Chapter 24
"Why are you...?"
He must have heard Lina scream.
What does Kalis think of me? Does he think I am a villain who torments a poor, pathetic Santa? Like I did in the original story? Will he behead Seria like in the original story?
She couldn't understand Lina's actions for the life of her.
"Lina."
She stared at this beautiful saint, unconvinced. Pure white face with black eyes. Short hair above the shoulders.
"Kalis is... outside. By the way, why are you saying this now? Why do you want Kalis to hear? Because you don't want him to misunderstand your true feelings? Or is it because you want to make me look like a bad person?"
"....."
Lina's eyes trembled.
Seria's eyes were probably trembling just as much.
Normally, she would have used a polite form with Lina, but now she couldn't afford to worry about those things. She was very curious.
"Why on earth? I didn't bother you..."
She really had no intention of running into Lina. She felt sorry for her, but that was all.
It never occurred to her to intimidate the heroine loved by God in the original story. What mattered to her was her life. She just wanted to live. Everything she did was the result of fighting not to die.
'What else did I do wrong?'
Lina's face turned pale. She looked as scared as a child.
In the original story, she was the heroine who wisely defended herself against the villain, but everywhere probability was a necessity. It was Lina who couldn't even properly handle the Lady of Haneton. This meant she couldn't cope with the situation where she would be seen as a villain until the start of the original work.
There was no point in continuing with Lina any longer, Seria turned around without hesitation.
"Leave."
"Seria!"
Lina ran to grab Seria's arm. However, she slipped and tripped heavily.
Lina's body, which was about to fall toward Seria, floated in the air as if it were a lie.
"…!"
The full moon, which she thought was big today, instantly filled her vision like the sun. Lina's shoes fell to the ground, and her eyes immediately turned to Seria in surprise. She was being sucked into the air.
Seria quickly approached and tried to grab her, but it was already too late. There was nothing to catch. The terrace was empty.
"Seria!"
At the same time, the door opened with a metallic noise. It was Kalis, and the servant with a worried face followed him.
Kalis crouched against the railing and looked down. He was looking for Lina. However, the only thing that became clear was Lina's shoes that fell in front of Seria.
"Seria..." Kalis asked with a trembling voice as he looked at her.
"Did you... push Lina?"
The words were like a blow to the head. Instantly, her hands grew cold.
"Marquis? What do you mean by that?!"
The servant shouted involuntarily. Seria looked at him and he lowered his head. He was going to check the glaciers every winter and learned that his reputation in Berg Castle among the servants was improving.
She averted her gaze and looked at Kalis.
"You are just hurting people, Kalis."
The moment she finished speaking, the moonlight spat out Lina.
"Ah! Ah! Please don't take me... Please don't take me..."
"Lina!"
"Santa!"
Lina, surrounded by panic, clutched her head and screamed. She sank with a pained expression on her face, as if someone had terribly scared her. At the same time, a pure white divine power bloomed on her wrists and cheeks.
Seria didn't see it herself, but they told her this pattern was painted on Lina's skin the first time she descended on the frozen lake of the Berg estate.
The priest stationed in Berg's territory hurriedly informed the High Priestess of Lina's appearance, and the High Priestess finally revealed the oracle that had been kept hidden from the public. It was the same oracle that the divine agent said would appear on the frozen lake, the glacier. It was a clear oracle with divine power. Everything pointed to Lina being a saint.
The problem was that Lina went back and forth between the two worlds many times. Seria didn't expect the first time to be today, nor at this moment.
"I didn't expect to be suspected of being a murderer..."
She murmured and bit her lip.
However, her voice was shakier than she thought. It was obvious that she was deeply shocked. Seria looked up, hoping Kalis didn't hear her, but she was wrong. He was already looking at her.
"I'll take the Saint!"
The servant hurriedly carried Lina out. The screams came from outside like a panorama. Seria was about to follow her outside when Kalis grabbed her by the wrist.
No matter how powerful Stern was on the outside, she didn't have the talent to make someone disappear and bring them back. Kalis should know that.
"Seria, I was wrong. Please don't look at me like that."
Maybe her expression wasn't good. However, she had always kept her face stern since she possessed Seria.
But now she didn't have time to do that. Belatedly, she was more shocked than she could ever imagine.
Since she possessed the irredeemable villain, she had done everything she could to survive unscathed. It was easy to say. But it was definitely not an easy task to revive a reputation that had been hitting rock bottom every day for a year. Although she couldn't undo Seria's past misdeeds, Kalis must have seen the good deeds she had built with all her might.
Therefore, his apology made her really happy. She was even grateful that Kalis began to believe in her after Seria's misdeeds. Even if Kalis chose the heroine and put her on the brink of death. But even so... she didn't think a year of her efforts would disappear.
All the time she spent feeling frustrated was in vain. She never thought the words she heard from the man who said he only loved her and wanted her back would stay so ingrained in her mind until today...
He suspected her of Lina's disappearance. She felt empty. The intensity of the impact she received was enormous, perhaps it was a mix of Lina's incomprehensible behavior and Kalis' doubts.
"Dear Grand Duchess."
A voice suddenly interrupted. She realized Linon was standing outside the door and called her.
"His Highness has requested to enter the terrace. Will you allow him to do so?"
"Oh, I'm going out."
"Seria, wait a minute."
Linon's voice faded as Kalis tried to stop Seria by grabbing her hand.
"The Grand Duke cannot ascend these steps without the permission of the Grand Duchess. These are the unwritten traditions and His Highness cannot break them either. Of course, the rules also apply to the other nobles." Linon continued, "But the rest can be done by sending official documents to the Marquis of Haneton."
Amid all this, she caught a glimpse of the idea that he was going to end this in Berg's territory.
Seria grabbed Linon's outstretched hand and took a step. Then, she asked in a cautious voice,
"Why do you look so hurt? It's not like Miss..."
When she was about to answer Linon, Kalis spoke first.
"Chief aide of Berg."
He walked to the door and stood in front of Seria and Linon. First, he looked at Seria, then diverted his gaze to Linon.
"I'll leave first."
"That's what I expected, Marquis Haneton."
Due to the loud voices going back and forth, and Lina being carried away by the servants, all eyes in the Grand Ballroom were now on the Grand Duchess's terrace.
The Saint had left, now who would be next? Naturally, it would be Seria Stern, who could enter and leave the Grand Duchess's terrace at will. So, what kind of expression would she have?
However, if Kalis left now, all eyes would be on him. This was a courteous consideration felt in social circles. Kalis looked at Seria, clenched his fists, and descended the terrace steps. The noises grew louder at once, just as expected. She looked out the window toward the hall and said to Linon.
"Linon, change the music to something softer and more elegant, and serve chilled champagne. Tell them to relax."
"Yes, my lady."
"Tell His Highness not to ascend if you go down. It will create more commotion."
"That is... yes, I understand." Linon said, and as soon as he descended, the music changed.
Originally, she thought it would be better to have fun, listen to loud music, but now soft music would be better to calm people's mood.
The chilled champagne was the drink everyone wanted to try when they came to Berg. Originally, it was planned to be served at midnight, but now, it was good to serve them earlier to disperse people's nerves.
Anyway, it was a New Year's party that Seria had diligently prepared with Aliot's help. She definitely didn't want something like this to ruin it.
When the main banquet hall became noisy again, she left the terrace and descended the stairs. She feared Lesche would be standing in front of the stairs, but fortunately, he was not there. If Lesche, the striking man, had been standing in front, people would have gathered again.
She walked slowly towards the hallway, like the ladies of the ballroom. Everyone was busy trying the chilled champagne. This allowed her to exit the hallway along the large banquet hall doors, which opened relatively easily. She didn't expect to meet an unexpected man there.
"Your Highness…."
With his arms crossed, Lesche was leaning against the wall, frowning.
When he saw her, he walked towards her.
She thought he might be angry because she told him not to ascend the terrace, but he showed no emotion. He didn't even ask questions. After looking at her for a while, Lesche extended his arm. It was a normal escort. It was the most appropriate attitude in this situation. Without hesitation, she gently grabbed his arm.
"It looks like you're about to cry."
"…"
Seria quietly wiped beneath her eyes. Fortunately, Lesche kept walking forward and didn't look at her, so she could wipe it more confidently.
The New Year's Eve party ended successfully.
And the next day, she heard the shocking news.
