OHNIR – Chapter 100
Chapter 100: Perfect
“…Baron Hozier, forty-five years old. His family's fortune declined after being framed by a competitor—a bit too old, no good.”
“Mevi Arison, twenty-two years old, eldest daughter of a dessert shop owner on Queen Street. The shop's business has been poor recently, so she's trying to raise money everywhere to help her parents through this difficult time—filial to her elders, her loyalty is commendable, but her personality is too meek. No good.”
“Nickcheer, seventeen years old, an orphan from the Cather Welfare Institute. He has a gloomy disposition and is unwilling to interact much with others—as for this child, his status is quite easy to control… Let's put him on the waitlist for now.”
“Carter Stephens, eleven years old, a wanderer…”
One file after another was laid out on the desk, meticulously sorted into three stacks. They were piled up into a small mountain, enough to make one dizzy just by looking at them.
In the chair behind the desk, a silver-haired girl held a quill, her brow slightly furrowed. She softly muttered something under her breath, focused on writing and marking up the documents, sorting through them at an astonishing speed.
She was selecting the “liaison” to be sent to the Demon Realm.
The only sounds in the vast study were the rustle of turning pages and the scratching of the quill, interspersed with Gloria's occasional thoughtful murmurs. The atmosphere was exceptionally quiet and solemn.
Because this person needed to go “undercover” in the Demon Realm, the candidate for this liaison had to meet at least three conditions.
One, loyalty; two, vigilance; and three, being easy to control.
The Silentdis family had already conducted a preliminary screening of all residents in the royal capital. The files on Gloria's desk contained either down-on-their-luck individuals in urgent need of help or pitiful people with no parents and a meager family background. Such people were the most suitable targets for exploitation and the easiest for Gloria, as the one in control, to dominate.
With just a little charity in the form of money or better living conditions, they would, actively or passively, become utterly devoted to the Silentdis family, turning into string puppets to search for all the necessary information at the Continent's Edge…
For that very reason, the choice of this person had to be made with extreme caution.
Gloria had been working on this for two days, barely sleeping. The Goddess of Deceit was already grumbling about her inefficiency, and if she delayed any longer, she feared it would only provoke more of the goddess's displeasure.
After placing a red checkmark for “waitlisted” on the wanderer's file, the silver-haired girl set down her pen. She flexed her stiff, slightly aching fingers for a moment and let out a soft sigh.
As this generation's “divine envoy,” Gloria was confident that no one knew the current status of the search for the Holy Force Source better than she did.
The sweep, centered on the royal capital, had already been fully deployed. Only two regions remained to be thoroughly investigated: the Continent's Edge and the small towns along the west coast.
Gloria lowered her eyes. Her deep blue irises seemed to hold a pool of profound seawater—calm on the surface, but with a surging undercurrent.
Sending an undercover agent to the Demon Realm this time was precisely to begin the search for the Holy Force Source at the Continent's Edge…
If they came up empty-handed, the next location would be the west coast.
She didn't want Persedoro to discover Seaside Town—because she knew perfectly well that it was the true location of the Holy Force Source.
“Knock, knock.”
Two soft knocks pulled Gloria's thoughts back to reality. She paused for a moment and blinked. Her long, silver eyelashes cast a small shadow on her cheeks, making her already fair skin seem almost translucent, as if it were glowing.
“Come in.” She picked up the cool tea beside her to moisten her throat, then called out calmly.
The door opened at her call.
A maid stood outside, bowing respectfully to the duke's daughter. “Lady Gloria,” she said softly, “the butler asked me to inform you that you have an esteemed visitor.”
“An esteemed visitor?” Gloria paused, frowning instinctively. “Don't tell me it's Her Highness Princess Starangui again…?”
“You've been overworking, my lady,” the maid said, shaking her head. “Miss Amirium sent a calling card a few days ago, saying she would visit today… The butler noticed you hadn't come down, so he sent me to ask when you plan to go to the reception hall.”
Gloria froze, frowning in thought for a moment before sighing deeply. “I've been so tired lately, I completely forgot about that.”
The maid said with concern, “You should rest properly, my lady. If you wear yourself out, Miss Amirium will worry.”
At the mention of Kelusta, the silver-haired girl's expression softened considerably, and she no longer looked as exhausted as she had a moment ago.
“There's no need to go to the reception hall. Bring her directly here,” Gloria instructed. “And bring some tea and snacks afterward. Make several kinds of pudding, and don't brew the black tea too strong—add some honey. Ruth likes sweet things.”
“Yes, my lady.” Hearing the somewhat fussy, detailed requests, the maid couldn't help but smile. She bowed respectfully and departed.
A short while later, there was another knock on the study door. Gloria went to open it herself, but before she could even smile, a familiar figure lunged at her, wrapping their arms around her neck with lightning speed.
“Gooood af-ter-nooon!” Kelusta leaned close to her ear, drawing out her words with a grin. “I've come to play, Miss Lux!”
Gloria chuckled softly, patting the top of Kelusta's soft hair. “Good afternoon, Ruth,” she said gently. “Welcome.”
Likely mindful that the butler who had led her there was still nearby, Kelusta gave a brief hug before letting go and steadying herself. When her girlfriend—the one she thought of day and night—made an inviting gesture, Kelusta's eyes lit up, and she unceremoniously bounced into the study, a room few were ever allowed to enter.
The butler took the refreshments from the maid who followed close behind and properly arranged them on the small guest table.
Gloria waved her hand slightly, dismissing the servants. She sat in a chair by the small table and poured Kelusta a cup of black tea that gave off a rich, sweet aroma. “Come rest for a bit,” she called out softly. “You were in a carriage the whole way. Aren't you tired?”
Kelusta was curiously browsing the books on the shelves. At Gloria's words, she turned and smiled. “It's not far, why would a short trip like that be tiring? You, on the other hand—you look like you haven't slept in days. You're so pale. What have you been busy with?”
As she spoke, she walked to Gloria's side and worriedly poked a finger at the faint bluish circles under her eyes. “Look at you,” she said with concern. “You have dark circles.”
Gloria smiled, raising a hand to grasp Kelusta's fingertip. “Just some urgent matters to attend to,” she said lightly. “I've been going to bed rather late these past two days.”
Then, returning the favor, she gently pinched Kelusta's cheek and shook her head with a smile. “I heard from Duchess Isabella that you've been running around busy with family affairs yourself these past few days. And you still have the energy to lecture me?”
“That's my point. I'm already this busy, so how could I bear to let you work so hard too?” Kelusta said righteously. “Besides… the Amirium business will be over once this period passes, but when you get busy, there's no end in sight. Don't try to fool me, the butler already told me everything! He said what you're doing is both tedious and important, and that you might not even finish the first stage in three to five days—that's just too exhausting!”
The butler said that?
Gloria raised an eyebrow and teased, “We're not even engaged yet, and you're already putting on the airs of the lady of the house?”
Kelusta shot her a glare and said irritably, “The butler was just worried and wanted me to help talk some sense into you—don't change the subject, Miss Lux. I came here today specifically to make sure you relax!”
“Alright, I'll do as you say,” Gloria said, shaking her head helplessly. She picked up a cookie and popped it into Kelusta's mouth, asking cooperatively, “So, how do you plan to make me relax, Teacher Ruth?”
The brown-haired girl froze, blinking as if stumped by the question, and actually began to rack her brain.
Gloria didn't rush her, simply watching with a smile and occasionally feeding her a cookie or a pastry, seeming quite content to dote on her.
“…”
After a long moment, when Kelusta came to her senses, she was stunned to realize that under Gloria's attentive care, she had eaten most of the snacks.
“…I'm going to get fat,” she pouted, emphasizing to Gloria with a serious expression, “To make sure I can fit into a beautiful dress for our engagement, I've decided to start losing weight, starting now!”
“You need to eat to have the strength to lose weight,” Gloria said, almost to herself, as she scooped up another spoonful of tempting pudding and held it to Kelusta's lips. “Have a little more. I had them all made especially for you… If you like them, I'll have some of each packed for you to take home, so your family's pastry chef can make them for you this way.”
Kelusta glared at her for a moment before finally opening her mouth in defeat, swallowing the spoonful of rich, cheese-scented pudding in one gulp.
“…Delicious,” she said, raising an eyebrow. She picked up a small cream puff and held it to Gloria's lips with a grin. “You try some, too.”
The soft outer shell of the cream puff wasn't overly sweet, but the cream filling was so rich and smooth it made every taste bud sing. Gloria opened her mouth and took a bite. It was like eating a small cloud; the sweet, milky flavor exploded, both soft and overwhelmingly rich.
As Gloria took the bite, the tip of her tongue seemed to deliberately brush against Kelusta's fingers. The touch sent a tingle through Kelusta's hand and a flush to her cheeks. She instinctively curled her fingers, accidentally smearing the cream from Gloria's lips onto her own knuckles.
“My skin is so fair,” Kelusta mumbled at the back of her hand after a cough to cover her embarrassment. “Even fairer than cream.”
Gloria chuckled. As she wiped the cream from both of them with a napkin, she asked with interest, “What books were you looking at just now? You seemed so engrossed.”
“An Introduction to Herbology, The Encyclopedia of Potion Ingredients, and Why Water Mages Can Succeed Light Mages as Healers,” Kelusta replied. “You have a lot of practical books here, and most of them are ones I've never seen before.”
“After the royal library was built, books gradually became a common reward bestowed by the royal family—especially practical volumes. Because they are often ancient, highly valuable, and have the widest applications, successive kings have often considered them one of the gifts that 'best expresses affection and esteem.'”
The silver-haired girl slowly explained, “The Amirium family ought to have quite a few books of the same type… After all, when the previous duke was alive, the Amirium family's importance to the crown was not far behind that of the Silentdis family.”
“Of course, I believe they won't continue to lag behind in the future.” Gloria's eyes crinkled as she smiled and said gently, “Because you will become the next duchess of this family, and that is the greatest turning point.”
Kelusta, on the receiving end of such high praise: “…”
She recalled her own lazy, unmotivated work ethic, which relied almost entirely on the System, and said guiltily, “Well, I wouldn't go that far—”
“No.”
Gloria interrupted her with a smile. “Because in my heart,” she said in a low voice, “you are the most outstanding, the most perfect one.”
She said firmly, “No matter how much time passes, no one will ever surpass you.”
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