OHNIR – Chapter 84
Chapter 84: Answers
“I… never thought you knew about my existence so long ago,” Kelusta said softly, her gaze lowered.
Having been raised solely by her father amidst the lively and warm people of Seaside Town, she had become adept at interacting with others from a young age. Over time, she developed a personality that was both perceptive and charming, making her quite likable.
This made her seem more mature than other children her age.
Perhaps it was for this reason that Sogeta felt his daughter had finally grown up and become sensible, and so he resolved to release the carrier pigeon, informing his wife's mother and best friend of Ricana's death and Kelusta's existence.
—After all, they had every right to know.
While Ricana was alive, it was one thing to honor her wish to remain hidden. But her death was a different matter entirely… Sogeta no longer had any reason to keep the truth from Isabella and Susan.
So, he chose to write two letters, laying bare their lives and whereabouts over the years, and sent them to the two most powerful ducal families in Nobili.
“You must be wondering why Miss Susan went to visit you in Seaside Town, while I, your own grandmother, seemed so cold-hearted as to ignore you… am I right?”
Faced with Madam Isabella's knowing inquiry, Kelusta remained silent, tacitly admitting she had indeed harbored such a question.
The old woman smiled, unbothered by her silence, and calmly continued, “At that time, your grandfather had just passed away, and I had only recently taken control of the Amirium family.”
Isabella paused, her voice calm yet distant, as if she were lost in memory. “When the head of a family changes, there is so much to hand over. Not to mention, there are always restless factions trying to interfere and claim a piece of the pie… Ruth, I hope you know that I truly wanted to go and see you myself—but my demanding duties, as well as the guilt in my heart, stopped me from doing so.”
“Guilt?”
Kelusta seized on the keyword. She looked at the old woman and asked hesitantly, “I don't understand, Grandmother… What do you have to feel guilty about?”
Hearing this, the white-haired matriarch looked up. Her eyes, though slightly clouded with age, still held a glimmer of light as she gazed calmly at Kelusta, who awaited her answer.
After a long moment, she gazed at Kelusta's eyes—as brilliantly golden as her own daughter's—and gave a small, nostalgic smile.
“I'm sure you know that your mother, Ricana, was a young woman who yearned for freedom.”
Isabella said, “She was vibrant, independent, and opinionated, unwilling to be bound by rules of any kind. In Ricana's eyes, rather than taking over a vast family, she preferred to do as she pleased—paint a landscape, have tea with friends, shop for trinkets in the streets… That was the life she most wanted to enjoy.”
Listening to her grandmother, Kelusta couldn't help but think of the paintings in her home, which her father treasured and preserved so carefully.
The person who could paint such powerful ocean waves would never have been content to be bound by dogma.
“Ricana reminded us more than once that someone like her could only be herself, never a proper ruler,” the Duchess said softly. “However, your grandfather and I saw only her intelligence and bright future. As if possessed, we were fixated on making her the most outstanding heir the Amirium family had seen in a hundred generations.”
“Heir…?”
“Yes, Ruth.” Isabella pressed her lips together, unable to hold back a deep sigh. “—And that meant she would have to sacrifice all her hobbies and her way of life, give up everything she loved, and throw herself into the endless pursuit and struggle for power.”
The title of “heir” was a lifelong ambition for someone like Satrick, but for the free-spirited Ricana, it was a magnificent cage forged from gold. No matter how priceless it appeared, no matter how breathtakingly beautiful, it was still just a cage.
To bind, to confine, to imprison… that is the true purpose of a cage.
The old Duke's desperate attempts to force his daughter into that cage led directly to Ricana's most extreme form of rebellion: running away from home, eloping, and ultimately spending the rest of her life hidden in a remote town. Only years after her death did the slightest whisper of news reach the royal capital where she had been born and raised.
“I am deeply indebted to Ricana,” Isabella said, letting out a heavy sigh as she glanced at a portrait hanging in the living room. “As was your grandfather. He was never able to move past it, and that, combined with overwork, led to a grave illness in his final days. He passed away not long after.”
Kelusta's gaze followed her grandmother's to the portrait. It depicted a man sitting upright in a chair, seemingly past middle age. He exuded an imposing aura, and two deep furrows were etched between his brows, giving him a solemn and stern appearance.
“Is that my grandfather?” the brown-haired girl asked softly, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I've never even seen him…”
“Yes, that is your grandfather, and my husband,” Isabella said with a smile, her eyes filled with both nostalgia and the weary wisdom of old age. “It is often the case that people part ways before they have ever had the chance to meet, little Ruth. And we, the living who are left behind, must always be forced to accept it and move on.”
The elderly woman spoke these words slowly and sorrowfully. As Kelusta listened in silence, a wave of intense, irrepressible sadness washed over her.
She pressed her lips together, set down her teacup, and, casting etiquette aside, rose and walked over to Isabella. Before her grandmother's surprised eyes, she leaned down and wrapped her in a tight, heartfelt embrace.
“I'll be with you from now on,” the brown-haired girl said firmly. “You won't be left behind again, and you won't have to bear everything alone.”
Hearing this sudden, heart-wrenching promise, the white-haired woman's eyes widened. She stared at her granddaughter, stunned into a long silence.
Her daughter gone, her husband dead, her family in decline… In years past, the succession of these spiritual and material burdens had nearly crushed the strong Duchess.
She had been forced to find an emotional anchor—and gentle, well-mannered Tina Hippol, with her Ricana-like eyes, became that anchor. Whenever Isabella felt on the verge of giving up, she would summon the sensible girl, gaze into her eyes for a moment, and think of the daughter she had lost and the granddaughter who had not yet returned.
Rumor had it that Tina was the only young relative she favored, but both Tina and Isabella knew the truth all too well. The Duchess, now well past her prime, was simply looking through the girl's eyes to remember the daughter she had lost.
And so, relying on that small comfort, Isabella had persevered, spending years doing everything in her power to save the ancient family from what felt like inevitable collapse.
—And now, she was deeply grateful for her own persistence.
For at last, she had found the treasure Ricana had left behind—this sensible, wonderful granddaughter.
After a moment, Isabella's expression softened, a smile creasing every line on her face. She reached out to stroke the top of Kelusta's head and said gently, in a tone full of affection:
“Alright. With Ruth here with me, your grandmother won't be lonely anymore.”
The surrounding servants had long since been dismissed under the arrangements of the excellent butler, Oliver. The mistress of the house no longer cared for formal seating arrangements; instead, she sat affectionately beside her granddaughter, continuing to answer her questions one by one.
“As I was saying, because of our past arrogance and self-righteousness, your grandfather and I always felt a deep guilt toward Ricana,” Isabella said. “Therefore, out of my debt to your mother, I wanted you to live the life you desired—untouched by the filth of power, unburdened by the pressure of reviving a family. I just wanted you to be a happy girl from Seaside Town. That would have been enough.”
Although this revealed the old woman's deep affection and best wishes for her granddaughter, it was, objectively speaking, a decision fraught with risk—and one of the reasons for the Amirium family's decline.
The nobility knew full well that a family without an heir was a family without a future.
And so, over the years, former partners had departed one by one to cut their losses. The family lost its momentum, and Isabella was forced to maintain an increasingly low profile to slow the decline. The gap between them and the other ducal family, the Silentdises, gradually widened until they were worlds apart.
In the dead of night, Isabella would sometimes wake in fear, wondering if the spirits of the Amirium ancestors and her husband would blame her for sacrificing the family's future for personal sentiment… But as a mother, she would rather be branded the sinner who caused her family's downfall and bear that infamy for eternity than repeat the mistakes she had made with her own daughter.
“This is why I was so reluctant to acknowledge you,” Isabella said, gently patting the back of Kelusta's hand. “But you must understand, Ruth, it's not that your grandmother doesn't love you…”
“Ever since you were four years old, I have sent your father a letter of authorization every year, transferring thirty percent of the profits from all the gold mines owned by the Amirium family. That wealth, even in the capital, would have been enough for you and your father to live a comfortable and peaceful life.”
…
—Gold mines!
Kelusta was dumbfounded.
She had once read that due to their distinguished service during the founding of the kingdom, the first Duke Amirium had been granted the largest and most productive gold mine in all of Nobili by the king…
It could be said that before the Amirium family's decline, over twenty percent of all gold products in circulation came from the mines owned by their family.
“…So when Dad used to say we had a gold mine in the family, he wasn't just joking?” the sheltered girl from Seaside Town said in shock. “We actually, literally have a mine!”
“My heavens,” the System, which never interrupted its host during important matters, couldn't help but murmur, “Congratulations. You've literally struck it rich overnight.”
The more worldly Isabella watched her, bubbling with excitement, and found it rather amusing. After a moment's thought, she decided to burst those bubbles with a splash of cold water. “However, as far as I know, Mr. Sogeta never touched any of that money…”
The brown-haired girl was taken aback.
“He believed that since it was Amirium property, it shouldn't belong to a Breviou. Only when you—Kelusta herself—decided to acknowledge your place as an Amirium would he activate those letters of authorization and formally transfer the funds to you.”
Isabella's expression was distant as she spoke, her tone carrying a faint note of admiration for Sogeta.
Kelusta: “…”
Content in his simple life, indifferent to fame and fortune, living frugally while sitting on a mountain of gold, the whole village's secret tycoon… She had to admit, her father was uncommonly resolute in his principles.
However, even after learning why her grandmother had stayed away for so many years, Kelusta still had a host of unanswered questions.
“I have one more question.”
Kelusta asked solemnly, “If you had already decided to let me remain a girl from Seaside forever, why did you suddenly change your mind and have my cousin Tina deliver that invitation?”
…
Faced with this question, Isabella was not nearly as forthcoming as she had been.
She was silent for a moment.
As the silence stretched on, Kelusta's brow furrowed. She stared intently at her grandmother's troubled expression. After a long hesitation, she decided to suppress her curiosity and said gently, “If you can't tell me, it's alright—”
“No, your grandmother promised to tell you everything.”
To her surprise, the Duchess seemed to cast aside her hesitation. Her expression softened once more as she said in a low voice, “Besides, I have heard about your relationship with that child, Gloria… I imagine telling you this won't make her any more displeased than she already is.”
“—Lux?”
Kelusta blinked in astonishment, asking blankly, “What does she have to do with this?”
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