The Cornflower Witch

Six months later, Sylutia rose from her workstation. Glancing at the documents she had already processed, she stretched slightly, her mind drifting.

Time really flies. It's been nearly six months since she started working here. She looked at the office staff; many were still immersed in their busy work, with no time for anything else.

Ina carried over a new stack of files, placed them on the desk in front of the young woman, glanced at her empty cup, and picked it up.

"What does Miss Hedra want to drink today?"

The young woman curled her fingers, resting them under her chin, tilted her head, and after two seconds of thought, replied.

"Give me a cup of lemon coffee, please."

"Alright."

After that, Sylutia looked at the new files Ina had brought over, sat down again, and resumed working. By the time Ina brought the coffee, the young woman was fully immersed in her work. A faint light flickered in her eyes as her pen moved continuously, checking and approving each item.

Ina placed the coffee on the table, stood behind Sylutia, and watched her work. Seeing her fingers glide across the page, producing neat and elegant handwriting in quick succession, she thought that even though it wasn't the first time she had seen this young woman work, watching her so focused and meticulous was truly a pleasure.

About half an hour later, Sylutia briefly emerged from her deep work trance, picked up the coffee, took a small sip, and closed the files in front of her.

"Almost done with today's work, huh?" Ina counted the files.

"Yes." Sylutia savored the slight sweetness and bitterness of the coffee, her mind turning to the notice she had received yesterday.

Her work in the Finance Department was nearly over. She would probably be transferred elsewhere within the next two weeks. Just as the Dean had said, more challenging tasks lay ahead. She wondered where she would be sent.

Although it had only been a few months, she had a good impression of everyone in the office. There were no arguments or conflicts here, just busy but orderly work. Occasionally, after work or on days off, Warren would even organize outings for everyone to relax.

Afternoon.

Just as Sylutia finished processing the files on her desk, a few sharply dressed individuals in black-and-blue uniforms arrived at the office. The office staff tensed up immediately upon seeing them. This was the uniform of the "Inspection Department." Their appearance usually meant only one thing: arresting someone.

Could the office's years of peace be about to be shattered? The last time someone was arrested here was five years ago. Some of the younger employees had never even experienced it.

The four of them entered the office, their gazes sweeping around until they quickly spotted Sylutia sitting in the corner. Today, she was wearing glasses, a cream-white sweater, and thick stockings.

"You're Hedra, right?" The woman at the front came to the young woman's desk. Her forehead had a sharp, diagonal silver bang that cut like a blade, and her gray-blue eyes exuded an unconscious chill.

"That's me." Sylutia stood up.

At that moment, all eyes in the office were fixed on her, and silence fell. Ina walked in from outside, trying to approach Sylutia, but the older employees stopped her.

"Pack up your things and come with us." The woman glanced at the young woman's desk and gave a simple order.

"I understand." Sylutia sighed. The day had finally come. It seemed this plain, busy life was about to end.

She began to pack her belongings, while the other four waited silently beside her.

Ina broke free from her colleague's grip and ran over.

"Wait, Miss Hedra won't get caught, right? You're not going to arrest her, are you?" Ina asked nervously.

"Did they get the wrong person? Hedra is a bad person! You've never worked hard before, never done anything good! You can't testify!" Warren blurted out loudly, but before he could finish, he was met with the other party's cold stare and immediately cowered.

Just then, Sylutia arrived at the office as well, making Warren see a lifeline.

"Mr. Warren, there! Please, help say something for Miss Hedra." She said anxiously.

Seeing this, Warren pushed up his glasses and smiled, then walked over lightly and patted Ina on the shoulder.

"Help Hedra pack her things. I'll handle the negotiation."

"Mm, okay." Ina was a bit confused but instinctively agreed.

Warren turned around to face the silver-haired woman and spoke.

"Long time no see, Cerise."

Hearing the greeting, the woman frowned but didn't respond with harsh words. She just turned her head away.

Warren didn't seem to mind and continued.

"I heard you got promoted recently. It looks like you've made quite a few contributions these past few years, and your strength has also improved..."

Under the barrage of words, the short-haired woman across from him finally lost patience. The fingers gripping the hilt of her knife twitched slightly, and a trace of cold air seeped out, dropping the surrounding temperature by a few degrees.

"Shut up."

"Oh, alright, alright, I'll stop. Hehe." Warren knew when to quit.

Seeing this strange interaction between the two, Ina still didn't understand what was happening. But by now, Sylutia had finished packing the items on her desk, bundling them into a box.

"Done packing, Hedra?" Warren asked.

"Mm, I'm ready." The young woman nodded.

"Then let's go. It's a shame. I thought they wouldn't come for a few more days. I was planning to take you out for a big meal today." Warren nodded.

"If you run into any trouble at the Inspection Department in the future, feel free to come and consult me."

"Thank you, Senior Warren."

"Also." He looked at the silver-haired woman with the diagonal bang.

"Cerise is the younger sister of an old friend of mine. Even though she seems hard to get along with, she's not a bad person. You can trust her when it counts."

"I won't say more. I wish you all the best and hope you overcome any difficulties with ease."

After that, Sylutia waved goodbye to everyone in the office once more and left with the future colleagues from the "Inspection Department."

Even after Sylutia left, Ina's mind was still a bit fuzzy. She seemed to understand, but also not quite.

"That... Miss Hedra, she?"

Seeing Ina still confused, Warren looked at her with a "what can I do with you" expression, patted her head, and explained.

"Hedra is fine. She's just changing jobs. Those people aren't here to arrest her; they're her new colleagues. If anything, they'll probably all end up being her subordinates."

"Subordinates?" Ina felt like her brain was taking a few more twists and turns.

"That's right. The Miss Hedra you just sent off, the one you've been working with, is now the youngest inspector in the Inspection Department. She will lead a team of over seventy people to the Hallett Special Zone to investigate the previous train derailment incident." Warren found the hair between his fingers fluffy and soft, with a nice texture.

"Stop touching my head." Ina pushed Warren's arm away, covered her head, and stepped back a few steps before looking at him curiously and continuing.

"But, but wasn't Hedra always working with us? How did she suddenly end up in the Inspection Department, and become an inspector, in charge of something so important?"

"I heard some gossip from the First Office. This year's train derailment incident was probably because the local officials embezzled the funds for the track construction, causing substandard quality, which led to the accident."

"If they want to investigate, the local factions will definitely obstruct and make excuses. How is that easy to solve?" Ina said with a look of knowing it all, which made Warren want to laugh.

"Yes, yes, that's right. For an ordinary inspector, it's indeed hard to investigate. After all, no one wants to offend people to death. Plus, those officials are tied to some big factions."

"But, but." He shook his head.

"If even you know all this, don't you think the Inspection Department knows it too? Don't the local officials know it?"

"To solve this problem, what's most needed isn't actually investigation skills, because I can find all that out. What's truly lacking is someone who dares to rip open this scar and send a group of people to the execution ground."

"Someone who can order without fear and untie that tangled, intricate knot." He said slowly.

"But, but." Ina wanted to ask more.

"Hedra, she... won't this be very dangerous?"

"There will be danger, but it's not a hopeless situation. Her taking on this responsibility represents the will of another part of the alliance." Warren comforted her.

"Trust her. Trust that Hedra will solve many problems and, in the end, leave you amazed with your mouth wide open."

"I really trust Miss Hedra. After all, it only took her three months to become the best employee in the office. She made it so I could take days off, letting her handle everything. With that kind of ability, little Ina would probably need to study for ten years to catch up."

"Hmph, Mr. Warren is making fun of me again." Ina complained unhappily.

"I'm a bit dumb, but didn't you all let me pass the assessment back then?"

"Of course, because you were the most innocent of that batch. You looked like you'd never cheat, perfect for recruiting you as a hardworking little bee." Warren rubbed his chin, explaining the recruitment assessment back then.

After that, laughter rang out in the office. It took a while before everything calmed down.