COARV Chapter 4

I could feel Elliot looking at Lesche with horrified eyes. If Lesche weren't his liege lord, Elliot looked ready to grab him by the collar.

Calm down, calm down. If you do that, you'll die and I'll die too.

"Your Grace."

I answered as calmly as possible.

"That wasn't my intention. And even if I caught frostbite instead of the flu, I won't call for the priestess again."

Lesche asked in a sardonic voice:

"Would your fiancé agree to that?"

"Probably."

'Kallis seems busy with Lina anyway.'

"Because of that saint?"

Unexpected, but an accurate assessment of the situation.

"Is Marquess Kallis Haneton having an affair with that ignorant saint?"

"……."

My politely clasped hands trembled slightly. Being a perceptive knight, he must have noticed my disturbance. Lesche Berke said nothing.

A brief silence passed, then he turned to look at Elliot.

"Elliot."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Is the lake inspection complete?"

"Yes! Thanks to Miss Seria Stern's efforts, everything has been thoroughly checked."

The deliberate praise was obvious. I resolved to call Elliot an angel from now on.

Lesche gazed at the distant edge of the lake for a moment. Seeing his profile, I truly felt it.

'He really is the male protagonist.'

His snow-white silver hair suited this snowfield perfectly. So cold, and his manner of speaking so irritating. Yet the reason countless ladies admired Lesche Berke—too many to count—was that face.

A truly radiant appearance.

"Let's head back."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Elliot (the angel) immediately turned toward where we'd tied the horses. I was about to follow when—

Whump.

I froze at the warmth enveloping my body. Understanding came a beat late. Lesche Berke had removed his outer garment and draped it roughly over my shoulders with his own hands.

"Best to prevent a precious Stern from catching the flu."

Without waiting for my thanks, he moved away on those long legs with ground-eating strides. I blinked blankly for a moment before hurrying to follow.

The male protagonist's coat was rather—no, extremely—large.

The Gleick Empire had an unusual structure.

Centered on a massive central plain, flatlands extended in all four directions—north, south, east, and west. Stern mountain ranges divided these plains.

Of these lands forming an equilateral cross, the north was too cold and barren for habitation. Most people lived on the eastern, western, and southern plains.

And the central plain.

Though this plain was vast, the bordering mountain ranges were particularly treacherous. Most importantly, it contained the frozen lake—the glacier—making it periodically dangerous. Naturally, the empire's capital had relocated to the safe and prosperous south, while the watchman family that stayed to guard the central frozen lake and land remained behind.

That family was the Berkes.

This was why the head of the Berke family was called a 'Grand Duke.'

'So he's Grand Duke Lesche Berke.'

Befitting an ancient sacred house, certain vows and ceremonies could only be conducted in this territory.

One of these was a Stern's wedding. The reason I was in this castle with Kallis before the wedding.

'It's the most convenient gathering place for nobles anyway.'

Curiously, the locations where Sterns could perform marriage vows were limited. Something about divine power, I'd heard. One of these places was this Berke territory. Theoretically speaking, a Stern could hold a sacred wedding anywhere in these central lands.

Of course, there was no need for such a thing. Berke's main castle had maintained a wedding hall exclusively for Sterns for hundreds of years.

Actually, I'd wanted to avoid holding the wedding in this territory if possible. I'd come only because circumstances left no choice.

'This is supposed to be where the heroine and hero hold their ending wedding.'

Right. At the novel's ending, Lina and Lesche held their wedding at Berke territory's main castle.

The reason?

Because Lina was actually a Stern too!

Truly befitting a novel designed for the heroine, every setting was stacked in her favor. The secret that Lina was a Stern didn't come out until the novel's middle-to-late sections, but still.

How the original Seria had raged when this was revealed hardly needed explanation. She'd thought it was her unique trait, but Lina—that eyesore—was also a Stern.

For Seria, who'd lived for her own superiority, this would have been an unbearable truth.

So the wicked villainess Seria had kidnapped Lina to torture and kill her.

'But I'm not that insane villainess from the original anymore, am I?'

When Lina's Stern identity was revealed, it was finally time for some smooth sailing. Until then, Lina suffered tremendously through the early and middle parts. And it wasn't just Lina suffering. The male protagonist got thoroughly beaten down too. The starting point for that miserable suffering was coming up soon, I think….

I was walking while frowning when—

"Miss Seria."

At the sudden voice, I turned around.

"Bibi!"

A bright smile bloomed naturally.

"You're back?"

"Yes, miss. I just returned moments ago."

Abigail Orien. Nickname: Bibi.

She returned my greeting with a gentle smile and warm eyes—my guard knight. I leaned close to Abigail's ear and whispered:

"You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"Oh, miss."

Abigail smiled softly and whispered back:

"I told you I only touch criminals."

"Mm."

Right. That's what she'd said.

The Black Knight, Abigail Orien. She was actually a former assassin, a prisoner who'd nearly been executed at the temple. Now she'd washed her hands of that life and sworn eternal loyalty as my knight, but her past was quite colorful.

"Bibi, how was the demonic beast subjugation this time?"

"Same as always. The celestium armor was cold as ice—I missed you, miss."

I smiled faintly at Abigail's words.

Celestium Iron armor. This was one of the reasons for a Stern's existence. Fighting demonic beasts that spewed demonic energy required a specific metal.

That was 'Celestium Iron'—or Astra Iron Armour. Without armor made from this, the body would rapidly succumb to demonic malice, poisoning.

If treatment was delayed, victims would die covered in mottled marks.

To prevent this, celestium armor was considered essential for knights. But celestium, being god-given metal, grew exponentially colder the longer it touched human flesh. Sterns were the supernatural beings who could counteract this.

If celestium armor was worn too long without a Stern present, the wearer's body would grow progressively colder until they froze to death.

Their body heat would be stolen while they still lived.

'So that's why Lesche Berke called me a precious Stern.'

As the head of the Berke family guarding the central territory, he understood the importance of Sterns more acutely—at least according to the original.

Remembering the coat Lesche Berke had draped over me, I hunched my shoulders slightly. Abigail immediately asked:

"Miss, are you cold?"

"No. I'm not cold. I said I'm not cold."

"Just wear it anyway."

Abigail instantly wrapped her outer garment around my shoulders. Befitting a former assassin, her hands moved too fast—I hadn't even seen her move. I carefully grasped the coat Abigail had kindly wrapped around me so it wouldn't fall.

"Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. I can strip for you anytime you're cold, miss."

At those words, I flinched—a reaction that made me want to sigh. The reason felt too petty. How long would I keep thinking about Lina and Kallis? I pushed aside that awkward feeling—like glimpsing a hidden skeleton in a drawer—and walked on.

Abigail asked, "I heard from the other knights on my way. You've been going out every day to check the glacier?"

"About a week? That's all I've checked."

"Don't you know how remarkable even that is? You've even caught a cold—please stop going."

'Then my forehead might get split open….'

I wanted to avoid the original's destructive ending, but I also wanted to avoid the minor misfortunes destined for Seria Stern. Naturally. So at least until after the wedding, before leaving for Haneton territory, I'd dutifully check the glacier every day.

Besides, stopping now would be somewhat awkward.

'The retainers' eyes are getting softer.'

The Berke territory's retainers uniformly disliked Seria. Hated her. If Seria weren't a Stern, they would've found some way to expel her from the castle. She'd been so difficult every year when she visited—naturally they'd resent her.

But after just one week of daily glacier inspections, those unfriendly gazes were gradually warming.

'They're probably saving a lot of money.'

Having a Stern present meant you could bring as many knights in celestium armor as you wanted. The inspection team normally required about thirty knights—now reduced to just one.

Considering how expensive knights were, the financial benefit was substantial.

I was honestly grateful that I—no, that Seria—was a Stern. I could demonstrate my usefulness so tangibly and immediately.

I needed to imprint that I was indispensable. So please don't cut my head in half. Please.

I want to live.

"Lady Seria! You've arrived?"

"Sir Elliot!"

Elliot (the angel), already waiting at the stables, saw Abigail beside me and gave a slight nod.

Abigail returned the silent greeting, then whispered quietly in my ear:

"You've been doing glacier inspections with that knight?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't look weak."

'He's the Berke knight commander…?'

"Not bad as a spare life for you, miss. You chose well."

But Abigail's assessment was merely leisurely. She took my horse's reins and said:

"I'll stable this one and return, miss."

"Mm, thank you, Bibi."

"Think nothing of it."

I stroked my horse's muzzle. It nuzzled my face with a soft whinny.

Abigail led the horse inside with practiced skill, and I approached Elliot (the angel). He was tilting his head while watching Abigail's retreating back.

"She looks quite strong."

"Who? Sir Abigail?"

"Yes. Your knight."

"Sir Elliot judges her that way?"

"That's how she appears to my eyes."

Elliot (the angel) had a mild temperament, but his skill was exceptional. Befitting Berke's knight commander, he boasted outstanding ability. In the original, he was described as talent even the capital's dukes coveted. One duke had supposedly stacked gold like a tower trying to recruit Elliot (the angel).

For such a man to say she looked quite strong.

Abigail, just how strong are you?

"Where did you find such a knight, my lady?"

Haha, the Grand Duke's knight commander was coveting my knight. I couldn't exactly say it was a transmigrator's privilege from reading the original. I smiled and adjusted the coat Abigail had wrapped around me.