The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 218: Miss Hedra's Unbearable Day 5

Vol 2 Chapter 218 Miss Hedra's Unbearable Day 5

Inside the Griffin family mansion, the gathering continued.

As the niece of City Lord Lord Brennan, Rosalie became the center of attention at the party. She strolled around casually, chatting and laughing freely, while various voices chimed in beside her, flattering her, explaining the origins of the flowers and plants before her, and telling her about the most interesting things in Quebec, and so on.

After touring nearly half of the mansion's garden in this manner, Rosalie felt satisfied but also a bit bored.

"That's enough. I heard the Griffin family recently gained another daughter. I wonder who she is; I haven't seen her yet." Her topic turned back to the Griffin family and Eriel.

"You mean Mr. Alanfude's niece, the new sister Eriel recognized, right?"

"Yes." Rosalie recalled the name she had heard from the City Lord.

"I think it's called Hedra."

"This..." Most people present hadn't heard this name. It was also partly because Sylutia had kept a very low profile since arriving in Quebec, and Lady Haier had deliberately not brought her to any social occasions.

However, a small portion of Eriel's close friends and confidantes knew about Hedra."I know. I heard from Eriel before that she has a distant cousin who moved to live with their family due to changes in her own family's circumstances. She was also adopted as a foster daughter by Mr. Alanfude."

"Oh, where is she? Didn't she come out today?" Rosalie pressed further.

"I'm not sure about that. I'm afraid you'd have to ask Eriel." A girl nearby shrank her head. She had heard the general situation from Eriel. If that Hedra performed poorly and came out to embarrass herself, Eriel would probably hold a grudge against her later.

"You don't know either?" Rosalie looked around and realized that no one had actually seen this "Hedra," which made her even more curious.

At this moment, the young ladies and gentlemen gathered around Rosalie grabbed a servant in the courtyard to ask.

"Where is your family's other young lady?"

"Which one are you referring to?" This servant had actually already heard, but he still wanted to play dumb, as Eriel had specifically instructed earlier not to let Hedra come out during the gathering.

"Your newly arrived young lady, Hedra." Rosalie directly named her.

"This..." His face showed difficulty and hesitation. Seeing this, Wes, who was nearby, frowned and stepped forward.

"What is there to hesitate about now? Can't you see Miss Rosalie wants to meet her? Hiding things like this, do you want to make Eriel lose face?" Under his scolding, this servant clearly couldn't withstand the pressure. Seeing himself isolated and unsupported, he had no choice but to lead the group towards the place inside the mansion where Sylutia resided.

On the other side of the garden, Eriel was sitting under a parasol with Virelna at this moment. However, Virelna was calmly drinking tea, while Eriel had her head buried in her knees, wiping away tears, afraid of being seen like this.

"..." Seeing Eriel so fragile, Virelna's previous dislike for her dissipated considerably, replaced by a bit of pity and compassion.

"Here, wipe your tears." She handed over a handkerchief.

Taking the handkerchief from Virelna, Eriel barely raised her head, revealing her eyes red and swollen from crying. She then wiped them shamefacedly, tidying her messy makeup and hair ornaments.

"Th-thank you." Her voice still carried a sob and stiffness.

Just then, a servant hurried over.

"It's not good, Miss. They want to see the Third Young Miss. They're about to rush to the room where the Third Young Miss lives right now."

"What?" Eriel stood up in shock, suddenly thinking of something bad in her mind.

She hastily gathered her skirt and had the servant lead the way.

"Sorry, Virelna, I have something to attend to." She hurriedly finished this sentence and, along with the servant and maidservant, rushed in the direction where Rosalie's group had headed.

Seeing her leave in such a hurry, Virelna shook her head, truly not understanding why so many things were happening today, but this also piqued her curiosity.

"Let's go take a look too. If we miss it, Mother will surely scold me when I get home."

"Yes, Miss." The maidservant beside her accompanied Virelna as she also walked towards the place where the crowd was gathering.

.....

In the room, Sylutia was flipping through the pages of a book, a pen in her hand occasionally writing in a notebook to help memorize some key points.

Hearing the commotion in the courtyard downstairs, she didn't pay much attention. However, when the sound of a group's footsteps drew closer and closer and ascended the stairs to the second floor, she also sensed something was wrong.

Right now, on the second floor, apart from a few servants and maidservants, she was likely the only one who could be the target of this group.

Were they looking for her? But she didn't have any acquaintances in Quebec.

Regardless of the purpose of the visitors, Sylutia put down her book, went to the mirror, tidied her clothes simply, picked up the sun hat hanging behind the door, put it on, and walked out of the room.

Even if meeting someone, it would be better outside. Being forced to receive guests while blocked in a bedroom was rather rude and awkward.

Arriving at a balcony on the second floor, Sylutia sat in a shaded spot where the sun couldn't directly shine. It faced the rear courtyard part of the mansion, quite quiet, with the sound of cicadas chirping intermittently.

"Pour some tea for me, Margo. Thank you for your trouble."

"Yes, Miss." The maidservant guarding her went to prepare. At this moment, the sound of a group's footsteps also came from the corridor in front of the mansion, getting closer and closer.

During this time, Sylutia heard them asking the servant about her location. After some leading and pointing, these footsteps passed by the bedroom where she lived and headed towards the balcony overlooking the rear courtyard.

"Is it here?" Rosalie's voice was full of excitement and curiosity, as if playing some kind of treasure hunt game.

"Yes, Miss Rosalie." The servant responded with a bitter face. At this point, denying it was useless and would only unnecessarily offend this noble young lady of high status.

"Hidden so deep, hmph." Rosalie walked with light, brisk steps, leading the group of curious men and women behind her towards the corner of the corridor.

The trees planted beside the mansion were tall and straight. Sunlight filtered through the yellowish-green leaves, falling on the walkway with white pillars, creating dappled shadows. A gentle breeze blew here, carrying a pleasant tranquility not found in the mansion's front courtyard, and the air also seemed a few degrees cooler.

At the balcony at the end of the corridor, a young girl wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat sat upright. The black, elegant brim of the hat was adorned with deep blue and white cornflowers, tied into a pretty bow with a ribbon. The side profile of the girl under the brim was half-hidden in the shadow of the hat, unclear.

She had a serene posture. The black hem of her dress had a layer of white ruffles, showing a bit of a young girl's charm. Seeing her from afar made people unconsciously quiet down.

Rosalie gradually slowed her pace. The previous excitement on her face slowly faded. By the time she arrived beside Sylutia, her demeanor had already become cautious and careful.

At this moment, she respectfully bent slightly, lifted her skirt, and curtsied to the outsider she was meeting for the first time today.

"Hello, my name is Rosalie. May I get to know you?"

Hearing her words, the mysterious girl in everyone's eyes, who also possessed a pure aura, slowly turned around. She revealed her black gem-like eyes and her smooth hair lightly covering her graceful shoulders and neck.

"Hello, my name is Hedra. Nice to meet you." Simple and clear words floated up in the breeze.

Although she wore no gorgeous dress or ornaments, the simple black summer dress and sun hat fully displayed this young girl's temperament, giving people the illusion that she seemed to have stepped in from another world, possessing a dreamlike quality that didn't quite match this one.

Afterwards, Margo brought tea and quietly poured it on the small table between the two.

And so, when Eriel arrived a few minutes later, what she saw was a group of people gathered outside the balcony, while in the middle, Rosalie was talking and laughing cheerfully with that sister of unknown origins.

The disparity between this reality and her expectations made her freeze in place once again, not understanding how things had developed to this point.

How could a girl from the countryside converse so calmly and composedly with that young lady? Did she embarrass the Griffin family or not? Did she say bad things about her? All these questions made Eriel's mood fluctuate with anxiety.

However, at this moment, she no longer had the courage to rush over and interrogate. She could only hide behind and watch slowly, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

I am the legitimate daughter of the Griffin family...

Then she remembered something and found where Young Master Weiss was in the crowd. Young Master Weiss, who had been the center of attention before, now stood in a corner like many other men and women, watching the two on the balcony talk and laugh. His appearance was no different from the others around him, full of longing and envy.

Suddenly, she felt disgusted. She had deliberately tried to please such a person before. And the scene from not long ago, where Weiss completely failed to help her out of the predicament and callously abandoned her, surfaced in her mind once again.

Abruptly, Eriel felt everything was so disappointing. A feeling of loss filled her heart. She no longer stayed but slowly left, utterly dejected.

At this moment, at the center of everyone's attention, Sylutia also felt a bit of anxiety rising in her heart. Being watched by so many people was not relaxing or enjoyable at all. She began to wonder why Eriel still hadn't come over. If this cheap cousin of hers could be a bit more domineering and lock her in the room, that would be good.

Sigh, what a difficult day. The same thought floated in both their hearts.