CHAPTER 22

***

After listening to Abigail, Seria ran to look for Lesche.

"Seria?"

She turned around at the voice calling her name. Lesche ran over and grabbed her hand. She looked at him and raised a finger to her mouth, "Shh." There was no one behind him. It was worth it to secretly hand the servant a note with the jewel pin.

Seria quickly took Lesche's hand and led him to a quiet place.

"Lesche."

She finally got to see Lesche's face when she stopped near the wall of a quiet building without a constant stream of people. He hadn't been able to sleep for a long time…. He seemed to have lost some weight and it was heartbreaking.

"Why didn't you sleep?" (Seria)

Lesche didn't say anything, he just smiled calmly. He stared at Seria then hugged her tightly. She could feel his firm arms wrapped around her shoulders and back. Lesche pulled the hat Seria was wearing down. The hat on her cloak came off easily. The light cloak, made of thin fabric, was dark in color and specialized in disguise.

"Why did you come out dressed so suspiciously?" (Lesche)

"Because the priests might find out? I understand they are waiting outside your bedroom." (Seria)

"There are a number of high-ranking officials as well. Because of the unprecedented events of the Constellation Gold Mine." (Lesche)

"Didn't the High Priest come?"

Seria thought for sure he would come. Lesche said in a passing tone.

"When he said he would come, I refused to entertain him." (Lesche)

"You're probably the only noble in the entire continent who refuses to see the High Priest." (Seria)

Seria smiled, and a faint smile was painted on Lesche's lips as well.

"How did you come here?" (Lesche)

Seria pointed with her chin to the window of her room.

"I crawled down from the window."

"…What?"

"Bibi helped me."

Laughing in exasperation, Lesche looked Seria up and down.

"Please sit down."

"Yes. By the way, I need a place to sit. …."

This was a castle owned by the Duke of Polvas. Of course, she didn't know much about the geography of the garden. On top of that, she just concentrated on bringing Lesche to a deserted place.

For a while, they looked around for a place where there could be a bench. Seria's feet started to get tired. Then Lesche lifted her up in a tight embrace.

'Oh. This is how he meant to sit down.'

"Lesche, please forget what I said four days ago."

"…Hm?"

"Stern is actually… I had never gone mad because of my divine power. You are aware of the history of that, right?"

Of course no such historical record existed. Seria just threw it out there because she was worried that Lesche would misunderstand the story she was about to tell him as a manic's whining.

"I know."

"I thought I was inside a book." (Seria)

***

"Why is His Highness coming out of that bedroom?"

"He's on another floor, isn't he?"

There was a commotion.

The priests' eyes widened as Lesche Berg walked out from the unconscious Stern's bedroom. Obviously they remembered the Grand Duke was a temporary tenant of this castle (Polvas's castle).

Of course, they didn't have a fuse big enough in their livers to approach Lesche and ask him why he was leaving Stern's bedroom.

Above all else, Stern's safety was of utmost importance to them. The priests, who were only waiting for Seria to wake up, hurriedly asked their concerns as soon as Lesche moved away.

"Is the Grand Duchess awake?"

"May I come in?"

"I'm sorry, no."

Linon said politely.

"But I'll be setting up a temporary seat for you all in a few days, and you can meet the Grand Duchess then. And I assure you, there is nothing wrong with the Grand Duchess' health."

They will have a seat in a few days…

The priests scattered meekly, buzzing.

Perhaps it was because they had a common enemy, the demons, or perhaps it was because this was a religion where the evidence for God was diverse and visibly evident. They were good at compliance. And they were especially vulnerable to the most direct agents of God.

Typical examples were Stern, who was like a star spirit, and Lina, the Saintess who appeared recently but disappeared without a trace.

When Linon saw that all the priests had retreated, he gave a light silent bow to the knights guarding the gate as a sign of thanks for their hard work and stepped away.

There was no Lesche in the temporary office. Linon looked dumbfounded because it seemed that Lesche was coming this way.

"Your Highness?"

"He went to take a bath."

"All of a sudden?"

Linon tilted his head.

Just in time, the doctor he called earlier arrived. Linon asked the doctor about the health of the Grand Duchess. The answer came right back that she was absolutely stable for a few days.

"Absolutely stable? But she can't do anything, right?"

"Yes. She needs to rest. By the way, what's wrong? Is there a problem …."

"No."

Linon, being the lucid aide that he was, put that very thought out of his mind. And, fortunately, he received an answer that Seria could at least attend a meeting two days later. Linon immediately sent a subordinate aide to the priests.

"Your Highness!"

After the bath, Lesche came out wearing only a gown. Linon, who consulted with him and set the scheduled date for the meeting, bowed his head and stepped down.

"He looked a little upset. Did something happen? No way!" (Linon's thought)

He couldn't invade his superior's personal life, so he erased his thoughts from his mind.

Lesche raised his eyebrows slightly as he walked down the dark hallway to his bedroom. He was in a bad mood, just as Linon had guessed.

"She said it's not in the book…"

Lesche didn't break off once while Seria continued to speak. She seemed worried that he might think she was insane, but that couldn't be true. Seria can't be crazy. Then he'll be crazy too.

Lesche trusted her words more than expected. If Seria begged him to believe that she was actually a man, he would have believed it too.

So he didn't doubt that everything Seria said was true.

She said she turned back time.

Seria, herself, turned back time.

The problem was the Saintess.

When he heard in the prophecy that he had married the Saintess, he didn't think it was a big deal, apart from being unpleasant. Because it didn't happen. He was married to Seria and had no intention of divorcing her. So he had no connection with Lina.

But he couldn't believe it.

So that meant he married the Saintess before?

It was unpleasant even though it was an unknown past. Lesche let out a low sigh. Even so, the fact that Seria had told him a secret that she had been hiding the whole time was a factor that made him feel better.

There were also some words he liked. Seria said that she felt good when she was with him because she felt her Stern power from him.

She didn't usually say that to him. It felt like a tightening of his heart. He didn't know how long she had held on to everything so tightly in her hands.

"Seria. Was the reason why you didn't refuse me in bed just because of Stern's divine power?"

"Um….."

"There was no reason?"

Perhaps it was an unexpected question, Seria couldn't reply right away and only cast her eyes at him. A smile appeared on Lesche's mouth.

"It would be better if you responded to me for other reasons, Seria."

Seria turned her head and coughed.

"So. I'm good at it?" (Lesche)

What are you good at?" (Seria)

"You know." (Lesche)

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking." (Seria)

"No, really! Do you always have to ask with your mouth to make you feel better?" (Lesche)

Lesche eventually nuzzled his face into Seria's shoulder and erupted in laughter. Seria suddenly grabbed his face with both hands and lifted it. Then she just lowered her head and kissed him. Even with that, her breathing quickly faltered.

She had just woken up, so the light kiss was understandable.

The problem was that Seria stroked his thighs with her foot.

Lesche froze in place. She only lightly touched the spot where he surfaced, but the area around his neck shook as if his whole body had been electrified.

Seria grabbed his hand as Lesche was about to touch her and laced her fingers together, then said seriously.

''I can't do it for a few days. The doctor says I need absolute rest." (Seria)

"Are you trying to get back at me?" (Lesche)

"No, of course not." (Seria)

It was too much for just those words. Lesche believed it was torture, not revenge. A low sigh mixed with a groan naturally flowed out. Every time Seria touched his thighs with her foot, the area around his neck shook. Seria was missing an important fact right now, it had been almost over two weeks since she went to the mine…

(*two weeks without s*x ?)

Lesche caught Seria's foot. Seria's shoes, which Lesche had taken off, fell to the floor and tumbled. Seria was embarrassed.

Holding onto the bare feet that were revealed, Lesche gently pressed them between his thighs. Her toes shrank, but he didn't let go.

One moment, Seria's back was touching the wall.

"Ha…."

Seria moaned as Lesche's tongue penetrated roughly the inside of her mouth. Her hands were on Lesche's chest, but she didn't push it out at all. Seria's shaking legs were still being held tightly by his hands, stroking down Lesche's hard manhood. After a long kiss, Seria was barely released. Her chest went up and down significantly.

He didn't know how much he kissed her that way. Seria's white foot also could not leave Lesche's thighs for a long time.

That was why Lesche had to go to the bathroom immediately after sending Seria back to her room. (*to release ?)

"Your Highness."

The maid in the bedroom bowed her head. Lesche gestured her to leave and then went to bed.

Seria, of course, was already asleep. Her pale cheeks, which had made Lesche shivered with lust, were red. It went without saying that she looked much better this way. Lesche kissed the sleeping Seria's forehead. Then he hugged her in his arms and went to sleep.

***

*They are still at the Polvas' temporary residence