The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 223: The Changing Room Frame Job

Vol 2 Chapter 223: The Changing Room Frame Job

In the backyard of the Griffin mansion, Sylutia raised her hand. Multiple runic imprints flashed in her eyes, and then a small triangular projectile appeared in her hand.

This projectile slowly rotated. As a pure condensation of Transcendent power, its durability was far inferior to metal, currently similar to lightweight wood.

[Projectile Shot]

This small triangular projectile shot out, hitting a target standing in the distance. Under Sylutia's precise control, its accuracy was decent, but its power was insufficient to cut through thin branches; it could only be used to knock down small berries.

If an equivalent amount of Aspect power were used to enhance her own blood circulation and boost physical fitness, the combat effectiveness unleashed would far exceed this weak attack. No wonder it was said that Mages shouldn't expect to have high combat power before reaching the Third Tier.

Adjusting her breathing, Sylutia focused her mind again. Another small 'projectile' appeared. Then, after her adjustments, she elongated its structure, making it as flat as possible. After that, she launched this projectile again, striking the distant target.

The projectile embedded itself into it, severing a few dry straws from the rope-woven target.

Seeing some effect, Sylutia continued to refine the construct. However, if she continued flattening the structure, the 'sturdy' rune would be difficult to maintain. After the edges reached a 30-degree acute angle, Sylutia abandoned further flattening and sharpening, attempting to add a 'rotation' rune to the spell model.

After several failed model constructions, Sylutia finally completed a new version of the 'projectile'. When it appeared in her hand, it began to rotate, and its speed gradually increased until it became a blurry afterimage. At that point, Sylutia launched it again. This time, it cleanly sliced through a small branch, bringing an improvement in attack power.Was this the charm of Mage-type spells? They could be constantly adjusted and changed to enhance and improve their effects. Sylutia gave a slight nod.

In that case, let's call the new version of the spell 'Rotating Projectile'.

After practicing her new spell ability, Sylutia returned to the mansion. It was almost lunchtime.

In the Griffin household, dinner was generally when all family members gathered, but lunch was different. Madam Haier often went out for gatherings and outings with friends, and Eriel was much the same. Although Ecor didn't attend as many gatherings, he practiced swordsmanship, so he usually didn't eat at home either.

Today was another day of having lunch alone at home. Sylutia sat alone at the dining table as two kitchen maidservants brought her a carefully prepared savory meat pie, cut fruit, and a small bowl of vegetable soup.

Savoring the meal carefully, Sylutia had just finished the savory pie and was about to eat some fruit when a hurried sound of footsteps ran past the front courtyard.

"Master, Madam—" The voice sounded like a servant from Ecor's side.

He called out for a while before the Butler went over to speak with him. Then, another flurry of hurried noises followed.

What was happening? Sylutia quickened her pace, finished the bowl of soup, and stood up.

"Come with me to take a look, Margo."

"Yes, Miss." The maidservant beside her temporarily set aside the idea of clearing the table and followed Sylutia as she walked briskly out of the dining room.

At this moment, the young lady saw servants preparing to go out on horseback. She curiously asked the Butler nearby about the situation. He seemed somewhat evasive, hesitating for a while before finally speaking up.

"Young Master Ecor is in trouble."

"Oh, what happened?" Sylutia pressed.

"Reportedly, some misunderstanding occurred, putting Young Master Ecor in a very dangerous situation." The Butler wiped his forehead.

Seeing he couldn't explain clearly anytime soon, Sylutia shook her head and looked at the panting servant.

"Take me to where it happened."

Upon hearing this, the servant first glanced at the Butler, then gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Miss, I'll take you there right away." After saying that, he quickly walked towards the mansion's main gate.

While walking on the way, this servant recounted the course of events.

It turned out that this morning, a small martial competition was held at the city's riding ground. The participants were all youths from the city's upper social circles. Most of them had received training, knew some weapons, and had condensed the basic 'First Tier' Aspect.

Shortly after the competition began, many young ladies of high society also came to watch. They were originally holding a tea party at a nearby mansion and, hearing about the competition, walked over.

At first, everything was normal. Some won, some lost in the competition; some cheered and applauded. Since wooden swords were used and protective gear was worn, no casualties occurred, at most some scrapes and bruises.

Approaching noon, the competition was paused. Everyone prepared to rest, have lunch together, and then continue in the afternoon.

It was during this process that an accident occurred. Virelna, a renowned beauty in Quebec's upper circles, briefly disappeared and was later found unconscious in a locker in the male changing room, her clothes disheveled. More fatally, at the moment she was discovered, Ecor happened to be using that changing room.

This caused an uproar. Many believed Ecor had knocked Virelna unconscious, brought her to the changing room, and intended to commit an indecent act. Ecor was unable to defend himself; no matter how he explained, others wouldn't listen. Several of Virelna's close girlfriends, in particular, incited the people present to judge and pass sentence on Ecor.

"So, was Miss Virelna awake at the time?" Sylutia asked.

"When she was discovered, Miss Virelna was unconscious. Later, after some treatment and having her face wiped with water, she slowly regained consciousness."

"What did she say?"

"Miss Virelna said she sweated a bit while watching in the morning, so she went to change clothes. Then she lost consciousness just after entering the changing room. What happened after that, she didn't know."

"So, she doesn't know who knocked her out either, right?"

"That's correct. But Miss Virelna's condition wasn't good; others couldn't get more information from her. And many other young ladies present believed it was Young Master Ecor who did it." The servant recounted helplessly.

"I roughly understand the situation." Sylutia sighed. This was clearly a trap. Who knew if it was someone deliberately framing him, or if Ecor was just unlucky enough to encounter such a thing.

Twenty minutes later, Sylutia and the servant arrived at the riding ground. Many people were still gathered here, and the city's security team had also sent people over.

Before even getting close, Sylutia heard a burst of arguing. One side was a sharp-tongued female voice, the other a somewhat timid and hesitant male voice.

"Are you just shielding a pervert like this? Can you brush it off so lightly by saying the evidence is insufficient?"

"Miss Ginny, this matter still requires careful investigation. Please don't get so agitated." The voice sounded very mature, probably the leader of the security team.

"This is about Virelna's reputation! If it's not clarified on the spot, how will she live in the future?" The female voice raised its pitch again.

"This..."

Led by the servant, Sylutia passed through the crowded throng and arrived at the scene.

At this moment, Virelna was being held in the arms of several of her girlfriends, a thin blanket draped over her. On the other side, Ecor stood with an uneasy expression, surrounded by several guards. However, a few of his good friends still stood with him, not abandoning him, continuing to argue with the girls opposite.

When Sylutia arrived, many people recognized her and whispered among themselves.

"That's the Third Young Miss of the Griffin Family. It's said Madam Sarah likes her very much now."

"Isn't she an illegitimate child?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they publicly say she's Alanfude's niece."

"She's very beautiful, not inferior to Virelna."

"Is she here to defuse the situation? But this incident is indeed very strange." Actually, quite a few people on the side could see something was off, but no one was specifically stepping forward for Ecor.

Taking a deep breath, Sylutia walked to the center of the arguing battlefield.

"May I ask who you are, and why you keep accusing my brother?" She tried to make her expression as stern as possible.

Interrupted, the girl in the yellow dress opposite frowned, stretched out her hand, prepared to push Sylutia aside, and continued pointing at Ecor while cursing.

Faced with such an unreasonable person, Sylutia also had a headache. She wasn't someone skilled at handling such scenes, but if her momentum weakened now, things would only become more troublesome later.

Thinking about who in her memories was best at solving this type of problem, Sylutia's thoughts rapidly turned and recalled. Although she had heard others say that her mother had a very strong aura when she was young, often being the leading socialite in noble circles, she herself had never inherited that aura, nor had she seen how her mother handled various messy affairs among her girlfriends and peers when she was young.

Fortunately, she had seen another peer with a powerful aura when she was little. And because the two of them played together for a long time, she had witnessed many scenes of the other party handling such conflict situations.

Now, she could only try to imitate Ilythia. She hoped she could hold firm and not lose steam halfway.

Sylutia opened her eyes again, not even turning her head, directly grabbing the arm of the yellow-dressed girl who was reaching past her. She pulled the other's arm forward, almost toppling her over.

"You..." The other girl just lifted her head, about to start cursing, when a crisp slapping sound rang out on the scene.

This slap directly stunned the other party. Covering her face, her eyes were full of disbelief.

The scene instantly quieted down. Everyone looked at this scene in astonishment.

"Didn't you hear me speaking?" Sylutia slightly raised her chin, her sharp gaze fixed directly on the other, causing the other's momentum to instantly weaken.

What to do next? Where should her hands go now? Should she put them behind her back, or let them hang down? Ilythia seemed to have even yanked the other person up back then. The young lady's mind raced with nervous thoughts, but her expression on the scene remained cold and indifferent.

"I, I..." The other's voice became weak, now starting to stammer.

"Step aside. Stand to the side." She gave no reason, directly issuing an order. The other unconsciously got up and began to retreat.

Now, Sylutia walked over to stand before Virelna. Several of her girlfriends immediately stood up, blocking the red-dressed young lady.

"I know you care deeply about Virelna, but her chastity is even more important right now. If certain truths aren't clarified quickly at this moment, it won't be good for either side." She began to explain the reasoning.

Hmm, Ilythia wouldn't have explained these things back then. After all, she was born with the 'Dragon Eye'; few dared to talk back or resist in front of her.

Seeing the girls still not moving, Sylutia felt she couldn't hold on much longer. Should she use force now? But that was clearly inappropriate.

Fortunately, Virelna finally stopped sobbing and stood up.

"Let Miss Hedra come over." She carefully wiped away her tears with her fingers.

Hearing Virelna's voice, the girlfriends turned back. Some comforted her, some handed her water. After that, Sylutia went over and sat beside her, starting to ask about the details.

Compared to the servant's earlier account, the process included more details, such as the time she lost consciousness, the stage when she woke up, and the most critical issue of her chastity.

"The skirt was torn, but the undergarments were fine. Probably because the time interval was relatively short." Virelna slowly recounted.

"So, the other party didn't have time to do anything." Sylutia continued to ponder.

"Can you take me to see the scene?"

Afterwards, the group went to the scene of the incident again. Then Sylutia carefully examined the size of the changing room, the windows, and the surrounding situation.

Because the riding ground was mostly used by the city's elite, there were many individual changing rooms here. But to save space, the walls here were very thin. If someone shouted, it would be impossible to hide it, and the time period was noon when there were many people around.

Secondly, that wardrobe was only used for hanging clothes; hiding a person was a tight squeeze. Virelna had to curl up her legs to sit inside. She probably could have pushed the door open with a little movement, and the wardrobe had no lock either.

"This place is neither suitable for committing a crime nor for hiding someone. What's even stranger is that someone came looking shortly after Ecor went in. Did he know in advance? Why was the timing so precise? Or perhaps, the person who reported it already knew Virelna was hidden in that room." The young lady turned around, her gaze sweeping across the entire crowd.

Now, everyone also realized what exactly was off and began to recall and search their memories.

"At the time, it seemed someone shouted, so I came over."

"I was the same."

"Servants, weren't you guarding outside at the time?"

"I was guarding outside at the time, but suddenly someone rushed to this corridor, saying Miss Virelna was missing, telling us to open all the changing rooms to search."

"Who rushed to this corridor and shouted?"

"That was..." Someone began to think hard because the situation was quite chaotic at the time.

"I remember! It seemed to be a servant in blue clothes, also wearing a training cap."

"Blue clothes..." On the scene, people began questioning one by one. Finally, someone pieced together that person's identity.

"He should be Hoth's servant. He participated in horseback riding training with him this morning."

"Where is he?"

"Hoth, where is your servant?" Now people found Hoth in a corner. He was the second son of the Pollock family. Although the Pollock family was very powerful, the one receiving attention was the eldest son, Icas, who was now 26, married with children. Hoth was only 17, with mediocre talent.

"He, he went back." Hoth forced himself to answer, but unfortunately, his psychological resilience wasn't great. Some had already noticed his nervousness.

"Oh? As a servant, why did he go back before you?" Someone began to press.

"Because I planned to go back at noon to eat something good, so I had him notify the family in advance to prepare." Hoth continued to force himself to answer.

"Is that so? Then let's go to your house and see what delicious food was prepared for lunch today, shall we?" Sylutia walked over and made the suggestion.

"This... There are too many of you. My family might not have prepared enough." Hoth waved his hands, stepping back, preparing to run.

"Catch him!" Seeing him start to move, several young men swarmed forward, quickly pouncing on the fleeing Hoth, pinning him to the ground, then grabbing him by the shoulders and lifting him up.

Now, many people had guessed what was going on and walked over with smiles.

"You'll have to explain properly today, Hoth. Heh heh." A group of people escorted him towards the Pollock family, rushed through the main gate, found the hiding blue-clothed servant, and questioned him.

Sure enough, the Pollock household hadn't prepared any grand feast; it was just like usual. That servant, after returning, had gone back to his room to rest until he was dragged out.

After some interrogation, the servant confessed to the process. It turned out he was a 'Second Tier·Mist Shadow' Transcendent. After knocking Virelna unconscious, he immediately used a precious invisibility potion, brought Virelna to the changing room area, hid her, and then, when he heard the maidservants calling and searching for Virelna, rushed to the male changing room area, telling everyone to open the rooms and search them one by one.

"What was the motive behind this incident?" Sylutia was quite curious. After all, Ecor was just unintentionally chosen as the scapegoat.

"This..." The servant glanced at Hoth, then closed his mouth and said no more.

Seeing the matter develop to this point and get stuck again, a youthful and beautiful figure came running over.

Rosalie looked curiously at the people present, then ran over to comfort Virelna for a bit. After that, she returned to Sylutia's side.

"I know, I know the reason." As soon as she spoke, Hoth's face changed.

"A while ago, the head of the Pollock family approached Uncle Brennan, hoping he would act as a matchmaker to arrange a marriage between Hoth and Virelna."

"However, Uncle politely declined, saying he should discuss it with Virelna's elders himself."

"I guess the discussion failed later. Virelna's elders looked down on Hoth, so he came up with this idea."

"As long as Virelna's reputation was ruined, and the Pollock family was still willing to take her in, the marriage would most likely succeed, right? Isn't that it?" Rosalie smiled, pointing out the reason.

So that was the reason? Sylutia lightly pressed her fingers to her temples. She thought the plots in those novels and films from her previous life were melodramatic, but she didn't expect to actually encounter such things in real life. However, such a plan only had a certain feasibility among ordinary families.

This was a world with supernatural powers. If Hoth had really studied hard, he would understand that some special secret arts could look back in time and see past scenes. As for delving into dreams, exploring memories, and verifying the truth of lies, there were plenty of methods available.

What happened afterwards didn't need her to handle it anymore. Senior officials from the city's security team had already arrived on the scene, and even the City Lord would inquire about this matter.