Chapter 1 - Prologue
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****
“How is the Marquis?
“He’s not feeling well… I’ll go get a doctor.”
Kalis staggered into the Haneton residence.
Unlike the estate’s Haneton Castle, Haneton Manor, located in the Imperial Capital, was still untouched. The Marquis’s room was also still there, just tidied up after his mother’s death.
“Set up the bedroom just like in the estate’s.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
There wasn’t a servant who didn’t know that Kalis had been to the Grand Duchy of Berg today.
Therefore, no one was unaware of the fact that the order of Kalis was given keeping “Seria Stern” in mind.
Kalis returned to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. The wound had torn again and blood oozed from the bandage that covered the back of his hand.
Kalis had recently learned that pain can also be addictive.
The fact that the bigger addiction was to anesthetics was also a fact.
He thought about the good times he had with Seria, and each time he repeated them, he was able to forget the pain of reality. So much so that he began to think only of the time he was engaged to her.
He couldn’t believe that he was engaged to the woman whom he had been so frustrated with, bickering with each other.
And that he had fallen in love with her and proposed to her…
He laughed many times because he couldn’t really believe it.
He felt as if he was the protagonist of a popular novel.
It was hard, exciting, thrilling, unfamiliar, and best of all… Discovering Seria’s weakness, which he had never thought about before, was funny and heartbreaking.
It was also the case.
He learned that Seria was allergic to snake strawberries. Kalis ordered that all the snake strawberry vines inhabiting Haneton Castle and the mansion should be pulled out.
Kalis’s aide wanted his master to look good for Seria, who would become Haneton’s Marchioness. He deliberately came and reported that the order was completed while Kalis was having tea with Seria.
He had expected that Seria would not react badly upon hearing the aide’s report.
However, contrary to Kalis’s expectation, Seria blushed for a moment. The way she was smiling in panic was not like her at all.
Thanks to that, Kalis’s heart fluttered, too.
He could tell as he got closer. Seria’s apparent reputation as a rambunctious social dog made her very cold, but the truth was that she was not used to that kind of attention.
So he wanted to show her all the kindness and consideration he could. He also thought that if Seria’s cheeks blushed every time, he wouldn’t have a heart left in him…
He thought he’d have a lot of time together since he’d be living with her for the rest of his life.
However….
Kalis covered his bloodshot eyes with his hands.
“This time you will be late for Stern’s wedding. Even so, please give me one chance.”
If she hated him because she almost died, then he would do the same, no. He was willing to go beyond that.
“Because I don’t know how to forget you…”
Seria’s answer at that point was……
“Okay…”
That was when Kalis mumbled.
“Marquis? Marquis!”
The aide rushed inside with the doctor. Kalis was shocked by the sudden disappearance of Seria, who was right in front of his eyes.
“Ugh…”
Kalis groaned, holding his head. At the same time, the ‘real’ answer that Seria had really said to him came to his mind.
“It’s over. We’re over.”
It was her downcast eyes, her voice. It was real. Those words etched in Kalis’s brain were the real thing.
“Marquis! Stay with me!”
It wasn’t until the doctor hurriedly took care of him that Kalis came to his senses. He even replaced a new bandage on the back of his hand, which was also oozing blood.
“You’ll be in a lot of trouble if you keep this up, Marquis. Sleeping pills are not….”
“Marquis…?”
Kalis hadn’t been able to sleep for a long time and was prescribed sleeping pills. The problem was that the dosage increased exponentially, and the bigger problem was that he would hallucinate from time to time like this. This was because the weaker sleeping pills didn’t work and hallucinogenic sleeping pills were prescribed.
The two of them couldn’t help but realize that it was Seria that Kalis saw each time.
“Get out. I need to rest.”
“Yes…My Lord.”
They both looked depressed at the order of their weary master.
***
A few days later.
An unexpected guest arrived at the Berg residence in the Imperial Capital.
“Hello. I’m Nissos Kellyden.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
It was Nissos. He was both nervous and reluctant to be invited to the residence of one of the greatest aristocrats in the Imperial Capital.
It was not long ago that he received Seria’s letter telling him to visit Berg’s residence in the Imperial capital.
“The Grand Duchess is waiting for you.”
“…Yes.”
Ben’s polite response brought Nissos to his feet. Now he had dressed himself as neatly as he could, but he was not like this in Kellyden. Although he was not disorganized in his behavior like an ideal high ranking nobleman, he had lost his appetite and became quite thin.
It had been a while since Nissos didn’t say a word properly in the Kellyden’s castle.
The fact that his naughty sister (Seria), whom he hated so badly for a reason, was actually almost lost her life behind his back was shocking, but he couldn’t accept the fact that it was his brother (Cassius) who had done such a thing.
His mother was even angry at him and told him why he kept exposing problems that were already in the past…
And his father was busy putting things to rest.
In Berg, Kellyden continued to be penalized as if retaliating, and as the head of Kellyden, his father never showed any sign of taking responsibility and was only concerned with controlling the situation.
The old butler accepted his semi-forced retirement and left the castle. It was his father’s order.
That was the current state of Kellyden.
In fact, it was thanks to this appearance of his father, the master of the house, that Nissos persisted without wavering. But there were many times when he wanted to loosen up on his brother and mother, who were very close. ….
But he couldn’t do that.
This was because there was something that had been secretly bothering Seria when she was staying in Kellyden to inherit the estate.
She had inherited the estate in earnest and it was a gathering of relatives only. Seria, who was not close to him at all, suddenly grabbed him by the sleeve.
“Don’t go.” (Seria)
“What? Did you just catch me?” (Nissos)
“Yes. What if Cassius comes in? I don’t want to be with him.” (Seria)
“…So you’re saying that my brother is no good and I’m okay?” (Nissos)
“Yes.” (Seria)
“Are you crazy? Are you really Seria Kellyden?” (Nissos)
“It’s Seria Berg, not Seria Kellyden.” (Seria)
“Hey, let go of me.” (Nissos)
“Don’t go.” (Seria)
Seria didn’t let go of his sleeve until the very end, so Nissos ended up crumpling his hair and stood next to Seria with displeasure. However, Seria dumped him as soon as her knight arrived.
But what was wrong with staying with her for a while? She was a human too, so she must have been scared.
“Ugh….”
Nissos sighed and headed towards the annex where Seria was waiting for him.
“Then I will come for you later.”
“……?”
The door suddenly closed. Nissos became a little suspicious.
“A little later?”
Nissos looked around the large room. It was a very ornate prayer room, with stained glass windows. He couldn’t believe they decorated it to look like it belonged in a magnificent temple in a mansion. As expected, this was the family of a great nobleman who had Stern as his wife.
Seeing Seria’s back in front of the altar, Nissos approached her, scratching his nose.
”Hey, it’s been a while…ahhh.”
Nissos coughed up blood and fainted.
***
“He vomited blood. What do you think? Is he okay?”
The doctor said in a polite tone.
“Fortunately, the young master has no major physical abnormalities, just small signs of weak malnutrition.”
“I see. That’s good. You can leave.”
“Yes, Grand Duchess.”
The doctor left and Seria looked at the unconscious Nissos. This was the guest room of the Berg mansion. Nissos was lying on the bed in a daze.
”He’s definitely handsome.”
In order to become a member of Lina’s men, this level of appearance must be a basic element.
And he was…. well…he vomited blood.
Tuban said this was not in the book, but his habits had not gone anywhere. So Nissos was still classified as a side character to her.
Besides, Nissos hadn’t even met Lina, and yet he coughed up so much blood and fainted.
‘I predicted it to some extent.’
Duke Dietrich also hadn’t met Lina at this point in time. And yet, the Duke was struck by the circlet’s divine power and fainted.
Today, her experiment with Nissos was perfect.
It seemed that he reacted to the sacred power of the circlet in such a big way because of the relationship he had with Lina. The closer the position was to Lina, the greater the repercussions.
Therefore, Mies was clearly related to Lina.
Kalis could die on the spot.
Seria had an unpleasant expression.
Kalis Haneton.
The reason for not torturing Kalis with divine power when he came to visit her in person was complex, yet simple.
Like Duke Dietrich, she didn’t want to bother with the feeling that Kalis had or should have for Lina. What if, for some reason, Kalis didn’t like or love Lina any more? What’s next after that?
She didn’t want to be responsible for anything between them, either fight or passion.
Frankly, she wanted no part of it.
Seria sat down on the chair next to the bed. She thought about Tuban’s words.
‘What the hell is the moon? Am I the moon?’
She reached out to the sunlight pouring in through the window. But her skin didn’t shine mysteriously, it was just human skin.
She would get a definite answer when she untied the cloth that bound Tuban’s mouth. Until then, she had no choice but to preserve her physical strength well.
Staring at the unconscious Nissos, Seria opened her mouth.
“He’s not waking up…”
Almost at the same time, she heard a groan. She covered her eyes and frowned in a dry voice.
“What is this…?”
With a grunt, Nissos raised his head. He sat on the bed and looked at Seria who was puzzled, and asked back in a curious voice.
“I heard you talk behind my back. Why are you surprised?” (Nissos)
“I said that for you.” (Seria)
Sigh.
Nissos stood up and rubbed his face. Then, unexpectedly, he muttered.
“Anyway, why did I suffer so much because I thought this was pretty?”
‘A heartache?’
At that moment, suddenly, a scene from the original story flashed across her mind.
***
Reminder: They are still in Berg mansion in the capital.