“But, if I may be so bold, Miss Xiliya, how did you know there would be beastmen attacking that place?”
“Shh—” Xiliya placed a finger to her lips, gesturing for Sifuke to stop talking.
“Captain Sifuke, you’re giving me far too much credit,” Xiliya said with a smile. “I never told you in advance that the Northern Beastmen would attack there, did I?”
“What I said yesterday was that the patrol defenses around that farmhouse in the north of the city seemed a bit weak, and I asked you to strengthen the patrols at night, right?”
Sifuke paused, then carefully recalled the order Xiliya had given her the day before. “Yes… yes, that’s exactly what you said.”
Xiliya stood up and patted Sifuke on the shoulder. “So, it looks like we just got lucky this time. Who would’ve thought we’d run right into the Northern Beastmen attacking there?”
“You’re right. It was pure luck. From now on, we’ll strengthen patrols around Camberlan City as well.”
Sifuke had calmed down by then. Having been in the City Guard for so many years, there was no way she could miss Xiliya’s implied meaning.
“Very good.” Xiliya was in a good mood. Sifuke was a smart one, which made things much easier for her—no need to deal with someone as dim-witted as a certain little maid… Xiliya couldn’t help glancing at the person sitting nearby, idly playing with her fingers.
“Huh? Something up, M-Miss?”
“Nothing. Go play.” Xiliya patted Ximo’s hand. Ever since the party the night before, her attitude toward Ximo had improved quite a bit.
Before leaving, Xiliya also flipped through the case files that Sifuke had compiled for her on the Beastmen Clan’s disturbances in Camberlan City over recent years. As expected, there was nothing useful.
The Northern Beastmen and the human Empire had different systems. The Northern Beastmen weren’t a unified nation but a loose collection of tribes, each with its own leader and territory.
This resulted in many beastmen drifting between tribes without fixed allegiance. Whenever beastmen harassed Camberlan City, the City Guard had no leads even if they wanted to investigate deeply.
The Northern Beastmen’s standard line was that the culprits were rogue beastmen drifting between tribes—they weren’t under their control. Besides, the recent disturbances were just minor skirmishes, so Camberlan City had never truly resolved the issue.
Sure enough… Xiliya nodded to herself. It seemed impossible to find useful clues from the Beastmen Clan side. She’d have to start with Masha.
If she could seize ironclad proof of Masha smuggling or colluding with the Beastmen Clan, then Masha would be headed straight to jail.
Coincidentally, as the two returned to Camberlan Mansion, they ran straight into Charles, who had come to demand an explanation.
When Ximo saw Charles, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
It was clear Xiliya hadn’t held back. Charles’s entire face was swollen like a pig’s head, with bruises around his eyes and a massive lump on his right jaw—anyone could tell where she’d knocked out his three teeth.
Seeing Xiliya return, Charles’s eyes lit up as he vented his anger to Masha. “Xiliya! You still dare to hide outside? Feeling guilty about your crime, huh?”
Masha’s expression was grim. “Xiliya, explain what’s going on here.”
Xiliya feigned a surprised look. “Young Master Charles, what happened to you? You must’ve been careless while walking.”
“Bullshit!” Charles fumed indignantly. “You know exactly why I’m like this!”
Charles turned his face fully, and only then did Ximo see that Xiliya had even maintained symmetrical beauty when striking his face—both sides equally swollen. She couldn’t help laughing again.
“What are you laughing at?!” Charles glared at her like he wanted to devour her.
“Sorry, Young Master Charles. I just thought of something happy.” Ximo clasped her hands over her chest and stood obediently behind Xiliya to her side, head bowed like a proper little maid.
Accompanying Charles was his fat, big-eared father, Chariled, the president of the Textile Merchant Guild. His expression was equally unpleasant.
“Miss Xiliya, no matter the reason, wasn’t going this far a bit excessive?”
“Excessive?”
Xiliya’s gaze swept over the three faces before her, and she let out an enlightened “Oh.”
“Wait, you think I did this? Young Master Charles, aren’t you jumping to conclusions without evidence?”
“Who else?!” Charles stepped forward aggressively. “Besides you getting revenge on me on purpose, who could it be!”
“After the party yesterday, before I could even leave the Camberlan household, I got beaten up while getting into my carriage!”
“Oh—” Xiliya drew out the sound and nodded. “So Young Master Charles got beaten after the party ended. That makes it even less likely to be me.”
Xiliya spread her hands and turned to Masha beside her. “Auntie Masha can vouch for that, right? After the party yesterday, I was in your room talking with you the whole time, wasn’t I?”
Masha froze, recalling Xiliya’s bizarre late-night chat from the evening before. In her heart, she became even more convinced that Xiliya was behind it.
“Auntie Masha?”
But faced with Xiliya’s question, she couldn’t outright lie. She could only force a smile. “Yes… Xiliya was indeed in my room at that time.”
“See?” Xiliya smiled. “Since I didn’t do it myself, how could I arrange people to beat you up in such a short time, Young Master Charles?”
“Then it was that maid over there! It had to be you lot!”
“Huh?” Suddenly singled out, Ximo was a bit dazed. “You mean me?”
“Young Master Charles, are you saying that I—a person who spits blood after you just push me—beat you like this all by myself last night?”
Before Charles could respond, Xiliya burst out laughing first. Even under his murderous glare, she didn’t stop.
In the end, with Xiliya’s clear alibi, the two from the Textile Merchant Guild could only leave in frustration. Charles’s expression was uglier than if he’d swallowed a fly.
“Young Master Charles—”
But before they left, Xiliya added coldly.
“So you suspect it was me. Turns out you do know that bullying people leads to retaliation.”
For some reason, that timid young lady’s gaze made Charles shudder. He didn’t dare say anything and hurried out of the Camberlan household.
“Alright, nothing else, so I’ll head back to my room, Auntie Masha.”
“By the way, Xiliya—did you handle that favor I asked you last night?”
Masha’s voice suddenly came from behind.
“Favor?” Xiliya turned back with an innocent blink. “During our talk last night, didn’t you say anything about me helping you with something?”
“…Never mind. Must’ve been my mistake. Go on.”
Watching Xiliya’s retreating figure, Masha’s face clouded over with gloom.
