a voice was heard as they walked diligently out of the prison basement.
—Lady Seria! You are here!
—Linon?
Linon, Lesche’s chief aide. He came running with heavy piles of papers in his hands. Maybe it’s a joke to say he was weak, but his breathing seemed like that of a person who would soon die.
—Are you okay?
—Yes… Ugh. I’m fine.
—What is that document? Is it for me?
—Yes. Ugh… Yes.
Linon replied, after taking a deep breath.
—It’s almost time for the High Priest to arrive at the estate. As such, all decorations used for the year-end party must be removed.
Seria asked what she heard for the first time.
—Year-end party?
—Yes? Didn’t you hear from His Highness? Wasn’t there a reception scheduled?
—Yes.
The reception was scheduled for after her and Kalis’s wedding.
—It’s a waste to throw away all the food and flowers that were prepared, and there are many nobles in the castle.
—When is the party?
—The day after tomorrow.
—The day after tomorrow?
—Isn’t the High Priest coming in four days?
—Yes.
—But why are you telling me this?
—I guess you don’t really know, but the hostess of the castle is in charge.
She was perplexed for a moment: the castle that the High Priest visits must be unconditionally and completely solemn. It was customary.
Banquets are absolutely forbidden. Even small parties are not allowed. The amount of food cannot exceed three dishes.
That is, after decorating the castle to celebrate the year-end party, all those decorations must be removed and simple, clean cloths put up immediately before the High Priest’s arrival, then all traces of the party erased.
Needless to say, clean, fresh, and small dishes must be prepared to serve the High Priest and his companions.
—Do you want me to do all that in four days?
Linon looked at her and continued.
—As the temporary hostess, my lady will have to work hard on all these things…
—It’s a lot of work, right? But surely His Highness said that Lady Seria is willing to do everything…
Linon’s drawn-out voice was replaced by the words Lesche said before, like an illusion.
—I would like you to be the temporary hostess of the castle.
Right. She almost forgot that Lesche was a man of strategy. He had assigned her to do something like this.
In fact, she preferred this clean transaction method because she felt uncomfortable receiving his help with the marriage for free.
It would be a bit scary if Lesche Berg had done something good without any reason.
Suddenly, her mind began to be busy. This is retribution. Yes, the payback is not easy.
She checked the thick paperwork, but there were more things to do than she thought, probably because the castle was so big. She moved quickly, tapping her feet.
It was late at night when the work was done. The food for the reception party, the wine, and the cutlery stored in the warehouse, as well as the white tablecloths, were reviewed.
While busy looking for flowers and curtains for the large table, she remembered that the chair and sofa covers also needed to be reupholstered, this gave her the chance to explore the castle’s basement.
“Afterward, Elliot gave me a piggyback ride.”
She was spinning around on her feet, but Linon and Elliot, who followed her, were extremely dissuaded.
Well, anyone would feel bad, the person who collapsed bleeding at the wedding was overloaded with work as soon as she regained consciousness. She could do more work than she thought, thanks to Elliot.
‘If I do a final review tomorrow, I can organize a reception banquet suited to the assortment. What would be missing?’
When Seria finally returned to the room, limping, the maids entered with a hot dinner.
—My lady. Please eat. You must be tired. We have prepared something simple but abundant.
When she cut the goose meat with steaming gingerbread, hot mushroom stew, and apple sauce, put it in her mouth and chewed it several times, she felt a little rejuvenated.
After eating a piece of cake with lots of candied fruit, she regained her senses.
Then she remembered what Linon said.
—If you eat well, you will be motivated to solve tomorrow’s problems. It’s good for me when I’m motivated. —he said —because I have to do everything the Grand Duke tells me to do, motivated or not.
Then she drank her tea after the meal with some sadness.
Begonia replied to the message that Seria wanted her to fix the dress she would wear to the banquet, she also opened two letters in front of her. One belonged to Kalis and the other to Lina.
She didn’t expect Kalis to write to her, let alone Lina.
The content was even more surprising. It said that she was sorry and wanted to be her friend.
‘Friends?’
That sounded really ideal. It was so classic it made her laugh.
It was already hard for her to be friends with her ex-fiancé's lover, but to be friends with the current wife of the man who almost became her husband?
It wasn’t worth spending time thinking about it.
“I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.”
She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep today, but she was so tired after the bath that she felt very sleepy.
She thought she was going to kill Kalis on a sleepless night, but she was glad she didn’t...
As soon as she buried her face in the pillow, she fell asleep.
