Chapter 60 Peter and Jessica Are in Love
Ten maids lined up on either side, clearing a wide path.
Three noble ladies came up from the stairs. The one in front, Pearl Gomez, had just come of age. She was pretty, with an air of arrogance between her brows, looking down on everyone with contempt and pride.
Behind Pearl, Cressida spotted someone unexpected.
It was Cressida's cousin, Reid's daughter Rita Hamilton.
Back at the manor, Rita rarely showed her face. Even in her past life, Cressida had never been close to her.
Cressida hadn't expected to see Rita here. And from the way Rita spoke to Pearl up front, with a hint of flattery, they were clearly familiar with each other.
Cressida asked Jessica: "Why didn't you invite Rita along on this outing?"
Jessica curled her lip: "Why would I? I don't get along with the crowd she hangs out with."
Cressida: "Who's that girl in front of Rita?"
"Cressida doesn't know her? Oh right, when she was making waves in Emerald City, Cressida was at the military fortress. She's Ms. Pearl Gomez, sister of Prince Marshall's fiancée Ms. Emily Gomez. Though she's not Mrs. Kenna Gomez's own child, Pearl was raised by Mrs. Kenna Gomez from childhood. She's got quite a temper."
When Jessica talked about Pearl, her eyes were full of disdain and disgust.
"Did you two have a conflict?" Cressida asked.
Jessica snorted and took a sip of tea before saying: "We both wanted the same hair accessory. I saw it first and already paid for it, but she insisted on fighting over it. In the end, she just smashed it and said if she couldn't have it, I couldn't either."
From the sound of it, Pearl was indeed domineering.
Cressida had heard of the Gomez family. Armando had served two monarchs, making the Gomez family the top noble family in Novaria.
She hadn't expected that a family like the Gomez family could raise someone with Pearl's blunt and offensive personality.
Unless they deliberately raised Pearl this way, Cressida couldn't think of another reason. Kenna purposely didn't discipline her, and girls like Pearl usually didn't end well.
Pearl might seem glamorous now, but when the time came to sacrifice her, any excuse would do.
Their seats were right across from Cressida's.
Obviously, Pearl had also spotted Cressida and her group. Rita whispered something in Pearl's ear, and Pearl's gaze toward Cressida became extremely unfriendly.
Cressida pretended not to notice and continued drinking tea and chatting with Jessica and Elysia, having a great time.
Before long, Peter Nguyen walked over. With big eyes and thick eyebrows, he bent down with a smile and asked: "Ms. Woods, do you want to play the throwing game?"
Elysia waved her hand: "I'm not good at it."
Peter looked directly at Jessica: "Little mishap, will you play?"
Peter had given Jessica a nickname. Cressida glanced back and forth between Peter and Jessica.
She noticed Jessica's face secretly turning pink, and her tone became somewhat coquettishly defiant: "Peter, if you keep calling me that, I'm really going to get mad!"
Peter laughed, his eyes quite attractive, the gold thread on his fancy clothes shimmering faintly.
"What good is getting mad? You have to beat me first."
"Fine, let's play. Who's afraid of you? I brought Cressida today, so there's no way I'll lose!" Jessica linked arms with Cressida, showing a kind of borrowed pride.
Peter looked at Cressida, immediately straightened his posture, and bowed.
"So you're Ms. Hamilton. I've heard so much about you. My apologies."
"Mr. Nguyen is too kind."
Peter said with a smile: "Then I'll go ask some others. Let's get more people together - it'll be more fun if we all play!"
With that, he went over to Pearl's table.
Cressida turned to look at Jessica beside her. Jessica was still watching Peter from the corner of her eye, then lowered her head to drink tea, her ears turning red.
"Which family is Mr. Nguyen from?" Cressida asked.
At the mention of him, Jessica became even more talkative.
"Peter's father is Mr. Nguyen, known as Satan. Cressida, don't pay attention to Peter. He's all smooth talk. Once he latches onto you, it's trouble."
Cressida smiled: "What's the story between you two?"
Jessica said: "Last year at the Fable Feast, Ms. Woods held a party and Peter was there. I accidentally bumped into him while carrying a drink, and ever since he's called me 'little mishap.' Isn't that annoying?"
If Jessica really found Peter annoying, she wouldn't be smiling while talking about him.
Only then did Cressida realize that Jessica seemed to already have someone she liked.
No wonder when Noe wrote Jessica letters about love poetry, she was especially interested. She was experiencing her first love.
Cressida recalled her past life. Noe had ruined Jessica's reputation, making her the subject of public criticism. Unable to cope, Jessica had taken her own life.
Cressida guessed that Jessica's death, besides the factor of her ruined reputation, was probably also because she could no longer be with her beloved Peter.
But Cressida vaguely remembered that in her past life, she'd heard that after Jessica died, someone sought justice for her from Father Doyle, kneeling in the rain outside the palace for a long time just to report the injustice.
Whether that person was Peter or not, Cressida didn't know.
Peter was popular, and since the nobles on this floor all seemed to know each other, he quickly found a group willing to play the throwing game.
Even those not playing gathered around to watch.
They had ten people per round, three rounds total, eliminating two people each round, and so on, until they selected the winner, who would receive a Shadow Griffin Amulet.
It belonged to Peter, and he was offering it as the prize for first place in the throwing game.
"This Shadow Griffin Amulet was given to my father by His Majesty the King when he solved a case and earned his recognition. Later my father gave it to me. I've worn it for four or five years. Now I'm offering it as the first-place prize, so everyone better give it their all, for my sake!"
When Peter held up the Shadow Griffin Amulet, his eyes looked toward Jessica.
As a spectator standing beside Jessica, Cressida asked her: "Are you any good at the throwing game?"
Elysia answered for her with a smile: "Jessica's throwing game skills could be called perfect accuracy."
Lyra added: "Among this group, she's the best. I'm tired of watching! She always wins anyway."
Understanding dawned in Cressida's eyes. It seemed Peter and Jessica liked each other, and Peter's Shadow Griffin Amulet was probably meant specifically for Jessica.
After one round, Jessica was far ahead. The throwing game was easy for her.
Cressida stopped watching and returned to her seat. Leaning against the railing, she looked outside.
There were even more people now than when they'd arrived, so crowded that even the wide bridge ahead was jammed.
But the boats passing through the city were full of singing and dancing, moving freely.
Cressida was observing the crowd for any suspicious people.
Suddenly, she felt a fixed gaze fall on her.
Cressida looked in that direction and locked eyes with someone on a slowly approaching boat.
It was far away, and she was standing in the light while he stood backlit, so she couldn't see his face clearly.
But she could clearly see the outline of his features.
It was Miguel.
He was actually on that boat across the way.
The spring breeze of the night blew over, and the ribbons in Cressida's hair swayed gently.
She saw Miguel raise his hand slightly in her direction.
Suddenly, a short, sharp scream came from behind Cressida.