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***
“Lesche?"
As soon as the bedroom door closed, Seria called out his name.
"Can I see your face?"
She couldn't even see his face, because she was carried on Lesche’s shoulder the whole way here. A large amount of divine power had escaped her, and Lesche would surely know.
But…she frowned and asked.
"Won’t I see your face forever?”
And finally, the strength in Lesche’s hand that was holding Seria firmly relaxed a little. Seria looked up.
"……."
She had an idea why Abigail had said that Lesche’s eyes had gone crazy. Lesche’s eyes had an unusual red color. It was not a bright color, but more like a dark blood color. Perhaps that was why Lesche was so unapproachable, even after his eyes had subsided a bit.
This was what he looked like when he was angry.
Seria touched Lesche’s eyelids with her fingertips.
“Lesche."
"……."
"Don't be mad."
“Not at you." (Lesche)
Lesche leaned his forehead lightly on Seria’s shoulder and gave a low sigh.
"Seria."
He let out a breath and asked an unexpected question.
"Was I too violent in your eyes?" (Lesche)
“You threw your gloves. That's fine.” (Seria)
“You’re generous.” (Lesche)
“I'm very thorough in my social practices. Your wife is very good.” (Seria)
Lesche laughed out loud. He looked up at Seria with a more relaxed expression than before. She cupped his cheeks lightly as she looked at him.
“I missed you." (Seria)
The words were impulsive. Instantly, the eyes of Lesche, who was nearby, lightly wavered.
"Me too." (Lesche)
"…….."
His words stabbed her strangely in the heart. Because Lesche started kissing her.
The hand that wrapped around the back of her neck was stronger than usual. It wasn't a strong grip, but rather a forceful control, as if he was afraid that his strength would be more than necessary. The impatient kisses always made Seria run out of breaths. Lesche’s arms covered her body tightly.
"Ah……."
She felt the pain and groaned without realizing it. At that moment, Lesche’s kisses stopped. He lifted his head, holding Seria with one arm and using his other hand to roll up Seria’s clothes. Lesche’s face hardened. He quickly laid Seria down on the bed and began to check her arms and under her clothes carefully.
“How did you get so many bruises? Didn't they all heal when we left the manor?" (Lesche)
"I'm not sure I can wait three months." (Seria)
Seria used all her power to find the result.
The tearful truth she learned in graduate school worked in the temple.
Lesche didn’t know she had rushed to use her power to activate the Holy relic for measuring the divine power.
After she briefly explained what she had just done, Lesche asked,
"How many more times do you have to do this?”
“One more time.”
“Are the priests, the saints, so useless?”
Lesche didn’t touch the bruises on Seria’s arms, only clenching his fists and opening them.
That was when it happened.
Knock. Knock.
A careful voice of a priest was heard with a knock on the door.
“Stern, Your Highness! High Priest Jubelud is here.”
***
"Fortunately, Marquis Haneton wasn't seriously injured."
The high priest breathed a sigh of relief at the doctor's diagnosis. He was a high-ranking priest who was in the same place when the accident occurred earlier.
‘So Stern was watching and His Highness controlled his power…?’
Was it the reason?
“By the way, Marquis Haneton is in bad shape.”
“Kalis is taking sleeping pills."
Lina said gloomily. This was a fact that she had learned after questioning Haneton's aide.
The doctor reminded the priest that he needed to be more concerned about Kalis’s health, and then left the bedroom to get the medicine. The priest also left.
Then Lina was alone in Kalis' bedroom.
"Kalis, are you okay? You should sleep a little longer. Why are you getting up again?”
“I have to plan your future.”
"My future?"
"You didn’t like staying in the temple. So you will have to decide quickly whether you will go to the Haneton estate or continue to stay here."
"Kalis…."
“Do you still hate being in the temple?"
“I didn't like it then because it was unfamiliar, but I'm fine now. You're here too.”
Kalis smiled faintly. Lina grabbed Kalis’s hand. She too looked somewhat sad.
“But let’s go to Haneton Castle. I liked it there very much.”
“It looks like we'll have to stay in the capital for the time being.”
“I want to go to the capital too!”
After a while, the doctor brought some medicine that contained a powerful sleeping effect. Lina's eyes widened in surprise as she watched Kalis fall asleep quickly.
"Does this have any side effects?"
“It's a special sleeping herb handled only by the temple.”
“Can I take it home? I think Kalis needs it.”
"Of course you can, Saintess.”
Lina was inwardly happy that it could help Kalis. She sat with her knees together for a moment, looking at Kalis.
She had a complicated mind.
A few days ago, she was shocked to realize that Kalis still hadn't forgotten about Seria. She didn't have the confidence to look Kalis in the face for days and she even avoided him.
But today she learned one thing.
Seria seemed to be on good terms with Grand Duke Lesche. It was true.
It was even more validating to Lina that Kalis had told her that he would be responsible to the end for the unidentified divine force in her stomach. In this unfamiliar world, there was no one who cared about her like Kalis. She hated Seria, considering that Kalis had never been able to forget her…
‘Maybe Seria and I are in a similar position. I definitely heard that earlier.’
Lina recalled the story she had heard during the noisy whirlwind earlier. She cautiously stood up.
It was to Seria’s bedroom that Lina was headed.
She could easily find out where Seria’s room was. But there was no Seria.
"Where is Seria now?"
“She told me not to let anyone know where she was going, but I'll ask Stern and send someone to you, Saintess.”
But Lina did not give up. She went to the place where the divine power was measured. But it was deserted. It was strange. Until a few days ago, it was a place where many priests went back and forth because it was operating.
Now they even covered it with a white cloth as if it was not in use.
"Has the holy object of the holy power measurement changed?"
“Yes, Saintess.”
There was a priest here that was friendly to Lina and didn't know much about what was going on outside, so she was able to ask.
Lina was puzzled to hear that the holy relic was taken out of the safe.
“Why didn’t they use it from the beginning? Why are they changing it now?”
“I've heard that it takes a lot of power to use the holy relic. Infact, the priests said that it would only work if several people put in sacred power together."
"Ah. That means I should use my sacred power, right? Please guide me."
The other priests stopped Lina, who wanted to go immediately.
“No, Saintess. The sacred power of the relic was already infused."
"How?"
"Fortunately, Seria Stern has infused it with her divine power."
"……?"
Lina blinked and asked back.
"I know Seria’s divine power isn't that strong.”
“It’s the holy object that we stored in the basement.”
“Saintess has seen it. It is a crown-shaped sacred object that was used when Saintess first appeared. Those who were sent to the oracle, like Saintess, cannot be accurately understood without measuring their divine power with such a holy object….."
“Of course I remember.”
The problem was.. It was an object for a Saint like her.
Certainly the priests said so. They said that the holy object, which was so special that it was even kept underground, was used for Lina who was the representative of God.
“But Seria isn't as powerful as I am, is she?”
“A Saint is a Saint. To directly compare the sacred power of Stern and the Saintess is as different as comparing the stars to the sea.”
‘I was hoping you would say no right away.’
Lina was confused. She opened the door and walked out. She thought she should take a proper look at the power measuring device.
After walking to a place she could think of, Lina eventually saw Seria.
“Seria!"
Lina rushed over to Seria. Looking at Seria, who seemed strangely weak, Lina asked.
"Seria, could it be that Seria is also pregnant with divine power?"
"……?"
"Right? Otherwise the Grand Duke suddenly didn’t have to measure his divine power.”
Even as she asked the question, Lina's feelings were complicated. On the other hand, she also had a strange sympathy for Seria, who had always seemed distant and unfamiliar to her.
But…
"What do you mean?"
Lina's hopes were shattered.
***
“Did Kalis tell Lina that?"
Seria folded her arms and glared into the power measuring room.
“Yes? Because the Grand Duke suddenly didn’t have to have his power measured.”
“What do you mean? Divine power….”
When Seria had reached that point, she felt something was wrong and stopped. Because Lina looked as if she really didn't know anything about it.
What is it?
Seria quickly changed the subject.
“It's because he's my husband. It's an annual event."
"……."
Lina was about to say something, but the High Priest Jubelud, who had rushed in, took her aside.
This Great Temple was truly enormous, where tens of thousands of priests were staying.They felt a little sorry for the High Priest Jubelud, who had to run around the wide area all day long.
And…
After the High Priest Jubelud left with Lina, Seria was able to hear about the whole story. The fact that Kalis had lied to Lina to keep her stable. The priest, who was under High Priest Jubelud, told Seria with a complicated expression.
She also heard that Kalis wasn’t well to be measured right away. Since she was the one who infused this holy object with divine power, she couldn't measure her power right away either.
When she thought about it, she could have measured only Lesche and Kalis and still gotten the results.
But now, if not Lesche, not Kalis. Seria was the only one left.
‘Is it possible that there could be a child between me and Lina?'
Seria wrinkled her forehead, unable to accept this very bizarre situation.
In that sense, it was difficult for ordinary people to accept the situation from the time when her fiancé Kalis went out to play in the snow with another woman and got stranded.
“The measurement is almost finished…. Stern.
“I understand."
Seria walked along the reddened faced priest, and with it came a thought she had been thinking about for a few days.
‘Is it possible that this child of Lina's is not the child of the divine power mentioned in the Bible?’
The darkness that was absorbed into Lina's body in the Tshugan plain had been lingering in her mind for a long time.
