OHNIR – Chapter 32
Chapter 32: A Wreck
Kelusta dashed frantically down the stairs and into the courtyard, stopping at a fork in the corridor some distance from the entrance. She raised a hand to shield her face from a bright patch of sunlight.
She had slept soundly through history class, so by the time she was ready to leave, the classroom was nearly empty. On top of that, Kevit had delayed her for a bit, so by now, most of the students had already dispersed.
Fortunately, Musen wasn’t one to follow the crowd. He always waited until he was the last one left in the classroom before slowly getting up to leave. And it was precisely because of this convenient habit that Kelusta could lie in wait for him every day in the courtyard, a place he had to pass through to exit the academic building. She had successfully cornered him several times.
Musen had no other choice—if he left with the girls who were always pestering him, it wouldn’t be long before some hot-tempered boys came looking for trouble, eager to “teach a lesson to that filthy pretty boy.”
Therefore, even though he knew Kelusta would be waiting for him every time, Musen could only resign himself to walking right into her trap, time and time again.
Today was no exception.
“There you are,” Kelusta said, leaning against a snow-white pillar of the portico. She grinned at Musen, who was walking out with his head lowered. “You’re a little late today.”
She said it so brazenly, as if he had actually arranged to meet her there.
Musen glanced at her, tightened his grip on his textbook, and said expressionlessly, “What are you doing here again?”
The black-haired boy looked quite impatient, and his words were hardly polite.
However, despite his harsh tone, his hurried steps still came to an honest halt before Kelusta. He stood there, raising an eyebrow at her. His long, narrow, phoenix-like eyes were filled with a heavy, inscrutable emotion, like a pair of black pearls nestled in a handful of snow—cold, quiet, and stark in their contrast.
It was a gaze like that of an anaconda hiding deep in the jungle, preparing for a fatal strike. It sent an involuntary, wary chill through its target, as if their very blood had frozen. One could only feel their body stiffen, finding it difficult to even move their eyes.
—This was the gaze of a demon.
They were killing machines created by the gods to incite great wars, born with an oppressive power that was difficult to resist.
Under Musen’s unintentionally threatening gaze, Kelusta blinked, forcing down the chill that was creeping up her spine. She took a quiet, imperceptible deep breath, and only then did she find the ability to speak. She said, in all seriousness:
“…Have you gotten taller?”
Upon hearing her words, astonishment flickered in the boy’s eyes. He opened his mouth and stared at Kelusta, momentarily speechless. With that somewhat childish gesture, the danger in his serpentine gaze abruptly vanished.
As Kelusta let out a laugh she could no longer suppress, Musen’s long eyelashes trembled. His expression tightened, and he snapped irritably, “Shut up!”
Having deliberately touched a raw nerve, Kelusta stuck out her tongue and made a face at his sharp tone.
Although Musen felt offended, he had to admit—the girl in front of him was right. He had indeed grown a little taller.
Musen was the same age as Kelusta and two years older than Wend, yet in terms of stature, this abandoned demon child was nearly two sizes smaller than the ducal heir. He was as thin and frail as a young boy. Just a few days ago, when they had first met properly, Musen had been shorter than Kelusta by half a head when he stood up.
The brown-haired girl had targeted this very issue. Over the past few days, thanks to Kelusta’s insistent help, Musen’s old injuries were already partially healed, and his overall complexion had improved significantly. She had also dragged him to the dining hall for several good meals. Kelusta was from the prosperous Seaside Town and was her father’s only daughter; while her allowance wasn’t enough for high-end dresses, it was more than sufficient to support the “impoverished child” Musen on campus. With proper nutrition, the boy, who was in the middle of a growth spurt, naturally began to shoot up toward a normal height in a short period.
In just a few days, he could already look Kelusta in the eye without having to look up.
“But you did get taller, kid,” Kelusta said, tilting her head and protesting with feigned anger. “Fine, don’t thank me, but you have the nerve to snap at me? That’s just too much. I’m not taking you for good food next time.”
Musen frowned, saying with utter disgust, “Are you treating me like a three-year-old?”
He looked very dissatisfied with her tone.
“Oh, how can you blame me, sir?” Kelusta retorted. “After all, before your growth spurt, you looked exactly like a three-year-old, didn’t you?”
Musen: “…”
The black-haired boy’s face turned ashen with anger. As if refusing to speak with her any further, he sharply turned his head away, staring straight ahead. Looking as though he couldn’t even be bothered to glance at her again, he strode forward.
A triumphant smile spread across Kelusta’s face. She turned, her back to the academic building’s main entrance, and watched Musen’s retreating figure. Still not quite satisfied, she cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted brazenly after the quickly departing boy, “Don’t be mad, little guy! You’re taller now, right? You don’t look like a three-year-old anymore!”
This time, the only response to her provocation was a cold sneer and Musen’s figure disappearing completely around the corner.
Left standing alone, the brown-haired girl quietly lowered her hands, the lively expression on her face gradually receding. She leaned back against the pillar, one so thick it would take two people to encircle it with their arms. A faint fragrance from the courtyard drifted over on the breeze. Perhaps Professor Lysa had made some class plant a host of wisteria vines; they were so dense and lush, she had no idea when they had grown to completely conceal the side of the corridor.
Sunlight poured through the gaps in the flowers and leaves entwined around the latticed roof, casting dappled circles of light at her feet. Kelusta held out a hand, letting a sliver of light fall on her knuckles. Her pale skin was so bright it seemed almost transparent, the veins on the back of her hand standing out in clear relief.
After a long while, those golden eyes moved slightly, looking towards a certain spot on the side of the corridor that was hidden by the flowering vines.
Kelusta clenched her fist, flexing her fingers, then drew her hand back. “Come on out,” she said lightly. “Forcing such a large patch of wisteria to grow so quickly while I wasn’t paying attention… that must have been exhausting, right?”
The pale purple flower clusters swayed slightly, like silent bells in the air. The moment Kelusta finished speaking, a hand emerged from behind the vines, parting them like a beaded curtain. Kevit stepped out from behind the floral screen and stood silently before her. His willow-green eyes gazed at her, filled with an emotion she couldn’t immediately decipher.
“Your wood magic has improved faster than I imagined,” she commented with a soft sigh. “If your control weren’t still a bit unrefined, causing you to hastily sprout too many flowers at once, I might not have noticed you hiding there at all.”
Kevit lowered his head, looking at Kelusta with an unreadable expression, and said slowly, “You’ve been running around these past few days, all for that child?”
Child…?
Alright, Musen, it seems you really are short.
Kelusta’s mouth twitched. She fought back a laugh so as not to ruin the serious atmosphere and slowly nodded.
“I recognize him… His name is Musen, right?” Kevit completely failed to notice Kelusta’s momentary oddness. He seemed to fix his gaze on the blooming flowers, as if to hide the stark disapproval in his eyes. “A wanderer with no surname, burdened by a curse from the Continent’s Edge—Ruth, I’m afraid I can’t find a single reason for you to associate with him.”
Kelusta reined in her playful thoughts, a sense of foreboding washing over her.
All that earnest persuasion during potions class… it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.
Kevit, of course, didn’t know what the girl opposite him was thinking. His gaze slowly moved down to rest on Kelusta’s expressionless face. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and said, “Don’t think I’m being nosy… Ruth, I hope you can understand that getting too close to someone like that will only bring you harm. You won’t gain anything from it.”
“…”
Kelusta closed her eyes for a moment, then raised her head and looked directly into Kevit’s eyes, which were as green as new spring buds. She asked in a low voice, “Do you think I’m approaching Musen with some ulterior motive, trying to get something from him?”
Kevit was taken aback. A rare panic flickered across his usually gentle face. He took a step forward and reached out, as if wanting to grab Kelusta’s sleeve, and said hurriedly, “That’s not what I meant…”
Before his fingertips could touch her, the girl took a step back. Her light brown hair brushed against a perfectly blooming wisteria flower. Kevit’s fingers froze in mid-air, caught in a dilemma. Kelusta, however, seemed completely unconcerned. She reached up to the small flower next to her hair, gave it a gentle tug, plucked it off, and placed it in her palm.
Kevit froze for a moment, then frowned. He pulled his hand back, clenched it at his side, but said nothing.
They suddenly fell into silence.
The wind lifted the vines hanging beside Kelusta, stroking her hair like a gentle hand. After a long while, the brown-haired girl sighed softly, finally willing to break the stiff atmosphere.
“Have you changed, Kevit?” she asked softly, twirling the flower. “The you from Seaside Town liked to nap against trees, to sing to the flowers… You loved vibrant life and treated everything in the world with gentleness. To be honest, for a long time, I always hoped I could become a person as sunny and warm as you.”
Kevit’s eyelashes trembled. He lowered his eyes, his fingertips digging almost into his palm, but he remained silent.
“But the you who came to Holy Light Magic Academy began to see the temptations of power, the filthy corners, and every bit of discrimination and inequality that permeates the air. Your eyes are no longer as clear as they once were; it’s as if they’ve been changed, stained black, and no longer show a gentle gaze towards flowers and trees,” Kelusta said lightly, dropping the flower on the ground. “I understand you’re afraid of falling into trouble, afraid of me getting hurt… But Kevit, tell me, the person you’ve become now—can you still be called the real you?”
“…”
Kevit’s expression shifted slightly, and his eyes darkened as he looked coldly at Kelusta.
After a long moment, he finally said, “Whether then or now, I am still me.”
At that moment, the boy from Seaside Town seemed to have completely shed his trademark gentleness. He casually ripped off a hanging cluster of flowers, letting the wisteria blossoms scatter across the ground. Kevit’s once-vibrant green eyes had darkened to a deep, heavy spruce, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a chilly smile.
He carelessly tossed the vines aside and walked toward Kelusta, stepping on the scattered petals. “You’re not wrong, you know. I have changed,” he said with a smile. “I used to love every living thing, flowers and trees included, because I poured all my passion into them. But now, this so-called ‘Holy Light’ academy has shown me too many of its dark corners. It’s killed all my old, unrealistic fantasies. I’ve become cautious, indifferent. To secure a peaceful life for myself, I’ve had to start bowing and scraping before the nobility.”
As if to match his words, he bent down and moved closer to Kelusta, until the distance between them was no more than the width of a hand.
This was a dangerous posture.
Seen from behind, the two looked like an intimate couple, sharing a romantic kiss under the dense wisteria.
Kelusta’s back was pressed firmly against the pillar. Her amber eyes were utterly dark, devoid of any light. She stared at the person who had been her closest friend since childhood and watched as he spread his lips into a malicious grin. “I’m not who I used to be,” he whispered. “A social climber, a sycophant—describe it however you like, at least I’ll admit it. But you, Ruth? Standing on your high horse criticizing my ‘change,’ while refusing to admit your own… just how noble does that make you?”
After speaking, Kevit straightened up, still wearing that smile. He shifted his feet slightly, revealing the silver-haired girl who had been completely blocked by his body just now, standing not far away and quietly watching this scene.
“Ding. Gloria’s favorability -5.”
The System had said that 20 favorability points was a threshold—countless hosts had failed at the number “19,” unable to cross it even in death.
Kelusta had crossed it once, but because of Kevit’s interference… now she was back before the threshold again.
The brown-haired girl’s eyes flew open. Her annoyed and furious gaze instantly turned to Kevit. The latter, meeting her gaze, was still smiling brilliantly. He bowed and made a “please” gesture, his dark green eyes full of cold sarcasm.
…She shouldn’t have lowered her guard around Kevit just because she was too focused on Musen.
Today’s encounter felt perfectly orchestrated, something Kevit could never have managed on his own. She feared that, while she wasn’t looking, he had successfully made contact with that all-powerful Second Princess.
Kelusta nearly ground her teeth to dust. She coldly watched Gloria’s back as she turned and left, knowing that chasing after her now would be useless.
Her gaze shifted back to Kevit, whose face was filled with glee. Flames seemed to ignite in her eyes. With a sweep of her right hand, a large patch of the surrounding plants instantly wilted as if drained of all moisture, drooping listlessly.
In her hand, several incredibly sharp blades of water materialized. Her eyes, almost dyed golden-red with anger, stared fixedly at Kevit. She gave a cold sneer and said, “Well said. I’m indeed not worthy of calling myself noble…”
“So, let me show you what truly ‘ignoble’ behavior looks like.”
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