“Ximo, do you remember how much wine Luo Keke delivered to Masha each time?”
Xiliya noticed a detail. According to Ximo, Luo Keke’s last visit had been three days ago, and two days later, Sifuke had spotted a smuggling incident. The timing lined up perfectly.
Xiliya certainly wasn’t suspecting Luo Keke. She suspected Hans, who came along with her. That was why she wondered if there was something wrong with the wine they delivered.
“This…” Ximo scratched her head. “I couldn’t open the crates to check the wine they brought. Hans always took it straight to the wine cellar.”
“I remember it was about this big—a wooden crate that looked heavy and quite exquisite in style.”
Ximo gestured with her hands to approximate the size, and Xiliya immediately figured it out.
She knew the Black Currant Chamber’s packing standards. Based on Ximo’s description, the crate Luo Keke delivered to Masha should have been a flat wooden box measuring four by three, which could hold twelve bottles of wine. Luo Keke had casually mentioned these details during their past chats.
The quantity didn’t add up!
Xiliya instantly spotted the issue.
Even without these past few days of observation, she knew Masha loved to drink but never did so during the day or while handling business. The fine red wines from the Black Currant Chamber were only brought out at night when Masha was alone in her room, sipping a bottle on the balcony.
Xiliya had always thought this was simply Masha’s refined taste, but now it seemed otherwise.
This past week, she saw Masha drinking on the balcony every night, but not much—just a small sip under the moonlight. She vaguely recalled it was about three bottles every two days.
With that in mind, Luo Keke delivered wine every few days, but at that rate, Masha couldn’t possibly finish it all. The wine cellar should have been overflowing with crates from the Black Currant Chamber by now.
Xiliya felt like the fog had lifted, revealing the light. “Those wine crates are off—they’re hiding something else inside!”
Light gleamed in Xiliya’s eyes. She was certain Masha’s secret lay in those crates.
Now, all she had to do was wait for the Black Currant Chamber’s next delivery to inspect them.
“Alright, time for bed,” Xiliya said cheerfully, patting Ximo’s head. “I’ll give you a reward today.”
“Hm? What reward, meow?”
“Your reward is going to sleep early.” With that, Xiliya reached out and deftly began undoing Ximo’s clothes.
Ximo: “？？？”
You call this a reward? Is this rewarding me or yourself?
—
The next day, Xiliya went to Annaer and told her Ximo no longer needed to serve as a receptionist maid. Their goal had been achieved, and she wasn’t about to let Ximo stand outside at the gate every day.
“Come on, I’m giving you the day off today. Let’s go buy some clothes.”
“More clothes?”
Ximo couldn’t help shrinking back. She remembered all too well what had happened the last time she went clothes shopping with Xiliya.
“Yeah, the new year is almost here since the winter hunt ended. It’s the perfect time to buy you a few new outfits as gifts.”
Ximo then realized that the new year was indeed just days away after the winter hunt.
The familiar clothing store, the familiar salesgirl—Ximo had a deep impression of this place. After all, the catgirl maid outfit from last time had been custom-ordered here by Xiliya.
“This one’s nice… This one is cute too…”
Inside the fitting room, Xiliya rested her chin on her hand as she watched the little maid try on one skirt after another. An inexplicable sense of fulfillment from dressing her up washed over her.
“This one looks great too.”
Xiliya stepped back for a better look. The playful short skirt and knee-high socks on Ximo, paired with a white beret, made her look adorably mischievous.
It was only then that Xiliya realized it wasn’t the store’s clothes that were so appealing—it was Ximo herself. She was so cute that anything looked good on her.
“We’ll take this one too.”
With Xiliya’s wave of the hand, that outfit was also packed up. Ximo couldn’t help speaking up. “Miss, isn’t this… a bit too much?”
“What do you know?” Xiliya said righteously. “You’re my personal maid. If you don’t dress properly when we go out, it’ll make me look bad, got it?”
“But you’re right—these are just for outside.”
A bad premonition rose in Ximo’s heart. “What do you mean, Miss?”
“Next, we’ll buy clothes for wearing at home.”
Xiliya wasn’t hiding her intentions at all for the true intentions. No wonder she had chosen this store specifically.
Thinking of that skimpy catgirl maid outfit, Ximo shrank back again, but she didn’t dare object. She just waited for Xiliya to pick out the clothes and take her into the fitting room.
To her surprise, noticing Ximo’s expression, Xiliya actually stopped what she was doing.
“You don’t want to, Ximo?”
“Eh… Eh? What?”
“I mean about buying clothes. If you don’t want to, we can skip it.”
Ximo was slightly stunned. She hadn’t expected Xiliya to ask for her opinion. Lately, she’d grown accustomed to doing whatever Xiliya said. Now that Xiliya was suddenly asking, she really didn’t know…
“I… I don’t mind.”
“Phew—” Xiliya let out a long breath, her expression tinged with disappointment. “To be honest, Ximo, have you ever felt annoyed with me? Annoyed by the things I make you do?”
For some reason, Xiliya increasingly disliked seeing that timid look in Ximo’s eyes—those emerald-green eyes, lively like a fawn’s, yet laced with a hint of fear, just like when she’d suggested buying home clothes earlier.
One reason was that Xiliya didn’t want Ximo to feel afraid of her. The other was that seeing that look in Ximo’s eyes always inexplicably reminded her of her own cowardly self from her previous life.
Ximo resembled her past self, who had always been so meek and compliant. Xiliya always felt that way. Plus, her negligence had gotten Ximo injured last time, which left her with lingering guilt. So she didn’t want Ximo to look at her like that.
“No, why would I ever dislike you, Miss?”
Ximo shook her head vigorously like a rattle-drum, thinking this was another one of Xiliya’s sudden loyalty tests. If she answered wrong, she’d probably be dragged into the fitting room for some changing-room play.
“It’s fine then. We won’t buy them,” Xiliya said, stroking the little maid’s head. “Go wait outside for me. I’ll go pay.”
Ximo wandered dazedly to the store entrance and watched the bustling street outside. She pondered Xiliya’s inexplicable question from earlier.
Of course she didn’t dislike Xiliya. From a certain perspective, Xiliya had helped her a lot with completing the System tasks. Without her, she might have been screwed over by the System’s punishments long ago.
Take the winter hunt last time—even if Xiliya hadn’t brought it up, Ximo probably would have volunteered for the task to complete the System’s mission.
