Cornflower Witch

Chapter 349 The Locker Room Plot

In the backyard of Griffin Manor, Hilti raised her hand, multiple rune marks flashing in her eyes, and then a small triangular missile appeared in her hand.

The missile slowly rotated. As a pure manifestation of extraordinary power, it was far less solid than metal, currently resembling lightweight wood.

Missile firing

The small triangular missile shot out and hit the target erected in the distance. Under Hilti's precise control, the accuracy was good, but the power was insufficient to cut through small branches; it could only be used to knock down small berries.

If the equivalent power of the elemental aspect were used to enhance one's blood circulation and improve physical fitness, the combat power would far exceed that of this weak attack. No wonder it is said that mages should not expect to have high combat power before the third rank.

Adjusting her breathing, Hilti focused again, and another small 'missile' appeared. After adjusting it, she stretched its structure to make it as flat as possible, and then launched the missile again, hitting the target in the distance.

The missile was embedded in it, and several withered grasses broke off from the target made of straw rope.

Seeing that it was effective, Hilti continued to improve the structure. However, if the flat structure continued, the 'Sturdy' rune would be difficult to maintain. After the edges were at a 30-degree acute angle, Hilti gave up on further flattening and sharpening and tried to add the 'Rotation' rune to the spell model.

After several failed attempts to build the model, Hilti finally completed a new version of the 'missile'. As it appeared in Hilti's hand, it began to spin and gradually increased in speed until it was almost a blur before Hilti launched it again. This time, it directly severed a small tree branch, bringing an increase in attack power.

Is this the charm of mage-type spells? They can be constantly adjusted and changed to enhance and improve their effects. Hilti nodded slightly.

In that case, let's call the new version of the spell 'Spinning Missile'.

After practicing her new magical abilities, Hilti returned to the mansion; it was almost lunchtime.

At the Griffin family home, everyone usually gathers for dinner, but lunch is different. Mrs. Haye often goes out with friends, as does Ariel. Although Ecol doesn't attend as many parties, he practices swordsmanship, so he usually doesn't eat at home.

Today was another day of having lunch alone at home. Hilti sat alone at the dining table as two kitchen maids brought her a carefully prepared roasted meat pie, sliced ​​fruit, and a small bowl of vegetable soup.

As Hiltiya finished her savory pie and was about to have some fruit, she heard hurried footsteps running across the front yard.

"Master, Madam—" The voice sounded like Ecol's servant.

After he shouted for a while, the butler came over to talk to him, and then there was another flurry of noise.

What's going on? Hiltiah quickened her pace, finished the bowl of soup, and then stood up.

“Come out with me, Margot.”

"Yes, Miss." The maid who was standing to the side temporarily put aside her idea of ​​clearing the table and followed Siltiya out of the restaurant.

The girl then saw the servant who was about to ride out on horseback. She asked the steward about the situation, but he seemed to be hiding something and hesitated for a while before speaking.

"Something has happened to Master Ecol."

"Oh, what is it?" Hiltiya asked.

"It is said that some misunderstanding has occurred, which has put Master Ecol in a dangerous situation." The butler wiped his forehead.

Seeing that he couldn't explain it clearly in a short time, Hiltiya shook her head and looked at the panting servant.

"Take me to where it happened."

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

"Miss, I'll take you there right away." With that, he strode towards the mansion gate.

As they walked, the servant recounted what had happened.

It turns out that a small martial arts competition was held at the racecourse in the city this morning. The participants were young people from the upper echelons of the city. Most of them were trained, knew some weapons, and had all condensed the basic 'first-order' nature.

Shortly after the martial arts competition began, many socialites came to watch. They were holding a tea party at a nearby mansion and came over after hearing about the competition.

At first, everything was normal. Some people won and some lost the fight, and some people cheered. Since they were all using wooden swords and wearing protective gear, there were no injuries or fatalities, at most some scratches and bruises.

Around noon, the competition was paused so everyone could rest, have lunch together, and then continue in the afternoon.

It was during this process that an accident occurred. Verlena, a well-known beauty in the upper echelons of Quebec, briefly disappeared and was later found unconscious in a locker in the men's changing room, her clothes disheveled. Even more fatally, Ecol was using that changing room when she was found.

This caused a huge uproar. Many people believed that Ecol knocked Verlena unconscious, took her to the dressing room, and attempted to assault her. Ecol was unable to defend himself, and no matter how he explained, no one would listen. Among them, Verlena's close friends even encouraged those present to put Ecol on trial.

"So, did Miss Verlena wake up at that time?" Sylvia asked.

"When she was found, Miss Verlena was unconscious. After receiving treatment and having her face wiped with water, she slowly regained consciousness."

"What did she say?"

"Miss Verlena said that she had sweated a little while watching in the morning, so she went to change her clothes. She lost consciousness as soon as she entered the changing room, and she didn't know what happened after that."

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

"That's right, but Miss Verlena is not in good condition, and we couldn't get any more information from the others. Many of the other ladies present believe that it was Young Master Ecol who did it," the servant said helplessly.

“I think I know what’s going on.” Hilti sighed. This was clearly a trap. She wondered who had framed her, or if Ecol was just unlucky to run into something like this.

Twenty minutes later, Hilti and her attendants arrived at the racecourse, where a large crowd had still gathered, and the city's security forces had also been dispatched.

Before she even got close, Hilti heard a quarrel, one side a sharp-tongued female voice, the other a somewhat timid male voice.

"Are you just going to protect these despicable criminals like this? Can you just brush it off by saying there's insufficient evidence?"

"Miss Ginny, this matter needs to be investigated carefully. Please don't get so agitated." The voice sounded very mature, probably that of the leader of the security team.

"This is a matter of reputation for Verlena. If we don't clarify things on the spot, how will she live in the future?" The woman's voice rose again.

"This……"

Led by her servant, Hiltiah made her way through the crowded streets to the scene.

At this moment, Verlena was being held in the arms of several close friends, with a thin blanket draped over her. On the other side, Ecol stood uneasily, surrounded by several guards. However, his good buddies stood together, not putting him down, and continued to argue with the girl opposite him.

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

"That's the third young lady of the Griffin family. I've heard that she's very popular with Mrs. Sarah."

"Isn't she an illegitimate child?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they'll just say she's Alanford's niece."

"She's very pretty, just as good as Verlena."

"Is she here to help us out? But this time it's very strange." Actually, quite a few people around noticed something was wrong, but no one was there to stand up for Ecol.

Taking a deep breath, Hiltiya arrived at the center of the debate and argument.

"Who are you, and why do you keep criticizing my brother?" She tried to make her expression as serious as possible.

Interrupted, the girl in the yellow dress frowned, reached out, and prepared to pull aside Hilti and continue pointing at Ecol and cursing.

Hilti was at a loss when faced with such an unreasonable person. She wasn't good at handling these kinds of situations, but if she softened her stance now, things would only get more complicated later.

Thinking back to who she remembered best excelled at solving these kinds of problems, Hiltiya's thoughts raced. Although she had heard others say that her mother had a strong presence in her youth, often being the leading socialite in aristocratic circles, she had never inherited that aura, nor had she witnessed how her mother handled the various trivial matters among her close friends and peers. Fortunately, she had met another peer with a strong presence when she was young, and because the two spent a lot of time together, she had witnessed many instances of the other person handling such conflicts.

I can only learn from Ilya now. I hope I can hold on and not give up halfway.

Hilti opened her eyes again, without turning her head, and grabbed the girl in the yellow dress who was walking past her, pulling her arm forward and almost knocking her over.

"You..." The other person had just raised their head and was about to curse when a crisp slap rang out.

This completely stunned the other side, who covered their face, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The scene fell silent as everyone stared in astonishment at what they had just witnessed.

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

What should I do next? Where should I put my hands now? Should I put them behind my back, or let them hang down? Ilya seemed to have grabbed the other person. The girl's mind was racing with nervous thoughts, but she maintained a cold expression.

"I, I..." The other person's voice was weak, and then they started to stumble.

"Move aside, stand to the side." She gave the order without giving a reason, and the other person unconsciously got up and began to back away.

At this moment, Hilti walked over and came to Verlena's side. Her best friends immediately stood up and stood in front of the girl in the red dress.

“I know you care about Verlena, but her chastity is more important now. If we don’t clarify some truths quickly, it won’t be good for either of us,” she began to explain her reasoning.

Well, Ilya wouldn't have explained these things before, after all, she was born with 'Dragon Eyes' and few people dared to talk back or defy her.

Seeing that the others still didn't move, Hilti was starting to feel the pressure. Should she resort to violence now? But the situation was clearly inappropriate.

Fortunately, Verlena finally stopped sobbing and stood up.

“Let Miss Hedra come here.” She carefully wiped away her tears with her fingers.

Upon hearing Verlena's voice, several of her close friends returned. Some offered her comfort, while others brought her water. Then, Hilti went over, sat beside her, and began to inquire about what had happened.

The account contained more details than the servant's previous recounting, such as the duration of her coma, the stages of her awakening, and most importantly, the issue of her chastity.

"The skirt was torn, but the underwear underneath was fine, probably because the time interval was relatively short," Verlena recounted slowly.

"In other words, the other party didn't have time to do anything," Hiltia continued to ponder.

"Can you take me to see it in person?"

Afterwards, a group of people returned to the scene of the incident, and then Hilti carefully examined the size of the changing room, the windows, and the surrounding situation.

Because it's a racecourse mostly used by the city's elite, there are many private changing rooms. However, to save space, the walls are very thin, so if someone shouts, it's impossible to hide, especially at midday when there are many people.

Secondly, the wardrobe was only used for hanging clothes, and it was very difficult for a person to fit inside. Verlena had to curl up her legs to sit in it. It is estimated that she could push the wardrobe door open with a little movement, and the wardrobe was not locked.

“This place is neither suitable for crime nor for hiding people. What’s even stranger is that someone came looking for Ecol shortly after he went in. Did he know in advance? Why was the timing so precise? Or did the person who reported him already know that Verlena was hiding in that room?” The girl turned around and her gaze swept across the room.

At this point, everyone realized what was wrong and began to recall and search.

"It seemed like someone was shouting, so I came over."

"Me too."

"Where was the servant? Weren't you standing guard outside?"

“I was standing guard outside when suddenly someone rushed into this corridor and said that Miss Verlena was missing and that we should open all the dressing rooms to search for her.”

"Who rushed into this corridor and shouted?"

“That is…” someone began to rack their brains, because the situation was rather chaotic at the time.

"I remember now, it was a servant in blue clothes and a training hat."

"The one in the blue shirt..." People started checking and questioning one by one, and finally someone pieced together the person's identity.

"He must be Jose's servant; he was with him during horseback riding training this morning."

"What about others?"

"Jose, where is your servant?" People found Jose in the corner. He was the second son of the Pollock family. Although the Pollock family was very powerful, the eldest son, Icas, was the one who was valued. He was 26 years old and already married with children, while Jose was only 17 years old and of average talent.

"He went back." He Sai forced a smile as he answered, but unfortunately, his composure wasn't very good, and some people had already noticed his panic.

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

"Because I was planning to go back home for lunch and have something nice to eat, I asked him to let my family know in advance to prepare," He Sai continued, trying to stay calm as he answered.

"Oh, okay? Then let's go to your house and see what delicious food you've prepared for lunch today, shall we?" Hiltiya walked over and suggested.

"This... there are too many of you, my family may not be prepared enough." He Sai waved his hand, took a step back, and prepared to run away.

"Grab him!" As he took a step, several youths rushed forward and quickly tackled the fleeing He Sai to the ground, then grabbed him by the shoulder.

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

"Jose, you'd better explain yourself properly today, hehe." A group of people escorted him toward the Pollock's house, rushed through the gate, found the blue-clad servant hiding there, and questioned him.

Sure enough, Pollock's family hadn't prepared a big meal. Just like usual, the servant returned to his room to rest until he was dragged out.

After some interrogation, the servant confessed to what had happened. It turned out that he was a 'Second-Tier Mist Shadow' superhuman. After knocking Verlena unconscious, he immediately used a precious invisibility potion to bring Verlena to the changing room and hide her there. Later, when he heard the maids searching for and calling for Verlena, he rushed to the men's changing room and ordered everyone to open the rooms and search them one by one.

"What exactly is the motive behind this?" Hilti was quite curious, after all, Ecol was only unintentionally chosen as a scapegoat.

“This…” The servant glanced at He Sai, then shut his mouth and said nothing more.

Just as things seemed to have stalled again, a youthful and beautiful figure jogged over.

Rosalie looked at everyone present with curiosity, then ran over to comfort Verlena before returning to Sylvia's side.

“I know, I know why.” As soon as she spoke, He Sai’s expression changed.

"Some time ago, the head of the Pollock family approached Uncle Brennan, hoping he could act as matchmaker for Jose to marry Verlena."

"However, my uncle declined, saying that he would discuss it with the elders of Verlena's family himself."

"I guess the negotiations failed in the end. Verlena's elders didn't approve of Jose, and then he came up with this idea."

“As long as Verlena’s reputation is ruined, and the Pollock family is still willing to take her on, the marriage will most likely go through, right?” Rosalie said with a smile, pointing out the reason.

So that's the reason? Hilti pressed her finger lightly to her brow. She thought the plots in novels and movies from her previous life were melodramatic, but she didn't expect to actually encounter them in real life. However, such a plan is only feasible in ordinary families.

This is a world with extraordinary powers. If He Sai had really studied hard, he would understand that some special secret techniques can turn back time and see past scenes. There are also various methods to delve into dreams, explore memories, and verify the truth of lies.

After that, she didn't need to handle anything else. The head of the city's security team had already arrived at the scene, and even the city lord would be involved.

(End of this chapter)