OHNIR – Chapter 18
Chapter 18: The Curtain Falls
Avia hung her head low, her hands twisting the fabric of her gown. No one could see her expression.
Starangui frowned, shooting her a stern glare before turning to Kelusta, who was watching the scene as if it were a play. The princess addressed her with gentle concern, “Miss Breviou, I am so sorry you had to experience something like this—are you hurt?”
Kelusta looked at the princess’s apologetic face, raised an eyebrow, and scoffed inwardly, but still answered truthfully, “No.”
The Anti-Magic Halo was truly impressive. She had admired the flames for quite some time without feeling even the slightest bit of heat.
Starangui sighed, then added as if worried Kelusta was just putting on a brave face, “After the tea party, you must allow me to accompany you to the school infirmary for a check-up… I wonder, were there any other conflicts between you and Avia before this?”
As she spoke, she frowned, glancing at the still-curtsying Avia, whose body had begun to tremble slightly, with a look of faint disgust. She then said earnestly, “You are my personally invited guest, Miss Breviou. I swear on the name of the Nobili Royal Family that if you have been harmed in any way—no matter who the other party is—I will see that justice is done for you.”
At this, even Avia forgot to keep her head down. She snapped her eyes up, staring at Starangui with an expression of disbelief. But the second princess’s deep purple eyes didn’t spare her a single glance, remaining fixed on Kelusta, awaiting the brown-haired girl’s reply.
“…”
Kelusta didn’t answer, instead letting her gaze sweep silently over the pale-faced nobles behind Starangui. They clearly hadn’t expected the princess to declare that this girl was “her personally invited guest.”
While this statement took Kelusta under her wing, it also undeniably implicated them as Avia’s accomplices.
Some of them were at a loss, while others looked back at Kelusta with flickering eyes, as if they would immediately step forward and confess to Avia’s cruel actions if she just gave the word.
Kelusta, however, only found it a little amusing.
Yet, even with so many new “witnesses,” she had no intention of publicizing what had just happened.
Others might not understand this esteemed princess, but she knew very well that Starangui’s gentle and merciful appearance was just a facade. Her heart had long been steeped in poison until it was pitch black. Would such a person really stand up for her out of kindness and ensure the wicked got their just deserts?
Don’t be ridiculous. She wasn’t Gloria; how could Kelusta possibly count on her?
“I’m fine,” the brown-haired girl gave a slight curtsy, offering a false smile. Her voice was filled with feigned sincerity, yet so perfectly proper that no one could find fault with it. “Thank you for your help just now, Your Highness.”
Starangui put on a look of “relief,” her acting skills so convincing they could rival Kelusta’s own. She smiled, adopting that benevolent expression unique to the royal family, and asked probingly, “Since Avia didn’t cause you any trouble… then, Miss Breviou, would you be willing to forgive her rudeness and allow her to continue attending this tea party?”
“…”
Not hurt means not troubled?
Kelusta was a bit speechless, but before she could say anything, a furious curse echoed in her mind.
“That shameless, black-hearted white lotus,” the electronic voice was laced with a rare, distinct anger. The System, as if its own sore spot had been poked, stood in solidarity with Kelusta, sharing her indignation. “Playing the saint at someone else’s expense—why do these types exist in every world!”
“…” Kelusta paused for a moment, then said, “Sounds like there’s a story there, Old Sy.”
Her teasing seemed to make the System realize it had lost its composure. It calmed down, its voice returning to its previous mechanical coldness as it stated dryly, “…I was merely standing up for you, temporary host.”
“Mm, I know.”
Kelusta’s voice was tinged with a smile as she spoke to the System, each word radiating a warmth as if it had been soaked in sunshine.
She looked up at Starangui, who was still patiently awaiting her answer. A moment ago, she had been thinking, “Starangui won’t side with me anyway, so rather than making another enemy of Avia, I might as well go with the flow and let her off the hook.” But now, she hesitated.
For no other reason than the System. If it saw her agree to Starangui’s request, letting this presumptuous, venomous white lotus get her way, it would surely be unhappy, even if it didn’t say anything.
So, Kelusta no longer wanted to let Avia off so easily and allow Starangui to come out of this looking good on both ends.
—However, winning a smile from the System was not so simple.
She wasn’t a wind mage, and neither was Avia. The only remaining possibility for the fan flying to her on its own was that she was wearing something enchanted with a specific spell, one that had an attractive force that worked in tandem with the fan. And because this spell wasn’t harmful, the System hadn’t detected it on the day she received it.
The only thing she was wearing that wasn’t her own was this gown from the second princess.
Avia had been searching for someone since she arrived. Her second attempt to attack with a condensed fireball, which had nearly succeeded, was likely because she had spotted that person in the crowd and received their command to strike again.
The only person present who could command the daughter of a marquis… was, without a doubt, Starangui.
Thus, Avia’s true instigator, the second princess of Nobili, had conveniently stepped in to help Kelusta, then emerged like a convincing champion of justice to preside over the matter and win her trust.
—Initially, she had indeed intended to kill Kelusta. However, when Kelusta emerged from Avia’s first attack completely unscathed, it sparked hesitation, fear, and curiosity in Starangui.
She wanted to know what secret Kelusta was hiding, and she suspected that this secret was what had attracted Gloria’s attention.
Now that she knew Starangui and Avia were in cahoots, Kelusta had been indifferent about letting the latter go and dealing with her another day. But the System clearly wished this fake saint would spontaneously combust…
And Kelusta, on occasion, did want to soothe the ever-diligent Old Sy who had been helping her for so long.
From across the half-melted patch of ice, Avia looked up at Starangui, her expression a mixture of confusion and grievance. After the princess made her request for Avia to stay, the red-haired marquis’s daughter stiffly turned her head, her gaze—a mix of humiliation and hidden hope—fixed on the silent, brown-haired girl with downcast eyes.
If she were kicked out of the tea party, she would face punishment at home and become the laughingstock of the capital… All she could do now was pray that the princess could make this ignorant commoner relent. In the future, she, Avia, would find another chance to deal with her!
Just as her heart was filled with resentment, another commotion suddenly erupted among the previously quiet nobles. The three main actors at the tea table naturally heard the disturbance. They paused, all turning to look in that direction.
“…To think that arriving just a little late would lead to such a mess.”
The newcomer wore a long, light smoke-gray gown. Her silver hair, which usually fell smoothly over her shoulders, was now styled in an elegant bun, with just two strands left to frame her cheeks. Her eyes, like cornflower sapphires, swept coldly over the three girls staring blankly at her. A smile devoid of any emotion touched her lips as she said coolly, “Truly unimaginable—Swan Lake is the private property of the Holy Light Magic Academy. For a hundred years, the academy has invested countless resources to maintain its vitality…”
As she spoke, Avia couldn’t help but turn to look at the willow tree and lawn she had burned to a crisp. She pressed her tongue hard against the roof of her mouth to keep her composure.
Gloria walked closer, glancing down nonchalantly at the bare earth that had soiled her shoes with dust. Her silver hair shimmered in the sunlight. Kelusta instinctively glanced at Starangui’s gown and, as expected, saw that it was the exact same color.
She felt a little nauseous and subtly averted her gaze, only to meet Gloria’s eyes, which were as cold and sharp as blades of ice.
Kelusta: “…”
She immediately lowered her head, making herself look small and submissive.
Gloria’s expression darkened. She looked away from Kelusta and turned to Starangui, saying flatly, “As a director of the Holy Light Magic Academy, Your Highness—until Miss Charles provides compensation for this, I have the right to demand she leave any large-scale gathering held within the Holy Light Magic Academy that I have co-hosted.”
Avia’s face went deathly pale. Clinging to a sliver of hope, she sent a pleading gaze toward Starangui.
The smile on the second princess of Nobili’s lips stiffened slightly. She frowned, and after seeing the undisguised coldness in Gloria’s eyes, she pressed her lips together and softened her voice, saying quietly, “It’s just a small matter. Is it really worth getting angry over?”
Gloria didn’t answer, merely letting a faint, mocking smile grace her lips.
Seeing this, Starangui said no more. She turned to look at Avia and then at the silent, head-bowed Kelusta. After a long moment, she finally spoke again, pronouncing judgment on Avia in the calmest of tones, “Since Lady Gloria has made her request… Avia, I will have someone escort you back to the Charles Marquis’s estate. Until you have compensated the Holy Light Magic Academy, please reflect on your actions at home. You must not be so impulsive in the future.”
Avia clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, suppressing the shame churning within her. She forced herself to curtsy to Starangui, her voice choked with tears. “Yes… Your Highness.”
Starangui nodded, a gentle smile still on her lips, as if she had just commented on the fine weather. After casually instructing two noble girls to escort Avia away, she lifted her skirt and took two steps closer to Gloria, an almost imperceptible desire to curry favor in her purple eyes. She whispered, “Let’s go, my lady… We’ve been delayed for so long, it’s about time we began.”
Gloria glanced at her and gave a noncommittal nod. As Starangui went off with a satisfied look to seat the still-bewildered nobles, Gloria turned her head, leaned close to the silent, brown-haired girl who was trying to minimize her presence, and said through clenched teeth, in a tone so soft it sent shivers down one’s spine:
“I’ll deal with you later.”
Kelusta: “………………”
She spoke to the System with a sense of tragic despair, “Old Sy, heaven is out to get me.”
The System was no longer angry. The moment Kelusta’s words faded, it replied in a voice that sounded like it wanted to set off a string of firecrackers, “So satisfying! I don’t know if you’re doomed or not, but your metaphor describing Gloria as ‘heaven’ is very much to my liking, temporary host!”
Kelusta was dumbfounded. How could you suddenly switch sides like that?!
“That girl is so alpha. There was no way we could let that black-hearted lotus win,” the System said, as if it had thrown all caution to the wind, and declared resolutely to Kelusta, “Temporary host, go for her.”
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