The melodious sound of the piano drifted to every corner of the living room. Xia Linyin's hands, clad in openwork lace gloves, rested on the piano, her fingers dancing across the black and white keys.
"What are you doing? Miss Agatha! Miss Agatha! Someone has broken in!"
Pushing aside the servants who tried to stop her, Lady Termany led a large entourage and barged in.
Facing the group of intruders wielding farm tools and looking menacing, Charlene finished playing the last few notes and looked at Mrs. Termany, her brows slightly furrowed, even though she had shaved her eyebrows off. "You've disturbed my playing."
Her languid and alluring voice carried a hint of coldness.
“Miss Agatha, my stepdaughter Cinderella has run away, and I suspect she is hiding here with you.”
Mrs. Termane's voice carried an undeniable air, and her beautiful face was as cold as ice. The thought of her two daughters' miserable state made her want to tear Cinderella apart immediately.
"Do you think you can just barge into my house based on mere suspicion?" Xia Linyin questioned unhappily. She slightly raised her chin and continued playing the piano, exuding an aura of cold indifference that kept everyone at arm's length. "I've never seen your stepdaughter. You may leave."
Looking at Charlene, who was even more arrogant than her, Lady Termane's face darkened. However, relying on her superior numbers, she immediately said, "Search for me! Find Cinderella! Whoever finds Cinderella first will get the most gold coins."
Upon hearing about gold coins, everyone immediately became incredibly excited, searching the house and inevitably hiding any valuable items they found in their pockets.
Mrs. Termany said that Miss Agatha was just a noblewoman who had lost her family's support, a fat sheep covered in wool but powerless and isolated from the flock.
Each of them could take advantage of her without fear of being held accountable.
Mrs. Termany looked at Charlene playing the piano and said, "Miss Agatha, please forgive me. My stepdaughter has nowhere to go, and the only place she can hide is here with you."
“She made a very serious mistake, and as her mother, I have to find her.”
Seeing that Xia Linyin continued playing the piano and did not react excessively to her order to search, Mrs. Termany was relieved and believed that the other party was a smart person.
As a stranger who came to Alice Town alone with a large sum of money, and a young girl at that, it was not a wise thing for her to get into a conflict with the townspeople for someone she had no connection with. It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm.
Mrs. Thomson's tone softened slightly. "If Miss Agatha sees Cinderella, I hope you will not be deceived by her appearance and protect her. My stepdaughter has been possessed by the devil, and we need to catch her and hand her over to the church for trial."
“You’re making a lot of noise. I allowed you to search the house to prove that I didn’t take Cinderella in, but that doesn’t mean you can keep searching indefinitely. If you haven’t found Cinderella yet, get out of here.”
“Otherwise—” Charlene turned to Lady Termany and smiled leisurely, “the knight is coming.”
"Mrs. Tamani, no, we haven't found your stepdaughter." The group searched the house from top to bottom, room by room, but they couldn't find Cinderella. Every one of them came out of the room with their clothes bulging.
Mrs. Termane frowned her meticulously groomed eyebrows. "Have you searched everywhere?"
"Yes, Mrs. Termany, we've searched everywhere."
Could it be that her stepdaughter really wasn't hiding here? Temani said to everyone, "In that case, let's leave first and look elsewhere."
Mrs. Thomson showed no shame at the ransacked house, but simply said, "Miss Agatha, Cinderella is possessed by the devil. If you find any trace of her, please let me know immediately."
"Not even an apology?" Xia Linyin asked with some disappointment. She looked at Mrs. Termani, and the smile that made Termani's heart pound again appeared on her lips. "Mrs. Termani, shouldn't you apologize to me?"
As soon as the words were spoken, two rows of menacing knights rushed in and pinned the intruders to the ground, causing various valuables to fall from their clothes.
In a short time, all the civilians were subdued and lay trembling on the ground, except for Mrs. Termane, who stood still with a pale face.
"This woman broke into my home without a search warrant, ransacked my house, and her daughter stole my things. The evidence is still in their house."
Amidst the beautiful piano music, Charlene spoke indifferently, not even glancing at Mrs. Termany again, simply continuing to play the piano.
"take away!"
With a wave of his hand, the knight commander sent two knights forward to grab Lady Termany's arms.
"No! Do you know who I am? I know Count DeWitt, you can't arrest me!"
Lady Termane had tried to bring up Count DeWitt, but now, neither her mention of Count DeWitt nor Count Tvidt was of any use; the knights still ruthlessly took her away.
The noisy house finally quieted down. Xia Linyin stopped playing her instrument, lifted her skirt, and revealed Cinderella hiding beneath it.
Seeing Cinderella's face flushed and covered in sweat, Xia Linyin was startled. Why was Cinderella's face so red, like a ripe tomato?
“Ah…Miss Agatha.”
Her wet, light blonde hair clung to her face, and each breath exuded a scorching heat. Cinderella gave Charlene a dreamy smile and said, "I'm afraid I'll have nowhere to go from now on. Could you take me in?"
Cinderella looked like she'd had too much to drink. Charlene smiled and tapped her nose. "Of course you can stay here as long as you want."
Cinderella looked up at Charlene and laughed foolishly.
Her gaze was glued to Xia Linyin's face, unable to look away.
"You don't need to call me Miss Agatha anymore, just call me sister."
"elder sister……"
As soon as Cinderella murmured that name to Xia Linyin, she shuddered. Her silly smile froze on her face, and her brain, which had been a mess of heat, started to rumble. She even experienced tinnitus.
She felt as if she had been hit hard by a car, her consciousness shattered and her body shattered.
In that instant, the person was completely detached from the world.
"Sister..." she murmured again, her eyes unfocused. A tremor from the depths of her soul swept through her body, so familiar, so captivating. Her empty gaze gradually focused, finally settling on Xia Linyin's face.
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