Chapter 18 (Two in One) Rose Festival 12
The evening's Blooming Ball was held at the Belleland Manor Mansion.
The dance will be held in the open air garden.
In the center of the garden, a statue of the "Rose Goddess" stands quietly.
She wears a flower crown on her head, branches and leaves are wrapped around her skirt, and she holds a blooming golden rose in her hand, symbolizing youth, harvest and blessing.
Young girls and noble ladies walked into the mansion in twos and threes, their clothes rustling slightly.
The sun was setting and there was still some time before the dance officially began.
Most of the girls gathered in the small hall next to the garden - a dressing and makeup place specially prepared for female guests.
Maids were busy moving around the hall, choosing suitable accessories for the girls, fastening tights, and putting on layers of gorgeous gauze skirts.
Isabella stood by the window, watching the sky gradually darken outside. Her fingers unconsciously tightened, and her fingertips stroked the golden rose badge in her hand.
"Miss, the ball is about to begin. Do you want to change into your dress now?"
Seeing that she was still taking no action, the maid at the side started to ask.
"No, I'm a little bored. Please accompany me to the garden to take a walk and get some fresh air."
Isabella rejected the maid's suggestion to change into a formal dance dress. She simply fixed a strand of blonde hair with a hairpin, then quietly left the chapel with a personal maid and walked towards the garden.
She and Theodore agreed to meet for a "tryst" in the Laurel Corridor behind the statue before the ball began. It was a relatively secret place, surrounded by lush laurel trees, which could block the outside view while not being far away from the ball.
Isabella stood in the Laurel Corridor and waited for a while, but there was no sign of Theodore.
She felt slightly uneasy and held the badge in her hand a little tighter.
After a few minutes, the maid who followed her couldn't help but urged anxiously:
"Miss, it's getting late. If you delay any longer, I'm afraid you won't have enough time to change into your dance dress."
Isabella bit her lip, but finally suppressed the doubts in her heart and nodded, "I understand, let's go back."
She was about to leave, but turned back to look at the empty corridor.
Theodore was never late, and never broke an appointment.
Was he delayed by something, or...?
On the way back, Isabella and her maid walked along the cobblestone path in the garden.
Suddenly, the two heard a panting sound coming from not far away.
They turned a corner and met a tall, elegant lady.
There was a hint of anxiety on her face, as if she had come in a hurry. When she saw Isabella, she immediately reached out and gently pressed her chest, adjusting her breathing slightly.
"Miss Isabella, can you please do me a favor?"
Isabella was slightly startled and saluted politely:
"Mrs. Malvina, what happened?"
Lady Malvina was born into a wealthy merchant family and was able to gain a foothold in the aristocratic circle because of her marriage to the distant cousin of the city lord's wife.
She has always been low-key and rarely appears in public, so Isabella did not have a deep impression of her.
Mrs. Malvina managed to calm her breath and explained, "My husband and son suddenly ate the wrong food before going out, and now they have diarrhea at home and severe stomach pain. I originally planned to stay at home to take care of them, but my husband insisted that I attend the dance tonight..."
Her voice was filled with hesitation and entanglement. "But I'm still a little worried. I want to go back and check on them. But the guard at the door wouldn't let me leave. He said that tonight's ball was of great importance and no one was allowed to leave the manor without permission before the ball was over."
After listening to Mrs. Malvina's explanation, Isabella held Mrs. Malvina's hand and said in a gentle tone:
"Please rest assured, Madam. Leave this matter to me. I will go to the mayor's wife to plead for you."
Isabella took Mrs. Malvina's arm and led her towards the chapel.
When they arrived, the city lord's wife was sitting on the central sofa, chatting with several noble ladies.
Isabella stepped forward, bowed gracefully and said:
"Madam, Madam Malvina's family has suddenly fallen ill and she is urgently needed to go back to take care of them, but the guards at the door will not allow her to leave. Madam, can you make some concessions?"
The city lord's wife frowned slightly, seeming a little hesitant.
But soon, her eyes fell on Mrs. Malvina's anxious expression, and finally nodded:
"I will ask my maid to greet the guards at the door and allow you to leave early. They will let you go back."
After getting the approval of the city lord's wife, Lady Malvina finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She first bowed deeply to the city lord's wife and thanked her, then held Isabella's hand, her eyes full of gratitude.
"Miss Isabella, you are such a kind child. Your family will be proud of you."
Isabella replied gently: "Madam, please go back quickly and be careful on the road. I hope your husband and son will recover soon."
Mrs. Malvina nodded again, then hurried out of the hall with her maid and headed towards the gate of the mansion.
Just as her figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, several ladies or young ladies came forward with anxious looks and asked to leave.
"Madam, my father has a sudden high fever. I want to go back as soon as possible to check on him..."
"My brother fell off his horse and I have to go home to take care of him..."
"I received news from home that my child has a persistent fever and I must hurry back..."
Within just a few minutes, at least five or six people asked to leave.
The city lord's wife frowned slightly, and a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes.
"What's going on? Why are so many people suddenly leaving early tonight?"
Isabella also noticed something was wrong.
She looked around and found that many ladies and girls in the hall were talking in low voices, with expressions of worry or confusion, and some even had a hint of panic on their faces.
However, before the city lord's wife could make a decision, a familiar figure suddenly broke into the hall again.
Mrs. Malvina is back again.
Her face looked even uglier than before, and her breathing was slightly rapid, as if she had been walking quickly all the way back.
"lady?"
Isabella couldn't help but take a step forward, and the uneasiness in her heart became even stronger.
Madam Malvina ignored her and went straight to the lady of the city lord, saying in a trembling voice:
"Ma'am, the guard at the door won't let me leave!"
The atmosphere in the small ceremony hall suddenly stagnated, and the ladies who were originally talking in low voices suddenly became silent.
The city lord's wife's face suddenly changed. Without any hesitation, she tightened her cloak and walked quickly towards the gate of the manor.
Isabella glanced at some of the noble ladies and hurriedly followed.
Along the way, the manor was still brightly lit. When the women walked through the corridor and stepped onto the stone steps leading to the gate of the mansion, the scene before them made everyone stop involuntarily.
In front of the iron gate, the number of guards standing guard was twice as many as usual, and all of them were wearing armor, fully armed, holding spears and shields, standing in a line with stern expressions, tightly blocking the exit.
Not far away, several ladies and young ladies who were in a hurry to leave were blocked inside the door and were anxiously negotiating with the leading guard.
"Get out of the way! I'm the city lord's wife, and I order you to let me go immediately!"
The city lord's wife said sternly, staring directly at the captain of the guards who led the team.
However, the guard leader did not salute respectfully as usual, but instead slammed his spear on the ground expressionlessly and replied in a deep voice:
"I'm sorry, ma'am. The Lord Mayor has ordered that no one is allowed to leave Belerland Manor without permission until the ball is over tonight, unless the Lord Mayor personally approves it."
The noble ladies around immediately began to talk, their expressions changing from confusion to uneasiness.
"But my husband and son are both sick..."
"Why can't we leave? We are just here to attend a dance, not to be imprisoned here!"
"Madam, didn't you give your permission? Please tell the city lord again!"
The sounds around me came one after another, becoming more and more anxious.
The city lord's wife stood there in a daze, her fingertips tightly grasping the hem of her skirt.
Her lips trembled slightly, and her eyes fell on the cold face of the captain of the guard, as if she finally realized some terrible reality.
“This…is impossible…”
She murmured to herself, as if whispering to the air, or as if hypnotizing herself.
"He clearly promised me not to do this..."
Isabella's heart sank.
She had never seen the city lord's wife look so panic-stricken, and even her voice contained a hint of imperceptible fear.
She immediately took a step forward, stared into the eyes of the city lord's wife and asked:
"Ma'am, what happened?"
The city lord's wife seemed not to have heard her question. She still stood there, muttering something to herself, her eyes were dull and she seemed to have lost consciousness.
Just when everyone was at a loss, new noises were heard at the gate of the mansion.
A new group of girls arrived at the mansion in a carriage, ready to enter the ball.
Isabella was startled, she lifted her skirt and rushed to the carriage, waving her hands and shouting anxiously:
"Don't come in! Turn around and leave! Once you come in, you can't get out!"
The carriage did not stop and continued to drive into the mansion along the original route.
The wheels made a dull sound as they rolled over the cobblestone path.
Isabella watched the carriages passing through the gate. Just when she was feeling helpless, suddenly, a familiar figure jumped down from one of the carriages.
Cecilia!
The two sisters looked at each other, and understood each other's situation with just one look.
Cecilia didn't say a word, she immediately turned and rushed into the small auditorium, pushed the door open, and the sound exploded sharply throughout the space -
"The Lord of Belran has colluded with Anthony to hold a wizard sacrifice tonight! You must leave here immediately!"
The ladies in the auditorium were stunned at first, but thanks to the publicity of the witch trials over the years that had been deeply rooted in people's minds, as soon as the word "witch" was uttered, everyone immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.
"wizard?!"
"They're going to kill us?!"
“Run!”
Panic spread quickly among the crowd like a plague. The girls who were still in the small auditorium realized that something was wrong and rushed to the door screaming.
The noble ladies standing at the door were completely panicked and pushed each other to try to squeeze out of the door.
The guards standing outside immediately stepped forward to stop them and roughly pushed away the person who was trying to escape.
"Everyone calm down! No one can leave here without the city lord's order!"
At the moment when the guard swung his spear——
“Puff!”
The arrow broke through the air and accurately pierced the throat of one of the guards!
Blood spurted out and the guard fell straight down without even having time to scream.
“Go!”
A cold voice came from outside the gate. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhu Yu rushing in with a bow and arrow in her hand. Her guards followed closely behind her and quickly cleared out the guards blocking the way, opening a way out for the trapped girls.
Zhu Yu glanced at the girls wearing complicated dance skirts and staggering, and shouted:
"Take off your skirt and high heels first! Otherwise you won't be able to run fast!"
Some clever girls reacted immediately and tore open their skirts and threw away their shoes, while others were also awakened by her words and tore off the clothes that hindered their running and fled barefoot towards the gate of the mansion.
Isabella did not flee with the crowd.
She turned and rushed back to the chapel, ran straight to Cecilia, and grabbed her hand tightly: "Follow me!"
Cecilia stopped and quickly took the golden rose badge from her sister's chest.
"Wait! I want to remove the curse power inside."
A faint fluctuation of witchcraft power appeared on her fingertips, and she chanted a witchcraft spell in a low voice, trying to completely eliminate the curse power that she had injected into the badge.
Just as she cleared the curse,
"boom!"
A raging fire suddenly swept through the entire garden.
The mansion is on fire!
After noticing the news leak, Lord Beleriand and Anthony obviously made the quickest decision -
They decided to turn this place into a sea of fire to cover up the truth of tonight.
The fire spread very quickly, the flames licked the carpets, curtains, tables and chairs, devouring everything that could burn.
The orange-red flames billowed in the night, blocking the escape route inch by inch!
Most of the girls and ladies attending the ball wore extremely flammable tutus.
The lace and silk on the skirt instantly ignited under the scorching flames, and the flames quickly climbed along the fabric, causing screams of terror.
Many people rushed to the fountain in the center of the garden out of fear, trying to jump into the water to put out the flames. In the intense panic, some petite girls were pushed into the pool by the crowd, and their skirts were so heavy that they could hardly get up.
The city lord's wife finally came to her senses, pushed away the maid beside her, and stumbled towards the burning auditorium.
"My daughter is still in there!"
She staggered into the fire, the heat wave hit her face, the heat from the fire burned her skin, and the thick smoke made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
But she didn't care at all. She looked around like crazy and finally saw her daughter hiding in the corner.
A thin figure, with half of her skirt engulfed by flames, huddled between the collapsed tables and chairs, her face full of tear marks.
"Mom! Save me!"
After seeing her mother, the girl stretched out her hands helplessly, her voice trembling and crying.
The city lord's wife's eyes suddenly turned red. She rushed over to hug her daughter without hesitation and held her tightly in her arms.
She used all her strength to tear off the cloak that had not been burned by the fire, wrapped it around the girl, and pushed her out.
"Go! Run out!"
She pushed the little girl hard towards the door, and several noble ladies who were trying desperately to escape caught her in panic and dragged her out of the fire.
Boom!
At the moment when the little girl was pushed to a safe area, the beam of the auditorium suddenly broke and fell due to the flames burning to the limit!
The heavy charred wood with merciless flames smashed towards the city lord's wife. She didn't even have time to scream before she was completely engulfed by the flames and broken rubble. Blood slowly seeped out from the collapsed ruins...
Her daughter was dragged out of the door, and the last thing she saw was the desperate look in her mother's eyes as she was trapped in the fire.
"Mother--!!!"
The little girl cried heartbreakingly and wanted to rush back, but she was held down by the maid beside her. She could only watch the sea of fire completely devour her mother.
On the other side, Zhu Yu bent his bow and shot several arrows, finally shooting down the guards who were blocking the way one by one.
She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sudden sound of a gong cut through the night sky, and the sound of footsteps shook the earth.
A large number of security soldiers swarmed in from all directions of the mansion, surrounding Zhu Yu and the escaped guests, with their spears slowly pointing forward.
But the most terrifying thing is not them, but their position.
Instead of approaching to capture them, they slowly approached and gradually pushed them back deeper into the flames.
Zhu Yu’s fingers tightly grasped the bowstring. She soon realized that this group of people were not here to capture people. They were here to kill everyone here!
She quickly called up her system interface.
After Madam Lucia explained everything, her plot advancement value had increased to 50%, just reaching the level of an intermediate wizard.
But her fame value has been added bit by bit to the initial 10%, and now it is only 18%.
If the reputation value does not reach 30%, the duration of the summoned creature will be greatly shortened.
Her dragon is huge, and its current fame value may only last for one or two minutes.
Zhu Yu gripped the bow tightly, his eyes moving back and forth between the flames behind him and the soldiers in front of him.
One or two minutes is not enough, but her dragon is of the fire type. If she summons it, it can only force its way through the army in front of her. But...what about the girls who are still trapped in the burning hall?
She can't take care of everyone.
Zhu Yujiao was sweating profusely. Time was running out and she had to make a decision as soon as possible.
At this moment of dilemma——
“Wow!”
A biting cold wave swept in from the other end of the street. Fire and ice collided instantly. The blazing flames were eroded by the condensed ice water, and large amounts of white mist-like water vapor rose up.
Zhu Yu opened his eyes wide and turned back suddenly, only to see a group of armored mercenaries riding on war horses breaking through the crowd and galloping towards the fire scene!
Lin Ji, who was in the lead, had her robe fluttering and a magic circle quickly appeared under her feet.
The next second, countless ice crystals shot out and then exploded in mid-air, falling like frost petals and gently landing on the burning auditorium.
In an instant, the fire suddenly stagnated!
Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhu Yu's tense nerves relaxed.
Thankfully, her reinforcements finally arrived.
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