OHNIR – Chapter 90
Chapter 90: A Riddle
Because of this misunderstanding, dinner nearly came to a halt.
Reginald felt his skin crawl under his daughter's cold gaze.
But after all, this misunderstanding was caused by his own neglect of the siblings... The Duke knew he was at fault, so he could only offer a few placating words, clarify his stance, and try to soothe her anger.
“Since she is a girl Lux has liked for a long time, and also the daughter of Susan's good friend, she must be quite outstanding.”
Reginald said, “I will fully support your plan. I will also prepare a sufficient betrothal gift and go to the Amirium ducal estate as soon as possible to discuss this matter properly with Madam Isabella.”
When he finished, he saw Gloria's expression gradually soften and couldn't help but smile in relief. He said solemnly, “You've always been a child with a strong mind of your own, and the decisions you've made have always been very correct and fitting... Therefore, on the matter of choosing a husband or a wife, I will not take any action to restrain or interfere with your decision.”
Gloria raised her eyes, met her father's gaze deeply, and smiled.
“I will only trust your judgment and provide you with any help you may need,” Reginald said gently. “As your father, I bless you, Lux—I am very happy to see you, like Queen Newlinya, find your fated partner in the vast sea of people, someone you are willing to spend the rest of your life with.”
Regarding Queen Newlinya, besides the avenue that once flowed with blood, there was another story that people still delighted in telling.
That was the love story of the Queen and her Queen Consort.
It was said that when Newlinya was still a young princess, the old king, weakened by his indulgence in carnal pleasures, neglected his duties. This allowed her to fall victim to a plot, and she went missing for a long time during a royal tour.
At that time, the Nobili Kingdom was mired in the chaos of war, and a weak, lone girl could not possibly survive for long amidst the magic attacks that struck from time to time.
The princess, wandering the streets, looked around in a daze. All she saw were collapsed ruins and floating dust, along with many ferocious-looking demons greedily hunched over corpses, fiercely consuming the magic contained within the blood of the dead.
Demons were “imitations” of humans, and ultimately, they were somewhat inferior. Thus, they did not possess the ability to use the Remnants of Divine Power—that is, magic.
Therefore, for demons, there was only one way to obtain magic: to plunder it from humans.
And blood, which contained magic, was the best means of extraction.
Members of the royal family often possessed lightning magic, making the lone Newlinya a delicacy that the demons were unwilling to miss. Pursued relentlessly by several of them, she fled in a panic into a humble village church. Inside, a girl of about her age sat with her hands clasped, murmuring prayers in a pious tone, looking as kind and flawless as an angel.
—This was Newlinya's first impression of her future queen consort.
However, the moment the demons rushed into the church after her, a scythe-like, fiercely burning flame shot toward them, cleanly incinerating them.
Having been saved like a damsel in distress, Newlinya's heart skipped a beat. She involuntarily took the girl's hand and asked, “Thank you, you saved my life—if it's convenient, could you tell me your name? I must thank you properly.”
“...My name is Cather,” the girl said languidly. “The church only has one exit. To be blunt, I only attacked for my own sake... Still, you look like the daughter of a wealthy family. If you insist on thanking me, of course I won't refuse.”
“I will thank you,” Newlinya said, “but if you want a more generous reward... then please grant me one more request.”
Cather glanced at her indifferently, yawned, and asked without much interest, “What request?”
“...Take me home,” Newlinya said. “Fulfill this condition, and even if you ask for the stars in the sky, I will find a way to pluck them for you.”
Because of these words, the commoner girl with immense magical talent became interested. She accepted the request on the spot and fought her way to the royal capital with Newlinya, leaving a trail of blood and carnage in her wake. She personally delivered the future queen back to her throne.
Later, perhaps because feelings had developed between them over the long journey, Cather did not ask for “the stars in the sky” as her reward. Instead, she made a request of Newlinya, which was—
To marry her.
After Newlinya accepted the proposal, the matter caused a tremendous uproar. The king, unable to contain his rage, ordered the princess to be confined and Cather to be imprisoned. Countless citizens also questioned the fact that the princess's future partner was a commoner woman.
Many corrupt nobles also took advantage of the situation. While Newlinya was trying to find a way to save herself and Cather, they hollowed out the kingdom to the point where it could not even defend itself against foreign enemies.
That was why, after the old king died of illness and Newlinya ascended the throne, the human race suffered one defeat after another, until the enemy was at the capital's gates.
Fortunately, with her own talents and Cather's help, Newlinya did not disappoint her subjects. At a moment of life and death, she and her queen consort executed the last of the treacherous officials, successfully took control of the Royal Knight Legion, and drove the demons back beyond a safe border.
From then on, the royal family, having learned a hard lesson, began to value the strength of commoners. Throughout the Nobili Kingdom, attitudes toward women also became more respectful and open.
As this was passed down through generations and civilization developed, it became common for same-sex couples to discuss marriage. As long as a family wasn't too conservative, they generally wouldn't find the matter overly difficult.
—The orphanages established by Queen Consort Cather, which have developed to this day, solved the issue for commoners who wished to have children. As for nobles who needed to continue their family line, they could simply adopt from a branch of the family and treat the child as their own.
After all, Queen Newlinya herself had adopted her cousin's son, raised him personally, and successfully cultivated him into an outstanding king.
“I am very happy to receive your blessing and trust, Father.”
The silver-haired girl smiled faintly, her deep blue eyes overflowing with a soft light. She said meaningfully, “Likewise, as you said, Queen Newlinya was indeed a great monarch... The Nobili Royal Family has been passed down for generations, and to have come this far, they have truly achieved many great things in this land. —This is beyond doubt, wouldn't you agree?”
“...”
At Gloria's baffling words, Reginald's expression gradually tensed. He subtly glanced at Wend, who looked utterly confused, and said in a low voice, “The royal family's achievements cannot be denied, but they are, after all, ‘human’... Countless historical events have proven to us that as long as one is human, there will come a day when they make a mistake.”
“However, there is nothing in this world that never makes mistakes,” Gloria said calmly, looking back at her father. “In fact, the very existence of ‘some things’ is in itself a huge, irreparable mistake.”
“...”
Wend looked blankly at his now-silent father, then turned to meet Gloria's eyes. She gave him a rare, reassuring smile but kept her attention on Reginald as she continued, “You didn't refute me—does that mean you've also begun to realize this mistake?”
“I find it hard to judge. But I want to hear your thoughts, Lux,” Reginald said. “If it truly is a mistake, what do you think we should do?”
“What's done is done. We can only cut our losses in time.”
Gloria said, “The affairs of the ‘human race,’ no matter how complicated, should be resolved by our own hands—not by allowing ‘other things’ to interfere unscrupulously, letting the snipe and the clam fight so the fisherman can reap the benefits.”
“...I will consider your proposal.” The Duke, his expression somber, lowered his eyes slightly, casually using his well-defined fingers to obscure his gaze.
“Because I must admit, just as you said—I don't know when it started, but I have indeed gradually become aware of this century-long ‘mistake’.”
“To her, we are merely a convenient weapon, not reliable partners or allies,” Reginald said intriguingly. “And after a war, the final fate of weapons is often to be shelved and stored away, or simply... broken in two.”
Gloria sighed softly and remained silent for a long moment, as if tacitly agreeing with her father's words.
The two of them were trading riddles back and forth, leaving Wend completely baffled. After a long silence, he finally couldn't help but ask, “What are you talking about? —And who is ‘she’?”
Both of them froze, their gazes simultaneously falling on the silver-haired boy who had asked the question. Gloria stared for a moment into her brother's curious eyes, then turned and exchanged a look of tacit understanding with her father.
Then, she gave Wend an uncharacteristically gentle smile.
“I'll have to trouble you to go to the academy tomorrow, intercept Ruth's report card, and bring it to me,” she said, naturally evading Wend's question with a rather domineering command. “To prevent her from getting her hands on it and changing the grades to fool me.”
“...” Wend narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “You still haven't answered my question, Lux.”
The silver-haired girl he'd called out lazily raised her eyes, already picking up her knife and fork. She gave Wend a small smile, showing not the slightest hint of guilt, and said placidly, “Is that so? Then wait until you're an adult to fight me for the right to have every question answered.”
Wend the Minor: “...”
He turned indignantly to his father, trying to get the earliest adult at the table to uphold justice.
But the latter, before he could speak, tapped his plate with a grin. Adopting a peacemaking posture, he said in all seriousness, “You've worked hard, Wend. After so many times, I imagine you're used to running errands for Lux?”
“Since you can't resist, you might as well accept it peacefully,” Reginald said, speaking from a position of detached ease. “Why not try this pan-fried sea bass? You've always liked it prepared this way—eat up so you have the strength to work tomorrow.”
“...”
The silver-haired boy lowered his head expressionlessly, picked up his knife, and as Reginald and Gloria's gazes met, fiercely sliced off a piece of the snow-white fish his father had pushed in front of him.
Such a doting father, Your Grace.
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