OHNIR – Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Disdain
“It seems the ‘big event after the first snow’ that Satrick mentioned to me before is the royal ball they were just talking about.”
The two nobles were discussing some family matters with their physician, so Kelusta, unable to interject, shrank behind Gloria and secretly started chatting with the System.
“Judging from Satrick’s reaction last time, it seems he wants to invite you to the ball as well,” the System said, rather puzzled. “How interesting. Isn’t he still engaged to Avia? If he openly invites you as his dance partner, isn’t he worried the Charles family will fly into a rage out of humiliation?”
“Hmm, well… he probably won’t ask me to be his partner. Most likely, he wants to issue a personal invitation to the royal ball as a way to show his goodwill.”
Kelusta refuted the System’s guess, curling her lip slightly as she said nonchalantly, “With Avia’s temper, if she found out her fiancé was pestering the woman who humiliated her so badly last time, she’d probably try to skin me alive. Satrick and Avia are childhood friends, so he knows exactly what his fiancée is like. If he still wants to win me over, he’ll definitely try his best to avoid that kind of situation.”
“Besides, I have no patience to risk playing this boring love triangle game with them,” Kelusta yawned. “I’m still waiting for Gloria’s invitation… I would never accept the Prince’s goodwill, which is clearly not genuine. Who cares about his petty favors!”
The royal ball was the kingdom’s most prestigious social event, held annually at the end of the year. In principle, it was open to the entire royal city, divided into the palace dance floor and the outer dance floor. The former was exclusively for nobles, while the latter was a venue specifically for commoners.
The outer dance floor had been established just a few years ago by the king, on the grounds that “the people should have the right to the same recreational activities as the nobility.” The feeling of enjoying similar treatment to the always aloof nobles was a novelty for the commoners of the royal city. As a result, the dance floor just outside the palace had been a boisterous affair for several years.
With so many people attending, matters such as preparing refreshments, arranging staff, and maintaining order on the dance floor could not be handled carelessly. For the palace, these details added up to a significant expense.
It had to be said that the royal family had truly spared no expense to win the support of the commoners and counterbalance the noble families, whose power was becoming increasingly unpredictable.
In fact, their efforts had paid off. Various populist measures had won the king a great deal of public support and approval. Now, when outsiders spoke of the current king, they unanimously praised him as farsighted, diligent, and benevolent—the first truly wise monarch the Nobili Kingdom had seen in decades.
With the support of such a massive commoner base, even those who were eyeing the throne and plotting in secret had to temporarily set aside their ambitions, choosing to watch from afar and plan for the future.
—Let’s return to the topic of the ball, scheduled to be held “after the first snow of winter.”
Having set a precedent of “rejoicing with the people,” the opening grew wider. After the outer dance floor had been running for just two years, the king personally announced that any commoner with an invitation could, after verification, enter the palace’s inner dance floor. However, they had to be cautious in their words and actions, must not offend the nobility, and must not engage in any impolite or presumptuous behavior. Otherwise, they would be permanently banned from attending the kingdom’s balls and would be punished or charged according to the severity of the negative impact they caused.
This sent the commoners into a frenzy; they would fight tooth and nail for one of those thin envelopes. Entering the palace dance floor was not just a symbol of status, but also an intangible opportunity to ascend into high society. If they seized the chance and met the right benefactor, a rapid rise in their station was all but guaranteed.
However, there are always two sides to every coin.
While this move made the commoners rejoice, it also met with strong protests from some nobles. Setting aside the minor nobles who supported the measure and needed to interact with commoners, many of the great noble families in the Nobili Kingdom considered themselves above the masses and disdained any association with them.
But the king’s declaration had already been announced to the city and clearly could not be retracted. So, they simply began to refuse to attend the ball, with the Charles family being a prime example. The year commoners were first allowed onto the palace dance floor, that arrogant marquis had his entire family offer their regrets to the royals, using “poor health” as an excuse. Only Avia, as the prince’s fiancée, still attended; the rest of the family never showed their faces at the ball again.
It was for this very reason that Duke Silentdis made a point of asking his two children every year whether they had decided to attend the ball.
In truth, the Duke himself, being busy with his affairs, had not attended since the year the king established the outer dance floor. Gloria, however, was on good terms with the princess and was unwilling to slight the royal family. Furthermore, she held no particular prejudice against commoners, so she had insisted on attending every year.
As for Wend, the heir to the dukedom, he had much more freedom than his sister. If he felt like going, he would accompany Gloria for a casual stroll around the palace. If not, he would just inform his father and continue to be a tech geek at home.
Besides, any commoner capable of obtaining an invitation was hardly a nobody and wouldn’t do anything foolish to vex the nobles. Most nobles were shrewd enough to tacitly accept this minor change to give the royal family face. Those willing to associate with commoners to consolidate their influence would accept the offered olive branch. Those who wanted nothing to do with them would adopt a colder attitude, and naturally, no tactless person would keep bothering them.
Someone like Marquis Charles, who would openly show his displeasure to the royal family… was, after all, just an exception.
“Well then, temporary host, I must remind you,” the System said earnestly, “Satrick is a truly difficult character to handle. If you want to refuse his invitation, you must think of a foolproof reason beforehand.”
Kelusta crossed her arms, tapping her fingertips on the bone of her opposite elbow. “I’ll think about it when I have time… So annoying. He’s just like a piece of sticky candy—once he latches on, you can’t shake him off. That’s why he’s the capture target I least want to get involved with.”
Satrick was very popular in the original game. After all, he was a capture target who substantially helped Kelusta in two different endings. He was handsome, high-status, and his royal route was not only the easiest to achieve but also dished out sweet moments so generously it was almost sickening. He was the idealized love for many players who had been “traumatized by Wend’s route.”
And yet, this popular prince was now being unceremoniously described as “sticky candy” by the current heroine…
The System sighed regretfully.
Alas, it’s not that you’re too lame, Your Highness. It’s just that no one could resist a sister like Gloria.
Anyway, whether in the original game or the current true ending, Kelusta’s first reaction upon seeing her was always to drool—a special treatment that none of the male capture targets ever received!
Pretty older sisters are the best!
Kelusta’s body was fine, and the Duke’s business was concluded. Dite stood up, politely bid farewell to the two nobles and the brown-haired girl, and left alone to take the carriage still waiting for him outside the academy.
Wend seemed to have arranged something with Gloria beforehand and left soon after Dite. Kelusta craned her neck to look and saw that he was heading in the direction of the academic building.
It was almost dark. What was he going to the academic building for?
“Alright, stop looking.” A slender, well-defined hand reached around her neck, gently taking Kelusta’s chin and turning her head back towards her. Gloria tilted her head, her deep-sea eyes and tone of voice full of dissatisfaction as she vividly described, “Your eyeballs are about to fall out.”
Kelusta stared at her, blinked, and gave a soft smile, teasing, “Nonsense. My eyeballs are about to fall out now!”
Gloria gazed into the pure golden eyes reflecting her own image and couldn’t help but smile. She reached out a finger and poked Kelusta between the eyebrows, saying helplessly, “You really are a naughty girl, only saying such things to make me happy.”
The brown-haired girl, quick of eye and hand, grabbed her finger, grinning so widely her eyes disappeared. “What’s wrong with making you happy? Isn’t that my job, my dear Lady Gloria?”
But Gloria, despite being wooed by these sweet words, remained quite unperturbed. She let Kelusta hold her finger, the curve of her smile deepening. Her aura, however, suddenly shifted from one of complete helplessness to a gentle, elegant grace tinged with a mysterious danger that sent a chill down one’s spine.
Kelusta coughed, a sudden sense of foreboding washing over her. The palm holding the silver-haired girl’s finger seemed to burn. Her eyes darted about uneasily as she met Gloria’s gaze, both timid and guilt-ridden.
She remembered.
It seemed she still owed Gloria an explanation for many things…
“It seems you’re quite self-aware.”
Gloria smiled, turning her hand to enclose Kelusta’s stiff fingers. She leaned close to her ear and whispered in a voice as soft as a feather, “What you secretly planned with Wend behind my back, what potion you drank that you shouldn’t have—you had better explain everything to me in detail. Don’t hide a single thing, or else…”
Kelusta felt as if a feather had truly brushed against her ear, an uncontrollable tingle spreading through it. A faint blush colored her cheeks. She pressed her lips together and opened her mouth to speak, trying to salvage her precarious level of trust in Gloria’s eyes.
But Gloria preempted her, pressing the pad of her finger to Kelusta’s lips and rubbing them almost imperceptibly. Her deep blue eyes were heavy with an unreadable emotion. Kelusta turned her head aside, unable to discern the silver-haired noble girl’s true thoughts.
“Tonight, come stay in my room again.”
Gloria’s voice was laced with a smile. Though her tone was gentle and suggestive, it sent a chill down Kelusta’s spine, sparking an inexplicable sense of alarm, as if she were about to be swallowed whole.
“Let’s give ourselves plenty of time to have a serious talk, and to properly settle… all the debts you’ve accrued with me during this time.”
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