Chapter 18
At the end-of-year celebration, Kalis stood by the window and looked at his arm. The terrible pain had disappeared, and the arm was now as healthy as an ordinary knight’s arm. There was a bracelet on his wrist. It was the amethyst bracelet that Seria had given him.
—Seria—Kalis murmured to himself.
Until the day before yesterday, he was sure she was going to be his wife. Today’s party, which suddenly turned into a year-end party, was originally a wedding reception for her and him.
Seria Stern.
She was the famous daughter of the prestigious Marquis Kellyden of the West, despite her mother's very low status. Her half-siblings didn’t want to talk about her. It was enough to make them grit their teeth.
However, it was actually an understandable reaction. Kalis was very aware of Seria’s malice.
When she was a child, she was truly extravagant. Every day, jewelry vendors and dress designers from the capital came.
Among the jewels she bought on her own, there was a blue diamond the size of a quail egg that Queen Echizel wanted at that time. It was said that Marquis Kellyden had sold one of the islands when he received a bill for how expensive it was.
Kalis was a western aristocrat, so he knew a bit more than others. The blue diamond seemed to have made the Marquis very angry with her, but that didn’t stop her from being extravagant.
Her relationship with her family worsened so much that she left the house and went to a house in the capital after becoming Stern. Shortly after, Kalis also moved to the capital from the Haneton estate. Seria Stern was always present at the distinguished balls of imperial society.
To be exact, Seria Stern the bully was always there. At that time, she was a terrible villain for which there was no excuse.
Spilling dark-colored juice on the dress of a lady she didn’t like was common, and openly stepping on her foot in front of many people was an added bonus. Unable to watch the scene, Kalis saved the young lady from being bullied by Seria.
—We are from the same part of the West, and now you are insulting me?
Kalis still couldn’t forget Seria’s bright blue and mysterious eyes that day, burning with anger. Shortly after, Seria took revenge on Kalis, as she was famous for.
She poured a poison called “Saint Malone” on his arm, but St. Malone was not a powerful poison. Because if it harmed his life or caused permanent physical loss, Seria would have already been brought to trial.
The symptoms weren’t severe either. It made his limbs stiff for about a week and unable to move well.
The problem was with the soup Kalis had eaten the day before for a cold. The restorative soup, which Kalis’s nanny, old lady Lysolt, boiled all night, contained langerina. It was a good herb to protect his weak body, but it was designated illegal by the imperial family due to its narcotic ingredients.
However, langerina herbs were often used as medicinal herbs for older women in the countryside. It was a little-known fact that langerina herbs and St. Malone’s poison were in terrible conflict. This caused a horrible chemical reaction in Kalis’s body, and as a side effect, his arm began to rot slowly.
He couldn’t accuse Seria, nor could he be angry with her. If he did, Seria would find out about the herbs and might laugh at the idea of accusing Kalis’s nanny.
He was very protective of his nanny and didn’t want her to go through unnecessary trouble. So he kept the rotten pain of his hand to himself all the time.
He took some painkillers from a couple of foul-mouthed doctors and was preparing to slowly part from his arm.
—Marquis Haneton?
Suddenly, one day Seria arrived, kneeling and bowing her head. Kalis had thought she had gone completely crazy that day. But to suspect that she had really changed, her behavior was aristocratic and like Seria.
It had been an endless month since then. Seria, who visited the mansion every two days and sincerely asked for forgiveness, suddenly said she found a way to fix his arm and took him to a small, quiet temple on the outskirts of the Capital.
—Wait here.
Seria had gone somewhere and returned in a mess hours later, leaving Kalis, who had to endure the pain due to the rebound effect of the painkillers.
She pulled out a bunch of herbs with small yellow flowers.
—What are those?
—Medicinal herbs. It will fix your injured arm.
Seria did her best to apply the herbs to Kalis’s arm and bandaged it.
—How is it?
Kalis was dismayed. The moment the herbs touched his arm, which had always hurt, even with painkillers, it magically felt better.
It was at that moment that all the doubts that had been lingering completely disappeared.
—Where do I get more of these herbs?
—These? You can’t get them here, there are plenty in other places, but they are not mine and I can’t bring them with me.
—Not yours?
—No, I have a master who will appear in about a year…
Kalis didn’t fully understand Seria’s words, but he stopped her deliberately. It wasn’t just talk. In fact, he didn’t understand her actions either.
—So, where did you get this herb?
—On the cliff below the temple.
—What?
Kalis was momentarily bewildered.
—You don’t mean you climbed down that cliff, do you?
—Yes.
Her response came in a blink of an eye.
Seria’s eyes were completely different from her old, creepy, cold eyes that stared at him.
This was the first time he realized that she was one of the most beautiful women in the imperial capital. He wondered when she had changed so much.
—Why is the lady doing all this for me?
—Because it was my fault. Well, if it’s not enough, do you want me to go get it again?
— No, don’t do it again. It’s enough.
Some time passed, Kalis proposed to Seria and gave her an emerald ring passed down from generation to generation to the wives of the marquises of Haneton.
Seria looked really pretty when she was nervous. She stared at the emerald ring and couldn’t take her eyes off it.
—Seria …
Kalis squeezed her hand. He loved her. Although she married the Grand Duke Berg in an accident, it was still only temporary. Not only Kalis but also all the nobles in the castle thought the same.
Everyone knew that the Grand Duke had taken extraordinary measures to save the precious Stern.
—Lina …
Kalis was going to divorce Lina. She was different from any woman he had seen. Instead of hiding her mistakes, she expressed them openly and talked about her difficulties without hesitation. It was a bit distressing to see her rely so much on him.
Above all, Kalis was the Marquis of Haneton in the west.
It was a politically correct calculation to establish a friendship with the Saint who would later attack the imperial capital.
However, he never wanted to lose Seria for such a gain. He couldn’t let go of Seria. Until yesterday, he had been too worried about the fact that Seria had married another man to act rationally.
After a bit of rest, he regained his senses. Seria was now very angry, he had to give her time to calm down. Then he could sincerely apologize again—.
Knock. Knock.
With a knock on the door, Kalis’s knight came running in. Kalis placed the knight in Seria’s annex.
—Marquis!
—What’s going on?
—You should probably take a look. The Saint said she was going to order a dress from the designer Begonia and went to see Lady Stern.
—Lina?
Lina was a Saint. She was as pure as a white gem. She didn’t mix well with the aristocratic Seria.
Lina might upset Seria, but he didn’t know what Seria would do if she was upset. He had to go see her.
With a stiff face, Kalis headed to Seria’s annex. He didn’t expect to meet Lesche at Seria’s door, which was guarded by the guards…
Let’s turn back time to a moment ago.
Linon was complaining to Lesche.
—Your Highness, Lady Seria fainted while bleeding in the wedding hall, and now you want her to move like a slave as soon as she wakes up. Isn’t it enough for me to do it alone?
His vicious lord, Lesche, kept reviewing his documents without answering.
At the end of the year, as the lord of the castle, he was also well-dressed. He just reviewed the documents as time passed.
—It’s better to work. Or it makes you think.
His response was calm. Lesche kept looking at the documents that contained the word “magic” several times, then suddenly looked up as if he had a question.
—That’s strange. Why are you siding with the young lady?
Linon answered proudly.
—Because I like people who can work fast.
—Of course you do.
It was a clear reason. But Linon’s words were very true. Seria did the work very fast.
Seria hadn’t been following the glacier tour, but yesterday Lesche received reports from Elliot and others about the types of food and checking the decorations in the halls.
Thanks to her, the castle had completely changed in a day. Red ribbons and mistletoe decorations had been hung here and there. It was like magic.
—What will the people in the mansion say when they see Lady Seria as the hostess?
—Well. —Linon smiled. —I’m very excited. By the way, Your Highness, shouldn’t you tell Lady Seria about the mansion’s history? Even if it’s a temporary marriage, it’s still a marriage, they have to be together, don’t they?
—I’ve never been so shy.
—I’m pretty sure it looks like that…
Lesche looked at the documents.
… Lastly, six wizards from the kingdom of Nesla were invited to the mansion …
‘I have to do it anyway…’
Lesche got up from his seat. He was also going to pick up Seria. If the ball was to be held seriously, he should accompany her, whether she was his temporary wife or not.
