The details of the task “Visit the chamber of commerce and get injured in the attack” appeared in Ximo’s mind. The System was quite considerate, always sorting out the plot developments for her in advance. But what use was that to her now?
That was why Ximo was rummaging through her room, trying to find something related to her identity. At least she wouldn’t be completely in the dark like someone with amnesia.
After a while, the disheveled Ximo finally dragged a black leather suitcase out from a corner under the bed. The moment she saw what was inside, a faint sting pierced her head, and a familiar yet strange sensation surged up.
The suitcase contained various tools needed for assassinations: flying needles, throwing knives, and even a small glass vial… Was that poison inside?
Strangely, though Ximo had never seen or used these things before, they felt exceptionally familiar. She gently picked up a black token, and it seemed some memory was about to surface in her mind.
“You’ve got quite a lot of stuff, Ximo.”
Xiliya’s voice came from the doorway, interrupting Ximo’s thoughts. Looking at Xiliya standing there with her arms crossed, Ximo awkwardly tried to block the suitcase behind her.
“M-Mistress… what brings you here?”
“Can’t I come?”
Xiliya stepped forward and beckoned to Ximo, who had no choice but to obediently hand over the token in her hand. Xiliya turned it over and examined it for a long time but only recognized it as some kind of credential used within assassin organizations to prove identity.
“Speaking of which, I’m actually a bit curious. How much did Masha pay you to assassinate me?”
“Uh…” Ximo stammered, “If I say I don’t know… would you believe me?”
“Fair enough, forget I asked.” Xiliya tossed the token back to Ximo.
Xiliya knew that assassins in some organizations never communicated directly with clients. The go-betweens who did were usually the madams acting as intermediaries, which protected both parties’ identities.
So Masha probably didn’t even know that Ximo was the assassin she’d paid for. She just needed to hand over the money and wait for the job to be done. If it failed, Masha would only go after the madam. That was why Xiliya had spared Ximo’s life back then.
“Anyway, to business,” Xiliya said, watching the little maid huff and puff as she shoved the items back under the bed. “Masha invited me to visit the Black Currant Chamber. I need you to help me with something.”
“Oh…”
Ximo wasn’t unwilling to help Xiliya, but she didn’t even know how to complete the System’s task right now.
But Ximo had no room to refuse. She nodded obediently and leaned in, ready to hear Xiliya’s instructions. However, perhaps because of all the dust under the bed, she couldn’t help bending over to cough.
Xiliya frowned. “There’s only the two of us here. Do you think pretending in front of me is still useful?”
Ximo didn’t have time to respond as the coughing grew more intense. She sensed something was off and questioned the System inwardly: “I’ve completed all my recent tasks, right? Why does it feel like my condition is worsening?”
“Dearie, isn’t that obvious? As a delicate young lady, of course you need to take your medicine obediently when you’re sick. Dearie, you haven’t taken any medicine this whole time, have you? No wonder it’s getting worse~”
“This has nothing to do with me, okay.”
Damn it! She had to take medicine every day now? Where was she supposed to find it?
The coughing intensified, and Ximo bent over uncomfortably. Xiliya finally noticed something was wrong and stepped forward to support her. She watched as flecks of blood stained Ximo’s hand.
At such close range, the metallic scent of blood hitting her nose made Xiliya realize that Ximo wasn’t faking it this time. And besides, Ximo had no reason to put on this act in front of her anymore, right?
“You… what’s going on?”
Xiliya pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Ximo’s mouth and helped her sit on the edge of the bed. Ximo could only repeat the explanation the System had given her earlier.
“It’s congenital. I’ve had this condition since I was little. I can’t do any strenuous exercise normally…”
The more Xiliya listened, the more familiar it felt. Ximo’s symptoms… how were they so similar to her own from before?
No, they were exactly the same.
“But Masha wouldn’t hire a sickly servant like you for the mansion.”
“Uh…” Ximo paused. “She must’ve been fooled, right? After all, it was to infiltrate the mansion… to assassinate you. Ahahaha.”
Xiliya remembered something else and frowned. “What about this afternoon? You didn’t set Charles up on purpose, so why did you block me back then?”
“I… I was worried he’d bully you, Miss.”
Xiliya didn’t ask any more questions. Emotions flickered in her eyes, and after a moment, she stood up and said curtly, “Lie on the bed. Don’t move around.”
Xiliya went out and instructed another maid. Not long after, Annaer appeared at Ximo’s door with a bowl of medicine.
“Miss, your medicine. Has your condition been unstable again lately…”
Annaer quickly spotted Ximo lying on the bed and immediately frowned. “Ximo, the young miss is still here. How can you lie on the bed? Get up!”
“It’s fine,” Xiliya stopped Annaer. “Just give me the medicine.”
“Young Miss, you… aren’t going back to your room to rest?”
“No need. You can go.”
Annaer’s gaze swept over Ximo and Xiliya several times, but in the end, she said nothing meaningful and simply closed the door with a pointed look.
Xiliya helped Ximo up and watched as she drank the entire bowl of dark brown medicine.
Ximo grimaced and stuck out her tongue. “So bitter.”
“You’ll get used to it after drinking more.”
Without another word, Xiliya pressed Ximo down onto her lap. Ximo’s body stiffened—this was her first time experiencing a lap pillow, and she hadn’t expected it under these circumstances.
After a moment of silence, Xiliya took out the necklace she’d confiscated from Ximo earlier and put it on her. Within a few breaths, Ximo’s appearance completely transformed into another visage.
Xiliya’s hand gently traced across Ximo’s face. The girl before her looked just like another version of herself. Aside from the difference in clothing, even Xiliya herself couldn’t spot any flaws.
“So alike…”
Xiliya murmured to herself. So those previous coughing fits weren’t one of Ximo’s little tricks?
“Sorry…”
“Hm? What did you say, Mistress?”
Xiliya’s voice was very soft, and Ximo hadn’t heard clearly.
“…Nothing.”
Even setting this aside, there were still the assassination attempt and the Adventurers’ Association incidents. It was just a coincidence that it matched her old illness. Xiliya didn’t think this cleared Ximo of anything.
When she’d been reborn, she’d vowed that in this life, she wouldn’t trust anyone lightly or compromise with anyone.
“Feeling better? If you are, get up and listen to what you need to do when we visit the chamber.”
Though Xiliya warned herself not to go soft on Ximo because of this, her tone had unconsciously softened quite a bit compared to before.
