Chapter 171: The Missing Sister
Soon their order arrived, and the group settled into a comfortable peace, sipping their tea and enjoying the warm, fragrant baked goods.
Eve was sipping her tea when her eyes fell on a young girl, no older than thirteen, standing outside the bakery. She had blonde hair and hazel eyes, her expression somber as she scanned the crowd with anxious, darting glances.
Before long, she stopped one of the royal guards patrolling the area. The guard halted, frowning as he recognised her.
"Mister, did you find anything regarding my sister?" the girl asked, her voice trembling with hope.
The guard sighed, clearly displeased at being interrupted mid-inspection. "Little girl, didn’t I tell you there’s an ongoing investigation? Why do you keep asking me the same thing every day?" he said, his tone edged with irritation.
"Mister, it’s been two whole weeks since my sister went missing, and I haven’t heard anything since." Her knees buckled as she dropped to the ground, clasping her hands together. "P-please, mister...find my sister. My mother is too sick to work alone at the bakery. My sister used to help her. Please...please find her." Her voice broke in desperation.
The guard let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, little girl," he said, lowering his voice, "your sister isn’t the only one missing. The authorities are already working to find the others. I can’t help you any more than this. Maybe she found a man and ran away with him."
His tone was stern and dismissive as he turned to leave, but the girl scrambled forward, clutching his leg desperately as tears streamed down her face.
"Mister, my sister would never run away and leave me and Mother behind! I beg you, please look for her! Something must have happened to her! The last time she went to the palac-"
The guard suddenly crouched down and glared at her sharply. "I’d advise you to keep your mouth shut and stop spouting unnecessary things. It’ll be for your own good, little girl."
With that harsh warning, he straightened and walked away, leaving the frightened child behind. Her thin shoulders trembled before she buried her face in her hands and began to cry softly.
Eve and everyone else at the table had witnessed the entire exchange. Unable to sit still as the little girl wept outside, Eve pushed back her chair and stood up, drawing Ivan’s attention.
She met his eyes and said quietly, "I’ll be back."
Understanding immediately what she intended to do, he gave her a slight nod and watched as she stepped out of the bakery, her figure visible through the glass just beyond their table.
The little girl was still sobbing softly when she sensed someone stop in front of her. Lifting her tear-streaked face from her palms, her hazel eyes widened in surprise. Before her stood the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. ’Who is she? Is she a fairy?’ the girl wondered, staring at the woman’s kind blue eyes and gentle smile.
Eve crouched down to her level and offered her a handkerchief. The girl just stared, momentarily dazzled by her presence, too awestruck to react at all.
Eve thought the girl might simply be too frightened or hesitant, so she offered a gentle smile and spoke softly. "Here, take it."
It was then that the girl’s hazel eyes fell on the handkerchief held out by the fairy. Embarrassed by her tardiness, her face flushed red, and she stammered, "I-I might dirty it, Milady."
"It’s alright," Eve replied kindly. "You can take it, I’m offering it of my own free will."
"T-thank you, Milady." The girl carefully accepted the handkerchief and dabbed at her tear-streaked face with slow, timid movements.
While she did, Eve continued in her gentle tone, "My name is Evelyn. What’s yours?"
"H-H-Heidi, M-Milady," the girl stuttered, still nervous before the beautiful stranger who looked almost otherworldly.
Eve smiled warmly. "Heidi, what a lovely name. Would you like to have a cup of tea with me, Heidi?"
The girl named Heidi could hardly believe what she had just heard...the beautiful fairy had invited her to have tea! How could she possibly say no?
"O-of course, M-Milady! I would love to!" she squeaked, her voice rising in excitement.
Evelyn gave her a warm smile and extended her hand toward the little girl. "Come, why don’t we go inside and talk?"
Heidi stared at the elegant hand before her, her heart fluttering, and wasted no time in placing her small, trembling hand into Evelyn’s.
Through the bakery window, Ivan’s eyes softened as he watched his baby girl effortlessly win over the child with her kindness. The others, too, wore gentle smiles as they listened and watched the interaction unfold, their hearts quietly warmed by the scene.
Soon, Eve entered hand in hand with the little girl and guided her to their table, where the others were seated. Heidi was once again stunned to see so many beautiful faces all in one place! Her small face flushed red as her hazel eyes swept over each of them one by one, until they landed on Ivan.
He looked up with his usual calm expression, but as his gaze shifted to Eve, his eyes softened, and in that moment, Heidi felt as though she had just fallen in love for the first time.
Eve smiled warmly at the group. "Everyone, this is Heidi. I’ve invited her to have tea with us. I hope you’ll all welcome her."
"Of course! Welcome, Heidi! Please, join us!" Damien said with a dazzling smile, making the poor girl blush even harder.
"What a lovely name," Cece added with a kind smile. "Please, have a seat."
Cece then nudged Ivan to scoot over. He frowned at her but complied with a quiet sigh. Heidi quickly slipped into the seat beside Cece, with Eve taking the spot on her other side and Damien sitting to her left.
Ivan scowled at the new seating arrangement but kept his displeasure to himself as he knew Eve was up to something.
Once everyone had settled, Eve ordered tea for the girl and said kindly, "So, Heidi, let me introduce you to everyone here." She gestured around the table, starting from the far left. "This is Oliver, Edward, Damien, Cece, and Ivan."
As she uttered his name ever so softly, her gaze lingered on him a moment longer than on the rest, and he met it with equal intensity.
Heidi, however, couldn’t tear her eyes away from Ivan’s striking features and immediately blushed a deep shade of red.
Damien, of course, noticed this and smirked. "Oh dear, it seems like someone’s got a crush on Ivan."
Eve’s head snapped toward him, then to the little girl, who had turned into a blushing tomato from sheer embarrassment. Eve couldn’t help but let out a soft, melodic chuckle that sounded like tinkling bells.
Cece came to the rescue, saying gently, "Please don’t mind Damien, he has a habit of saying unnecessary things every now and then."
"Sister, you wound me!" Damien exclaimed dramatically, pressing a hand over his chest as if mortally offended.
Heidi, who was watching their light-hearted banter, suddenly remembered her sister who had gone missing, and tears filled her eyes. Eve’s eyes widened as she noticed this and said quickly, "Oh my! Heidi, please don’t cry! I’m so sorry if anything we said upset you!" she said quickly, her voice full of concern.
Cece shot Damien a pointed look. "See what you did?"
Damien blinked in surprise, momentarily thrown off. "My apologies, Heidi," he said gently, realising the misunderstanding. "I was only joking."
Heidi shook her head as she wiped her tears with Eve’s expensive handkerchief. "No, it’s not you. M-my sister...looking at you two reminded me of her," she said softly, her voice trembling.
The table fell silent.
Eve hesitated for a moment, then asked gently, "If you don’t mind me asking...can you tell me where your sister is?"
All eyes turned toward the little girl...all except Ivan’s. He continued sipping his tea calmly, though his sharp ears were attuned to every word she was about to say.
"I-It’s fine," Heidi began softly. "You see, we have a bakery, just one block from here. It’s only my mother, my older sister, and me who run it together. At first, everything was fine. My sister and I used to help our mother, and our business was doing well...until two weeks ago, when everything changed."
She took a shaky breath before continuing. "A royal guard came from the palace, asking us to deliver a cake there. My sister Lucy decided to take it herself since the order came directly from the palace. She left that afternoon...but she never came back."
Heidi’s voice trembled as she went on. "My mother and I waited the whole night for her return, but when she didn’t come, I went to ask the same royal guard if he had seen her. But he denied it."
Tears welled up in her eyes again as she tried to hold them back. "Days passed, and when my sister still didn’t return, my mother fell terribly ill. I can’t manage the bakery alone. Because of that, our business isn’t doing well anymore...we can barely make ends meet, or even buy medicine for my mother."
