Chapter 199: Side story 11

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***

I hung up the robe and walked into the bathtub.

“Come in if you’re not going to do anything.”

Lesche, who was slowly staring at my bare body hidden beneath the surface of the water, asked.

“What would you like to do?”

“Don’t come in here, use the bathroom over there.”

“Not likely.

While saying that, Lesche took off his shirt. The prominent muscles were clearly visible in my eyes. He completely undressed and entered the bathtub without any hesitation.

The water overflowed with the sound of sloshing.

Lesche, who was sitting behind me, gathered my hair to one side, hugged me tightly as he pressed my body against his chest.

I grabbed his arms and asked, blinking my still tired eyes.

“Where did you go earlier?”

“I went out to check around. I didn’t check the backside yesterday.”

“Are not you tired?”

“No.”

“You are in great shape.”

I smiled and then closed my eyes. Without a word, Lesche picked me up.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already on the bed. It didn’t seem like much had changed, except that I wasn’t wearing anything.

After getting dressed, I went outside on the first floor and sat down with my knees bent and looked at Lesche. He was holding a watering can.

“Did the academy teach you something like this?”

 “The principles apply to everyone.”

“Even to the Grand Duke?”

“It will be the same for the emperor.”

I tilted my chin and asked.

“Then you learned to fix the watering can then?”

“You said you need to water the garden.”

I laughed out loud.

“I have nothing to do.”

“So, are you looking for something to do?”

“Yes. Are you bothered?”

“It’s not possible.”

Smiling, I got up and pressed the pump. Water poured into the basin. These days, an old-fashioned pump was not often used in the homes of ordinary people.

“When we get out, I will fix this place.”

When Martha and Joanna were here, it wasn’t inconvenient to change things. Now that they were out, I wanted to tear this place down and change everything.

Still…..

It was peaceful.

It felt like my heart was warming up in the late sun.

“By the way, Lesche.”

It was a quiet afternoon. I asked while walking in the garden with him.

“Linon also went to the academy. Did you meet him there?”

“I did.”

Lesche frowned slightly and added.

“He wasn’t that crazy at first.”

“Really?”

Interest arose. Wasn’t crazy…. Well, Linon was still not that crazy. Just, he was afraid of germs….

“Did Linon have germaphobia then? Was he staying vigilant to those around him?” 

“Right. How did you know? Did he say something?”

“No. But that’s usually the case with disadvantaged geniuses.”

As I whispered, Lesche let out a small laugh.

“Linon is going to cry when he hears it.”

“So I’m only talking to you.”

While holding hands and looking around the garden, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“He said hand is okay, but is Bibi’s hand okay to hold?”

In fact, Linon had never held Abigail’s hand before, but I was wondering. What would happen if they held hands?

I wanted to ask him, but I couldn’t make him cry.

It was a relaxing, quiet and peaceful day.

Next morning.

When I woke up, it was nice to see that Lesche still had his eyes closed. I moved closer and looked at his face. I would never get tired of looking at this man’s face. It made sense that he was the protagonist. I lightly touched his cheek and kissed him. I smiled and fell back to sleep.

And definitely… I also realized that it was right for Lesche to consider my stamina. He seemed to be worried that I might get sick.

A gentle breeze blew through the open window.

There were a few times when I was curious about what was going on outside the walls, but still…..It was such a peaceful week that I wanted to experience it again.

****

“Phew…The two of them are finally coming out today.”

Linon, who had fainted for two days, said with a thrilled expression. He had been really busy.

A high priest was beside Linon. He belonged to the Great Temple.

And a priest who was absolutely necessary for Stern’s wedding.

Stern’s wedding.

Because of this, Linon burst into tears. Ben and Susan laughed.

“I’ve been telling His Highness to have the wedding again half a year ago.”

“He said he wouldn’t do it back then.”

“He’ll do it now.”

It had been a long time since the temporary Grand Duchess was not temporary, and Seria’s wedding did not even have Lesche’s name…

“Actually, it wasn’t a wedding, it was almost a mess.”

Linon recalled that time and said.

“His Highness’s name wasn’t even there….”

Kalis Haneton’s nameplate, which was hanging next to Seria at the time, was torn off by Abigail and thrown on the floor.

Even though he was still a high ranking aristocrat in the empire. The vassals of Berg said that the wedding should be held again because they wanted to flatter Seria, but they could not ignore the prestige of the Grand Duchess anyway.

They said they liked the leisurely Seria.

While working hard to prepare for the wedding, suddenly the two of them were imprisoned inside a magical wall. Hearing this secret news, the priests nearly fainted. They couldn’t believe the news. And they sent many high-ranking priests.

“We only need the two of them to come out. The wedding preparations are already at the last stage.”

The wizards who had been standing near the wall since early in the morning were sweating. So, based on the formula, it was certain that the wall would disappear today. There could never be any errors.

“….”

The knight of Stern standing behind them like a mountain and staring at them silently was so frightening. This time, it would not end with grabbing their collars.

Would they be killed?

Die…

The wizards concentrated on releasing the formula, shaking their hands, and after a few hours….

“Miss!”

“Bibi!”

The cruel knight, who had thrown the wizards mercilessly to the floor, even Berg’s aides were afraid, ran to Stern and hugged her.

****

4. Lesche Berg’s Dream, Kalis Haneton’s Dream

***

“It’s an honor to be in charge of the Grand Duchess’s wedding dress again.”

Begonia said while putting six wedding dresses on Seria one by one.

“But there is one thing I want to tell you.”

“What?”

“I need to take care of the Grand Duchess from here until the day of the wedding.”

The places Begonia touched with her fingers was from the top of Seria’s chest to her neck. She pretended not to see the red marks on Seria’s skin.

“It’s too much that I can’t even cover it with lace.”

“…”

“The same goes for the Grand Duke. I’ll tell him again.”

Seria couldn’t bear to look in the mirror. The day before coming out of the green manor, Lesche kept her in bed all day, so the red marks on her skin were even worse.

‘…I didn’t expect it to be this bad.’

Dress preparation proceeded smoothly. As soon as they came out, and because of the wedding, they had to completely change the interior of the castle, the wedding hall, and outbuildings for guests…

She thought she would be very tired.

“I didn’t know you had all the annexes sorted out.”

“Because Martha and Joanna are both here. The Grand Duchess is tired and shouldn’t be worried.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Susan, who smiled kindly, combed Seria’s hair and told her what had happened in the castle in the week she was confined. Seria fell asleep while listening to it.

***

Seria thought Lesche had too much work, but Lesche didn’t think he was too busy.

He was accustomed to less sleep, and took care of all the work at once.

Moreover, he finished almost everything before he was confined in the green manor. After returning, he went to the training hall at dawn and went to his office after as he always did.

A day in the afternoon sunshine.

Seria seemed to have gone to the silver tree again today.

Couldn’t they pluck the tree and replant it in the garden? With this thought in mind, Lesche rode on a horse and headed to the place where the silver tree was.

Why Seria liked the tree so much, Lesche couldn’t intuitively understand. But all Sterns liked it, so she seemed to feel something he didn’t know.

The priests also said they didn’t know.

There was no one under the silver tree.

Just the sunlight pouring through the thick leaves. The silver leaves swayed slightly in the wind from afar. Like being swept away by the wind, the rustling sound echoed in his ears.

Lesche raised his head involuntarily and then lightly frowned at the corners of his eyes. Was it because the sunlight was strong? It was as if the twinkling stars were pouring down.

It said that the power of the moon resided, but now it poured out stars as fruit.

“…?”

He stretched out his hand to catch the falling stars without thinking. He caught a star passing by. It was an unaware act.

Then when he opened his eyes and he was in a familiar bedroom at midnight.

A soft touch and familiar body temperature. Seria was fast asleep in his arms.

Lecshe only moved his eyes and looked at his empty hands.

It was a strange dream.

****

“Your Highness.”

Lesche, who was looking up at the silver tree with his arms crossed, shifted his gaze. Although the Grand Duchy was busy preparing for the wedding, he was also busy dealing with issues related to the borderline of the Demons.

Alliot reported that they had strengthened almost all of the surrounding boundaries.

“This is where Seria comes out almost every day, so we need a different boundary.”

“Yes. Anyway, High Priest Henoch…”

Luckily, Seria couldn’t come out today because she was caught by Begonia all day because of her wedding dress. After hearing the report from Alliot, Lesche looked up at the silver tree again.

The wind suddenly blew, and he naturally remembered the strange dream he had yesterday.

Lesche held out his palms as if in a dream.

Of course, there were no falling stars. Instead, he caught a falling leaf.

“What are you doing, Your Highness?”

Martha, who came out to look at the outdoor tables here, tilted her head and asked.

“It’s nothing.”

Lesche stared at his palm with curious eyes.

“I remember having a dream yesterday.”

“A dream?”

“The stars fell. I think I should ask the priests.”

After hearing about the dream from Lesche, Martha had a puzzled expression on her face.

“Isn’t that a foreboding dream about a child?”

“…Huh?”