As a modern person, Ximo thought that Selina handing her a business card was just a polite gesture, but she didn’t notice the high quality of the card’s material.
Compared to a paper business card, it felt more like a substantial, high-quality hard card, embossed with Selina’s name in gold lettering and a family crest that Ximo didn’t recognize.
If anyone else in the mansion had seen that family crest, they might have been shocked, because it wasn’t from some ordinary noble house—it was the emblem of the Empire’s royal family. Casually printing the royal crest anywhere was a serious crime in the Empire.
To be honest, if Masha had known Selina’s position in the royal family, she probably wouldn’t have even considered framing Xiliya through her.
Selina didn’t want to reveal too much about her exact identity. When she visited the Camberlan Family, she had only said she was an envoy from the Imperial Capital. In her past life, Xiliya and Selina had parted ways at the Camberlan Family and never met again, so she didn’t know Selina’s true identity either.
This indirectly showed how valuable the business card was. Ximo didn’t know what she could accomplish in the Imperial Capital with it; she just thought she should keep it safe to avoid offending Selina.
Seeing Ximo accept the card, Selina politely took her leave and exited the room with relief. But before Ximo could process it, Annaer suddenly showed up at the door.
Annaer got straight to the point. “The Young Miss wants you in her room. Right now.”
Then, she lowered her voice. “The Young Miss seems to be in a much better mood now. Hurry up.”
Eh? Ximo tilted her head. How did Xiliya change her mood so quickly? She had looked ice-cold when she returned to her room earlier, but now she was in a good mood?
Still, it was good news overall, so Ximo hurried off to find Xiliya. After she entered the room, she heard the door lock behind her.
Ximo instinctively clamped her legs together… Strange, why did the sound of the door locking trigger this conditioned reflex now?
It was mainly because Xiliya locking the door always meant she was about to administer some very personal “punishment” to Ximo… But Annaer had said Xiliya was in a good mood. Why had it jumped straight to the punishment phase?
Ximo had gradually gotten used to Xiliya’s punishments, though. Even if they looked like they wouldn’t pass muster in court, Xiliya had never truly gone through with them, and…
After the afternoon’s events, just thinking of Xiliya made Ximo’s face heat up. She wondered if she had developed Stockholm syndrome!
Ximo cautiously turned around… and found Xiliya smiling genuinely—not the knife-behind-a-smile kind, but one that clearly showed she was in a good mood.
Ximo realized she was becoming increasingly sensitive to Xiliya’s every emotion, like a pet attuned to its owner’s moods… Wait, had she really become a pet?
“Don’t be nervous, Ximo. I just want to ask you a few questions.”
Xiliya pushed Ximo’s shoulders to make her sit on the bed and even personally poured her a cup of black tea.
“I just want to confirm again—what did you do this afternoon?”
“Eh?”
Ximo was surprised. She had thought Xiliya wanted to talk about what happened earlier, not the afternoon.
“In the afternoon, I tidied up the room, took a bath, and then saw that you had already returned, Master…”
Ximo remembered she had already answered this question once before. Why was Xiliya asking again?
“Sigh,” Xiliya sighed softly. “I was hoping you’d confess it voluntarily. Didn’t expect my little pet to have such a tough mouth.”
At those words, a bad premonition rose in Ximo’s heart. She jerked her head up and met Xiliya’s smiling eyes.
No!
Ximo suddenly realized that she had indeed spent an unforgettable afternoon in Xiliya’s room. Normally, Xiliya—who had been out—shouldn’t know what happened. But just now, Xiliya had used the hidden Surveillance Monitor in the room to counter Charles, which meant…
Ximo’s face flushed red. Oh no, had she become the star of a little adult film? The hidden camera kind!
Xiliya quickly shattered Ximo’s last shred of hope. She sat down next to Ximo and projected the Surveillance Monitor footage. Suddenly, Ximo’s breathy gasps, murmurs… and faint wet sounds echoed through the room.
Nooooo!
Hearing her own sounds while fully sober made Ximo’s face burn to her ears, but Xiliya had no intention of pausing the footage. Instead, she leaned in close, draping an arm over Ximo’s shoulder and lifting her chin with slender fingers.
“Tell me, Ximo—do you like me? Are you really willing to be my little pet?”
Ximo kept her head down, face red, and stayed silent for a long time before she finally nodded lightly.
This wasn’t an answer forced by Xiliya—it was Ximo realizing her true feelings.
Xiliya’s recent “punishments” seemed to have awakened some strange traits in her. Otherwise, why would she have thought of Xiliya in that moment? And those punishments weren’t really punishments at all…
“Is that so?”
Ximo’s response made Xiliya quietly sigh in relief. She had been a bit anxious earlier, but now?
As the saying goes, the greatest luck in the world is mutual pursuit—the person you like happens to like you back.
Xiliya felt this didn’t just apply to romantic relationships; it could also describe other bonds, like master and servant… or even more consensual ones.
“You’re making me want to bully you even more, Ximo~”
Watching the little maid nervously rub her thighs while sneaking glances over, Xiliya couldn’t hold back any longer. She pinned Ximo beneath her.
“Eek—”
Ximo let out a startled cry. This time, Xiliya didn’t restrain herself and boldly crossed that line. Ximo’s body trembled even harder, but she didn’t refuse.
“Quiet down a bit. Don’t let anyone hear.”
Xiliya smiled as she spoke, then silenced Ximo with action. The Surveillance Monitor had long been tossed aside, its footage cut off, but those enticing gasps didn’t stop—they only grew louder.
However, Xiliya didn’t take it all the way. When Ximo’s trembling intensified, she suddenly withdrew her hand.
