COARV Chapter 19

Kallis Haneton burst in as though he'd sprinted the entire way. He stiffened the moment he spotted Lesche, his expression hardening like cooling wax.

Lesche raised one eyebrow slightly.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to escort the saint."

"The saint? Why is the saint here again?"

"...I don't know either."

The mere thought of that mysterious saint made exhaustion rise in Lesche first. He hadn't received any report that the saint had come to this annex. But nothing good could come from putting Seria and the saint together. He couldn't fathom why the saint kept seeking Seria out.

Lesche moved to enter immediately. He would have, if Kallis's words hadn't caught his ankle.

"Your Grace the Grand Duke. When exactly will you divorce Seria?"

A laugh escaped him—ha. Lesche turned back. His eyebrow twitched. Red eyes fixed on Kallis with unmistakable displeasure.

"Divorce?"

"Your Grace. Seria was my fiancée."

"Whatever Lady Stern's past was, she's my wife now."

"Your Grace!"

Kallis ground his teeth.

"You haven't received official imperial approval, have you? According to imperial law, until you receive approval, Seria is Seria Stern, not the Grand Duchess of Berke. I'm truly grateful that you saved her life. I'll repay the debt sufficiently in Haneton's name."

"How amusing. Why would you repay Lady Seria's debt on her behalf?"

Lesche sneered.

"You and Seria are nothing to each other, aren't you? Therefore, there's no reason to repay anything."

Nothing to each other. Kallis's face hardened at those words. He clenched his fists. The black eyes struggling to swallow anger merely irritated Lesche. Was he going to throw down a handkerchief here? There couldn't be a more ridiculous farce.

"I plan to divorce the saint. Also, I'm the only man who received formal marriage permission from Marquess Keliden. With all due respect, Your Grace, did you contact Marquess Keliden separately?"

Contact, frozen hell. This was a marriage he'd rushed into to save a life—as if he'd considered such things.

Lesche found the Kallis before him newly detestable. Wasn't he the cause of all this tangled mess? Distracted by the saint. After making a covenant, no less.

"For someone who left his fiancée's life to rot in the mud, your mouth certainly works well."

"Your Gra—!"

Kallis's fury-laced words didn't finish. The atmosphere inside the annex turned chaotic in an instant.

Only two people in Seria's annex could raise their voices this way.

Either Seria, or Lina.

Without another word to each other, both men entered the annex.

"No matter how pretty you are, your birth mother was nothing but a lowborn actress, wasn't she?"

A single line mentioned exactly once in the original.

At a ball, some noble's son was caught slandering Seria Stern's birth mother. The original Seria Stern, whose ignition point was already terribly low, was particularly sensitive to this topic.

No—correction. Not just sensitive. She went absolutely berserk like a crazed colt. Even a dog with rabies would surely be more docile.

Getting caught slandering her from behind like that... The noble's son didn't just get wine thrown in his face. The text described how he was dunked headfirst into a freshly tapped oak barrel.

After that, he retreated to the countryside and never set foot in the capital's social circles again.

Was that why?

Even though I was possessing Seria's body, whenever I encountered someone who mentioned my birth mother or met people from the Keliden marquisate, I simply couldn't control my anger. My whole body trembled as though I truly suffered from some rage disorder.

Only in those moments did I feel like the real Seria.

After coming to Berke territory for the wedding, it had never happened once. After becoming Marchioness Haneton, there would be even less chance, so I'd secretly expected never to experience such a thing again in my lifetime.

But...

"Seria, I like your origins! What does it matter if your mother was a commoner? I'm a commoner too when you think about it, and also..."

'There were no nobles or royalty in my world...' Lina murmured.

"So we're from the same background, you could say! So, um... Seria? Why are you like that? Why does your expression look so frightening..."

"......"

My body began to tremble.

Lina flinched under my direct gaze. Too late. My hand was already rising toward Lina's face, beyond my control.

Lina squeezed both eyes shut.

The fierce hand that seemed about to strike her flushed cheek—

Hit my own cheek instead.

"......"

Silence filled the room. I exhaled slowly, processing the shock that made stars flash before my eyes. My cheek hurt terribly from striking it with all my strength.

"Lina?"

"Yes? Yes!"

"Your teacher told you that story?"

Her teacher would be Baron Aison.

Sensing something ominous in my words, Lina pressed her lips tightly together. Clear tears welled in her large eyes.

"He didn't teach you that I hate hearing that topic most, I see."

"No... no! Don't be angry at my teacher. I misspoke, so be angry at me, Seria..."

Lina's tearful appearance was pitiable and innocent. In contrast, my reflection in the mirror was obviously the villain. Just a few days ago, if this dynamic had formed, I would have gasped in surprise and backed away, but now I wasn't sure.

How long must I keep bending and yielding?

The female lead and sub-male lead endlessly torment me, but if enduring and enduring and enduring doesn't work...

Isn't it legal at this point for me, the villainess, to get angry?

"Lina. You just told me to get angry at you instead, didn't you?"

"Yes? Yes... Be angry at me, Seria. I'm truly sorry. My teacher did nothing wrong..."

"Fine. Then."

I touched my swelling cheek as I spoke.

"I'll go to Marquess Haneton now. Then the priests. Then His Grace the Grand Duke."

"...What? Why those people..."

"I have to inform them that Lina insulted me, don't I?"

"Insulted... me?"

"Didn't that brilliant teacher of yours explain how great an insult it is to touch on sensitive family matters between nobles? Or perhaps you'd prefer a blood duel with my knight? I can gladly accept. As long as you don't mind my knight killing him."

My final words must have sounded particularly intense, because shock bloomed in Lina's eyes. Her clasped hands trembled violently.

"My teacher did nothing wrong. It's just, I just didn't know...!"

"Didn't know?"

I stared directly at Lina.

"Lina, no matter how much Kallis claims it's temporary, you're Marchioness Haneton, the saint, and a Stern like me. Don't you understand yet that someone in your position running her mouth carelessly creates difficulties for everyone?"

"Seria, I...!"

"You're not a three-year-old child, Lina. Isn't it time you clearly recognized your position?"

"...!"

Separate from the situations that made positive feelings toward Lina impossible, I could understand her on the surface. Of course she'd be confused—her world had suddenly turned upside down.

But who would dare treat the female lead Lina carelessly if she weren't already a predetermined villainess like me? In this perfect world where everyone, even the man who was my fiancé, showed extreme interest and protected her. Should I just stand still while the female lead's innocent blade stabs me right before my eyes?

Lina needed to recognize her position herself, the weight of her words.

This time I'd exercised my last patience and struck my own cheek to end it, but next time I might truly strike Lina's cheek. I really wanted to decline experiencing situations that made my whole body tremble with rage twice.

"Shall I go to Marquess Haneton and recite exactly what Lina said?"

Tears welled in Lina's eyes. She trembled, then finally murmured "I don't want that. I'm sorry..." before running out of the room.

"My, my. Causing trouble but unwilling to take responsibility—what a spoiled little princess."

Begonia's tongue-clicking voice brought me back to my senses a beat late.

Begonia, who hated losing elegant dignity more than anyone, and yet I'd acted like an absolute beast with my head boiling over. Though my anger hadn't subsided, I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I straightened my disheveled hair and was about to apologize to Begonia when something cold touched my cheek.

Begonia pressed some kind of silk pouch to my swelling cheek. She spoke in a crisp tone.

"Inside this is snowflake crystal. It's a semi-precious stone that maintains a temperature as cold as ice, so it's quite useful in situations like this."

"...You had something like this, Begonia."

"Whether male or female, any customer wearing Begonia Salon's main pieces cannot have a swollen face. It's a kind of emergency medicine."

"Is my cheek very swollen?"

Begonia confirmed with a perfunctory smile, then said:

"If you follow my instructions carefully from now on, you should just barely be able to attend the ball."

"What should I do?"

Begonia, who had secured the pouch containing snowflake crystal to my cheek, spun my shoulders around.

"Now, go outside and thoroughly enjoy Berke territory's winter wind for an hour. I can cover the rest with a bit of technique and cosmetics."

I pulled the cloak hood down to my nose tip before stepping outside. I naturally avoided the knights' gazes. They couldn't have missed the commotion inside, but I didn't particularly want to show them my swollen cheek.

I walked steadily down the annex's long corridor watching the floor, then exhaled. I'd realized I'd taken a wrong turn.

With my head full of unsubsiding anger, walking wherever my feet led, I'd entered a secluded area. The Berke Castle annex given to me was large and spacious enough for wealthy merchants to use as a villa. With doors branching in multiple directions, taking a wrong turn was possible.

I sighed deeply, spun around sharply, and just as I was about to go straight ahead—

I bumped into some hard chest. I gasped and stumbled, but firm hands caught my arms.

"...What are you doing?"

I looked up in confusion.

"Your Grace?"

Had I just bumped into Lesche's body? He was looking down at me with an odd expression.