NOVEL NEXT Ch. 6
Crack
Early in the morning, Yinhua was lying on her bed, savoring its warmth and comfort.
She had to admit, although the bed looked rather ordinary, its comfort was truly first-class.
But that was only natural—after all, Yinhua had a maid who could do anything.
Today was a school holiday.
With the arrival of spring, the sunlight had become pleasantly gentle, and after yesterday's incident, Yinhua had stayed up very late before finally falling asleep.
All of these factors combined caused Yinhua to laze in bed once again.
(Even without all this, you would've lingered in bed anyway.)
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Of course, paradise was fleeting. A loud knocking interrupted Yinhua's wonderful dream.
However, at that moment, her mind filtered out the noise, and she chose to "sink" further into comfort.
At this hour, there could only be one person knocking at her door.
"No luck, head maid—Milady has absolutely no intention of getting up," a maid said in a clear, crisp voice.
"I understand. Let me do it myself. Please step back,"
Aili replied with a helpless tone.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, please go easy on me."
Though she was reluctant, Yinhua had no choice but to crawl out from the incredibly comfortable bed.
She knew that if she kept pretending to be dead, her poor beloved door would once again lose its life.
"My dear miss, good morning."
When Yinhua opened the door, she was greeted by an elegant and dignified maid.
"Ah, good morning, Aili. Didn't I say we have a day off from school today? Why are you looking for me this early?"
Yinhua stretched with a yawn, greeting Aili somewhat groggily.
"This early?"
Aili's expression instantly darkened.
"No, no, no, I meant you don't have that deathly face like usual today—oh, I mean, you look even prettier than yesterday!"
Sensing the atmosphere becoming increasingly heavy, Yinhua hurriedly changed the subject, but only seemed to make things worse.
'It's over.'
Yinhua thought to herself.
Sure enough, Aili grabbed Yinhua by the arm and pulled her out of the room, saying with an exasperated tone, "Please take a proper look at the time. It's already past one in the afternoon. Is this still morning for you? Do I need to explain to you again the meaning of the word 'morning'? Also, what do you mean by deathly face? Have all the elegant and dignified manners I've painstakingly taught you been thrown to the other side of the world?"
"Sorry, sorry, my fault, my fault! Please don't drag me anymore! I'm dying! I'm dying!"
Yinhua pleaded repeatedly.
Out of fear of worrying Aili, Yinhua had not told her what happened last night.
If Aili found out that she and Xiya were attacked, who knows what the elegant maid might do.
Yinhua certainly didn't want to live under 24-hour surveillance.
"Really now... Lili, take Milady downstairs to wash up and tidy her hair. I'll go out to buy ingredients for dinner."
"Yes, understood."
Aili's words were quickly answered by a short-haired maid, who took Yinhua's hand and led her downstairs.
Yinhua and Lili arrived at the dressing table, from where they could clearly see the view of the garden.
There, clusters upon clusters of flowers were in bloom, so white they seemed like a field of snow.
The fragrant scent of the flowers delighted Lili, but she couldn't help but wonder why there was only this one type of flower in the garden.
Turning around, she noticed that Yinhua's face had gone deathly pale.
Noticing the change in her mistress's expression, lili voiced her concern.
"Milady, is something wrong?"
"Hey, lili, what are these flowers?"
Yinhua's body had begun to tremble.
"Milady?........."
"Tell me, quickly!"
Yinhua shouted anxiously.
"These are the flowers the Head Maid planted—they're called 'Snowsoft Flowers.' They bloom in both winter and summer."
"The Head Maid? You mean Aili?"
"Yes."
"Where is she now?"
"The Head Maid went out to buy ingredients for tonight's dinner."
"I see..........."
Yinhua sighed.
It wasn't until just then that she understood everything: why the people in black knew Xiya's way home, why they knew Xiya was a spatial mage, why they disappeared just as she arrived— and that familiar scent at the scene was exactly like that of the Snowsoft Flowers in the garden.
All of this had become clear.
Yinhua did not understand why Aili would want to hunt down Xiya, but a crack had appeared in her trust for Aili.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】