COARV Chapter 6

True to an isekai-dimension-travel heroine, Lina displayed considerable modest and gentle charm throughout the story. Perhaps because of this, she never grew accustomed to the luxurious, indolent bathing services typical of nobles. So she always dismissed the maids trying to wash her and bathed herself.

Thanks to this, she discovered the star-shaped mark on her body quite late. Understandable, given the mark's location—inside her thigh? Somewhere really awkward, if memory served.

Come to think of it, that's strange.

How did Seria find out about something like that?

Anyway, the original Seria held a powerful belief that Lina couldn't possibly be a Stern. So she thought nothing would happen even if Lina touched celestium. Not a thought born from kindness.

Simply because no one wished more fervently than Seria that Lina wasn't a Stern.

So with thoughts like surely not, can't be, and if she isn't I'll mock her, I'll establish my position this way, she made Lina touch the celestium...

The result? Ta-da. Lina was a Stern after all.

Everything precious always belongs to the heroine. From then on, Seria—already half-mad—went completely insane. She committed all sorts of evil deeds in earnest, then got her head chopped off shortly after.

She never appeared in the original again after that.

'Need to be careful. Careful...'

I'd hurry to Haneton territory and bury myself there, never emerging while the original story progressed to its conclusion. Reaffirming my life plan, I headed out to meet the waiting noble ladies.

"Goodness! The ceremony hall is so beautiful!"

"They said a Stern's wedding venue would be filled with stars, and it's true!"

"Stern means star, doesn't it?"

The noble ladies' eyes sparkled as they toured the ceremony hall in a daze. They were ladies from Haneton territory who'd just arrived yesterday. After hosting a small tea party as welcome, we'd heard preparations had just finished and come to view the venue together.

It was a beautiful ceremony hall.

The ceiling soared high, opening two floors. Crystal chandeliers fell like water droplets, brimming with life. Elegant gold-leafed marble columns and angel sculptures singing. White muslin draped long from the ceiling like clouds.

Best of all, dozens of metal banners decorated with what looked like scattered gold dust glittered everywhere. Those unique decorations, given only by the Grand Temple for a Stern's wedding, carried deep tradition and something or other...

'...I read about it in the original, but it's prettier seeing it in person.'

It hadn't been like this when I'd toured on the first day. Even then it had exuded a luxurious, dignified atmosphere, but now it was just... Saint? Dazzlingly gorgeous enough for a saint's wedding.

The priests wouldn't have decorated like this—did Kallis order it?

Too cold for a garden tea party. Still, the annex Berke Castle opened was magnificent, allowing us to enjoy a quite pleasant tea party.

Plus the pastry chef's skills were incredible. Though Lesche himself—the actual owner—didn't particularly like or enjoy sweets, the original said he'd hired a skilled pastry chef for rather cute reasons. Lucky me. The noble ladies chatted while tasting éclairs drizzled generously with chocolate.

"Lady Stern. Haneton territory is truly beautiful. It even has several large theaters."

"The only thing lacking was the absence of a lady of the house..."

"Now Lady Stern will become the Marchioness of Haneton!"

These noble ladies were kind to me. Probably to curry favor with me, the soon-to-be Marchioness of Haneton. Well, no reason to dislike people treating me well to my face.

'Better to be friendly with people I'll keep seeing after moving to Haneton territory.'

Besides, winning over the lady of any household was always best. Nothing good came from offending noble ladies.

The petite tea party was quite enjoyable.

The melody played by a baroness skilled at harp lingered in my ears throughout. Humming, I gathered silver laurel branches. These silver laurel branches were essential for glacier inspections. Unlike common laurel, their leaves glittered silver.

Just as pure silver, salt, soft iron, and sage herbs burned in flame were said to purify spaces, these silver laurel branches purified the glacier—a demonic beast tomb—and strengthened the barrier. Because they showed some limited effect even against celestium's temperature drop, knights during a Stern's absence used to carry silver laurel branches as substitutes.

'If a Stern were a plant, they'd be exactly like a silver laurel tree.'

Plant a silver laurel branch in the glacier's snowfield and return later to find it blackened and dead. So the more frequently you planted fresh silver laurel branches during inspections, the more dramatically the chance of demonic beasts appearing decreased.

Naturally, most Sterns didn't particularly enjoy this task. The glacier in winter held northern cold and was bitterly freezing. But I didn't mind going to the glacier all that much. My reputation climbed steadily just from diligently making these trips—no reason to dislike it.

A miserable death growing more distant was a good thing. I was energetically gathering silver laurel branches when—

"You look cheerful, my lady."

I flinched and turned around. Silver hair glittering like snow, blood-red eyes. Unrealistically beautiful features.

"Your Grace."

Lesche. His crimson eyes fixed on me, so I bowed my head lightly.

"Haneton's vassal couples have nearly all arrived, it seems. The castle was quite lively."

'...Was it loud?'

"I'll be more careful."

"That's not what I meant."

"Pardon?"

Raising my bowed head, I dropped the silk pouch I'd been holding. The silver laurel branches inside scattered on the floor.

I crouched down, flustered. Mortifying, squatting here before this man—so awkward, status far too elevated. I wanted to die of embarrassment. Never mind the dust—I tried to hastily sweep everything up and leave when those long legs bent in front of me.

Long fingers carefully gathered the silver laurel branches. What kind of situation was this...

"The pouch."

"Yes."

Lesche took the silk pouch from me and put the silver laurel branches inside.

"Thank you, Your Grace."

I bowed and turned immediately, but Lesche's voice followed.

"Going out to the frozen lake today too?"

"Yes, Your Grace. I promised to go with Sir Elliot."

"I don't understand."

"Pardon?"

Lesche stared at me like observing a rare creature.

"I understand Linon paid considerable attention to the Stern's ceremony hall. Is it still insufficient?"

Insufficient—what did that mean?

"You don't need to check the glacier again so diligently."

Linon—I knew that name. Lesche's chief aide, a man who played quite the comic relief role in the original. That he prepared it meant...

"...Your Grace prepared it."

So Lesche decorated the ceremony hall as thanks for checking the glacier. Well, the original male lead had a clear personality about rewards and punishments.

No wonder the venue was prettier and more luxurious than I'd expected. I'd thought Kallis had paid extra attention.

"Wasn't that what you wanted by working so hard? You used to scream whenever something displeased you every time you came to the castle."

Lesche spoke with an indifferent expression.

"Never in front of me, but the servants all fell ill with stress after attending you. Over a hundred of them."

"......"

Seria, please.

Cold sweat was about to break out.

What do you do to make over a hundred servants fall ill with stress?

What I knew were fragmentary memories remaining in Seria's body. Fortunately, learning, knowledge, and habits remained perfectly intact. Otherwise all those uniquely noble lady mannerisms would have completely evaporated—thank goodness.

So thank goodness I could immediately produce even this awkward smile.

"I'll check even more diligently to make up for those hundred who suffered."

Lesche smiled faintly.

'He's smiling?'

So he knew how to smile. I stared openly, finding that smile genuinely unfamiliar.

"It'll be somewhat regrettable when you leave for Haneton."

I doubted my ears for a moment.

Regrettable? Who? That Lesche about me?

Whether I stared at him with a strange expression or not, Lesche added while checking several boxes, "Next year's Stern won't work like you do."

"Ah."

Right, no other Stern would check the glacier daily for a whole week like me.

'Still, hearing words like that from the male lead feels kind of... like a life insurance certificate.'

I smiled a little. Hope welled up—that if I worked hard when I came the year after next too, the ruin ending would truly recede forever.

Hope comes with motivation. Even though I braved cheek-stinging cold to visit the glacier that day too, my mood was far better than usual.

When I returned to my room, an unexpected gift awaited me.

"Miss! So many gifts arrived!"

"Look!"

My two assigned personal maids were excited.

"Didn't we already sort through all the nobles' gifts yesterday?"

"These are new ones Marquess Haneton sent!"

"Kallis did?"

"Yes! Look, these sapphires are so clear and deeply colored! Plus silk, ribbons made by imperial designers, a chapeau, precious bird tail feathers..."

"We could open a dress atelier, couldn't we?"

After selecting a few gifts to distribute to Haneton territory's noble ladies tomorrow, I tilted my head slightly.

Searching my memory, I opened the innermost of Seria's travel trunks to find a glittering bracelet.

"Wrap this for me."

"It's a demonic crystal bracelet."

"Isn't this extremely precious? Are you giving it to Marquess Haneton?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my!"

"Understood! How about personally writing the Marquess's name and putting it inside?"

"Right!"

"Do I need to go that far?"

"Since you're giving a gift anyway, better if the recipient receives it happily, right?"

"That's... true."

I followed the maids' suggestion.

The maids seemed moved, but actually, um.

'You don't know, girls.'

Seria had almost no money.

'It's not that she has no money.'

Precisely—she had no personal savings accumulated.