Chapter 893
Chapter 893: Precious Instrument
Hilda’s eyes, which were fixed on the red piano before her, shook when she recalled a certain incident that had taken place in her past life.
Once she had entered the noble society after her coming-of-age ceremony, she had somehow incurred the wrath of too many people all at once.
She had been ignorant of what had caused them to be so hostile towards her but now she knew better.
However, back then, she was unable to decipher why every single young lady she met after she was introduced to the noble society looked at her with disdain evident in their eyes.
Some ignored her existence, treating her like air while others utilized every opportunity they found to demean her.
They mocked her younger years which she had spent as a commoner, emphasizing that she was not one of them and never could be.
Many others had aimed various kinds of derogatory statements toward her and one which irked her the most was the fact that she was not worthy of being acquainted with them.
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Among the numerous incidents that were still fresh in her mind, one which stood out was the tea party she was invited to a few months after the coming-of-age ceremony.
It was held at the Jorbin household which was famous for being the most secluded Marquess family.
Hilda had been hesitant to attend this event after realizing that everywhere she went, she met hostile gazes and poisonous tongues.
She was just the daughter of a small Baron so retaliating against them was never an option.
Hence she had decided to stay away from these ladies and was willing to retreat from social life at least until she was no longer being targeted by those ladies.
However, her mother had comforted her and advised that she attend this party as it was being hosted by the Jorbin family who happened to have a friendly relationship with them.
‘Lies!’ Hilda sneered when she recalled the humiliation she faced at that very party.
Trusting her mother who spoke highly of the daughters belonging to the Jorbin family, she had attended this tea party in hopes of getting acquainted with them.
However, her naive thoughts were destroyed when this event turned out to be just like the rest.
Unlike other tea parties where the hostess was courteous, at least on the surface, the eldest daughter of the Jorbin family was nothing but unkind towards her.
Not only was Hilda given the worst seat at the table but she was also treated harshly by the rest present there.
Though she was aggrieved, thinking of her mother who wished for her to get along with the daughters of the Jorbin family, she had remained silent throughout the tea party.
However, things took a turn for the worse when the ladies wished to tour the mansion of the Jorbin family.
Walking at the very end of the group, Hilda could only lower her head and follow the young ladies who whispered and giggled among themselves as they visited various rooms of the large mansion.
Upon reaching one room, in particular, the ladies hurried inside which made her follow suit as well.
Once inside, she watched them request the eldest daughter of the Jorbin family to play a musical piece on the large piano present in that room.
Hilda had never gotten the chance to learn this skill as she lacked time so she too was curious and excited to witness the young lady playing it.
As expected, Young Lady Jorbin was excellent, eliciting a heavy round of applause once she was done.
Just when Hilda assumed that it was time for them to leave this piano room, the hostess turned in her direction and uttered words that brought horror to her eyes.
“Why don’t we let Lady Hilda play something for us?” Melissa Jorbin, the hostess for that day’s tea party smiled benevolently while giving her seat up to the one she had just spoken to.
However, Hilda felt as though her feet were stuck to the floor and they refused to move despite the numerous pairs of eyes being aimed at her.
No one outside her family should know of her lacking knowledge in playing the piano yet those silent snickers and gloating smirks revealed that these ladies somehow knew of her weakness.
She did not know who had spread this news to these ladies but it appeared that they were not willing to let go of any opportunity to put her down.
Just as Hilda was about to reject this proposal, she did not know who it was that had dragged her along, helping her sit before the piano she now dreaded.
The ladies who surrounded her encouraged her to play any piece she knew of while praising Lady Jorbin’s generosity for letting her use this precious instrument.
However, she felt no gratitude as her back was drenched in sweat because she knew nothing about the said instrument.
On that particular afternoon, in the presence of so many ladies, Hilda had never felt more lonely even when compared to the days she had spent wandering the streets as an orphan after her adoptive parents had died.
She could only stare at the bright red piano she was seated in front of with hot tears brimming in her eyes.
Even biting her lips to stop those tears from flowing out did not seem to work.
Thus, as the ladies cheered for her, she rose from her seat and rushed out of the room, not stopping until she was outside the mansion altogether.
She had already faced a few incidents of being bullied by ladies, mostly close to Lady Glennise after what had transpired during their coming-of-age ceremony.
However, she had never gone against Lady Melissa Jorbin and their families were also close so she could not understand why she had been treated this way.
On that day, she had left the party midway and after returning home, she refused to meet anyone as it was impossible for her to keep a straight face without shedding tears whenever she recalled the humiliation she had experienced.
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Thinking back to that incident that had marked a major event in her past life, Hilda clenched her jaw while glaring at the piano which was before her.
This was the same bright red piano before which she had shed tears on that day in the presence of so many ladies who did nothing to help her.
Therefore, one of the first acts of retaliation she had accomplished was against that very woman who had treated her with hatred despite them having no contact prior to that event.
The same piano which everyone knew Lady Jorbin cherished in her past life now belonged to her.
She had not planned to snatch this piano away from Melissa Jorbin but when she saw Governess Twine present three of her best models before her, her eyes had turned towards this red one right away.
Not only was it the most exquisite among the three but it also held a deeper meaning to her that others were unaware of.
Lady Jorbin had used this piano to humiliate her in the past so she would use the same piano against her.
In her past life, everyone knew of Lady Jorbin’s love for pianos and her talents as well.
The red piano she cherished was one of a kind and she held this instrument dear to her heart for various reasons.
Therefore, when Hilda saw the same piano she had the misfortune of getting close to in her previous life, she desired to obtain it right away.
Her mother’s guilty conscience towards her also helped in this matter as the Baroness was willing to pay any price to acquire the piano for her.
Thus she had succeeded in taking away something which Lady Jorbin held dear without even putting too much effort into it.
‘There will be a lot to come.’ She sneered as there was a long list of people who had wronged her in the past.
Lady Melissa Jorbin was just a small figure and she was nothing compared to the three other ladies who had used their superior status to torment her endlessly after she had joined their society.
These ladies too would face the consequences of their actions so Hilda could not help but wish for time to move faster until she got to meet them once again.
‘This time, I will be prepared to face them!’ She declared and was confident to achieve what she had set her mind to.