Chapter 162

***

***

As soon as Lina returned to the capital, she knew something was wrong.

“How is Kalis?”

“The Marquis had some business to attend to in his estate.”

“Business? Suddenly? What’s going on?”

“There is always some minor friction among the vassals during this time of the year. He will be back soon.”

“Ah….” said Lina and agreed to the butler’s wise reply.

“He’ll be back soon, right?”

“Of course, Saintess,”

“Okay, I see.”

Lina was impatient. First, she invited two ladies whom she had befriended in order to get a feel for the atmosphere of the Imperial Palace.

But as soon as she called them, her heart only ached more.

The ladies did not talk to Lina about the sacred power anymore. The distance became more apparent because they always said that Lina’s sacred power was amazing every time they had a pleasant cup of tea. The Ladies’ attitude was still kind, but as for Lina, she couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Come to think of it, magic crystals are very popular in the capital these days.”

“I was going to buy one too, but the pre-orders have accumulated for half a year… Ah, this is the magic crystal I brought to give to the Saintess. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It’s…beautiful.”

Lina bit her lip. That huge magic crystal mine was supposed to be hers. It was not Seria’s, but Lina’s.

On the other hand, she wanted to ask Seria if she had read the book too.

Lina wondered if that was why Seria took her own things like this at every turn. She was angry, but she couldn’t just go and ask her.

If Seria answered, “Yes,” then Seria was bound to reveal her true nature, which she had been hiding. It was better to leave it while she still didn’t know that Lina had read the book.

‘I’m afraid.’

Lina’s nervousness grew even greater the moment she checked the letter that arrived a few days later.

‘…Why are the letters so hard?’

Even before returning to the capital, Lina frequently made efforts to connect with the people she had written about in her notebook.

She could wait for romantic events to happen like the ones in the book, where she missed a hat or took the same book from the library, but it seemed somewhat slow. In the midst of this, Cassius became hopeful that he would be liked.

She thought she could cut to the chase with the letters and get to know them more quickly as they exchanged correspondence. In fact, there was no male group that would turn down Lina’s letters. Some of them mumbled about why she would write to them without their knowledge, but still, all the replies were sufficient to allow for improvement.

But the letter Lina got now was very clerical.

“…….”

The letter gave a good reason. It said that they had all collapsed.

‘They all went to see Seria’s purification ceremony.’

That Seria’s sacred power was much stronger than hers. Lina murmured.

‘…I doubt it.’

Perhaps Seria did something evil. Or why on earth would they suddenly collapse, vomit blood, pass out….

Lina couldn’t just stand still. She then decided to visit Prince Jun.

Because the royal family could never refuse a visit from Lina.

It was difficult to visit both the first and second Prince. Lina’s choice was, of course, Prince Jun, the second prince. She also received a big present from Queen Ekizel the other day, so it was the right choice.

“Saintess, I’m in bad condition.”

“…….”

Lina went to see Prince Jun and was left speechless. He couldn’t even walk so he had to be helped by helpers from both sides.

Despite Lina’s complicated feelings, the sunshine was good enough to bring tears to her eyes. Thanks to this, Lina was treated to tea and sweets in the quiet garden that only the prince could offer.

“By the way, Saintess, I don’t think I’ll be able to be your partner at the ball like I promised the other day.”

When she was told that Prince Jun had fallen ill and would have to stay in seclusion, her eyes went dark.

She didn’t even know what she was supposed to do anymore. She had no one to rely on. Kalis did not come back from the estate, and she just couldn’t send a letter to Baron Ison. This was because she had violated the teachings of not contacting the royal family. It would be a while before she could reply again, otherwise, she was going to get in trouble.

After all, the only thing Lina could believe in was the power she had conceived. This sacred power had to be an inherent sacred power.

Only then would she be able to rise one day, as Myote said, to the very high position of being the Master of the Great Temple.

Lina wrapped her stomach and trembled. She cried out in isolation, feeling like she was on a deserted island that she had fallen into.

“Saintess?”

Prince Jun, with a flustered look on his face, handed over the handkerchief as a courtesy. Lina did not get it, so he reached out to wipe the tears for her. The very moment Prince June’s hand touched Lina’s wet cheek.

“…when the Saintess cries in front of me, there’s something sad and frustrating about it… What’s wrong with you, Saintess?”

“Hic…hic.”

This was when Lina, saddened, sobbed silently.

“You must answer me, Lina.”

“……?”

“What have I done to you?”

At that moment, Lina froze at the unfamiliar voice. She raised her head in horror, and her eyes immediately turned wide. For the face of Prince Jun had overlapped with the pitch-black darkness she had seen in her dream the other day. That was when Lina faltered away.

“I told you you were the replacement.”

“…….”

“Don’t let Seria see your child.”

“……!”

It was a strange voice as if hundreds of people were talking at once. At the same time, black smoke rose from Prince Jun’s body and soon disappeared.

Immediately, Prince Jun fell to the ground, vomiting blood and blackness.

***

“It would be really nice if the Grand Duchess could come to our next tea party.”

“Of course. I can’t imagine how pleased the Queen would be…”

The ladies in the Queen’s entourage tried to get Seria’s attention. They all went to see her off.

“I look forward to our next tea party.”

When Seria returned the answer close to positivity, the ladies’ faces brightened.

“I’ll walk a little further before I go.”

“Take a look around, Grand Duchess.”

“See you, Grand Duchess.”

Seria walked leisurely. Three turns around the colonnade and she had the same expression on her face. The movement was so natural that no one noticed.

“Young lady.”

Abigail, an escort who had been an assassin, summarized all the conversations she had heard undercover and told Seria in a quiet voice.

“The prince told the Saintess…..”

“……!”

Seria’s hands went cold. It was worth it to have deliberately come to the palace of Queen Ekizel to place Abigail undercover….

Seria kept walking, looking ahead with a stiffened face.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

***

After a while.

Seria heard the news that Prince Jun had collapsed and was on the verge of life and death. Since Lina was there, rumors also spread that apparently, Prince Jun was weak against the sacred power.

Along with the ridicule that whether it was possible for a prince who was so weak in sacred power to succeed to the throne, or that he was a sorcerer…. It was also said that because of Queen Ekizel’s solitary efforts to hide the wicked rumors, there were glamorous tea parties held every day.

“Grand Duchess.”

Linon looked unusually serious.

“About Prince Jun whom you mentioned some days ago. There is one peculiar thing.”

“What is it?”

“When he was three years old, he went missing.”

“Missing?”

“Yes. And all the sorcerers who came to the Laurel Manor had gone searching for the Prince. The place where the prince went missing was the place where that madman, or rather…The mad sorcerers, who mumbled ‘Genshagensha,’* were quite a bunch of crazy people. That’s where the Prince stayed for a long time.” (*this word couldn’t be translated as it was a worshipping term or something like that)

“Really?”

The situation was clearly suspicious.

Those were the sorcerers who worked for Mies.

Of all people, it was Prince Jun who went missing in the place where they stayed for a long time. Did the plant something on the Prince’s body at that time? Was it magi?

“His face melted then stuck back together.”

“It looked like a monster…”

Linon glanced at Abigail as she replied. Abigail tilted her head. By this point, she was in a state of resignation about reasoning on her own.

So the list of people who knew roughly about this was extended to Abigail and Linon.

“The question is “Is Prince Jun really Prince Jun or someone else”?”

Silence fell at Seria’s question.

“Could he have been switched?”

Linon answered cautiously.

“To me, I think the real Prince is dead.”

“I think so too, Miss.”

“Hmmm….”

So what has Queen Ekizel raised so far?

Who was the one that had a conversation with her before this?

Prince Jun was now on the verge of death. It was beginning to get serious. 

On the other hand, Seria was too afraid to go back to her bedroom alone.

‘It would take a long time for Lesche to come.’

Seria snuggled up to Abigail in the study and read the papers. It was not long before a shadow fell on her head.

“Seria.”

Seria lifted her head and saw Lesche with a bewilderment expression on his face.

“May I ask what you are doing?”

“Lesche.”

Seria shifted her body with an embarrassed expression on her face, as she was stuck tightly to Abigail.

“Because I need a knight to protect me.”

“You often seem to forget that your husband is a knight.”

Lesche bent down and took Seria by the waist and lifted her up.

“I will go.”

Abigail gave a silent bow and disappeared in a swoosh. Seria asked, being held in his arms.

“Is the meeting over?”

“We finished half an hour ago. I went to the bedroom, but the bed was empty.”

“I couldn’t stay in the bedroom alone. I feel like strange things are going to pop up suddenly….”

Lesche’s meeting ended late, and it was getting darker and darker outside the window. At that time, the thought of being alone in a spacious bedroom was very frightening.

“You should have called someone. The servants are overflowing the mansion.”

“…Actually, I was a little worried that you would see what I was wearing and suddenly take off your gown.”

Lesche laughed in vain.

“Thankfully, you are concerned about my reputation.”

“You should thank me, right?”

“I’m sorry, Seria.”

Seria burst into laughter. Lesche sat down on the couch with Seria in his arms.

“So, tell me what is so frightening?”

“Lesche, um… you know…”

When Seria told Lesche what she and Linon and Abigail had talked about earlier, Lesche raised his eyebrows.

“The second Prince cannot be a sorcerer, Seria.”