The few Sternes that existed across the continent were known for their arrogance, and among them, Seria Sterne had a particularly notorious reputation.
But that was all in the past.
She hadn’t completely withdrawn from the social scene, but her attendance to balls and galas had grown less and less frequent while her behavior had grown more and more polite.
“Lady Seria has changed considerably over the past year,” Viscount Aison remarked with a smile.
“And her relationship with Marquis Hanneton has shown significant gains as well.”
“Is that so?” Lina asked.
“But they’re getting married so quickly.”
At the sound of a commotion outside, Lina went to the window and leaned out to get a look.
“Lady Saint, do be careful!” Viscount Aison cried.
The Viscount had been charged with seeing to Lina’s etiquette training, which meant he regularly found himself looking after her well-being as well.
“I’m sorry,” she sulked as she pulled herself back in.
Viscount Aison got up and shut the window.
“Your condition is still quite frail.
You must not take such risks.”
The divine energy coursing through Lina’s body was wreaking havoc from head to toe.
Her skin was blotched with bruises, and her arms and legs were wrapped in bandages.
At times, she was too weak to stand up, let alone walk.
Thankfully, Callis and Rouche were always on hand.
They were two of the leaders of the Seventeen Great Houses, all of whom were individuals capable of exerting limited control over divine energy.
If Callis hadn’t been assigned as her guardian, Lina would be in even worse shape than she was now.
“You appear to have grown quite close with Marquis Hanneton,” Aison said.
“Yes.
Callis is a wonderful person,” Lina replied, her tone light and cheerful.
Aison frowned.
“Lady Saint, you must refrain from addressing the Marquis so familiarly in public.”
“But why?”
“Because the Marquis is to be married soon.
If any unsavory rumors began to float around, well, it could create an awful scene.”
Lina looked at her instructor and burst out laughing.
“But Callis and I are just friends!”
“The nobility might not see it that way,” he warned.
“But we both call each other by our first names.” Lina’s laughter slowed into utter confusion.
“I see,” Aison stated simply, not wishing to argue with his pupil over such matters.
He made a mental note to take the matter up with Marquis Hanneton when he had a chance.
Just then, there was another sudden outburst outside.
Viscount Aison opened the window and looked out.
“Ah, it appears Lady Seria Sterne has returned from the glacier.”
Ignoring her instructor’s protests, Lina got up and joined him at the window.
Together they peered down, watching Seria approach on horseback, draped in a snow-white fur cloak.
Her cheeks were red from the biting wind.
Callis rode forward to greet her.
Seeing his face made Lina smile, and she waved enthusiastically from the window.
Callis did not notice her.
He dismounted from his horse and approached Seria, cradling her rosy cheeks tenderly in his hands.
At that moment, they were the very picture of a tender, loving couple.
Lina watched them silently before asking abruptly, “Why does Callis’s fiancée go to the glacier every day?”
As he was about to chide her for her incessant prying curiosity, he noticed the innocent look in her eyes and caught himself.
He had to remember that she had no background with such customs.
She had come from another world.
He would have to take his time teaching her such manners.
“That is because Lady Seria is a Sterne.
There is a certain errand involving the glacier that must be performed regularly during the winter here.
It is a charity to the archduke and also to the empire at large.
Only the Sternes can perform this duty.
Of late, she has been so diligent in her responsibilities that she has garnered much praise within Berk’s dominion.”
“So cool…” Lina muttered.
“Pardon?” he asked, surprised at her response.
“Never mind.” Lina turned sharply away from the window.
“Then, what house does Seria belong to?
Does she come from a dukedom?”
“Lady Seria Sterne is the daughter of the distinguished western House Keliden,” Aison said.
“It is a marquisate.”
“Wow… She really has it all, huh?” Lina said.
“But then why is she called Lady Sterne and not Lady Keliden?”
“Sterne is a title bestowed by the Holy Land.
Lady Seria, as a noble Sterne, has been recognized by the High Priests as a kind of divine medium.”
“I see.
So it’s like a Catholic baptismal name,” Lina concluded, her eyes drawing momentarily distant as she thought about her own world.
“A baptismal name…?” Aison asked.
“It’s just something from the world I came from.” Lina let out a long sigh.
“Is there a way I can get that title, too?”
“To what end?
You are already the Lady Saint.”
“But that name, Sterne… It sounds cooler.”
“Yes, at this time, Lady Sterne may indeed seem quite grand to you.”
To some extent, Aison understood what she was going through.
Lady Seria Sterne was indeed the center of attention at Castle Berk.
With her wedding to Callis only days away, the whole place was bustling with preparations, and nobles from far and wide were arriving to attend the wedding.
All of them were eager to make a favorable impression on Seria, so the annex where she stayed was always crowded with people.
“But Lady Saint,” Aison continued, “you will have a grand welcoming party of your own in due course.
Then all eyes shall be on you.”
“I still want to become a Sterne, like Callis’s fiancée,” Lina sulked.
“Not just anyone can become a Sterne.
It is not something that is assigned or given out.
You have to meet certain criteria.”
“Criteria?
What kind?
I’m pretty good at memorizing stuff!”
Aison chuckled and eyed his pupil thoughtfully.
“That is not what I meant.
It is not something you can learn, my Lady Saint.
A Sterne is identified by a star-shaped mark somewhere on the flesh.
The mark is not present at birth but manifests at the age of fifteen.
Additionally, they must be born on a Wintry Wednesday and act as a conduit for divine energy.
So, I am sorry, Lady Saint, but you cannot be a Sterne.
If you were, we would already know.
The maids who bathed you on your very first day here would have looked for the star-shaped mark and reported it had they found one.”
“Star-shaped mark, Wintry Wednesday, divine energy…” Lina repeated, drifting away from Aison and deep into her own thoughts.
“You have had plenty to absorb for one day,” Aison said as he moved towards the door.
“We shall end the lesson here.
Please, get some rest.”
* * *
“Seria’s birthday is coming up soon,” the priestess announced, disturbing the peaceful silence we were enjoying.
“It will be a Wintry Wednesday, of course.”
Abigail nodded absently.
“Time does fly.”
“I had almost forgotten,” I admitted.
“I have been so busy.”
The next day, I was scheduled to view the wedding venue with a group of noble ladies from the Marquisate of Hanneton and host a small tea party.
It seemed as if the whirlwind that had blown into my life would never let up.
A wintry Wednesday…
There’s a song they sing in church here that goes something like this:
Though a child born on Monday has a pretty face,
A child born on Tuesday is filled with divine grace.
A child born on Wednesday is full of sorrow,
But a child born on Thursday brims with all the love of tomorrow.
A child born on Friday shows others kindness and grace,
A child born on Saturday exhibits passion and faith,
And a child born on Sunday is noble, selfless, and quick to embrace.
Why are Wednesday’s children the only ones with sorrow?
Where’s the fairness in that?
If only sorrow brought wealth…
Seria Sterne was born on a Wintry Wednesday.
On her fifteenth birthday, a small star-shaped mark appeared on the pristine skin at the nape of her neck.
When it was discovered that divine energy flowed through her, she was officially identified as a Sterne.
Or at least that’s how the novel told it.
Although the divine energy of a Sterne was a completely different type from that of the priests and priestesses, no distinction was made because Sternes were so rare.
The priestess sighed heavily.
“It is causing quite the problem, isn’t it?
The Lady Saint has developed quite an interest in constellation steel.”
“The Lady Saint?” Abigail was suddenly alert.
“Is it not a great risk to handle the steel before her divine energy has stabilized?”
“I have mentioned that to her, but she is ever the curious creature,” the priestess replied, exasperated.
It was just how it was in the original story.
Lina, the exuberant and lovable female protagonist, was literally bursting with curiosity.
By the middle of the story, after undergoing all sorts of trauma, Lina finally achieved the perfect stabilization of her divine energy.
Her skin, which had been bruised ever since she arrived in this world, finally became healthy and clear, something which had delighted her.
But her happiness was fleeting.
It lasted only until she touched the constellation steel monolith, a rare holy relic that was often used to identify a Sterne.
One day Lina’s curiosity got the better of her and she touched it, triggering the latent divine energy within her.
She suffered greatly from the sudden shock, but this incident served as the catalyst for Rouche to realize his true feelings for her.
And the character in the story who manipulated Lina into touching the monolith was…
Damn it.
It was Seria Sterne.
It was me.
Once again, it was me.