OHNIR – Chapter 21
Chapter 21: The Grand Scheme
Gloria, the eldest daughter of the first ducal family, had always been known for her gentleness and elegance. She possessed more of the aura and integrity of Nobili’s foremost noble than her younger brother Wend, and she was more mature, with a much better grasp of the bigger picture. As such, she had always been the most iconic representative of the ducal house—a fact that even surpassed her father, Duke Silentdis himself.
Likewise, to maintain her image, no matter how many unspoken affairs of high society she engaged in behind the scenes, the ducal lady had always interacted with other nobles with a tolerant and gentle demeanor. She had never been involved in any unpleasant incidents.
Publicly expelling Avia at the tea party was a truly rare occurrence. One could only imagine how many jaws would drop when the news spread, all because of Gloria’s discourteous attitude.
That was the Charles Marquis Family, an old noble house with a lineage as long as the Silentdis family’s! If not for the fact that each generation had been less capable than the last, they might have long been elevated to a dukedom, standing on equal footing with the Silentdises.
But setting aside these complex power dynamics and looking only at what Avia had done at the tea party today… the nobles pursed their lips, all cursing “serves her right” in their hearts.
The Holy Light Magic Academy had stood for years as Nobili’s only institution of magic, not just because it was a creation of the Goddess of Light herself, but also for another important reason: a great many nobles supported the school’s prosperity.
After the age of the gods, not all divine power had nourished the land. Only a small portion had diffused across the continent, granting humanity the ability to use magic and maintaining the vitality of the central region. However, even mountains of gold and silver can be squandered. Many were unaware that after several hundred years of development in the Nobili Kingdom, the once-abundant magical elements were, in fact, slowly being depleted.
Not only were the demons at the continent’s edge growing restless, but even the royal capital at its core was beginning to realize that maintaining its former splendor was becoming a strenuous task. Too many plants were withering in unseen corners, and animals were dying in their chosen graves. The Holy Light Magic Academy, with its centuries-old reputation, existed to welcome the young masters and ladies of the nobility. How could it be allowed to fall into ruin?
Thus, the nobles on the school’s board of directors began to pour vast amounts of manpower, money, and resources into maintaining the academy’s environment. Just hiring countless wood mages to create the large forest by Swan Lake had been an immense effort. Now, Avia had burned a section of that forest and grassland to such a tragic state with a single fire. It had to be said that her actions had undoubtedly incurred public wrath.
For some of the lesser nobles, the massive expense had nearly bankrupted them. They had just managed to tighten their belts and finish planting the trees, only to have them burned to charcoal.
More money to spend!
If the duke’s daughter hadn’t stepped in to give Avia a huge slap in the face, they would have had to once again swallow their pride and bear the grievance.
This included the royal family. Setting aside whether Satrick was a scoundrel or not, as an heir apparent with good momentum in the race for the throne, every coin naturally had to be spent where it counted most.
He was also a member of the Holy Light Magic Academy’s board. He had made a huge investment last time to boost his prestige among the nobility. To do so, Satrick had even applied to the king to use a considerable portion of the national treasury, all of which was poured into the academy’s construction.
Satrick was the king’s favored successor and had already been crowned as such. The latter was naturally willing to provide his son with some harmless assistance within reasonable limits.
But then his son’s fiancée suddenly tried to kill a promising asset for no reason and set fire to Swan Lake, adding another pointless expense… The fact that Satrick still maintained his composure and personally visited the Charles Marquis estate to inquire after Avia was, in itself, a remarkable feat.
Of course, that was a story for later.
For now, the long explanation Gloria provided was enough to leave Kelusta dumbfounded.
Seaside Town had always been nourished by the Holy Force Source, so there wasn’t the slightest sign of ecological deterioration. Lagging behind on information, she had no idea that the outside world had decayed to the point where even a single forest could no longer grow naturally.
Therefore, she truly hadn’t expected the incident to have such a massive impact. Perhaps Avia hadn’t anticipated such a tragic end for herself either. The reason she dared to use such a grandiose fire spell was likely because she was counting on Starangui to clean up her mess.
Unfortunately, the ducal lady immediately invoked the authority of the school board to assign blame. Even Starangui couldn’t protect her. Fearing that Gloria might notice something amiss, she had no choice but to abandon Avia as a pawn on the spot.
This was the conclusion Kelusta drew by combining Gloria’s account with her own deductions about the incident’s repercussions.
In summary, for her personally… there was no impact.
The nobles who had witnessed her emerge unscathed all assumed she had received some benefit from the prince. And while Satrick himself was suspicious, he still intended to win Kelusta over, so he certainly wouldn’t go around spreading rumors about the commoner girl’s unusual nature.
The more hidden cards Kelusta had, and the stronger her abilities, the better it was for him.
Avia, who had intended to harm her, suffered a major loss. Starangui, having revealed a bit of her hand, would also have to restrain herself, wary that Gloria might follow the trail back to her.
The royal family understood it clearly, and Kelusta, with the System that held the world’s data, also knew: the Silentdis family possessed vital information—the Holy Force Source—that could save Nobili from the severe negative impacts of magical decay. To ensure the continuation of their rule, the royal family had no choice but to humble themselves and strive to form a solid cooperative relationship with the ducal house, hoping they wouldn’t turn around and ally with someone else.
This was perhaps the tragedy of the aristocracy: the very subject they had personally ennobled had now become a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.
With the Silentdis family’s power, whether they chose to share the Holy Force Source with the demons or simply rally other nobles and declare themselves king under the banner of the “Remnants of Divine Power”—it could be said that the declining royal family was powerless to resist.
Fortunately, for now, Gloria, as the representative of the ducal house, was still willing to maintain a cooperative relationship with Starangui. Whether from the royal family’s perspective or to add weight to the scales in her own fight for succession, Starangui could not afford to provoke Gloria’s wrath again. Doing so would undoubtedly push the royal family’s partner further away.
So, no matter how ardent her feelings for Gloria were, she would not easily make another move against Kelusta.
She was compelled by the grand scheme of things.
It felt great to have someone watching her back!
Kelusta, with no qualms about riding on someone else’s coattails, curled up in her chair and sipped the sweet lychee black tea, a warmth spreading through her heart.
After all the twists and turns, she had somehow formed such an intimate connection with the greatest enemy from the original timeline.
But Kelusta was no fool. From their very first encounter, from Gloria’s overly gentle attitude toward her and the subtle clues in their subsequent interactions, she immediately sensed that her first glance with the high-ranking ducal lady across the library steps was definitely not their first meeting.
She had written to her father, asking if she or he had ever met a beautiful girl with silver hair and blue eyes. But his reply was vague; he would rather ask eight times in his letter, “What are you eating at school?” than give her a straight answer.
Helpless, Kelusta could only turn to the System for help, but it replied, “The temporary host’s query involves a high-level database. At the current plot progression, I do not have the authority to view it.”
She had agonized over this for a long time. She couldn’t remember, and others were hiding it from her. As for asking Gloria directly—hmm… with such a low favorability rating, it was best not to risk it for now.
Kelusta stared blankly, her unfocused gaze landing gently on Gloria. The other girl had stopped speaking at some point and was now sitting quietly in her own chair, hands folded in a relaxed posture.
Not far away, a few strands of the girl’s light brown hair had fallen beside her collarbone, coincidentally obscuring the shimmer reflected from a lustrous pearl on her necklace. The platinum swan rested quietly against her snow-white skin, so lifelike it seemed it might spread its wings and fly away the next second.
It was truly a nostalgic sight. She had thought it would be sealed away in a corner of the girl’s memory, but unexpectedly, it would see the light of day again.
When that person… had her personally hand this necklace to her back then, had she already foreseen this reunion?
Gloria smiled. In that brief moment, her expression was filled with nostalgia, regret, tenderness, and other complex emotions, but Kelusta, still lost in her thoughts, regrettably missed it.
What finally brought her back to her senses was another crisp notification sound.
“Ding. Gloria’s favorability +2.”
“…Huh?” Kelusta blinked, as bewildered as if she’d been hit on the head by a bag of gold coins falling from the sky while walking down the street.
What was this about?
Her heart full of questions, she met the ducal lady’s gaze, but the other girl seemed to have misinterpreted her. Gloria glanced at the darkening sky outside the window, thought for a moment, and then said to Kelusta in all seriousness, “It’s gotten so late. I’m really not comfortable letting you walk back to the first-year tower alone.”
She gave the brown-haired girl a smile and suggested in a light tone, “If you don’t mind—why don’t you… just stay here with me tonight.”
System: “Ooh.”
Kelusta: “…?!”
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