OHNIR – Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Legacy
However, Sogeta had no idea what the silent Sumolor was thinking. The usually gentle, brown-haired man frowned, looked at the black-clad woman with her head bowed low, and sighed softly. “Do you resent me, Madam?” he asked.
Sumolor’s frozen form stirred. She lifted her head, and the bright light from the window shone into her eyes, the specks of brilliance outshining even the purest diamonds.
Sogeta looked at his wife’s former best friend and continued calmly, “Do you resent me for not persuading Ricana, for not telling you she had come to Seaside Town… or for waiting a full four years before informing you of her passing?”
“When it comes to Ricana’s affairs, I do bear an undeniable responsibility—to you, to the Amirium family, to Ruth… and to Ricana herself,” Sogeta said. “If you blame me, I will not utter a single word of complaint. It is what I deserve.”
The young duchess remained silent for a long while before shaking her head slightly. At this moment, her emerald-green eyes were filled with exhaustion, yet her tone was uncharacteristically serene. “I don’t blame you.”
She tilted her head back, revealing a swan-like, slender white neck. Her throat moved as if choked with emotion, and her voice carried an indefinable sadness.
“It was my own failure to notice how she felt differently about you, and my own failure to be the best friend I could be, to make her want to stay in the capital for me… You were Ricana’s choice, the man she was destined to love, the one she was willing to abandon everything to follow. As her best friend, I neither wish to, nor have any right to, resent you.”
The woman in black paused, pursing her lips before turning her gaze back to the vivid painting. The azure sea and the pearl oyster on the beach seemed to leap from the paper, every detail clearly conveying the genuine joy in the heart of the golden-eyed artist as she painted.
“Ricana’s choice was the right one,” she said softly. “She was always meant to be the freest canary, brilliant and unbound by any cage, spreading her wings to fly toward the ocean she loved… Neither her parents nor I ever had the right to interfere in her life.”
“In fact, I should be thanking you, Mr. Breviou.”
Sumolor smiled and looked back at Sogeta. She suddenly stood up and gave him a slight bow, a standard gesture of gratitude.
“You gave her a truly free life, and a happy, fulfilling family.” The woman’s jade-green eyes shimmered, as if with an imperceptible glint of moisture. “No one but you could have done that. Therefore, on behalf of myself and Madam Amirium, I must extend to you my most sincere thanks.”
“—Thank you, for letting Ricana have the life she wanted to live.”
Sogeta rose in astonishment, his gaze fixed on the stunningly beautiful young noblewoman who was enveloped in an ethereal aura, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
Sumolor came from a noble family that practiced theology. In her early years, under the long-standing influence of her family’s faith and etiquette, the cool and detached woman was not only somewhat old-fashioned in temperament, but her every action also adhered to the standards of a perfect noble lady.
Although when it came to matters of the heart, she always had a soft spot for the rebellious Ricana, instinctively supporting her defiance against the Duke of Amirium. But when it came to something as disgraceful as running away from home to elope, even Sumolor, as Ricana’s best and only friend, would have been vehemently opposed.
After Ricana chanced upon the gentle Sogeta at a market and realized she had fallen in love with him, she had tentatively and cryptically mentioned her thoughts to Sumolor. To her surprise, the hopeful Ricana was mercilessly scolded by her usually supportive friend, who even warned her to “never forget your station.”
Her friend’s refusal to support her, combined with the pressure from the Duke of Amirium, caused the headstrong woman to snap. She deceived everyone, abandoned all the glory and wealth of her noble status, and quietly hid away with her lover in the remote Seaside Town. Even as Sumolor and the Amirium family searched frantically, she remained resolute and cautious, leaving not a single clue behind.
It wasn’t until the former ducal daughter passed away after giving birth to Kelusta that Sogeta, when his daughter turned four, finally picked up a pen. Filled with guilt, he wrote a letter and sent it by carrier pigeon to the capital, thousands of miles away.
Despite his guilt, to Sogeta—who appeared gentle but was as steadfast as his wife—the peaceful life his daughter needed while growing up was undoubtedly more important than his remorse. He didn’t dare gamble on whether the Amirium family and Sumolor would fly into a rage. He could only wait until Ruth was a little older and had a mind of her own before informing his wife’s family and friend of her existence.
But the trouble he anticipated never came. Before long, he received a handwritten letter and a power of attorney signed by Duchess Amirium, and he also welcomed his wife’s old friend, who was now Duchess Silentdis, Sumolor.
Regarding Ricana’s resolute departure, Sogeta had assumed that the duchess who had grown up with her would be the one who despised him the most. He never expected that the first words of what could be called “forgiveness” would come from her lips.
“Madam…” He opened his mouth, but his throat felt inexplicably tight. It took a long moment before he could suppress the indescribable feeling. He frowned and sighed, “I regret—if Ricana were the one to hear those words, she would have been overjoyed.”
The brown-haired man’s lips curved slightly, but there was no trace of a smile in his expression, only the endless sorrow of being lost in memories.
“Because, as she lay dying, the person she was most concerned about, the one she couldn’t let go of… was you.”
—“Susan… I wanted… to see you one more time.”
A mist gradually clouded her bright, demantoid-like eyes, making them resemble a pair of precious gems submerged in a stream. Sumolor gave a sad, faint smile. She raised her fingertips and slowly touched the front of her neck. A tear fell silently onto the back of her hand, tracing the curve of her prominent knuckles and slowly soaking the cuff of her black, mourning-like sleeve.
When she moved her fingers away, a black pendant rested quietly at the center of her collarbone. It was exquisitely carved with distinct wings, like a lifelike black swan about to take flight.
Under Sogeta’s sorrowful gaze, Sumolor took a soft breath, pulled out a handkerchief to dab the tears from the corners of her eyes, and struggled to suppress an overwhelming sob.
She still maintained the elegant etiquette required of a duchess, refusing to lose her composure in front of her dear friend’s husband. Forcing herself to remain calm, she pursed her lips and said in a low voice, “Before she left the capital, I commissioned Nobili’s finest jeweler to craft two necklaces… I never thought I would never have the chance to give one to her in this lifetime.”
She picked up the handbag she had set aside and took out a long, slender, sapphire-blue velvet jewelry box. Upon opening it, a silver-white swan necklace, nearly identical to the one she wore, lay inside. Its neck was bent, its wings spread, its long beak touching its feathers. The equally fine craftsmanship made it clear that the black and white swan necklaces were the work of the same master.
The people of the Nobili Kingdom more or less respected and revered Clara, the founding goddess of the human race, while most demons at the Continent’s Edge prayed only to the Goddess of Darkness, Talebris. Beyond them, some people became faithful followers of other gods they admired, or simply declared they had no faith at all.
When choosing other deities to worship, humans mostly chose gods from the light faction, such as the Goddess of Life, Lysasa. The demons, on the other hand, would follow the gods under the command of the Goddess of Darkness, with the God of War, Hebgard, being the most prominent example.
And the deity Sumolor’s family had worshipped for generations was the Goddess of Fate, Gosna, from the light faction.
This goddess, who possessed the power of foresight, was initially sought after by both the light and dark factions. According to legend, she had intended to remain neutral but was persuaded by the Goddess of Life, Lysasa, at the last moment and ultimately joined the white faction.
Perhaps influenced by Gosna’s “neutral” ideology, Sumolor had always studied the histories of the Divine Era and the Cruel Era from a completely objective standpoint since she was young. Even though the stories passed down through word of mouth varied, with many versions contradicting each other, she still managed to glimpse some long-lost clues through her unique perspective.
—Sumolor secretly believed that the Goddess of Light and the Goddess of Darkness were not hostile to each other as legends claimed.
On the contrary, in her eyes, the two goddesses must have been a pair of incredibly close sisters.
If not for a twist of fate, or some unspeakable reason… a tragedy like “killing each other” should never have happened between them.
But this deduction could not be shared with others. Whether they were followers of Clara or Talebris, if they heard Sumolor’s heretical, history-subverting interpretation, they would probably fly into a rage and tear her to pieces. In the past, only the faithless Ricana would quietly listen to her arguments, support her, believe her, and keep this secret, never mentioning it to anyone.
Thus, both of them firmly believed in the bond between the Goddess of Light and the Goddess of Darkness, and they agreed that for centuries, no pair of sisters could ever surpass their affection.
And so, Sumolor, who had promised to be “sisters forever” with Ricana, secretly sought out the greatest jeweler of their time in Nobili without the other’s knowledge. She moved him with her sincerity, convincing him to accept her “heretical” request—to craft two swan necklaces using identical techniques, one representing the Goddess of Light and the other the Goddess of Darkness.
At that time, the black-haired noble girl was overjoyed when she received the necklaces. She had silently planned it all out: gold was one of the representative colors of the Goddess of Light, so she would give the white swan necklace to Ricana. As for herself, she would choose the black swan necklace, which she couldn’t wear openly to avoid controversy… besides, it matched her hair color perfectly.
However, life is always unpredictable. Before Sumolor found a chance to give her the necklace, Ricana left the capital and vanished without a trace for many years, so determined and ruthless that she left no trail to follow.
She had even kept her romance with Sogeta a complete secret… If not for the letter the brown-haired man sent to the capital years later, no one would have ever imagined that this gentle, unassuming street merchant was the mysterious man who had captured the ducal daughter’s heart.
—The past could not be revisited.
Sumolor’s fingertips gently touched the swan pendant, so exquisite it seemed otherworldly. A faint, almost imperceptible curve formed on her lips. She closed the box and placed it back in her handbag. Her jade-green eyes, filled with a complex mix of reluctance, regret, and nostalgia, rested calmly on Sogeta as she said softly, “Since fate did not allow it for Ricana and me… then let these two necklaces, with all the feelings they carry, be passed down to our daughters.”
“I will have Lux give the white swan necklace to Ruth, as a substitute for myself, who never had the chance to give it to Ricana… As for this black one, after we return to the capital, I will give it to my daughter.”
Sumolor raised her hand again, gently stroking the feathers of the swan pendant on her neck. “Even if they never have the chance to meet in the future,” she said earnestly, “at least this can fulfill a wish I have held in my heart for so many years.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Sogeta, who had been listening in silence, suddenly stood up. “Please wait a moment,” he said hastily.
While Sumolor watched in mild surprise, the brown-haired man turned and walked into the bedroom. A moment later, he returned with a wooden jewelry box so plain it could be called crude.
It was the simple color of natural wood, without even a coat of varnish—but it had one unique feature: a small mark in the bottom right corner.
It was a lifelike pearl oyster shell.
Both its lines and its luster were identical to the golden butterfly shell in the painting.
Sumolor stared at the square jewelry box in astonishment, speechless for a long time.
Sogeta smiled, pointed to the shell mark on the box, and took a step forward, solemnly placing it in Sumolor’s palm.
“This is a jewelry box that Ricana made with her own hands,” the brown-haired man said, his eyes gentle and full of longing. “I am giving it to you, Madam… If you don’t mind, please consider it a first-meeting gift from Ricana herself to Lux.”
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