Chapter 018: The First Confrontation

About an hour later, Quentin and Xenia returned.

However, before that, the two who had caused the online stir arrived at the Pierce residence first, accompanied by several members of the Foster family.

Finnian and Jade Foster were among them.

Seraphina was wearing a light pink maxi dress today, in the vintage style she favored, with her long hair half-tied with a wooden hairpin.

A true classical beauty.

She stood in front of the main entrance of the Pierce residence, with Leo in casual loungewear standing beside her.

Finnian saw Seraphina and waved happily, but he noticed she wasn't looking at him. She seemed not to have noticed his presence, instead staring intently at Silas and Sylvia who were walking in the center.

She didn't have any particular expression, but truthfully, having known Seraphina for so long, this was the first time Finnian had seen her stare at someone so fixedly.

Scratching his head, he wondered if Seraphina had kept in close contact with her uncle all these years and had a strong bond with him.

Was she so excited to see her uncle that she was staring at him and his aunt, failing to notice anyone else?

Whatever it was, Finnian didn't overthink it and stopped waving, planning to talk to her privately later.

"Seraphina!" Sylvia was the first to speak.

She waved at Seraphina, her face full of joy.

To an outsider, it would seem they had a very close relationship.

"It’s been over ten years; you’ve grown so much!"

Seraphina looked at Sylvia walking toward her, her gaze landing on Sylvia's deep red dress.

Seraphina had seen this dress before in a fashion magazine.

It wasn't a particularly famous magazine, but to deal with these two, she had the servants order the entire series of that magazine after her rebirth.

Sylvia was a somewhat well-known fashion designer.

The red dress she was wearing was a new product she had released recently.

Sylvia was thirty, with a good figure and appearance. In certain circles, she had a fair share of admirers.

This was actually one reason why Seraphina chose to cooperate with Zelda Zale.

Resolving things with these two simply and brutally would be too easy for them.

She wanted to take her time; she had plenty of it anyway.

Following the trajectory of her past life, Solas Sterling would stay in Seahaven for another three years.

She also planned to turn down unnecessary work for now, taking only jobs in Seahaven or nearby cities, or simply staying in Seahaven under the guise of a vacation.

Slowly but surely, she would toy with them until they broke!

While exposing their ambitions and dealing with them step by step, she would crush them in their own fields.

This was her plan.

And she had started implementing this plan on the fifth day after her rebirth—the day Zelda asked her out.

By staying home to cultivate her character and settle her mind, she could accomplish a lot.

Sylvia went to give Seraphina an enthusiastic hug, but Seraphina dodged it subtly.

Simultaneously, Seraphina observed Sylvia’s expression. As expected, a flash of displeasure crossed Sylvia's face, though it returned to normal in an instant.

Truly someone capable of fooling even her parents; her mental fortitude was indeed extraordinary.

"Sorry, I’m not very used to being close to others," Seraphina said with a faint smile, her eyes full of apology.

Looking at Seraphina like this, almost no one would doubt her words were true.

Jade Foster curled her lip in the crowd.

What a poser!

But even Jade didn't deny Seraphina’s words, because she knew Seraphina indeed rarely socialized.

As for whether Seraphina was used to physical closeness, how could Jade possibly know?

Her friendship with Seraphina wasn't deep.

All along, she had only seen Seraphina be somewhat close to Zelda.

Seeing this, and fearing Sylvia wouldn't believe it, Finnian said, "Aunt Sylvia, Seraphina really isn't close to people. We grew up together, and aside from the Pierces, the only person I've seen her close to is Zelda."

The others said nothing, but their expressions were enough to confirm it.

The key was that Seraphina still had that apologetic smile. What could Sylvia say?

If she kept harping on it, she’d just be looking for trouble.

Only Leo gave Seraphina a strange look.

He chose to stay silent.

Outsiders might not know, but how could he not?

It was true his sister wasn't used to closeness, but she was well-bred. If an elder truly wanted to hug her, she usually wouldn't avoid it.

His sister seemed to really dislike this Aunt Sylvia!

Sensing Leo’s gaze, Seraphina turned her head slightly and looked at him.

Then, she curved her lips in a smile at him.

Leo: "..."

It seemed so. His sister really disliked Sylvia.

And she knew he had seen through her thoughts.

However, she didn't seem worried about him noticing.

"I see... I'm sorry. Having not seen you for so many years, I was just too excited and didn't know your habits... Seraphina, don't take it to heart. I just wanted to give you a hug."

Seraphina gave a proper smile. "I should be the one apologizing. I hope Aunt Sylvia isn't angry at my rudeness."

Looking at the smiling person before her, Sylvia felt a bit of oddity.

She felt something wasn't quite right.

"How could I be angry at Seraphina over such a small thing?"

She looked Seraphina up and down.

Seraphina stood before the main entrance on a three-step stone staircase, while Sylvia stood below. Thus, Sylvia had to look up to observe her.

Seraphina stood there with a faint, dignified smile, looking back at her...

Inexplicably, it gave Sylvia the feeling of being looked down upon by Seraphina.

If there was anyone in the Pierce family she and Silas disregarded most, it was Seraphina.

A person who knew nothing but music was no threat to them at all.

Yet it was precisely this person, who supposedly posed no threat, that gave her the feeling of being looked down upon. Naturally, she felt uneasy.

The eldest daughter of the Pierce family, the model of a lady, famous from a young age, with massive influence in the domestic folk music scene and even some international acclaim, plus her exquisite beauty—a standard Eastern beauty...

It seemed the public evaluations and rumors about her were all true.

Even knowing Seraphina was no threat, seeing her so outstanding made Sylvia even more uncomfortable.

Suppressing her unease, Sylvia looked at Leo with a smile. "You must be Leo, right?"

Leo was the one they needed to focus on!

The Pierce heir, the qualified heir!

Even at seventeen, he was not to be underestimated!

As for Seraphina, she’d set her aside for now. Since Seraphina made her uncomfortable, she’d deal with her after finishing off the others!

Leo nodded curtly. "Yes."

Not enthusiastic, yet not rude.

This was his usual attitude toward strangers.

It didn't seem inappropriate.

"You were small when I went abroad, so you probably don't remember me. I’m Sylvia Foster, your uncle’s fiancée. You can call me Aunt Sylvia, just like your sister."

Leo nodded to acknowledge. "Hello."

He looked at Sylvia and said with a hint of doubt, "This might be rude, but I’d still like to ask. Since Aunt Sylvia is a member of the Foster family, why, after returning to the country after so many years, did you come straight to the Pierce house instead of visiting the Fosters first?"

Then his gaze swept past Sylvia to the group of Fosters behind her as he continued to speak in doubt.