OHNIR – Chapter 93
Chapter 93: Provocation
The treasured daughter of the Charles family stood before Kelusta, dressed in magnificent attire, her expression grim. Her beautiful face was filled with undisguised contempt and disgust.
“How does it feel to be so sought-after?”
She had clearly been watching from the sidelines for some time, taking in the entire scene of Kelusta rejecting one invitation after another.
“Miss Charles,” Kelusta said calmly, holding her glass of wine and standing her ground. “You are being rude.”
Even in the face of such mockery, her tone betrayed little fluctuation or emotion, making Avia feel as if she had punched a pillow—all her strength was useless, leaving her utterly frustrated.
“...Even if I am rude, could I possibly be more shameless than you?”
The red-haired girl’s face hardened, her eyes flashing with malice. As if no longer content with a private war, she suddenly raised her voice. “It’s one thing to flirt with every man at the ball, but to shamelessly try and seduce another woman’s fiancé—why don’t we let everyone here be the judge? Let’s see if I’m the one who has lost her decorum, or if you, you commoner vixen, are the one causing trouble!”
Her voice, sharp and piercing with rage, immediately drew the attention of many nearby guests.
The nobles touching up their makeup in the corner were mostly young ladies who loved to gossip. Seeing that one of the parties about to clash was the notoriously arrogant Avia, and that the topic was so explosive, they instantly clustered together like magnets, whispering amongst themselves while casting intrigued glances at the two girls.
“Who is that opposite Miss Charles? I’ve never seen her before.”
“Didn’t you hear her? She called the girl a ‘commoner vixen’... and said she seduced someone’s fiancé—oh heavens, could she mean His Highness, Prince Satrick?”
“A commoner? You must be joking! The design and fabric of her gown are top-tier. I can’t even guarantee I could afford it... How could someone wearing a dress like that be a commoner? I refuse to believe it.”
“Exactly. And so many men just invited her to dance... even a promising young talent like Viscount Horton was rejected. Commoners usually get into the palace ballroom by fawning over people. Would one have that much backbone?”
The surrounding crowd hesitated, unsure of the identity of one of the parties involved and unwilling to jump to conclusions. But Kelusta frowned, knowing she couldn’t let herself be slandered like this.
Her expression darkened, a faint glint in her golden eyes, and her voice carried a hint of anger. “I have no improper relationship with His Highness, Prince Satrick. Our interactions have always been proper, stemming from his willingness to offer guidance, and I have always observed the rules of etiquette—Miss Charles, you are an adult and the future princess consort. Please ascertain the truth before you make accusations!”
“Are you saying I’m being unreasonable?” Avia sneered, taking a step forward to press her. “I saw you with His Highness having a clandestine meeting in the grove with my own two eyes. Isn’t that enough to determine the truth?!”
As soon as she finished, a collective gasp went through the crowd. “The grove?—”
One of the fundamental skills of a gossip is to grasp the key points.
The “grove” Avia mentioned was like the fuse on a bomb, instantly igniting the noble ladies’ passion for digging up dirt.
While secretly laughing at how foolish Avia was to air the prince’s romantic escapades in public, they quietly shuffled their feet, all wanting a closer look at the beautiful girl who had the audacity to meet Prince Satrick in a grove.
The sudden movement of so many people toward the two confronting girls was quite conspicuous, drawing the gazes of many nobles from farther away.
Thus, those who hadn’t noticed the corner before now curiously made their way over, eager to be the first to witness the drama...
Among the crowd, an inconspicuous girl in a grey dress glanced around furtively. With her head lowered, she tried to minimize her presence as she discreetly followed the others toward Kelusta.
And in the corner they were all heading toward, the two young women continued their tense standoff.
“What people see is often very different from what they think,” the brown-haired girl’s voice was steady. Though she appeared calm, her presence was in no way inferior. “The grove you speak of is no secret place. It’s the shortcut to the academy building, a path anyone can take.”
“His Highness, Prince Satrick, and I merely happened to cross paths. You yourself saw no improper actions between us. Your current assumptions are mostly fantasy and completely unrealistic—Miss Charles, I’d like to ask you, since you have no proof, on what grounds do you claim it was a ‘clandestine meeting’?”
Her question was sharp and to the point. Avia was momentarily struck speechless, her mouth opening hesitantly as if to argue further.
But Kelusta cut her off before she could speak, adding meaningfully, “I must remind you that slandering the royal family is a grave crime. Even if you are the beloved youngest daughter of Marquis Charles and the prince’s official fiancée... you will be treated equally before the kingdom’s court and will not escape the corresponding punishment.”
“...Are you threatening me?” Avia stared at her with dark red eyes that looked as if they had been soaked in blood. “That path is notoriously filthy,” she spat. “What noble would want to walk it, aside from a commoner like you?”
“I saw it clearly from behind! His Highness followed you into the grove only after seeing you go in, just to find an opportunity to meet with you—I ask you all, if this isn’t a clandestine meeting, then what is?”
As she spoke the last sentence, she suddenly turned to face the crowd that had gathered to watch, raising her voice once more and successfully drawing everyone’s attention to herself.
“I think Miss Charles is genuinely angry this time, and what she’s saying is quite logical... Could it be true that she saw Prince Satrick meeting with this... this young lady in private?”
“Miss Charles keeps calling her a commoner, but she really doesn’t look like one... Ah! Mr. Horton, you invited that young lady to dance just now. Do you happen to know her identity?”
“My apologies, I was simply captivated by the young lady’s beauty and rashly extended an invitation... I’m sorry to disappoint you all, but I do not know who she is.”
“Mr. Horton may not know, but I do. —Avia is right, that woman is a first-year student at Holy Light Magic Academy! —Not only is she a commoner, but she’s a well-known country bumpkin from some rural backwater.”
“Yes, I’m also a student at the academy. I heard she recently got close to Lady Gloria, so perhaps she was brought to the ball by her?... And to be honest, Prince Satrick has shown her favor at the academy as well. Although we never thought of it that way, the two of them are indeed quite close, just as Miss Avia said.”
“Tsk, tsk. If that’s the case, then this commoner is truly something else...”
—Setting aside the surrounding whispers for a moment.
Because of Avia’s sudden outburst, Kelusta was also focused on her.
The brown-haired girl’s brow furrowed, her eyes cold, as her mind raced to figure out how to respond.
She hadn’t expected Avia to be so difficult.
Kelusta had assumed that while Avia was angry, she would have some sense of propriety and would only cause trouble behind the scenes. She never imagined Avia would play such a poor hand in public, not only cornering Kelusta but also putting herself in the eye of a future storm...
She really was an idiot.
These sorts of half-veiled romantic rumors were the easiest to stir the imagination. By casting Kelusta as the “suspected third party,” Avia had put her at a natural disadvantage from the start.
Unless Prince Satrick himself appeared on the spot to clear things up with his royal authority, whatever Kelusta said would be twisted by fools with romance on the brain to fit the narrative of a “clandestine meeting.”
—In a way, those two were a perfect match.
Both were first-class troublemakers.
While she was focused on devising a countermeasure and the nobles were completely captivated by Avia, an inconspicuous grey figure discreetly slipped past the layers of the crowd and into the shadows of the lights.
She bent down slightly, using the cover of the brown-haired girl’s skirt, and suddenly reached out. Unnoticed by almost everyone, she gave the other girl a hard shove in the small of her back!
—Kelusta’s skill with high heels was just enough to keep her from tripping on flat ground. This sudden push sent her stumbling forward two clumsy steps.
The brown-haired girl cursed inwardly, but thankfully the assailant wasn’t very strong. After a couple of hops, she had the presence of mind to steady herself against a nearby dining table. The movement was slight and didn’t attract the attention of the onlookers.
However, while she had stopped, the Green Plum Gardenia Wine in her hand had not.
The stemmed glass filled with pale green liquid slipped from Kelusta’s grasp as she leaned forward. As if in slow motion, everyone’s eyes followed its parabolic arc, staring blankly as it hurtled toward the red-haired girl—
In full view of everyone, the wide-mouthed wine glass, by a stroke of ill fortune, landed squarely upside down on Avia’s small, triumphant face!
Then, in the ensuing silence, its duty done, it fell to the floor and shattered with a loud “clang.”
Kelusta: “...”
Avia: “...”
The girl in the grey dress who had pushed her: “...”
The gossiping nobles: “...”
The sound of shattering glass startled the court musicians, interrupting the long, flowing dance music. The entire magnificent, gilded hall fell silent, the very air seeming to freeze in that moment.
They watched as the fragrant, specialty wine drenched the red-haired girl’s head and face. Drops of viscous, greenish liquid traced the curve of her delicate jaw, stretching into long threads that bespoke its fine quality before slowly dripping onto the glass shards scattered on the floor.
“...”
Kelusta lowered her eyes and looked at the corpse of the wine glass.
Well done, hero.
But in this situation, a hero’s sacrifice would only incite the villain’s wrath. In the pin-drop silence, Avia’s complexion changed visibly, first red, then white, finally settling on an unsettling, ashen blue.
Humiliated and furious at being seen in such an embarrassing state, she couldn’t stop herself from glaring daggers at the girl in the grey dress beside Kelusta. Her look was so murderous it nearly sent the little girl running in terror.
—In her plan, just getting the dress wet would have been enough... Avia cursed inwardly. This idiot was the reason she’d been so thoroughly humiliated!
Kelusta calmly followed her gaze, and the question of “who set me up” became about eighty percent clear.
So it was a coordinated attack? Then this Avia wasn’t completely hopeless.
However... the great tree behind her, the Charles family, was probably beyond saving.
The brown-haired girl narrowed her eyes slightly, swallowing the defense she had prepared.
Avia’s rumor-mongering was nothing to fear. Once Satrick used his princely status to explain things and placate Avia a little, these ambiguous rumors would naturally fall apart.
—Besides, the nobles knew Avia well. Anyone with a brain would just treat today’s farce as a show. As for those without brains, there was no need to bother with them. The prince’s faction would rush to clean up the mess for her, so Kelusta didn’t need to worry.
The royal family would likely move against the Charles family after the ball, and Satrick still needed to play the model fiancé for a few more days to avoid giving people anything to talk about...
It was better to hold back for now and not be too harsh on Avia.
Considering her own position, she was a person of little consequence, a mere commoner in the public eye who could only attend the ball by currying favor with Gloria...
Trying to explain herself alone in this situation would only make things worse. It was better to take a step back, let Avia taste a little victory, and let her believe her scheme was a resounding success for now.
At this thought, a faint smile touched Kelusta’s lips. She looked up at the utterly furious Avia, closed her mouth, and chose to say nothing.
Wait until she thinks she’s soaring high, then I’ll rip off her wings, break her support, and let her fall in the most miserable way—
That is what you call “the most brutal slap in the face.”
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment