Chapter 4

****

She could feel Alliot looking at Lesche with horror. If Lesche had not been his lord, he would have caught the counterattack right away.

‘Take it easy, take it easy Alliot. If you die, I’ll die too.’ Seria thought to herself.

“Your Highness.” She answered as calmly as possible. “That thought hasn’t crossed my mind. And even if I get frostbite, I won’t call the priest anymore.”

Lesche asked back in a sarcastic voice.

“Will your fiance listen to that?”

“Probably. Kalis seems to be busy with Lina.”

“Because of that Saintess?”

It was an unexpected, but accurate understanding of the situation.

“Is Marquis Kalis Haneton having an affair with an unknown Saintess?”

At the moment, her two hands, which were politely gathered, trembled. As if Lesche already knew the answer, he also knew she was embarrassed. He said nothing else. After a moment of silence, he turned back and looked at Alliot.

“Alliot.”

“Yes, your Highness.”

“Are you done checking the lake?”

“Yes! Thanks to the hard work of Lady Seria Stern, we have checked it.”

He deliberately praised her in front of Lesche. Seria pledged to call Alliot an angel starting today. While Lesche looked at the far end of the lake for a moment, Seria stared at him on the side, she knew for sure.

‘He is a real male protagonist.’

His pure white silver hair suited well with this snowy field. But he had such a cold and irritating manner of talking. Nevertheless, his face was the reason why there were so many ladies who yearned for him. He had a very dazzling appearance.

“That’s all?”

“Yes, your Highness.”

Alliot (angel) first moved to the side where the horses were bound. The moment she tried to go along with him, the warmth that wrapped around her body instantly solidified. Then she realized what’s happening. Lesche had taken off his coat and wrapped them around her shoulders.

“It would be good for your precious Stern’s body to not catch a cold.”

Then, before Seria could give her thanks, Lesche moved his long legs and began to stride away. She blinked blankly for a moment, then hurriedly followed him. The male protagonist’s coat was quite large, but not by a lot.

****

Empire Glick was a country with a peculiar structure that centered on a huge plain which stretched to East, West, North and South. What separated the plain was a strict mountain range. Among these lands in the form of an equilateral cross, the northern part was too cold and desolate to live. Most people in the plains live in the East, West, South and the central plain. This plain of the empire was vast, but the mountain ranges at the border were deadly. Most of all, because it contained frozen lakes and glaciers, it had become very dangerous periodically. Naturally, the empire relocated to the safe and prosperous south, while the frozen lake in the center and the watchman family who owned the land to the end remained. That was the Berg family. And Berg’s head was called the Grand Duke.

Grand Duke Lesche Berg.

Like the old sacred family, there were pledges and rituals that could only be conducted in this estate. One of them was Stern’s wedding. That was why Seria was in this castle with Kalis before her wedding. Because it was best to gather the nobles here. Oddly enough, the original Stern had a limited number of places where she could give her wedding vows. Was it because of the divine power issue? One of those places was right here in Berg estate. In theory, Stern could have a sacred wedding anywhere in this center land. In Berg estate, wedding halls for Stern were established hundreds of years ago. In fact, Seria always wanted to avoid having a wedding in this estate. However, she was forced to come because of her inevitable situation.

‘This is the original place where the wedding ceremony of the heroine and the male lead was held at the end.’

In the ending scene of the novel, Lina and Lesche were married at the Berg estate. The reason was? Because Lina was actually a Stern. It was a novel for the female protagonist, all settings were arranged. It was in the mid-to-later part of the novel that the secret about Lina was actually revealed. For this reason, there was no need to explain how the original Seria fared. She thought she was unique for being a Stern, but Lina, the eyesore, was also a Stern.

It must have been an unbearable fact for Seria, who lived in a luxury. So Seria, the vicious villain, kidnapped Lina and tried to torture and kill her.

‘But I’m not the mad villain in the original.’

When it turned out that Lina was Stern, it was the time to finally walk the flowery path. Until then, Lina really struggled tremendously during the early and mid story. It was not just Lina’s suffering, but the male protagonist also struggled incredibly. It seems that the starting point of that devastating hardship was just around the corner….While Seria was walking and remembering the original story with a frown on her forehead, suddenly a voice rang, and she looked up.

“Lady Seria!”

A bright smile naturally blossomed.

“Are you back?”

“Yes, I’ve just returned.”

Abigail Orrien. Her nickname was Bibi. She was Seria’s bodyguard, who had a friendly smile and warm eyes. Seria asked, whispering into Abigail’s ear.

“You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”

“Oh my God.”

Abigail smiled gently and whispered.

“I told you I won’t kill anyone unless they are criminals.”

****

Abigail Orrien, the Ebon Knight. She was actually a former assassin, a prisoner who was almost executed by the temple. She swore to be Seria’s loyal knight forever, but her past was very colorful.

“Bibi, how was the battle to defeat the beast?”

“It was the same as always. I missed you, the Constellation armor was cold like ice.”

At Abigail’s words, Seria laughed. Constellation armor. One of the significant reasons for Stern’s existence. The armor was needed to deal with the beasts that emitted magic. It was called the “Star Armor”, or Constellation. If she didn’t wear the armor, her whole body would quickly become addicted to Magic. If she missed the time of treatment, she would eventually die, leaving stains on her body. In order to prevent this, the Star armor was regarded as a staple of the knights. However, the Keystone in the armor was a divine metal from God, and the longer it was in contact with the human body, the more the temperature of the Keystone decreased exponentially. Stern was the only one who could offset this. If Stern was absent for a long time, the person who wore the armor would feel their whole body getting colder and later froze to death. It was akin to being put into a freezer alive.

“So Lesche Berg told me that I am a precious Stern.”

The original book said that she was a servant of Berg, who protects the central territory, and thus she had a more keen understanding of the importance of Stern. Suddenly, Seria remembered the coat that Lesche Berg had used to cover her shoulders, and she shivered slightly. Abigail asked right away.

“My Lady. Are you cold?”

“No. I’m not cold.”

“Just wear it on.”

Abigail quickly put a coat around Seria’s shoulders. Perhaps because she was an assassin, so her hands move very fast. In fact, she didn’t even see when it moved. She grasped the coat carefully so as not to drop it after Abigail had wrapped around her.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. If the lady is not cold, I can take it off of you anytime.”

Seria felt disappointed at herself when she suddenly flinched at those words. Mainly because it felt so childish of her. Until when would she keep thinking about Lina and Kalis? Pushing away the uneasiness of feeling as if she was staring at a skeleton hidden in the closet, Seria swiftly changed her pace.

“I heard from other guards that you go out to check the glacier every day?” Abigail asked.

“A week or so. It’s only that long that I have checked.”

“Do you know how dangerous it is to go alone? You have a cold so you should stay home.”

“Then my forehead might be torn…..” (*She was afraid she would be like the original Seria who got a stone thrown at her forehead if she didn’t do her duty.)

‘I not only wanted to avoid the bad ending in the original story, but also the minor misfortunes that occured to Seria Stern. It was natural. So, at least after the wedding, until I leave for Haneton Estate, I will faithfully check the glacier every day.  Besides, it’s a little vague to quit now.’ Seria thought to herself.

None of the vassals of the Berg territory liked the original Seria. They hated her. In fact, if Seria had not been a Stern, they would have somehow expelled her from the castle. It was a natural thing because every year she visited the castle, she behaved badly. However, since she checked the glacier every day within the week, the unpleasant gaze was gradually easing.

“Because you save them a lot of money, right?”

Having a Stern in the estate meant that you could bring in as many knights as you wanted, wearing constellation armor. It was possible to reduce the number of 30 or so guards who were organized for the frozen lake inspection team to just one. When she thought about the exorbitant knight’s fee, she could see that it was a huge financial gain.

‘I am actually, no, I think it’s fortunate that Seria was Stern. I can prove my usefulness right away. I have to imprint that I am indispensable. So please don’t cut my neck in half. I want to live.’ Seria thought to herself.

“Lady Seria. Are you here?”

“Sir Alliot!”

Alliot (Angel), who was already waiting in the stable, looked at Abigail next to Seria and nodded slightly. Abigail bowed back to him as she whispered in her ear.

“Did you continue to inspect the glacier with that guard?”

“Umm.”

“He doesn’t look weak.”

“Because he is the head of the Knights Order…?”

“My Lady, considering this is for the rest of your life, you’ve chosen well.”

However, Abigail’s assessment was simply just carefree. She said, grabbing Seria’s horse’s saddle.

“I’ll put this one on, My Lady.”

“Yes, thank you, Bibi.”

“You’re welcome.”

Seria stroked Rottweiler’s nose. He rubbed his face at her, making neighing sounds. Abigail pulled Rottweiler in skillfully, while Seria approached Alliot. He tilted his chin as he watched Abigail’s back as she entered the stable.

“She looks so strong.”

“Who? Abigail?”

“Yes. The lady knight.”

“Is that what Sir Alliot thinks?”

“That’s how she looks to me.”

Alliot had a kind personality, but his skills were another level. With his superior skills, he served to be the Knights Commander of Berg. In the original story, even Duke Hwangdo tried to hire him. Some of the nobles had stacked gold like a tower to recruit Alliot. It’s enough to say that he was talented and extraordinary.

“How strong are you, Abigail?”

“Since when you’re interested in my strength, My Lady?”

Because Seria knew the Knight Commander was coveting her lady knight. It was the privilege of the insidious person who had read the original story. She laughed and opened the coat that Abigail gave her.