Sponsored by Tulvander ? (3/3)
10. Obsession or regret.
***
*This chapter is a little confusing. Sorry in advance*
***
‘Ha, I'm finally done.'
A full-scale excavation and transaction agreement for a large constellation gold mine had been signed. In any case, the constellation gold mine had never been mined by a single individual before. This was not because of any legal issues at stake, but because of the fact that only the Ministerial Palace possessed the technology, equipment, and workers that could process the mine.
It was not that others hadn't thought about introducing that technology. However, the mine was very difficult to handle. Moreover, as the term "God-given metal" implied, it was a large amount of gold, and it was a real thing that could not be handled in other places other than the Great Temple, such as prayer and the sacred power of priests. That was why the Great Temple made it easy for the masses to access its technological city. But it was hard to copy it.
It would be better to pay a fee. There was another purpose that was more important to Seria anyway.
Seria had a more important goal in mind. She could use the constellation gold to make swords and weapons.
Since the amount of constellation gold was not so large in the past, it was more profitable to make another piece of constellation gold armor than to experiment with it.
Anyway, It was a definite answer to the experiment, and now mining was scheduled to begin smoothly.
“My lady."
Seria smiled when Abigail called her.
“It's been a long time since I've seen the Lady smile so brightly.”
Seria nearly spat out a mouthful of water and could barely keep it from spilling out.
With the amount of money scheduled to come and go on an all-time high, it would be hard for anyone to hold back a giggle, wouldn't it? Seria thought to herself, in all seriousness.
"Are you going to the auction again?"
The thrill of winning the bid for the last item at the highest price! Seria couldn’t forget it. She put in her mind the idea of going once more to the auction house, both to buy a present for Lesche and to get to know the other ladies.
“Grand Duchess."
At that moment, Linon came and said,
“The priests from the temple have arrived. I brought them to the reception room.”
"I see. I'll see you downstairs."
Seria got up and looked in the mirror. After making sure that she looked flawless, she took a step.
"They are here for the Stern insignia?"
"Yes, Grand Duchess."
In exchange for being the first disclosure of the constellation gold mine to the priests, Seria had persistently demanded various concessions, one of which was the Stern insignia that she used as a passage to Tuban.
The Stern insignia was even inscribed with a number and was thoroughly controlled, so it was decided that the insignia would go to the Great Temple once to be contrasted, and after thorough recording, would be brought back by a qualified person appointed by the Great Temple to officially hand it over to the Berg family.
Personally, the insignia of the Stern symbolized so much that it was normal for it to be handed over in the name of the family.
April parlor was the name of one of the many parlors on the first floor of the Berg residence. Befitting its sunny name, it was decorated with a fresh and warm atmosphere, and was Seria’s most favorite place.
As she entered the parlor, an old priest and three relatively young-looking priests stood up.
“Grand Duchess. How are you?”
“Good, please have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Why did they send such an old priest? It was quite a distance between the temp and the capital, Seria thought to herself. Moreover, the old priest was smiling consistently throughout the entire time, though his smile was a bit strange.
She thought the meaning of the old priest's smile was similar to that of an envoy who had come to bring news of war to the enemy.
“The transfer of the ownership of the Stern insignia requested by the Grand Duchess has been handled well, and it will be transferred right here, according to procedure.”
“Is that so?”
"Is there any difficulty with Stern's request?”
"……?"
The old priest could not continue and drank his cold tea slowly.
“As you know, the transfer of the Stern insignia to an individual is extremely rare, even in the history of the Great Temple, and is usually administered by the High Priest. However, if the High Priest only visits one noble's residence in person, he has to consider the relationship with the Imperial Family of the Glick Empire… and if he visits the Imperial family, they would hold a banquet for him.”
"Of course."
It was a long explanation, but each word was plausible.
As a rule, wherever the High Priest visits, the place must be thoroughly prepared. It would have to be decorated splendidly with a lot of effort.
"So I asked the other Stern, Miyote Stern. …."
“She must have said no.”
‘I understood that. It would have been troublesome for me too, to be honest.’
‘By the way, why does he keep explaining? Why is he breaking out in a cold sweat like that again?'
Sitting in his seat, the old priest took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. Seria looked at the priests behind the old priest and wondered. They didn't look much different from the old priest.
"So I was looking for the right person, and I communicated with the qualified people according to the procedure…There's someone who volunteered to be the first one to do it. That person is….” (the old priest)
By this point, Seria began to get ominous. She was just going to say she would get it later. The old priest squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
"It's the Marquis of Haneton…!"
"……."
"Um, I was trying to fix the schedule in a hurry, but it just so happens that the High Priest in charge was absent that day! It is said that he approved it without knowing it well. This is not usually important, but unless a person dies, it can't be transferred, and even if he dies, it takes a lot of time in the process….”
"……."
The old priest was already breaking out in a cold sweat as he desperately tried to explain himself.
"Well, I'm an old priest and I've always only been inside the Great Temple. So I don't know much about the outside world, Stern….."
They sent the older priest all the way from the temple to say that.
Seria silently took a sip of her tea. She could see the priests twitching at the sound of her setting down the teacup.
"So when will the Marquis arrive in the capital?"
"The Marquis of Haneton is scheduled to arrive in three days…!"
***
“So, Haneton is coming to see Seria?"
Linon quickly replied to Lesche’s question.
"Yes, Your Highness. Besides, I just heard from the priests that the process of becoming the keeper of the insignia is more complicated than I thought…. If you're too lax this time, you won't get it until much later."
"It's hard to even move."
"That’s right."
Upon hearing the whole story from Linon, Lesche responded unexpectedly calmly. As soon as Linon relaxed thinking it was a relief, Lesche casually spoke.
"Just kill him.”
"What?"
Linon saw a crumpled report in Lesche’s hand a beat later. When did that happen?
"It's better to take the insignia and kill him. I think he's out of his mind. Why should I let him live?"
"……."
Berg's aides looked at each other and broke out in a cold sweat.
Lesche threw the crumpled report on the desk. It was a report on the new sword to be issued to the Berg Knights. As a test use of the new sword, it would not be a bad idea to use it on the Haneton knights.
Kalis Haneton, the idiot, must have lost his mind.
The reason for requesting qualification to deliver the Stern insignia, for taking the trouble of transporting the cumbersome property, all was for the sake of seeing Seria.
Lesche felt an abnormal hatred for Kalis Haneton. He had an urge to split his skull and turn it upside down.
***
“Lady Begonia will be arriving shortly.”
The second designer spoke with a mechanical smile.
All the shops in the Imperial capital were currently like that, but Begonia's shop was particularly busy.
This month, with all the social gatherings and even the banquet for the Imperial Palace's seed sowing festival, the designers and their assistants were having a sleepless month. Of course, no designer really disliked it, because they just lived by the habit of saying they were tired because the busier they were, the more money they made.
Today was the day when Begonia was away from the shop to order silk herself.
“Why, of all people, did such a big name visit today?”
Designer Chasok looked at the man sitting in front of her with trembling eyes. He was a rare beauty…the qualifier seemed a little lacking. He was dazzlingly handsome.
As a designer's habit of making clothes, she looked through the man’s body first and swallowed her dry saliva. She looked at the man’s neck, shoulders, chest, width, waist, arms and legs. It was a body that inspired her to create. Of course, she had to keep her facial expressions perfect because she knew she would die if she got caught.
"His Highness, Grand Duke Berg."
Lesche didn't even drink the tea that was placed in front of him. He just leaned back in his chair and seemed to be thinking. The next designer asked cautiously.
“May I ask what brought you here so suddenly?”
“I have something important to do tomorrow.”
"Oh, I see."
The tension finally dissipated as the second designer got a sense of what was going on. The high-class shops of the Imperial Capital were basically places that made elegant and luxurious clothes for the aristocracy, but they also provided styling for other important purposes.
“Your Highness. May I ask what kind of important business you are going to attend? An inspection of the Order? A visit to the Imperial Palace, an audience with the Emperor…?"
The second designer added just in case.
"Don't worry, our Begonia Shop will keep the destination of the nobles in absolute secrecy."
Lesche was well aware of the fact that the Begonia Shop was tight-lipped. The owner of the salon, Begonia, was of imperial blood, and perhaps because of her pride in her lineage, she guarded the one secret as if it were her life.
“I am also an expert.”
“You are?”
"Yes, Your Highness the Grand Duke Berg."
The second designer was eager to present the boutonniere from the box that came in. Lesche raised his eyebrows slightly.
"It’s an occasion where I have to meet my wife's former fiancé."
Clank!
The designer dropped the boutonniere she was holding. With a reddened face, the designer hurriedly picked up the boutonniere she had dropped on the floor.
“Excuse me! I'll bring Lady Begonia right away, so please wait a little bit, Your Highness!”
The second designer immediately bowed and ran out of the guest room. Then she shouted as she ran down the corridor.
"Lady Begonia! Emergency! Emergency!"
It was an unimaginably high level of difficulty. In any shop, this was unconditionally to be handled by the one in charge of seniority.
