OHNIR – Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Stimulation
...Who sent it?
Kelusta frowned.
Although Wend hadn't mentioned a specific year, Kelusta could deduce from the minor details that Gloria must have been very young when she received the potted Golden Beach Rose as a gift—no older than six at the most.
Kevit's mother was a gentle woman who was quite skilled at gardening, while his father was a shrewd businessman. Within the first year of the Golden Beach Rose's cultivation, the couple stubbornly guarded its growing methods, despite numerous inquiries from flower farmers outside the town.
As this beautiful ornamental flower became fashionable along the coastline and even in some inland towns, Seaside Town enjoyed a brief moment in the spotlight. It attracted passing travelers who were willing to stop and rest there, just for a glimpse of the golden gardens filled with beach roses.
For this remote seaside town, that brief period was arguably the most open it had ever been to the outside world. The townspeople of Seaside seized the opportunity to vigorously develop their economy, and even after the craze for the flower trade subsided, every household remained quite prosperous.
...However, Kelusta vaguely recalled that her own family hadn't been as busy as their neighbors, who were constantly run off their feet.
One afternoon, she had run over to Kevit's house with its ocean view to play, as she often did. But he, in a great hurry, told her he was racing against the clock. He had to stay home and help his parents bundle flowers and simply couldn't spare the time, so he had to reluctantly decline his childhood friend's invitation.
After being stood up by her friend, Kelusta ran home in a huff. It took a long time for her father to gently coax her, and only then did she ask unhappily, "Why isn't our family busy like everyone else's?"
Her father seemed to pause for a moment. After a long silence, he patted her head and said with a soft laugh, "Because… we have a mine at home."
...For the next few days, Kelusta was as thrilled as if she'd won the lottery. Thinking back on it now, however, it was probably just a joke her father made up so he could be lazy. After all, to this day, Kelusta was still poor as a church mouse. She had to rely on Kevit for a decent dress at the start of the school year, and her allowance savings were just barely enough to help out Musen, an orphan who was even worse off than she was.
—She had let her thoughts wander. She blinked, pulling her mind back from her memories to focus once more on analyzing Wend's words.
Could Gloria or the person who gave her the flower have visited Seaside Town during that time? That didn't seem right. Although the beach rose later became a sought-after ornamental for the nobility, in its early years, it wasn't popular enough for word to have reached the capital... Besides, it was just a slightly newer variety of flower. Was it really worth the daughter of a duke personally visiting some rundown little town with absolutely no reputation?
Don't be ridiculous. The children of high nobility hardly had that much free time.
Therefore, rather than that theory, Kelusta was more inclined to believe that Gloria had received the beach rose indirectly. Although Kevit's parents hadn't made the cultivation method public, they couldn't stop people from reselling the flowers. It seemed far more reasonable that a flower had changed hands several times before being gifted to the duke's daughter.
If that was the case, then the people of Seaside Town could be ruled out as the "flower-giver."
Furthermore, Kelusta racked her brain but couldn't recall any important figures ever visiting her rundown little town.
Besides, with Gloria's looks, she must have been a peerless beauty even as a child. If Kelusta had ever seen her, she was sure she would have remembered.
But since Wend had asked, the giver was probably someone she knew. It was common enough for young people to exchange flowers, and it wasn't as if it were a red rose meant to express romantic love. With that in mind, the list of potential candidates grew.
Avia? Unlikely. Even before the marquis's daughter had offended Kelusta, Gloria had only maintained a lukewarm social relationship with her.
Starangui was a possibility, but the timing didn't add up. Gloria was still young then and likely hadn't had the chance to establish personal connections with the royal family. By the same token, she wouldn't have received a gift directly from the princess.
Could it be Lewis Hippol, the boy she'd encountered when Musen was being bullied? ...That was actually quite possible. The boy was the son of a count, after all. It was plausible that he had known Gloria in their childhood and had given her some novel but not particularly valuable little gift.
Kelusta looked at Wend, who was quietly waiting for her answer, and asked tentatively, "Was it the young Mr. Hippol?"
"...Lewis? No, it wasn't him." Wend sighed and shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed as he denied it.
Well, so much for that analysis.
Kelusta unconsciously scratched her palm with her fingertips. She looked at him, perplexed, and said with a hint of resignation, "Then I have no idea who it was. Can you give me another hint?"
"..."
Wend glanced at the boiling cauldron and turned toward a storage cabinet at the side. He had already arranged for someone to place the collected ingredients inside; he had also secured permission to use the potions classroom at the same time.
Watching his back, Kelusta unconsciously reached over and rubbed her other arm, feeling a little chilly.
She pinched her nose, suppressing the urge to sneeze from the cold.
Wend took the wings of a Spotted Phosphorous Butterfly from the storage cabinet and walked back to the cauldron. As he brushed past Kelusta, she clearly heard the young ducal heir say, "Then I'll give you one more hint."
The brown-haired girl turned her head, frowning as she watched him skillfully use a small pair of silver scissors to cut the butterfly wings into twelve equal parts and gently toss them into the potion.
With a soft clink, his slender hand set the scissors back on the workbench. Wend turned, gazed quietly into her eyes for a long moment, and then said softly:
"Light. That is your hint."
Hearing that familiar sound, Kelusta froze.
A memory surfaced. She almost instantly recalled that time in the empty library, when she had thrown herself into Gloria's arms and cried petulantly, only to be easily soothed when Gloria called her "Little Shell."
Light... Lux...
She stared blankly into the space before her. She seemed to be looking at Wend, but her eyes held no focus.
Fragments of a residual memory seemed to be trying to shatter an invisible barrier in her mind. They stabbed their sharp tips into it, trying to rip it open with a violent tear and split the firm membrane apart.
Kelusta suddenly clutched her forehead as a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her, one wave after another. It felt as if someone were holding a huge iron nail, not only driving its sharp point into her skull but also hammering it viciously, trying to force it all the way down to her throat.
"Aah—"
The brown-haired girl cried out in pain and squeezed her eyes shut. Her slender body swayed, and her lower back slammed hard against the edge of the workbench before she slid to her knees on the floor.
"What's happening, temporary host!"
The System's electronic voice, unusually anxious, became indistinct. Intense pain buckled her knees, seeping into her marrow along with the damp chill of the potions classroom. Kelusta trembled uncontrollably, gasping violently as a few hoarse, weak moans escaped her throat.
The unimaginable pain in her head eroded her senses. Her vision filled with a blood-tinged darkness, and she couldn't feel the cold sweat on her fingertips. Just before she lost consciousness completely, she thought she heard Wend anxiously calling her name, but the sound was cut short after only two syllables, as if severed by a great axe.
She fell into complete darkness.
However, just before Kelusta lost consciousness, Wend, who was trying to help her up, saw the girl's pain-filled face as she seemed to force her eyes open for an instant—
Her brilliant gold eyes were mixed with a thick black mist, like a jar of pure honey tainted by a drop of ink from a mischievous child. The sharp contrast between the warm and cool colors was enough to make any observer intensely uncomfortable.
Wend's arm trembled as he tried to support her. He drew in a sharp breath, his pupils constricting as his face went pale. The young noble's usually cool and self-possessed expression was now filled with genuine shock and bewilderment.
That was Dark Magic, a power he knew all too well... But why was it appearing inside Kelusta?
Gloria strode into the medical room, her expression as cold as frost. Only when she saw the brown-haired girl sleeping peacefully on the bed did the anger radiating from her subside slightly, though her presence was still intimidating.
The staff in the medical room fell silent as cicadas in winter, doing their best to keep their distance. Only Madam Lechena, who had attended to Wend and Kelusta, remained composed enough to calmly address the duke's daughter—who looked as if she might kill someone to vent her anger at any moment. "Relax, Lady Gloria," she said. "I've already examined her. The young lady isn't injured, she hasn't ingested any toxic potions, and there are no signs of an attack. The only issue I can find... is that she seems to have a slight cold, likely due to the sudden drop in temperature and her light clothing."
She glanced at Wend, who stood silently beside the bed, then paused before adding hesitantly, "However, according to Master Wend's description, the patient fainted from a severe headache. But my examination revealed no potential cause for such pain. In the end, I could only try giving her a calming, pain-relieving potion... Fortunately, it seems to have been effective, and she is now asleep."
Madam Lechena had expected Gloria to question her medical expertise, but to her surprise, the silver-haired girl didn't grow angry. Instead, she seemed to pause, and the terrifying aura around her dissipated somewhat. Her only reaction was a slight frown as she said politely, "Thank you for your hard work, Madam. Since she is all right, Wend and I will watch over her. Please, feel free to attend to your other duties."
Lechena paused, then nodded, accepting the dismissal. Before she left, she added worriedly, "There is a call bell by the bed. If the young lady shows any unusual symptoms, please be sure to call for me."
Gloria gave a slight nod. Once the physician had left, she reached out and gently touched Kelusta's forehead. Her deep, jewel-blue eyes were filled with complex emotions. She watched Kelusta quietly for a long moment before finally turning her gaze to the long-silent Wend.
"...It's all right. I've already guessed," the silver-haired girl said, pressing her lips together. She looked at her brother, who stood ramrod straight, clearly wracked with guilt and self-blame. She sighed, reining in her displeasure to soothe him. "You brought up the past with her, didn't you?"
Wend lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. "I was careless. I never imagined she would—"
Before he could finish, Gloria cut him off. "This," she said calmly, "is why I haven't dared to bring up the past since I found her."
"...Because of the after-effects of Dark Magic, is that it?" Wend pressed his lips together. "It's hard to imagine that incident affected her this severely..."
Gloria sighed softly and sat down in the lone chair beside the bed. She gazed tenderly at the girl's peaceful sleeping face and reached out again to brush a few still-damp strands of hair from her cheek.
"I know you did it for my sake... but Wend, promise me you won't provoke her like that again."
The silver-haired girl drew back her hand, only to place it over the back of Kelusta's, which rested at her side. Her fingertips gently traced the veins faintly visible beneath the pale skin. Her voice sounded perfectly steady, yet it carried an inexplicable trace of sorrow.
"Even if she can't remember... it doesn't matter," she said softly, perhaps to Wend, perhaps to herself. "I'm not as willful as I was when I was a child. As long as she is by my side, as long as she still relies on me, trusts me, and loves me... then it doesn't matter if we don't have a past."
"Because the memories aren't what's important. She is—the person who is willing to stay by my side right now."
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