Chapter 10 Rose Festival 04
"Xixi, are you feeling better?"
As soon as Isabella returned to the manor, she immediately asked the maid to help her take off her heavy and complicated dress and put on a light and comfortable dress, then hurried to her sister's room.
She pushed open the door and her brows furrowed instantly.
The room was extremely dark. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn tightly, letting in almost no light. The air was filled with a dull scent of herbs mixed with a faint smell of mold.
"The sun is so bright today, who allowed you to draw the curtains?"
Isabella glanced at the maid standing beside her and scolded unhappily.
She walked to the window and pulled open the gloomy curtain with her own hands.
The dazzling sunlight instantly poured into the room, and golden spots of light fell on the bed covered with embroidered lace, illuminating the exquisite murals and silver candlesticks in the room, and also reflecting the slender figure on the bed.
Cecilia was half leaning against the head of the bed, her pale cheeks almost blending into the snow-white pillow.
Her golden hair, which should have been as dazzling as her sister's, had now lost its luster and seemed covered with a layer of shadow, and her lips had also taken on a sickly pale color.
Isabella sat down beside the bed, gently helped her up, and handed her a cup of tea:
"Xixi, have some flower tea."
Her movements were delicate, as if she was protecting a fragile piece of porcelain.
The next second, Cecilia waved her hand violently.
With a "bang", the teacup was swept to the ground, porcelain pieces flew everywhere, and amber tea spilled all over the floor.
The maid in the room screamed and bent down to pick up the fragments. Her fingers were cut by the sharp porcelain pieces in her panic, and a trace of bright red appeared.
"Don't call me that, it disgusts me."
Cecilia tilted her head slightly, her golden hair falling messily in front of her forehead, covering half of her face, but the disgust in her eyes was not concealed at all.
The smile on Isabella's lips froze for a moment:
"Sissi——"
"Don't you understand what people are saying?"
Cecilia sneered, and just as she was about to continue speaking, her chest suddenly shook, and then she started coughing violently, her body curled up slightly in pain.
Seeing this, Isabella immediately reached out and patted her back, trying to relieve her discomfort.
But before her hand touched it, Cecilia slapped it away.
"My dear sister, there is no audience here, you don't have to be so hypocritical."
Cecilia's voice was hoarse and weak, but her tone was full of harsh sarcasm, like a sharp-edged knife, stabbing Isabella slowly and accurately.
No matter how good Isabella's temper was, facing such repeated sarcasm, the smile on her face finally disappeared.
She took a deep breath, trying to maintain her calmness, and frowned slightly.
"Cecilia, I know you are angry because you lost the chance to run for the title of Goddess of Flowers. I am also sorry for your illness—"
"Pity?"
Cecilia chuckled softly, her eyes full of mockery.
Isabella's voice soon drowned out her laughter:
"No matter who is elected as the God of Flowers, this is the honor of our family. You shouldn't—"
"The honor of the family?"
Cecilia looked up at her dignified and gentle sister in front of her, a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, but there was no warmth in that smile, and her eyes seemed to be looking at a disgusting stranger.
"It's your honor, sister."
"You must be very happy now, right? No one in Beleriand has a higher voice than you. Everyone believes that you will become this year's 'Rose Goddess'. You will definitely stand on the high platform as you wish and receive flowers and praises... Then, you will be able to dance with Theodore and become the most dazzling existence in front of everyone."
She began to laugh slowly again.
"That's really enviable, sister."
Isabella's brows furrowed even more tightly. She looked at her sister and found that her eyes were full of twisted hatred - but she didn't understand where this hatred came from.
"Cecilia..." She slowed down her tone and tried to talk to her calmly, "I never took your place. The selection of the Flower Goddess is a competition among all the qualified girls in the city. You got sick and missed the opportunity. I am indeed sorry... but it is not my fault."
"Of course you don't think it's your fault." Cecilia sneered, "After all, you got everything, and I got nothing."
She stared down at her hands. Her originally slender fingers now looked even thinner due to their sickly paleness. She couldn't even walk out of the room freely like she used to, to attend social parties, to dance, to be the center of attention.
All this is because of her "illness".
But she didn't believe it.
She couldn't believe that her witchcraft power would go out of control for no reason that night, and she couldn't believe that everything would be so "coincidental" that she would reveal her identity in front of her family and eventually be deprived of the qualification to run for the goddess of flowers, and give up everything that originally belonged to her.
She raised her head suddenly, her eyes as sharp as a knife, staring at Isabella:
"Sister, I trusted you so much before. I only told you my secret among my family and friends..."
"What happened that night...was it really an accident? You really didn't do anything?"
Isabella's expression finally changed slightly when she heard this.
"What do you mean by that?"
Cecilia stared at her quietly, as if trying to find the answer from her expression.
After a moment, she suddenly shook her head, and the light in her eyes dimmed little by little.
"Forget it..." Her voice was slightly hoarse, and she seemed a little tired. "Go away. I'm tired."
Isabella was silent for a moment, and finally said nothing. She turned and left the room with her servants.
The door closed gently, the sound of locking echoed in the dull air, and the room fell into depressing silence again.
Cecilia leaned against the head of the bed, her eyes coldly cast on the broken porcelain cup on the ground, her fingertips gently stroking the lines on the palm of her hand.
"Sister, do you think you won?" She whispered softly, and her voice echoed faintly in the empty room. "Isabella, you will never become the goddess of roses, and you will never be able to dance with Theodore..."
*
Zhu Yu sat at the dining table with two big dark circles under his eyes, eating breakfast slowly.
Last night, she spent almost the entire night digesting the confusing information, trying to sort out a clear thread from it, so that her sleep time was severely compressed and sleepiness accompanied her for the entire morning.
Today's breakfast is flower cake. As soon as I take a bite, the crispy crust breaks gently. The taste is delicate and soft, and the sweet rose filling is fresh and not greasy.
Zhu Yu could tell almost at the first bite - this must be made by 996.
“This flower cake tastes really good.”
Mrs. Lucia praised the food repeatedly as she tasted it, with a hint of amazement in her eyes.
"If your guard had not already been taken, I would really like to spend a lot of money to keep him. These days, it is more difficult to find a skilled chef than to find an excellent knight."
As she spoke, she winked at Zhu Yu meaningfully.
Zhu Yu did not comment, but took the list handed to him by Mrs. Lucia and looked through it.
At this time, a servant walked quickly to Lady Lucia, leaned over and whispered:
"Ma'am, the craftsmen are here to inform you that the float has been decorated. Please go over and inspect it."
"Float?" Zhu Yu asked curiously.
"During the Rose Festival, there will be a grand parade of floats during the day," Mrs. Lucia explained. "Every year, each family will carefully decorate the floats and parade them around the city. This is a display of the family's influence. Sometimes the exquisiteness of the floats can even reflect a family's aesthetic taste and wealth."
At this point, she extended an invitation to Zhu Yu:
"Would you like to go and see it together?"
Zhu Yu readily agreed and handed the list in her hand to Betty. She called 996 and Maggie, and the group walked through the courtyard and soon came to the center of the garden. From a distance, they saw a gorgeous float parked there.
The float was even bigger than Zhu Yu had imagined. The entire float was made of white wood and the body was decorated with golden vine patterns.
The surroundings are covered with flowers of various colors, with roses, lilies, and roses intertwined and clustered together in layers.
A semi-open gorgeous arch pavilion is built on the top of the roof, with light gauze hanging on the four corners and dotted with crystal balls, which reflect brilliant light in the sun, like a scene in a fairy tale.
"It's so exquisite..." Zhu Yu exclaimed.
She walked a few steps closer and carefully looked at the internal structure of the float, and found that the space inside the arch pavilion was very spacious, more than enough to seat two or three people.
"After you agreed to come to Beleriand, I asked the craftsmen to widen the seat."
Madam Lucia raised her hand and gently stroked the carved handrail of the float: "In previous years, when foreign nobles participated in the Rose Festival, they usually chose close families to ride on the floats together. Your coming is a rare event, and I can't ask you to rush the work."
After saying that, she gently lifted the hem of her skirt, elegantly boarded the float, and then gestured to Zhu Yu:
"Come up and have a look, and try to see how comfortable it is."
Zhu Yu held the edge of the car with one hand and sat steadily on the soft velvet cushion with the help of Maggie.
"It's quite comfortable to sit here." Zhu Yu adjusted his sitting position and commented with satisfaction.
After the trial ride, Mrs. Lucia carefully checked the decorations of the float again:
“The decoration here is a bit cumbersome and can easily affect the overall sense of flow.”
She turned her head and instructed the craftsman beside her, "Also, reinforce the armrests of the seats. After all, the float will inevitably be bumpy when it is moving."
The craftsmen quickly agreed and began to take notes.
"I'll adjust the details I just pointed out and I'll come back to confirm tomorrow."
After everything was arranged, Mrs. Lucia gave a few words to the craftsmen, then led everyone back to the mansion.
On the way back, Zhu Yu casually glanced at a corner of the garden, but he was quietly communicating with 996 in his mind.
Zhu Yu: Did you notice just now that there is a large hidden space behind the seats of the float because a large number of flowers are placed there?
996: I saw it. That place can at least hide two adult men, and even some weapons.
Zhu Yu: It seems that this float is an ideal location for assassination.
996 agreed with this: Yes, those who often kill people know that after killing someone, the murderer will simply jump off the back of the float and blend into the crowd. There are so many parading teams on the streets on the day of the Rose Festival, let alone catching him, even tracking him becomes a problem.
Zhu Yu: What you said makes it seem like you are looking forward to something happening to me, the host.
996:……
As the two were talking, the butler quickly stepped forward and interrupted their conversation.
The butler handed a gold-embossed letter to Lady Lucia and Zhu Yu:
"Ma'am, Miss Draka, this is an invitation to a social banquet."
Mrs. Lucia took the envelope, opened it, glanced at the contents, turned to Zhu Yu and said:
"This party is held every year before the Rose Festival. It is mainly to discuss the selection of the flower god three days later."
"In previous years, this kind of banquet was usually hosted by various prestigious families in the city in turn. This year it is the Colin family's turn."
She paused for a moment and added:
"I heard that the city lord's eldest son, Lord Theodore, will also be present."
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