OHNIR - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Side by Side

After touring her own warmly decorated bedroom, Kelusta said hello to Oliver and then spent the entire afternoon holed up in the study.

It wasn't until Isabella returned that she was finally willing to put down the documents in her hands concerning the current state of the family and the entire aristocratic circle, and received something her grandmother had brought for her.

It was another invitation.

A pure black envelope was sealed tight with a wax seal. It looked meticulously prepared, but the paper itself had no extra adornments or text. Though plain and simple, it inexplicably felt very pleasant.

As Kelusta, her face full of doubt, took it from Isabella's hand and was about to open it, she suddenly noticed two faint, cursive letters imprinted on the wax seal. The strokes were elegant and excessively familiar, allowing her to recognize them at a glance.

—"G.S."

"Is this from Gloria?" Kelusta looked up, somewhat stunned, and asked, "Does she already know that I've been acknowledged by you?"

"Although I didn't tell her, with the Silentdis family's intelligence network, plus the fact that Gloria already knew the hidden details, it really wouldn't be difficult for her to find out," Isabella replied.

After all, the invitation for Kelusta was delivered directly into Duchess Amirium's hands, which undoubtedly meant the sender clearly knew the former's current location.

"...Alright, I hope Lux isn't angry with me for not telling her about this sooner."

The brown-haired girl, feeling a little guilty, mumbled to herself, sighed softly, and reached out to open the invitation.

Although it looked excessively plain, the paper used by the duke's daughter was extremely expensive. Just holding it in her hand, she could feel a significant difference. Kelusta gently rubbed the surface with her thumb and looked closely. The snow-white parchment maintained the same simple style, with only a couple of pitifully sparse lines of beautiful script that seemed like a waste of paper.

"To Kelusta: Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, you are cordially invited to the Silentdis Ducal Estate to discuss important matters. I will receive you personally."

The signature was Gloria's name, indicating it was a personal invitation.

After reading it, Kelusta blinked. With the envelope in one hand and the letter in the other, under Isabella's strange gaze, she shook both items vigorously but was disappointed when nothing fell out.

"Ruth, what are you doing?" Isabella asked, amused, as she watched the comical scene.

Kelusta folded the invitation again and said dejectedly, "I was seeing if she sent anything else for me... The words in the invitation are too simple. I'm not sure if Gloria is angry with me."

"Angry?" Isabella asked, then immediately understood. "Angry that you didn't tell her sooner about your return to the Amirium family?"

The brown-haired girl nodded dispiritedly.

A sharp glint flashed through Isabella's eyes. She frowned slightly but relaxed it before Kelusta could notice. She reached out and patted her little granddaughter's head, a benevolent smile on her face, and soothed her in a gentle voice, "Don't worry. Based on my understanding of Gloria over the years, she wouldn't truly get upset with you over such a small matter."

"...Really?" Kelusta thought for a moment, uncertain.

It seemed that aside from jealousy, Gloria had never really been angry with her.

"Of course," Isabella said firmly. "I think... her invitation for you to visit her estate this time is likely for another matter."

Another matter?

Kelusta froze, and then it suddenly dawned on her—she thought of the custom-made formal dress she had missed out on at Queen Street the other day.

When it came to recent matters that were most urgent and could be called important... there was only one answer.

—The Royal Ball.

The broke heiress who had just returned to the family took a deep breath. She looked at Isabella, a little embarrassed, and asked in a small voice, "Grandmother, can I use some of the family's money?"

Not long ago, she had resolved to restore the family's fortunes, yet now she wanted to spend money before earning a single cent. Even for someone as thick-skinned as Kelusta, she couldn't help but feel her face grow a little warm.

Fortunately, Isabella's attitude was very positive. Without even asking, she waved over Oliver, who was waiting quietly nearby, and asked directly, "How is the new account I had you open for Ruth coming along?"

"It has already been taken care of, Madam," Oliver smiled. "In the future, if the young miss needs to use money, she only needs to sign the payment slips presented by the merchants."

Isabella nodded in satisfaction, turned to the surprised Kelusta, and smiled. "Did you hear that? Once your father has you sign the property authorization, you can use the money in the account as you please. No need to report to me."

"...Thank you, Grandmother," Kelusta smiled, her honey-gold eyes filled with a rich sweetness and obedience. "But I have other uses for that money... I can't tell you just yet."

Isabella raised an eyebrow, shook her head, and smiled. "Alright, then Grandmother will wait for your news."

---

The next day.

As Kelusta was thoughtfully brought to the gate of the Silentdis Ducal Estate by Oliver, she couldn't help but feel emotional. Two days ago, her status was that of an ordinary commoner, yet today she had become an honored guest of the two oldest ducal families in the Nobili Kingdom, one after the other.

The ways of the world are truly unpredictable. The ancients did not deceive me.

As Oliver took Kelusta's hand and helped her down from the carriage, the closed silver gates in front of them opened on cue. A debonair man walked out from within. Upon seeing them, he immediately offered a proper smile and bowed to Kelusta, saying, "Welcome, esteemed Miss Breviou—please follow me. Lady Gloria has been waiting for some time."

Kelusta glanced at Oliver, who understood tacitly and gave a slight nod. Without another word, he turned and left.

Left alone, the brown-haired girl turned back to the man and smiled slightly. "Please lead the way."

It was obvious that the Silentdis Ducal Estate was more magnificent than the Amirium family's. Although it also used understated dark colors as its main theme, every detail exuded a refinement and elegance that couldn't be concealed. One look was enough to know its owner must have a substantial fortune and a stable position, completely different from the declining Amirium family.

However, the butler did not lead Kelusta into the house. Instead, just before the entrance, he turned onto a side path surrounded by flowerbeds.

Before the person behind him could show any confusion, the butler, whose professionalism was no less than Oliver's, seemed to anticipate her question and explained softly, "Lady Gloria specifically instructed that she would have a long talk with you in the garden. So please follow me this way. The meeting place she has chosen is not far ahead."

Kelusta glanced back at the mansion, a little uneasy, and hesitated. "According to etiquette, I should first pay my respects to the Duke..."

"The Duke and Master Wend are both out on business. Currently, only Lady Gloria is at home," the butler said politely. "Lady Gloria personally instructed that you should go see her directly and not worry about such formalities."

Alright then, a missed opportunity to meet my future father-in-law.

Kelusta nodded. Having received an answer, she said no more and quietly followed behind him, continuing to walk slowly forward.

After a few minutes, they followed the flower-lined path, passed through an archway formed by shrubbery, and finally stepped into a garden with an open view.

Flowers and trees of different colors and varieties were planted in separate categories, arranged with the precision of a botanist. There were full-petaled tulips, fragrant roses, elegant marguerites... and a small, specially cordoned-off plot of land where tall sunflowers, as brilliant as gold scattered in a field, were planted, craning their necks toward the sun.

"Lux!"

Kelusta gave the area a quick glance and almost immediately spotted Gloria sitting under the shade of a large tree, slowly sipping tea.

Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise. She called out the other's name and, without needing the butler to lead her any further, rushed toward the silver-haired girl in a few quick strides.

Gloria set down her cup and smiled faintly. The moment she heard her name, she stood up, opened her arms, and precisely caught the little cannonball who was hurtling toward her without a second thought.

"I can't believe you invited me over," Kelusta said with a grin, throwing herself into her arms and wrapping her own around Gloria's neck. "I'm so honored!"

Gloria waved a hand at the butler, who looked slightly astonished by their interaction, dismissing him. Then she lowered her arms and returned the embrace of the brown-haired girl, whose tone was full of ingratiation. "To be able to invite the newly acknowledged little heiress of the Amirium family... no matter how you look at it, the honor should be all mine, shouldn't it?" she said impassively.

"...Stop teasing me like that," Kelusta pouted. While secretly trying to gauge the other's mood, she launched a preemptive strike, complaining with a look of displeasure, "This all happened so suddenly. At first, even I couldn't process it, so how could I have told you in time?"

Honestly, if she weren't so adaptable, wouldn't it have taken her two or three days to come to terms with such a pie-in-the-sky stroke of good fortune?

"And another thing, I heard from my grandmother that you knew about this even earlier than I did!" The brown-haired girl's eyes darted slightly. Thinking of this, she doubled down, putting on an even more puffed-up expression as she accused, "You didn't even drop a hint or give me a clue beforehand... You're so cunning, Miss Lux!"

Hearing this accusation, which was like being unfairly blamed, Gloria raised an eyebrow slightly and defended herself, "This is about your own life. Logically and emotionally, it wasn't my place to tell you."

"—Besides," she paused before adding, "from the heart, for certain selfish reasons, I didn't want you to return to the Amirium family, so naturally, I was even less inclined to give you any hints, explicit or otherwise."

Kelusta had only intended to play the victim first before Gloria could get angry, but she hadn't expected to receive such a surprising answer.

"...You didn't want me to return to my family?" She furrowed her brow and pulled back slightly from the other's embrace so she could look directly into the silver-haired girl's deep, sea-blue eyes. "I want to know why."

If I regained my true identity, I'd be able to be with you on more equal footing.

Gloria lowered her gaze and met hers silently for three seconds before sighing and raising a hand to smooth Kelusta's long hair.

"Objectively speaking, of course I wanted you to regain your noble status, enjoy the glory and wealth you were meant to have, and earn the respect of your entire family."

The silver-haired girl said faintly, "However, at the same time, for certain subjective reasons, I didn't want you to return. First, I was afraid you would put too much pressure on yourself to revive the Amirium family. Second, I was also worried that, like my mother, you might hold some indelible prejudice against Duchess Isabella because of Aunt Ricana's passing."

"If that were the case, then accepting the identity of 'the next heir of Amirium' would undoubtedly be asking for trouble," Gloria said. "So, in my view, the best way to prevent distress is to nip it in the bud before it can even begin."

Kelusta was taken aback.

In the end... her lack of support was actually out of consideration for her.

After a long moment, a smile gradually colored her eyes, which glittered like the petals of the nearby sunflowers. The brown-haired girl's arms tightened again, pulling herself back to that close distance with Gloria. Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled and said softly, "I never would have thought you'd be even more considerate than I am."

"Because I know the current Amirium family better than you do," the duke's daughter said calmly, holding her. "'The stream of gold is gradually solidifying, approaching its end'... That is the entire upper aristocracy's assessment of the family."

Then, she paused before continuing, "After Aunt Ricana left, the Amirium family missed out on far too much. Catching up now will be no easy task. I don't want you to take on this drudgery, which is almost equivalent to being a pioneer, because it requires an unbearable amount of effort... I don't want to see you work so hard."

—But with your pride, you would never accept my gifts, which would be almost equivalent to charity.

Gloria looked into her eyes and added silently in her heart.

"..."

However, after hearing her words, the tight knot in Kelusta's brow suddenly loosened a little.

She coughed lightly twice, took a small step back on the tips of her toes, and completely left Gloria's embrace, standing properly at a distance that was independent and businesslike.

"If that's the reason you didn't want me to regain my status... then you can rest assured."

The brown-haired girl gave the bewildered Gloria a satisfied and mischievous look, cleared her throat again, and, like an old-fashioned traditionalist who loved to put on airs, deliberately adopted a formal tone. "Actually, one of my purposes for coming here today... is, in the end, to change your image of—'me'."

As she spoke, a sheet of paper suddenly appeared in her hand as if by magic.

Under the other's somewhat surprised gaze, the girl, her expression full of confidence, gave a slight bow, extended her hand, and held the paper out steadily in front of Gloria.

"Although 'reviving the family' and all that sounds harder to deal with than a hundred potions professors..."

Only after the duke's eldest daughter took the sheet of paper did Kelusta straighten up. She drew out her words and said with a wide smile:

"—But, if I can work side by side with you, then all the difficulties... will be solved with ease."

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