Chapter 15
—I've been waiting to accompany her. So....
—Lady Seria.
Lesche decisively cut off Kalis's speech. Then, Lesche looked at her and asked,
—It's better for you to choose. Who would you like to accompany you to the castle?
Seria placed her hand on Lesche's arm without hesitation.
—I will impose on you, Your Grace.
—It’s not an imposition at all.
Lesche said, smiling slightly.
Seria didn’t know why he was smiling.
—Such a thing is unnecessary between a married couple.
Lesche said casually.
—....
—Married couple?!
After hearing that phrase, Kalis's face hardened.
Seria turned her head to avoid looking at him.
Knowing that Kalis and Lina would be watching, until the end, she struggled to walk like an elegant noblewoman. When she had walked far enough to be out of their sight, she finally relaxed. At that moment, Lesche opened his mouth.
—Your hand is cold.
—I suppose it's because I've been outside for a long time.
—Linon —Lesche called as he followed them.
—Yes, Your Highness.
—Haven't you been here all this time? You could have given her your jacket.
‘Does he think I'm some kind of jacket collector...?’
She couldn't help but laugh.
Linon gave a courteous excuse.
—I was very eager to take off my jacket and cover Lady Seria. Unfortunately, I couldn't because I would catch a cold, Your Highness.
—From now on, you must bring two jackets.
—Yes, Your Highness.
Seria ended up bursting into laughter.
It wasn't long before she was in her element. After being treated and bandaged by the priest, she asked Lesche, in a more relaxed mood,
—Your Highness, would you be so kind as to invite me for a cup of tea?
—Don’t you normally invite me for a cup of tea? —Lesche asked.
—I'm sorry. My place is occupied by someone.
—Should I expel them?
—Even if it's the Marquis Haneton? I'm sure they would faint one by one. Don't bother, Your Highness.
—I've never felt worried.
—You're joking, aren't you?
—Let's go to the office.
—The office?
She was a bit puzzled.
Seria Stern came to the Berg estate almost every winter to inspect the glaciers. Lesche had a cup of tea with Seria on the first day.
Well, of course, their interaction literally ended after drinking tea.
In the original story, and in some of the memories that remained in Seria's body, it seemed she had never had much conversation with him.
It was the first time in her life she went to his office. Sitting face to face with Lesche on the sofa on one side, she first bowed her head.
—Your Highness.
She tried to stand up and kneel, but couldn't do it because Lesche quickly lifted her. He lifted her like a paper doll.
—Lady Stern, did you hurt your head?
He looked at her as if she were a maniac.
—I didn't hurt my head.
—Then, what are you doing?
—I've been unwell until now...
The wedding, which was ruined by the secret outing between Kalis and Lina, the sudden wedding with Lesche Berg, and so on. After all the chaos and confusion, she finally had a decent idea of what was going on.
In fact, she still hadn't properly thanked him.
—Thank you for saving my life. Thank you very much.
It was true she owed her life to him. In other words, Lesche Berg was now her benefactor.
Usually, people say they will repay the favor on behalf of their family, but unfortunately, Seria didn't get along well with Marquis Kellyden. So it was better to say there was no family.
—Your Highness, as you know, I isolated myself from my own family, Kellyden, and I will repay your favor with all I can...
—………?
Lesche looked at her with a frown and pulled her by the arm. He made her sit beside him.
—What kind of influence is so strong?
Lesche asked, and before she could respond, he spoke.
—Are you really Seria Stern?
—...What? Of course, I am.
She was surprised by the unexpectedly precise question, but fortunately, she answered in a calm tone.
The male protagonist was the male protagonist after all.
She was left with the uncomfortable memories of the original Seria, but it was strange to see how good he was with words that made her feel guilty even if it was a joke.
Lesche asked, while carefully looking at her face,
—Did you change your soul with a saint?
—What.... Absolutely not.
That she could assure.
When Lesche heard her response, he just looked into her eyes, not knowing what to think, as if he couldn't shake off his doubts.
At that moment, she felt sleepy, so she strengthened her eyes and looked at Lesche.
“This guy... is really handsome.”
The first time she possessed Seria, the thought she used to have while adapting was that it was really strange to see the characters from a novel she had read, living and moving in front of her eyes.
She couldn't take her eyes off him for a while.
Before the heroine Lina appeared, the original characters she could meet were limited, but she still thought the male protagonist, Lesche, was really fascinating.
He was like the description in the novel. Dark red eyes that seemed to have blood. They were cold and sharp, and maybe even had a triple vision, the expressionless Lesche intimidated and made her hands sweat in cold.
However, other parts also faithfully followed the description of the male protagonist in the novel.
He had a perfect appearance. A blessed height of 190 cm, long arms and legs, perfect shoulders. An innate physique that conveyed his robustness even from beneath his clothes.
Obviously, there was a reason why Lesche's name had been the main topic of conversation among many aristocratic women despite him barely being present in the imperial capital most of the time.
Suddenly, Seria started sweating cold.
The male protagonist, whose fate was to remain the center of attention in society until the day he died, had asked for her hand in marriage to save her. This truth reached her to the bones.
The first marriage of the Grand Duke, who was the only one in the Glick Empire...
—... I will do my best not to block your matrimonial path.
—My matrimonial path?
—Yes.
—You are the first woman to care about my matrimonial path.
—I don't mean anything bad. Of course, Your Highness could always set women's hearts on fire, even if they are married many times or even in an engagement.
—····?
Lesche now frowned and spoke.
—Do you see me as a womanizer?
Surprised by his question, Seria opened her eyes wide.
—No!
—No?
—Seriously.
She felt uncomfortable.
She had never really thought Lesche was that kind of person. He didn't seem like that, and he had no past or future with other women besides Lina in the original story. However, she thought it was a waste.
—Your Highness.
She opened her mouth hesitantly for fear of hurting Lesche's feelings again.
—Does it offend you when I say that while we are temporarily married, I will do my best for the Berg estate as Stern?
—.....
—Are you against it?
‘Should I have kept my mouth shut?’ She thought.
Lesche asked while looking at her with a serious expression.
—Why is Lady Stern so cautious with me?
—What?
—I've never cut your budget. I've never confined you.
—.....
—Are you afraid of me?
Seria wasn't really afraid of Lesche, but she was afraid of his position. The male protagonist.
The problem was that Seria, the villain, who was entangled with the man and the politics of the heroine, was horribly killed because it was the story of the novel.
So she decided to be honest.
—I'm not afraid of you.
—If not then?
—Your Highness is a man of high status, so I'm just being careful.
—And yet, you yelled at Marquis Haneton, and his status is also quite high.
She coughed in vain while Lesche continued.
—I thought you were trying to kill the Marquis.
Seria couldn't control her expression at this moment. She didn't know exactly what kind of expression she had, but Lesche smiled slightly.
Then, he released her arm, which he had been holding all the time, and leaned back against the sofa comfortably.
—The Treasurers will be delighted to know that Lady Stern will do her best.
—I will work hard.
As Lesche said, the treasurers of the Berg estate had always expected enormous spending every winter.
They had always paid close attention to Stern's work. It was an inevitable fact that a Stern had to go to the Berg estate every winter to help with the glacier inspection. It was a duty, so Stern shouldn't violate their duty.
However, the duration of the visit was entirely at Stern's discretion. In extreme cases, this meant there was nothing to prevent them from helping with the inspection for a day and then leaving.
For this reason, all the noble families of the Berg estate were busy trying to please Stern. If she asked them to decorate her room with gold, they would buy it immediately.
Of course, no one wanted Stern to go that far.
However, the winter at the Berg estate was severe. It was only natural since the magical lake that embraced the northern part of the country made it so harsh that it was uninhabitable.
It was better to go to the warm and glamorous south to socialize in winter than to visit the glaciers in such a cold place.
Inevitably, winter in Berg became Stern's season. The warehouse was always full of expensive items so that Stern wouldn't leave early.
This includes food.
Every day the table was filled with meals as hot and sumptuous as those of the royal family who sometimes visited the Grand Duchy.
“Honestly, the food was good.”
