The Tragedy of The Villainess

There were so many seats available in the prayer room, why did he stop behind her? Seria was dumbfounded.
The moment she left her seat and walked past Lesche.
He immediately grabbed her hand.

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“Where are you going?” (Lesche)

“I finished praying.” (Seria)

“I was told you had just come in.” (Lesche)

“Um….”

“Why did you pray so short?” (Lesche)

Seria glanced at  the altar.
Then she smiled as she looked at Lesche.

“You didn’t know? Stern is allowed to do this.”

Lesche chuckled and opened his mouth.

“I have a question for Stern.”

“What is it?”

“What should I do when my faith is about to sink to the bottom?”

“What?”

Seria blinked.
She thought he was joking…but she realized that he was not.
There was a smile on Lesche’s face, but no mischievousness.

“….Lesche? What’s going on?”

Lesche didn’t answer right away, but stared at Seria.
She didn’t urge him either.
How long has it been? Lesche finally spoke with a low sigh.

“The temple is trying to eat you up.”

“What? Is it because of the request?”

It was true that High Priest Jubelud came to Seria earlier and politely asked for a favor.

“Now, I officially request Stern to use her divine power once more.
It is for the purpose of verifying the sacred power of the Saint, so please help us.”

Seria scratched her cheek in panic.

“I told Linon that….Didn’t you hear me? As Stern, I can’t refuse the High Priest’s kind request.”

Stern was not obligated to inspect the frozen lake.
There was also an unspoken obligation to cooperate with anything of importance that was recorded in the Bible or the Trust.

In any case, Stern belonged to the Temple.
Just as the priests could not refuse Stern’s earnest request, the same was true of the opposition.

“Just do it this one time and don’t do it again.” (Lesche)

Seria chuckled.

“Okay.”

“I’m not kidding, Seria.”

“All right, all right.
And Lesche, it’s okay because my power paid off well.”

That’s right.

Apart from her suspicions about Lina, the temple had given Seria an expensive townhouse in the imperial capital and helped her through the process without complaining about her idea of making Stern her last name.
So she had no bad memories about the temple.

Lesche frowned.
He carefully stroked Seria’s cheek with his hand and said.

“The priests are waiting for you outside.
They asked me to bring you out.”

“What? Why?”

Lesche didn’t answer right away, but held out his arm to her.
She couldn’t help but put her hand on it.

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“You can see for yourself, Seria.
What’s going on?”

***

‘You really are in trouble, priests.’

Seria sat down at the same table as Lina.
The courtyard, which was one of the most famous and beautiful places in the Great temple.

At the tea tables, High Priest Jubelud and the priests were also sitting with nervousness on their faces.
At Lina’s side was Kalis with his chin and cheeks still bandaged, and at Seria’s side sat Lesche.

There was another person sitting at this table, where the high priests were constantly exchanging glances.

“Myote Stern.”

Seria raised her eyebrows softly.

This was called the Feast of Sterns.

The Great Temple was frequented by many nobles and royalty from other countries, but they were also interested in Stern’s whereabouts.
The Sterns coming together in one place was also an extraordinary thing.

It was understandable why they had arranged for such an occasion, despite their reluctance to let Seria and Lina meet each other.

“I’m sorry for the delay in congratulating you on your wedding, Grand Duchess.
I am very grateful to you for relieving me of my obligation to go to Berg.” Said Myote, setting down her teacup.

Her voice was very regal, but Seria knew that because she had met Myote several times.
That was really a sign of gratitude.

When Myote beckoned, the priests standing behind her brought out some boxes.

“This is a congratulatory gift.
Well, you’re already the Grand Duchess of Berg, so this is nothing much.”

“Even if I’m not satisfied, I can’t just throw it away.
Thank you?”

“Don’t throw it away.”

The conversation between Myote and Seria ended briefly like that.

Lina seemed troubled a bit without saying anything.
So did Lesche and Kalis.
No one said a word.

“Please come and visit us often, Grand Duchess.”

Seria smiled faintly at High Priest Jubelud’s words.

“I will.”

“You always say that.”

It was about this time that the conversation continued.

Lina opened her mouth.

“My, Myote Stern.”

“Yes.”

Lina flinched at the icy tone.

But Lina’s expression tightened.

“I hope you’ll come to visit the temple often too.”

“Visit the temple?”

Myote asked back in a cold tone.
Lina wouldn’t know it yet, but Myote was cold and arrogant.

“There must be something wrong with you, Saintess.
For me, the Great Temple is a home, not a place to visit, but a place to return to.”

“Oh, it’s not like that…”

“You speak as if you’re the temple’s owner.”

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

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“Saintess, don’t be so surprised.
If you were truly blessed with the child of god, then you could become the master of the High Temple, right?”

“……?”

Lina had a confused look on her face.
But Myote didn’t say anything, she only drank her tea.

After a while.

“I heard some interesting things on the way here.”

“Oh.
What was it about? Was there an interesting story?”

High Priest Jubelud asked, observing the atmosphere carefully.

“I heard that the Saintess proposed to the Grand Duchess?”

“…….”

Clank.

Seria looked sideways at Lesche, almost reflexively.
It was Lesche who had just placed the cup down loudly.

What was surprising was that Lina did the same, she had a scowling look on her face.

“Is there a problem with the Saintess that made you propose to a married woman?”

“That’s… Just out of anger…”

“Don’t try to destroy a family just out of spite, Saintess Lina.
Peace in the home is probably one of the most important virtues to emphasize in the Great Temple.”

“…….”

In order to grasp Lina’s weakness, Seria said she would consider Lina’s proposal, something she would never bring up.
So she had to give up a little.

‘Sterns really do have amazing personalities.’

That’s true, and Myote didn’t say those things to get on Seria’s good side.
Lina was in a bit of a bad mood, so she did it to make things difficult.

“So, have you apologized? Saintess.”

“Apologize…?

“You shouldn’t embarrass fellow Stern.
And that’s out of anger too.
And….”

Myote said with her characteristic smug expression.

“Didn’t you and Marquis Haneton almost kill Stern just a few months ago?”

“……!”

Lina’s face flushed white.

“Well, I…”

Myote glanced at Lina’s stomach.

“I heard that it will take three months before they can test to see if it is divine power or not.
I’ll be sure to congratulate you then.
I heard there’s a possibility that it’s not.”

“…The probability that it is not is said to be very low.”

“The odds of there are three Sterns in the same time period are also very low.
Saintess.”

“Myote Stern is…Why do you talk like that?”

“What?”

“You say as if you don’t want it to be divine power.”

As Lina said this, Myote’s gaze turned to High Priest Jubelud.
The High Priest sweated profusely and soothed Lina.

“Saintess.
That’s not what Myote Stern meant.”

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High Priest Jubelud gave Myote a look asking her to move on just once.
Myote crossed her arms and leaned her back against the backrest.

High Priest Jubelud hastily changed the subject.

“So, Saintess.
The person who will accompany you  to the sacred tree should naturally be Marquis Haneton, right?”

Lina was about to nod, when she suddenly looked at Kalis and said,

“I’m not going with Kalis.”

“What?”

“I want to go with someone else.”

“……?”

Kalis looked perplexed.

“Who do you have in mind?”

“Grand Duke Berg.”

“Lina!”

Kalis hissed and gritted his teeth.
It seemed that the pain in the bandages had risen.
Lina looked down at the white table and said.

“Kalis is not feeling well right now, so I want Grand Duke Berg.”

“…….”

Silence fell.

Lesche, who had been holding Seria’s hand for a while and not letting go, tapped the back of her hand lightly with his thumb.
Linon said that this was something Lesche would do when he was about to run out of patience.

“So….”

Lesche glanced at Lina and asked with a weary expression.

“You want me to take responsibility for you?”

Lina flinched and looked at High Priest Jubelud.
High Priest Jubelud looked pale.

Seria slowly alternated her gaze between Lina and High Priest Jubelud.

She did not participate in the fight and watched silently.
For it was Myote and Lina who were in the swordless war.
Her past was just a means to an end.

‘By the way, did I look sweet to Lina?’

“Lina.”

Lina turned at Seria’s call.
High Priest Jubelud did the same.
An awkward silence fell over the table.

“How much more of this coercion do I have to endure?”

“It’s not forced…”

“You want to take my husband, why? What are you going to do?”

“I’m just going to make him take responsibility for his actions.”

“How dare you, to my husband.”

Lina’s eyes widened, but she straightened her shoulders and said,

“I don’t think “dare” is the right word, Seria.”

“Why is that?”

“We’re both Stern, and I’m also…I’m officially the only saint, aren’t I?”

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“I don’t think you understand me at all.
Lina.”

Seria said coldly.

“I meant that it’s funny that a Saint who has never taken responsibility before would dare to talk about responsibility like this.”

“……!”

Lina’s face turned blue.
She was too stunned to say anything.
That was true.
She really hadn’t taken any responsibility for her actions in all that time.
Most recently, she had proposed to Seria out of anger, and before that, she went to the glacier with Kalis….

Since Myote mentioned the latter earlier, it must be the first thing that comes to the minds of the people here now.
Lina did the same.

But the moment someone at the table mentioned this conversation again, she could have said that she meant Lina’s impulsive proposal a few days ago, and that would have been the end of it.

‘Because I am not dumb enough to mention that scandal with my own mouth.’

“And, Lina, think carefully about how much all your actions so far have dishonored Marquis Haneton.”

Seria said coldly.

“It’s childish and ugly to be so stubborn in a duel that’s already over, something not even a 10 years old child would do in society.”

“…….”

Seria kept her gaze fixed on Lina, who could not say anything, and continued.

“High Priest Jubelud.”

“…Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“Three months from now, it will be autumn.
How can you expect my busy husband to help move it to the sacred tree…”

Seria asked gruesomely, trailing off the words for a long time.

“Do you mean that he should neglect his duties as Grand Duke of Berg for the Great Temple?”

High Priest Jubelud was as pale as a corpse.

“Am I wrong? Is the Great Temple planning to do that?”

Seria raised her lips in a smile.
The priests standing behind High Priest Jubelud shook their shoulders.

“Berg is busy enough as it is with his duty to protect the glacier, he has absolutely no time to listen to the Saintess’s selfishness.”

“……!”

Lina jumped up from her seat.
She left her seat and ran away at a fast pace.

“Saintess!”

High Priest Jubelud hurriedly followed Lina.
The priests rearranged the seats, not knowing what to do.

Kalis and Lesche were the first to be separated.

Seria and Myote sat at the table for a little longer because they were Stern.

Sipping the cold tea, Myote said in a passing tone.

“The Saintess is amazing, isn’t she? It’s my first time being treated like this after awakening as a Stern.”

Seria replied lightly.

‘’It won’t end once or twice.”

“Well, that’s unpleasant.
I’m sure the Grand Duchess will be fine, she’s leaving first.”

The faces of the priests behind them hardened in bewilderment at Myote’s outspoken words.
Of course, Seria didn’t mind at all, and neither did Myote.

Seria emptied her teacup and then walked over to Lesche, who was waiting for her.

Lesche stood there with his arms crossed, staring at the empty seat of High Priest Jubelud with an unknown expression.