COARV Chapter 10

"...So you're saying they went out like that and now you can't reach them?"

The master of Berke Grand Duchy, Lesche, asked coldly. His eyes were so viciously sharp they looked ready to cut someone down mercilessly, so the knight who came to report bowed his head deeply.

"Yes, Your Grace. All contact with Marquess Haneton has been lost."

"They've lost their minds. Have both the saint and Marquess Haneton gone mad together? Are they even aware the wedding with the Stern is in two days?"

"A blizzard suddenly struck, so it's believed they lost their way."

As the knight said, a blizzard had been raging outside the window since two hours ago. It was even dark since the sun had already set.

It was tantamount to being stranded.

Lesche immediately rose from his seat and said.

"Prepare a search party."

"Knight Commander Elliot is already preparing."

"No. I'm going."

"Pardon? Your Grace?"

The knight, shocked, shouted "I obey!" a beat too late.

Lesche walked out of his office grinding his teeth.

Lesche, the head of House Berke, knew well how dangerous a wedding with a Stern was. Punctuality. Location compliance. Break even one rule and the Stern's divine power would explode like fireworks inside their body. Unable to withstand the shock, the Stern would cough up blood and be injured, or in worse cases, die.

That's why weddings with Sterns could only be held at designated places. As much as Lesche knew this, Kallis would know it well too.

Because he'd been chosen as the Stern's man.

Having already completed the covenant ceremony at the Grand Temple, Kallis should have remained more careful and docile than anyone until the wedding ended. Not acting like an idiot like now. It was behavior difficult to understand unless he'd completely lost his mind after hearing words about a god-sent saint.

"And yet he went out anyway."

If he'd known this would happen, he would have knocked Kallis unconscious on his first day in the territory and thrown him in the castle's temporary prison.

Of all times, this shit had to happen during his tenure as Grand Duke. Berke territory, one of the few locations possessing a Stern's wedding altar. As the lord of Berke, Lesche had the goddamn obligation to oversee this whether he liked it or not.

Annoyance and irritation surged simultaneously. Lesche, who'd been calling Linon to give several instructions, suddenly looked out the window. A beat late, his forehead creased sharply.

Because he saw Seria Stern among the group lighting multiple torches and organizing a search party.

"Is Lady Seria Stern going along too?"

"Pardon? Yes! We thought she might be worried about her fiancé...."

"Worried?"

"Yes, Your Grace...."

Lesche's office was on the second floor. And he had excellent dynamic vision befitting a knight. He could confirm without difficulty.

That Seria Stern's deep blue eyes were heavily sunken. It was truly strange. Just last year, Seria Stern's eyes had been truly arrogant and impudent. Her attitude had been the same. Though he'd seen her act elegantly before him as Grand Duke, other vassals had been exasperated. They said the expression "wild filly" circulating in imperial high society fit her perfectly.

Could someone who'd acted so brazenly change so much in one year? Did she love Kallis that much? Did love change someone like that?

Lesche couldn't understand such emotions.

"Amusing. If it were me, I'd be praying to the Stern's banner for them both to freeze to death together."

Though crude words, the knight wasn't even flustered. Lesche Berke was a sentinel. He often spat out curses like this even when hunting demonic beasts.

"Tell Lady Seria Stern. I won't allow her even one step outside the castle."

"I obey!"

The knight saluted and immediately ran off. Lesche, wearing a thick fur cloak over his armor, headed straight outside where the snow was raging.

"The wedding is in... two days now, isn't it?"

It was an unwritten rule among imperial designers to inspect wedding dresses until the day before the ceremony. Begonia, the designer from the capital who'd been refining and re-refining my wedding dress, had already heard the rumors. Her expression was extremely peculiar.

"This is the piece I've put the most care into this entire season, to be caught up in such scandal...."

Scandal.

Begonia called it scandal, but outside they were calling it a scandal too.

A young, handsome marquess and a bright, beautiful saint, two days before his wedding, went out to the glacier alone on a winter night and disappeared—such words would naturally circulate.

"I'm sorry."

Begonia was a designer with high pride in her work. When I apologized carefully, Begonia frowned slightly.

"Why are you apologizing, my lady? Lady Seria, this might upset you, but... how is this different from adultery?"

"......"

I had nothing to say.

The irony that though I knew it wasn't my fault, the shame was mine to bear.

"They could have at least kept it hidden. I simply don't understand why they'd cause such a noisy incident. How much must they be disrespecting the other party.... Whether the saint or the marquess."

Begonia poured this out, truly offended.

Then, with knocking sounds, Abigail entered.

Her hair, shoulders, and cloak were all covered in pure white snow. A maid hurriedly brought Abigail a towel to dry off. After saying "Thank you," Abigail wrapped her cold frozen hands in the towel.

Did they find Kallis and Lina?

I looked at Abigail with faint hope, but she shook her head.

"The blizzard gets worse the closer we get to the glacier, so we can't proceed further. We judged that if we're not careful, the search party itself might go missing."

"...I see."

"Half the search party returned to the castle, and the remaining half will camp at the glacier overnight. They'll resume the search as soon as day breaks."

"......"

I'd known from when I initially tried to go along.

That the search party's scale was enormous.

Not only the high-ranking Haneton knights who'd come to Berke territory to attend the wedding, but Berke's knights had also been deployed in large numbers.

Begonia, who'd been listening quietly beside us, said with trembling hands.

"Just how deep did they go?"

Something was rising from inside me. I blinked, pressing it down, when Abigail suddenly grasped my hand with her cold one.

"My lady. His Grace the Grand Duke of Berke has a message for you—may I relay it exactly as spoken?"

"Hm? Yes."

When I nodded, Abigail smiled.

But in an instant, her smile faded. Suddenly her eyes gleamed fiercely.

"You are the lady's exclusive knight. You go and tell her."

"......?"

"I'll have that goddamn bastard tied with rope and thrown into the ceremony hall, so even if there's no news until the wedding day, Seria Stern—"

"......"

I understood a beat too late.

That Abigail was truly reciting exactly what she'd heard from Lesche. That's why her gaze suddenly became frightening.... She copied even the tone and expression.

"—the lady must be present in advance for the Stern's wedding ceremony. The wedding will proceed as scheduled no matter what happens."

When the slow recitation ended, Abigail's gaze returned to its pleasant state.

"That's what he said. Though I don't know why he spoke so frighteningly."

I nodded.

Though I didn't understand why Lesche said that much either, I did have to be present at the wedding hall at the appointed time. The Grand Temple had repeatedly emphasized this sternly. Punctuality was most important for a Stern's wedding ceremony.

Even if guests heard about the scandal between Kallis and Lina and came to mock me, or if no one came at all. Even if the wedding hall stood empty, I had to stand there until the end.

'But....'

Having the castle's master say this felt distinctly different. Somehow my nose tingled. Begonia said "Now, my lady" and lightly grasped my arm.

"Since His Grace the Grand Duke spoke so frighteningly, I want to prepare the very best as well. It's fine if the wedding runs a bit late. All the guests will need time to admire this dazzlingly beautiful wedding dress anyway."

"Yes."

For Begonia, who cared tremendously about her work, this was her way of being quite considerate toward me. Only after trying on fifteen different jewelry accessories in my hair could I finally look outside the window.

Outside was already white with snow. The blizzard raging from the glacier remained severe.

Could Kallis arrive on time?

I prayed he wouldn't be late. I finally fell asleep late into the night.

The next day.

The search party didn't return.

On the morning of the wedding day.

Not even by that time.

"The blizzard won't stop...."

Lina muttered, listening to the sound of the blizzard raging fiercely beyond the shutters.

The blizzard hadn't been raging like this from the start. They'd barely entered the glacier when snowflakes began falling.

Though Lina had pouted when Kallis said they should return since snow was dangerous, it couldn't be helped. Lina readily agreed to go back.

As he'd said, the snowflakes that melted instantly upon touching her palm became a blizzard in truly mere moments. A heavy snowfall. Lost in snow pouring so heavily they couldn't see directly ahead, the two quickly lost their way.

After wandering for a long while, they finally found a cabin.

The glacier was vast, and winter weather was fickle, so Berke had been building cabins like this here and there since long ago.

Inside was even a map marking locations. Only after seeing the map could Kallis grasp roughly where they were. He spoke with a serious face.

"We came too deep. Did we wander that much?"

"Did we get that far away?"

"Dangerously so. Though we're fortunate there's a cabin at least."

Just in case, they'd brought provisions when leaving the castle. Berke had been guarding the glacier for a very long time, and manuals and backpacks for glacier inspections were always prepared. Though they mostly consisted of items to maintain body temperature.

Even the small cabin was stocked with dry firewood and a small stove, thick blankets and bedding, and a bed frame to avoid the cold rising from the floor, along with preserved food supplies.

A blizzard wouldn't last the entire season.

They could endure long enough.

The problem was time.

Kallis had to return by the date, by the hour, no matter what.

'If only we hadn't come out.'

Even with regret, it couldn't be undone.

"Kallis?"

"Lina."

Lina's eyes widened as she watched Kallis suddenly don his dried cloak. Kallis, fastening his cloak tightly, spoke to Lina sitting on the bed.

"I need to try returning to the castle."