The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 13: Hiltiya Under the Window

A light snow began to fall outside the window. Perhaps due to the terrain, Sylutia always felt the winter winds in the Asra district were especially strong and bitingly cold.

One afternoon, a few days into the normal school routine, Aurora said she would take her to meet a cousin of hers. This cousin was currently working as a manager at a theater in the Asra district.

"Oh, so this is the Miss Hedra my little cousin Aurora spoke of? Truly possessing a cuteness and beauty that completely belies the name."

After school, the three of them went to a restaurant and met Aurora's cousin. He had similarly silver-gray short hair, but his eyes were golden. The clothes he wore were also very eye-catching; one side was a pink and yellow checkered pattern, while the other side was pure white, resembling the color scheme of some playing card.

"Greetings, I am Brandon." He bowed gracefully like an actor before a stage performance, his back leg bending as he lowered his body.

"Hello." Lovier and Sylutia simultaneously lifted the edges of their skirts in a curtsy.

Seeing these two young ladies whose looks and bearing were no less than his cousin's, this cousin became visibly excited and immediately launched into a torrent of words. The content was mostly introducing his own identity while lavishing praise on the two girls' cuteness and beauty. Although his words were exaggerated, they surprisingly didn't feel annoying.

"Alright, have some water." After Brandon finally finished a segment, Aurora handed him a glass of water, making him quiet down a bit.

"Oh, so thoughtful, my adorable little cousin Aurora." He took the water and drank it down in one gulp, then finally got down to business.

"Regarding the misunderstanding that occurred with Miss Hedra, I find it quite fascinating. If the development of this case could become even more 'bizarre,' it could be adapted into a stage play."After hearing him out, Aurora rested her right elbow on her left hand and wearily massaged her forehead.

"I asked you here to solve a problem, not to discuss scripts."

"I understand, I understand. But Aurora, everyone is familiar with different fields and has different ways of solving problems." He explained, raising a finger in front of Aurora.

"Your cousin, as a member of the Helt family, is most skilled in opera performance. According to my thinking, as long as we promote the notoriety of this case, letting more people know about it, especially those interested high officials and nobles, then the police won't dare to easily find a scapegoat to close the case."

"In a sense, notoriety is a protective talisman, especially when facing official institutions."

"As for your suggestion of asking some big shot in the official circles to tell the police not to give Hedra a hard time, while I could also do that, the effect wouldn't be good. Because my familiarity with those big shots is built on the bond of audience and actor. If I bring up other matters, it crosses the boundary of that relationship, easily causing resistance and wariness. Even if they agree, whether they take it seriously or actually do it, I can't make any further demands. The effect is quite uncertain."

"But, if it's a currently trending incident adapted into a popular script, that's different. I can proudly recommend it to all the high officials and nobles I know, discuss the events with them, and in the process 'casually' mention Hedra's situation and various other interesting details. In this, I can play a huge role and use the Helt family's status to stir up waves throughout the entire Asra district's performing arts circle."

His whole speech, delivered with righteous conviction, made Aurora shut her mouth in frustration. This was also the first time Sylutia and Lovier had seen Aurora lose an argument.

Seeing Aurora become dejected and dispirited under the onslaught of his words, Brandon immediately switched his expression, his gaze softening again. Like a man making a passionate confession in an opera, he took Aurora's slender fingers, gently brushed them against his forehead, and then offered her exaggerated yet sincere words of praise once more.

"That bright moon appears through the curved corner of the eaves, under its pure white light, all shadows and unease instantly dissipate, O fair one~

This maiden before me is the bright moon of my life, her beauty purer than the white snow, making one forget the filth of the world~"

Under that exaggerated aria, the extravagant words, though cheesy, also felt uniquely amusing.

"Alright, alright, I get it. No need to comfort or praise me anymore." Aurora hugged the doll in her arms, blocking it in front of Brandon's line of sight, then moved to hide behind Sylutia.

After the group joked around for a while, they returned to discussing the serious matter.

"Speaking of which, the attacker targeted beastmen. Is there some kind of grudge involved?" Aurora recalled.

"Probably got bullied by beastmen in the past." Lovier offered a simple guess.

"If he was bullied, shouldn't he go take revenge on the person who bullied him?" Aurora tilted her head, asking.

"Maybe he didn't dare to take revenge on the person who bullied him." Lovier thought about it but felt that wasn't quite right either.

"He's already killed so many people, and several times the process was dangerous, almost falling apart. This is definitely not something a cowardly person who doesn't dare to seek revenge would do." Sylutia, acting as a detective from the side, gave a simple assessment.

"Then what's the motive?"

"Who knows? There are too many possibilities." The young lady shook her head slightly.

However, going to the trouble of specifically concocting a stage play performance just for this, with the sole purpose of clearing her of suspicion, made Sylutia feel it was rather unnecessary and making a mountain out of a molehill. But seeing how Lovier and Aurora were helping her so much, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to say such demoralizing words.

Come to think of it, there are quite a few major factions and powers within the Mage Alliance. The high-ranking officers of the Hidden Grove Alliance really do think highly of her, believing that she alone can change the major trend.

At night, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Sylutia sat by the window in the living room, gazing out at the faint, barely visible moonlight.

The moon's radiance bathed her. Her black hair slowly began to lose its color, reverting to a soft silver. It wasn't a pure, glaring white, but a color with a faint, soft gray tone, much like her personality—not the kind of straightforward, ruthlessly honest person, but someone who, even knowing the harsh truth of certain things, would still treat others gently. The cultivation of this temperament also stemmed from a deep empathy that brought compassion or a sense of shared hardship.

Although the Hidden Grove Alliance sent her here, and the plan involved risk and disregarded her safety to some extent, she wouldn't hold a grudge or betray them because of it. On one hand, it was because the Hidden Grove had indeed provided her with a lot of help before, allowing her to grow. On the other hand, she also clearly understood what the upper echelons of the Hidden Grove Alliance saw and foresaw.

The pressure brought by the Mage Alliance had caused many insightful people within the Hidden Grove Alliance to accumulate anxiety and unease. They didn't have many better options and could only try things one by one, and she was merely one possible candidate among the backups.

Even the most favored and cherished child in a family, when faced with the entire family's crisis, must be sent out with a hardened heart to obtain a possibility of averting the disaster.