Chapter 173

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***

Seria eventually fainted shortly after the hunting ground became as noisy as a beehive being pecked at.

‘…If it hadn’t been for Lesche, my head would have been cracked open.’

But it was a relief that she held out till the end. It was fortunate that the attention of the nobles was diverted when they heard the demon border had collapsed.

No, flat was the right word.

Immediately after Seria fainted, she was put on a carriage and brought to the Imperial Berg residence. She slept soundly for 19 hours out of 24 hours a day for several days after returning to the mansion.

“I was amazed at how bruised the Grand Duchess’s body was.”

Susan said, anointing Seria with perfume. It smelled of a very special herb.

“If you leave it, it will disappear.”

“But still. It was sent from the Green Manor, so I hope it will help.”

Seria sat meekly and looked at the fading yellow bruises. She didn’t remember much when coming back to the mansion. However, she knew she didn’t come with Lesche.

‘But why was the demon boundary broken?’

The boundary line that was created against the demons by the Great Temple was not perfect.

However, even though it was broken occasionally, the number of times it collapsed was too few to count….

The Great Temple urgently asked for help from the Glick Empire. 

The empire, of course, was obliged to respond, as were the seventeen families. There was news that Lesche, master of the Knights of Berg, was the first to go to war.

‘I can’t believe that Myote and Lina were dispatched at the same time.’

The boundary was wide.There was no limit to the length it crossed from east to west. If the border restoration was delayed further, it was clear that Seria, the last Stern, had to go there.

She ate bread baked with raisins mixed in, did not leave any salad made with a mixture of fruit and a sweet and sour sauce, and eagerly devoured chicken baked to a golden brown hue with lemon juice.

It was a late afternoon when she was taking as much sleep as 

possible to speed up her recovery of physical strength and divine power.

“Grand Duchess, a letter has been sent to you from the Chief Aide.”

***

“I can’t believe he’s been murdered again!”

The High Priest exclaimed with a look of astonishment on his face.

“It’s the third one already. The dead Holy Knight.”

“…….”

Three Holy Knights inspecting the border have already been found dead.

The demon boundary was in the form of a long wall, like a border line, and its length was considerable when connected end to end. Therefore, Myote and Lina were sent to the west and east, respectively, to work on restoring the mass boundary line.

When the boundary was about to be restored, the body of a holy knight inspecting the other end of the boundary was found. The durability of the boundary line was just barely enough, as the demons were constantly pouring in through the already collapsed boundary line.

It was not enough to immediately break all the boundaries, but there were areas that continued to be penetrated by them.

The High Priest swallowed dry spit and visited Lesche.

He was very worried about what Grand Duke Berg’s reaction would be if he told him that the Holy Knights were dead, but fortunately he just listened without any particular change of expression.

“So for the time being, the entire Order of the Holy Knights will be replenished. Your Highness.”

“What?”

“They are scheduled to arrive the day after tomorrow.”

Lesche took off his constellation gold armor and shifted his gaze. It was the cool temperature of the constellation gold armor which he was familiar with. The knight hurriedly brought up Lesche’s sword, which had cut through the demons earlier.

He had to leave again a little later anyway. Lesche did not have the habit of leading the battle to defeat the demons in a relaxed manner. Therefore, the defeating battles he conducted were always conducted without a moment to catch one’s breath. It was little to no different than an actual war.

“Your Highness.”

It was then that Alliot visited Lesche.

“After 15 minutes, Myote Stern will finish her tour.”

When Myote was mentioned, the high priest looked worried.

Myote was very busy right now. The boundary collapsed and she could not sleep properly for many days. She couldn’t even rest because she was busy walking around the long, long boundary.

This was because of Lina, who had little experience in the battle to defeat the demons. 

Lesche jawed at the high priest.

“Leave.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The high priest went out and Lesche leaned back in his chair. He pulled out the knight’s assignment and entry/exit rosters and began to look at them.

“Alliot.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do you know who will be the most supportive as the demons continue to flood in?”

It was a somewhat sudden question, but Alliot answered calmly.

“Well…”

Alliot’s forehead contorted weakly.

‘’It’s Stern, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s Stern.”

The temporary barracks was full of laurel branches brought by the priests.

Aside from the Berg Knights, who had to guard the huge glacier every year, the other noble knights were not that good at defeating demons. That did not mean that the Bergs could not monitor the entire border.

Thus, there was never a spare time to defeat the demons.

That didn’t mean it was difficult.

Lesche had a cold expression on his face. The restoration of the border proceeded without a hitch, as most of the best knights of the Glick Empire were gathered in a hunting ground close to the border.

The problem was the accidents caused by the murder of the holy knights. This meant that the time spent at the boundary line continued to increase.

“It’s a perfect time for some clueless outsider to be scared.”

A cynical Lesche stood up, placing the entry list down on the table.

“Tell the priests. As soon as the Holy Knights are replenished, we will drive them all to the east, leaving only the Berg Knights in the south. We will move all the existing knights to the east.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lesche shifted his gaze to the branches of the silver tree. It reminded him of Seria in the hunting ground. Her body had lost a lot of strength. Even on the way to the carriage in Lesche’s arms, Seria said she was not fainting, but she was rather whispering with a strain in her eyes before fighting off sleep became too much to handle.

Lesche almost laughed a little, unfit for the situation.

He couldn’t be unaware of her consideration.

“Also tell Linon not to call Seria.”

“She is alive!”

Four days later.

The priests let out a sigh of relief.

“The Grand Duke of Berg played a major role. Fortunately. I was worried that I would have to summon the Grand Duchess, but I don’t have to.”

***

“Miss.”

Seria turned around at the call and saw Abigail approaching.

“The carriage is all ready for you.”

“Already? There’s nothing to get ready for.”

Seria walked straight out of the bedroom and downed the stairs. As she walked out into the warm, sunny entranceway, she saw a large carriage waiting with the Berg pattern engraved on it.

“Have a safe journey, Grand Duchess.”

“Have a safe journey.”

Ben and Susan saw Seria off and she got into the carriage with Abigail. Berg’s carriage began to roll smoothly.

Since she didn’t set a destination beforehand she could not use the magic crystal ring to move around.

“Miss.”

“Yes?”

”What in the world is that chief aide making such a fuss about coming?”

Seria leaned back against the carriage seat with my arms folded. The carriage was well stocked with Stern’s formal wear. And in her pocket was a neatly organized letter that Linon had sent.

“The restoration of the border has been delayed. Linon was suspicious of Lina, so he asked me to come quietly.”

A few days ago, he had told her not to pay attention to the border, but what had happened in that short period of time had not yet been known to the capital.

However, Linon’s letter described a short description of what he had found suspicious about Lina during that time.

***

Cassius stood with a cold expression on his face.

“Brother is a commoner too.”

For days, Nissos’s words haunted him. The cold words seemed to hurt Cassius’s pride. The disgusting feeling of a messed up honor rolling at his feet….

There were many things he had prepared for. Cassius sat down then stood up again.

His fists, clenched tightly, turned white.

A few days ago, at the hunting ground.

His blunt father looked at Cassius without saying a word as soon as he came to the barracks. Then he punched him on the cheek as hard as he could.

If he (Cassius) didn’t have to go straight to the border, he (Cassius) didn’t even know how much more he would have been beaten by his father.

Besides, his father meant it. He was seriously thinking of expelling him (Cassius ) from Kellyden.

“And why would he do that? He’s the one who made you!”

Cassius’s jaw tightened. Nissos, being the second son, tried to understand, even if it was a little foolish. He called that a word? Why couldn’t he speak to father?

Their father was a marquis. 

The Kellyden was by nature perfect.

A noble father. A highborn mother. Two clever and upright sons.

That was until one bastard child ruined the atmosphere of the house. She was eager to live in spite of all that, and became an evil woman who lived extravagantly. 

But as soon as she awakened as Stern, she abandoned the house of Kellyden and had never given any help.

Seria was not active in the West as Stern, and the West was naturally served by Myote Stern. She did not embrace a glacier like the Grand Duchess, but since it was a time of boiling demons, she diligently worked around the clock.

But Myote Stern was passive in Kellyden. It was because the pride of the Sterns has been soaring for generations.

Also, because it would be an obvious confrontational composition if she became acquainted with them when the world knew all about the fact that another Stern, Seria, had cut ties with the Kellyden.

Seria will threaten other Sterns in any way she can if he becomes Marquis.

The fact that the Kellyden he inherited would not thrive was obvious.

Cassius polished his sword with bloodshot eyes.

Cassius’s foot, which Lesche Berg had broken, still throbbed from time to time.

The Grand Duke Berg tried to make Cassius a commoner, and the emperor acquiesced.

There was only one person who could hold his hand and pull him up.

Lina Stern.

Unlike the other Sterns, who were as cold as ice, she wept from her heart in front of him. Her tears wet Cassius’s heart.

Lina would have shone brighter than anyone if not for Seria. A Saint from another world. And she was very much like himself.

The fact was that she could have enjoyed a perfect noble life, but she was suffering from the viper-like Seria Stern, who was busy with tyranny and luxury.

“I will help the Saintess, so will you be the Stern of Kellyden?”

There were numerous stars, but they were only the Milky Way.