Cornflower Witch

Chapter 345 The City Lord's Wife's Invitation

The day of the gathering has finally come to an end.

At night, Hiltiya requested to use the bathroom in the mansion to soothe her tired body with a bath.

That girl named Rosalie really had endless things to say. Even though all the guests had already left, Hilti still felt as if someone was constantly asking her questions.

"Hedra, do you like banana milkshakes? I eat one every day in the summer."

My mom gave me her puppy, saying I should learn to take care of it. It was so fluffy, it could lie in my palm like a giant sausage.

"At night, you can see fireflies on the sea off Kelan Island, and in winter, you can even see blue, pink, and yellow lights."

'I've heard that in faraway continents, people brush their teeth with willow twigs. Doesn't it hurt?'

'Snow is white, so why does it become transparent when it freezes? Can Hedra tell me?'

"It's said that a giant sea monster sleeps at the bottom of Meteor Lake, capable of carrying a country on its back. Of course, that's just a legend, but I think it's so beautiful."

"Oysters taste great raw. Have you ever tried them, Hedra? I'll take you to try them sometime."

This girl not only talks a lot, but also jumps around a lot, often starting one topic and then suddenly jumping to another completely unrelated thing. Hilti can naturally keep up, but this kind of illogical jumping around can be mentally tiring after a while, just like reading a messy comic book.

Wrapped in a bath towel, the girl sat in the bath water, letting the warm water gently ripple around her. She rested by the edge of the pool for a while before opening her eyes, standing up, and drying herself.

After taking a shower and changing into clean, soft cotton pajamas, Hiltiya returned to her bedroom and peacefully drifted off to sleep, the night passing quietly.

The next day, Mrs. Haye learned what had happened at the party. She felt sorry for Ariel's mistreatment, but also worried that she might have offended the young lady.

“The city lord is not such a petty person. He wouldn’t hold a grudge against our family over such a trivial matter,” Alanford comforted his wife.

“You don’t understand.” Mrs. Haye stroked Eriel in her arms with a sorrowful expression.

"You think that as long as the city lord doesn't get angry, it's fine, but that's not the case at all."

"As long as most people think that the city lord will mind, that's fine."

“They can legitimately exclude us, for example, by deliberately ignoring or disregarding us. That way, even if others feel it’s inappropriate, they can just say that they are only concerned about the city lord’s reputation and cannot continue to associate with us.”

“If this trend and convention takes hold, it will be almost impossible to reverse it. Everyone will assume that we should be ignored, and other families that have a good relationship with us will not want to be the first to stand out, so they will also unconsciously follow the convention. In the end, we will be completely squeezed out of the Quibise circle, which will be very dangerous,” Mrs. Haye said.

"Is it really that serious?" Although Alanford is now a wealthy businessman, he comes from an ordinary background and doesn't understand the unspoken rules of the upper class. On the other hand, Mrs. Haye's original family, although not in Quebec, was a prominent local family and was very familiar with the rules and customs of this upper class.

"Is there any way to salvage this?" He felt things shouldn't be this serious.

"It's not that difficult to salvage," Mrs. Haye sighed.

"As long as we apologize to the city lord's family in public and gain their understanding, and then visit the city lord's family a few more times to show that we have a good relationship, others will not dare to use this matter to ostracize or ignore us."

“That seems pretty simple.” Alanford stroked his beard.

Mrs. Haye rolled her eyes at him, straightened Ariel, smoothed her hair, and wiped away her eldest daughter's tears.

"Please sit down."

“Hmm.” Ariel lowered her head and returned to her seat. Soon after, the maids brought in lunch and placed it on the table.

"I know a bit about the city lord's family, so it shouldn't be difficult to gain their understanding, but how should I approach them?"

“If we adopt a high stance, it will make us appear arrogant and may even anger the other party. But if we adopt a low stance, others will look down on us. After all, the mistake that Ariel made was actually quite minor and did not warrant a formal apology.” Mrs. Haye rubbed her forehead with her hand.

“Madam is overthinking things,” Alainford thought, feeling it was making a mountain out of a molehill.

"You just don't understand at all." Mrs. Haye was a little annoyed, but her upbringing from childhood wouldn't make her slam the table or hit someone.

"Alright, alright, it was my fault." Alanford affectionately stroked Lady Haye's cheek, which softened her expression, and then she closed her eyes. Watching this scene, Hilti was slightly curious. Although Lady Haye was somewhat snobbish, upon closer reflection, as a young lady from a prominent local family, marrying the inexperienced and poor Alanford was a great risk and required a lot of courage. She was probably even more naive and impulsive than Ariel was now.

The other two siblings were already used to their parents' loving scenes, and were now simply enjoying a delicious lunch. In the center of the table was a pot of coconut stewed chicken, accompanied by white bread, parsley, grilled sausage, and potato chunks.

After lunch, Lady Haye decided that she would send a visiting card to the city lord's wife today, and then take Ariel to apologize. When the city lord's wife holds a banquet or gathering next time, she would mention the matter in public so that everyone would know that she had been forgiven and the matter would be settled.

"The social interactions in high society are really complicated," Siltia thought to herself. After lunch, she continued her studies at the Lighthouse in the afternoon. She had now completed learning the 76 basic rune inscriptions taught by the Mage Alliance.

In the evening, after school, Siltia carried a simple schoolbag, gently pressing down the brim of her hat, which was ruffled by the sea breeze, as she walked down the cliff.

The wind was getting stronger. Was the Sea Breeze Festival approaching? Hiltiya gazed into the distance, where the afterglow of the setting sun shattered and refracted on the sea, creating a beautiful scene.

Back home, as soon as she put her things down, Hilti heard a knock on the bedroom door.

“Sister Hedra, are you back?” It was Ecol’s voice.

"I'm back, wait a moment." Hilti walked over and opened the door.

A blond young man stood outside the door; he was Ecol, Alanford's eldest son and Eriel's younger brother.

Ecol gave Hiltiya a quick glance, then his gaze swept over her bedroom.

"Aren't there any lights on? It's almost dark now."

"I just got back." The girl thought the other person was a little silly.

Ecol didn't dwell on the girl's answer, but continued talking about the matter.

“Mother received a reply from the City Lord’s wife, saying that there was no need to worry about this small matter. However, she specifically mentioned you in the letter, saying that if the City Lord’s Mansion holds a banquet next time, Mother should definitely bring you along.”

"Oh, me?"

Hiltia couldn't understand why the city lord's wife, whom she had never met before, would deliberately mention her. Could it be that Rosalie told her that the city lord's wife was her aunt, and that she probably talked about her with her after returning last time?

“I understand,” Hiltiya nodded.

"Is there anything else?" The girl asked, slightly puzzled that the other person was still there.

Ecol rubbed his blond hair between his fingers, seemingly a little embarrassed.

"My mother also asked me to ask you if you want to prepare a suitable dress for the banquet."

"Didn't we buy some before?" She had been taken to buy several outfits in the first few days after she arrived.

"I have bought it, but it may not be enough." Ecol was also a little conflicted. There were some things that were more suitable for Ariel to tell, but her sister and this Hedra sister didn't get along at all, so he had to do it on her behalf.

With her keen intellect, Hilti quickly understood the reason. It was probably because Mrs. Haye was thinking that if she dressed rather plainly, people would criticize Mrs. Haye for not taking good care of her niece, which would be a disgrace to the Griffin family. But if she were to buy a really nice dress, like the one Rosalie wore that day, it would probably be very expensive.

She wasn't without expensive gowns. The dark green lace dress with gold-flecked silk that was specially made for her when she left the woods was estimated to be worth over 100,000 gold coins. It wouldn't be embarrassing to wear it to a royal banquet in the Sun Dynasty, but using it for such a small place would be making a mountain out of a molehill.

“No need, I like this minimalist style, and there’s no need to compete in this area.” Hiltiya shook her head.

"If you are attending a banquet in the future, just let me know in advance."

"Well, alright then." Ecol didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer, and left readily after receiving the reply.

After the other party left, it was completely dark. Hilti closed the door, lit the candles in the room, and remembered Elofis's instructions.

Perhaps it's time for her to attend the banquet. This way, more locals will know the name and identity of Hedra, and she won't be suspected because of her mysterious origins when developing in the Mage Alliance.

Therefore, it seems that she has no choice but to attend certain social events; she can't keep hiding in the lighthouse to accumulate knowledge and experience forever.

(End of this chapter)