OHNIR – Chapter 59
Chapter 59: Enclosure
After the two agreed to see the sea one more time, they decided to stay home until nearly dusk to avoid the sun burning their fair skin. Only then did they leave the house, hand in hand and in high spirits.
Although Ricana still didn’t quite approve of letting Lux go out casually, she couldn’t hold out against the paired coquettish assault of the two pretty little girls. Even someone as aloof as her was no match for them. So, after giving Lux just a few more words of caution, she once again softened and let the two of them go out for a stroll.
Kelusta still took Lux along the small path from last time, but their luck wasn’t as good. Not only did they not see Rolling Wheel, but even Shark Chili was nowhere to be found. The black-haired girl, who was about to leave Seaside Town, was clearly a little regretful, but with Kelusta’s constant reassurance, she didn’t feel too disappointed.
They were just two little cats, after all. For Lux, the fact that “it would be difficult to see Kelusta again after returning to the capital” was clearly much more upsetting than “not being able to pet the cats before leaving.”
Because they had taken the shortcut once a few days ago, both were already familiar with the route. Soon, the two little girls, holding hands and whispering to each other all the way, stepped onto the soft sand and successfully reached the seaside.
“I had a dream about the sea last night,” Kelusta said, holding Lux’s hand and unconsciously kicking at the fine grains of sand. She looked at the waves reflecting the not-too-blinding sunlight, frowned, and said hesitantly, “so now I feel… whether it’s the seawater or the spray, it all looks a bit strange, as if it’s completely different from the ocean I usually see.”
“Completely different?” Lux blinked, looked quizzically at Kelusta’s serious face, and couldn’t help but ask nervously, “What did you dream about last night? Was it a nightmare? …Could it be that a giant octopus will burst out of the sea in a moment, extend its long, disgusting tentacles with suckers, and wrap us both up to be swallowed in one gulp?—“
“…” Kelusta turned her head, stared at her blankly, blinked, and said with great amusement, “Are all the well-read people in the capital this imaginative?”
Lux coughed, realizing her slip of the tongue, and closed her mouth in embarrassment.
Perhaps, just as the brown-haired girl had said, it was because she had read too many books. In any case, ever since she was little, she did indeed like to let her mind wander, as a diversion from her tedious daily etiquette lessons.
However, the ever-elegant and self-possessed duke’s daughter would never so easily voice her fantasies in front of others… It was likely that in her heart, she had subconsciously categorized Kelusta as someone with whom she could “chat about anything she pleased,” and she was willing to let down all her guards and pretenses in front of her, showing her most authentic self.
It might be a bit impolite or awkward, but she simply refused to put on that calm and mature facade in front of her.
And Kelusta, naturally, didn’t find anything impolite in what Lux said; on the contrary, she genuinely found her speculation very interesting.
In the educationally impoverished Seaside Town, teachers could only ensure that students learned basic knowledge like language, simple arithmetic, and history. As for other things like literary accomplishment, comprehension, and imagination, they were completely unable to cultivate them, because they themselves lacked knowledge in these areas.
The guileless brown-haired girl, seeing the other fall silent, scratched her head in confusion and reached out to take Lux’s arm.
After successfully latching on, she gently squeezed the black-haired girl’s palm, moved closer, and said with a heartfelt, beaming smile, “I never thought that an octopus, which is usually eaten by people, would eat people in return… Hmm, it’s pretty scary when you think about it. I’ll tell Dad not to order any more octopus from old Rake when I get home tonight. I’m going to be traumatized!”
Lux burst out laughing, and that tiny bit of lingering embarrassment completely dissipated. She let her cling to her arm without letting go, looking more like an octopus than the monster from her fantasy.
“Alright, I was just saying it casually. Is it really enough to traumatize you?” She lowered her head, affectionately rubbing her chin against the top of Kelusta’s head, and brought the topic back to where it was. “Let’s not talk about that. You—you didn’t finish what you were saying before. What exactly did you dream about last night?”
“Hmm, I’m not too clear anymore,” Kelusta’s eyes looked up, as if she were thinking seriously, but her hand moved secretly, her fingers intertwining with Lux’s. “But I vaguely remember that in the dream, the ocean didn’t look so ordinary.”
“Not ordinary?”
“Right.”
The brown-haired girl lowered her eyes slightly, staring at the clear spray lapping at the front of her shoes, and said calmly, “The sea in my dream… it was as if it were glowing, not at all ordinary like it is now.”
A glowing sea?
Lux furrowed her brow. She reviewed the books and materials she had read, but she had never heard of such a thing.
As she thought, she turned her gaze from Kelusta and stared involuntarily at the sea, but she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
The splashing of the waves came in bursts. Kelusta took a breath but didn’t feel her heart start to beat abnormally to the rhythm of the waves like it had last night. She pouted, thinking it was probably because she hadn’t slept well and was making a fuss over nothing, which in turn made Lux start imagining things with her.
She sighed inwardly, feeling a little embarrassed. So she took the initiative to tighten her grip on Lux’s arm, rubbing her whole body against the other’s shoulder. After successfully diverting the black-haired girl’s attention to herself, she deliberately fluttered her big eyes, softened her voice, and shamelessly wheedled, “Never mind the sea, it was just a dream anyway, nothing bad will happen—but Lux, what was that gift you said you were going to give me? I’ve been waiting for half the day. If you keep hiding it, I’ll get angry, you know!”
Just as Susan couldn’t resist Ricana’s coquetry, her daughter naturally couldn’t resist Kelusta’s deliberate tantrums, banking on her affection.
Lux’s attention was immediately and successfully diverted. She no longer dwelled on the ocean, which had shown no abnormalities for a good while. She reached out, amused, and fondly ruffled Kelusta’s hair, then met the little girl’s accusatory gaze.
The black-haired girl raised an eyebrow, her fingers tracing down from the hairline to unhurriedly poke the other’s forehead, feigning annoyance as she said, “You’re so impatient.”
After speaking, she reached into a hidden pocket of her long dress and easily pulled out a long, rectangular jewelry box covered in royal blue velvet. Lux held the top of the box, and with a flick of her wrist, presented it right in front of the pouty, hard-to-please, spoiled little girl before her.
“Huh, what’s this?”
Kelusta finally let go of the other’s arm, carefully tapping the box with her fingertip, making a “thump, thump” sound.
“Open it and see,” Lux extended her arm a little further, her eyes filled with gentleness and anticipation. “You’ll definitely like it.”
Kelusta blinked, taking the royal blue jewelry box. She secretly felt that no matter what was inside, even if Lux had only given her the box itself, she would have loved it more than anything.
—Because the color of the jewelry box and the color of Lux’s beautiful eyes… were remarkably similar.
As Kelusta thought this to herself, she reached out, lifted the lid, and lowered her eyes to look inside.
“Eh? This is…”
Lux looked at her shocked expression, the kind of look one has when they’ve never seen the world, and said with a smile, “What do you think? Is it beautiful?”
“So beautiful…” Kelusta stared blankly at the white swan necklace that reflected a rainbow of colors in the sunlight. It took her a long moment to pull herself away from the splendid colors, unique to jewelry, that so firmly captured one’s gaze.
Even though she was still young, she immediately realized that this item was no ordinary thing. She immediately frowned, closed the lid, and tried to push the necklace, which looked priceless at a glance, back into Lux’s hands. “This is too valuable. I’m not worthy of it at all—”
“Of course you’re worthy.”
Lux stopped her hand, smiled faintly, and took out the magnificent necklace under Kelusta’s apprehensive gaze.
On the snow-white swan’s wings, every single feather was clearly defined. The elegant swan bent its long, slender neck. The chain connecting to the pendant was strung with large pearls. Amidst the shimmering colors, it refracted a brilliant and dazzling light.
Lux skillfully undid the necklace’s hidden clasp and took half a step forward.
Her gaze deepened. She deliberately didn’t go behind the other girl, but instead stood directly in front of the brown-haired girl and reached out. Under the other’s bewildered gaze, she placed her arms on her shoulders and pulled her into an intimate embrace.
Kelusta’s eyes widened slightly. She was completely immersed in the light scent of Golden Beach Roses on Lux, and she could feel her cheeks instantly flush red.
The meaning contained in this embrace was very special, quite different from any before. It was as if the black-haired girl wanted to enclose her within her own territory, filled with the dangerous and intense possessiveness of a hunter.
“Le… Lux?”
“Don’t move.”
The black-haired girl turned her head slightly, her eyes glinting, and pressed her lips to Kelusta’s ear.
This action made the little girl, who had been feeling uneasy and wanting to retreat, freeze instantly. She bit her lower lip blankly, looking pitiful, as if she wanted to turn her head but didn’t dare to move an inch.
Lux let out a low laugh, her long black hair brushing against Kelusta’s chin, and began to earnestly help her put on the glittering swan necklace.
Click.
The faint sound was drowned out by the sound of the waves.
Therefore, Kelusta didn’t know that the girl who was so seriously helping her put on the necklace, yet had been holding her for a long while without letting go, had actually already completed her task.
Lux closed her eyes, calmly hugging Kelusta around the neck. She was slightly taller than the brown-haired girl, which made the posture look as if she were holding the other girl firmly in her embrace, full of a sense of possession and belonging.
You are mine, and I am yours.
The long, black-haired girl’s lips curled up slightly. Her deep blue eyes were like an unfathomable ocean and also like a clear night sky full of stars. Glistening and faintly sparkling, her gaze as she looked sideways at Kelusta was filled with complete affection and anticipation.
“I really want to be with you forever.”
Her arms tightened involuntarily, enclosing Kelusta firmly in her embrace, as she said with a sigh:
“Because, only by staying in your eyes can I become… the real me.”
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