Ximo felt like she was turning into a workhorse. Why did this System’s tasks keep coming one after another without a break? Was it afraid she wouldn’t exhaust herself to death?
“Darling, don’t think there are too many tasks, okay? As the sickly young lady, this is just part of the plot progression you were meant to go through. I’m only ensuring the story develops normally.”
“And this is an important emotional storyline from the original text, right? In the original, after the Beastmen Clan attack, Xiliya recalled her mother and sadly locked herself in her room, eating cake while shedding tears.”
Ximo tried to imagine it but couldn’t picture Xiliya crying. Still, this task didn’t seem too difficult.
Moreover, hadn’t Xiliya just said she was heading out? Ximo touched the necklace around her neck, feeling a bit tempted.
—
Xiliya didn’t waste much time going out and coming back.
She had gone to the City Guard’s interrogation room. She thought it would take a while, but she returned surprisingly quickly… because the City Guard had found absolutely nothing.
Given Xiliya’s status, the City Guard didn’t hide yesterday’s investigation results from her. They hadn’t caught the escaping Beastman Priest, and as for the captured Beastmen, they confessed quickly but provided no useful information.
Xiliya looked at the pathetically thin interrogation records, which contained nothing more than what Lager had already revealed.
These Beastmen were just a bunch of idle thugs who didn’t even know each other beforehand. Someone had offered them a hefty sum and promised low risk, so they took the gamble.
But the Beastmen couldn’t even identify their employer. The mastermind hadn’t exposed any information, so the City Guard could only classify the case as a simple robbery.
Pushing further would lead into the Northern Beastmen Clan’s territory, and the City Guard wanted no part of that trouble.
This left Xiliya feeling stumped. She was absolutely certain Masha was involved, but she had no leads to pursue.
Xiliya sighed, ready to put the matter aside and head upstairs to her room, when she ran into Annaer head-on.
“Miss?” Annaer looked surprised. “Weren’t you just in your room?”
“My room?”
Xiliya was about to say she’d just stepped out, but the words caught in her throat as she realized something.
“Yeah, you just said you wanted cake and told me to bring the blueberry cake to your room.”
Xiliya looked at the blueberry cake in Annaer’s hands and let out a meaningful “oh.”
“No need. Just give me the cake directly. Go handle other matters, Annaer.”
…
Meanwhile, in the room, Ximo paced nervously and glanced at Xiliya’s appearance in the mirror. For some reason, she felt a pang of unease.
She wasn’t afraid of being caught by Xiliya—after all, hadn’t Xiliya said she’d be out all morning? But what was causing this inexplicable anxiety…
Hiss, Annaer was the head maid of the Camberlan Family; she must know Xiliya very well. Had she noticed something?
No, she needed to hide somehow.
So when the knock sounded at the door, Ximo burrowed entirely under the covers and mumbled in a muffled voice, “Come in.”
“Miss, your cake is ready.”
“Ah… okay, just put it on the table over there.”
“Miss, why are you completely buried under the covers? Is your body feeling unwell again?”
Annaer’s voice carried a hint of concern. Outside the lumpy blanket, a strand of silver-white long hair trembled.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I just want to nap. You can go.”
“That won’t do, Miss. I’m worried. Let me feed you instead.”
Ximo’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected Annaer to be so devoted to Xiliya. Her plan had been to stay hidden under the covers without facing Annaer, but she’d botched it.
“Besides, if you’re not feeling well, it’s better not to eat sweets.”
Ximo grew anxious. She couldn’t let this cake fly away now.
“No need! I’m really fine. Go…” Ximo paused, then added, “That’s an order!”
The sound of the door opening and closing echoed, and the room fell quiet again. Ximo breathed a sigh of relief, muttering as she threw off the covers.
“That scared me… Whoa!”
When her vision cleared, Ximo nearly tumbled off the bed in fright.
“What’s wrong, Miss? Need any help?”
Xiliya canceled the Sound Imitation Magic, arms crossed as she stood at the door, smiling at Ximo.
“You weren’t…”
You weren’t out? The words stuck halfway.
“Oh, so you pulled this stunt because you knew I was going out.”
Xiliya smiled and patted Ximo’s head. “You put on quite a show, Ximo—ah, no, Miss Xiliya?”
Xiliya realized Ximo was the type to bloom under a little sun. She shouldn’t have been nice to her earlier.
Even if this little maid had no ill intentions now, some things were hard to change—like nature.
“See,” Xiliya lifted Ximo’s clothes, “I think this is still necessary for a disobedient pet.”
“It’s not like that, Mistress. Hear me out… I said I didn’t eat enough breakfast—believe me?”
“I do believe you. So I’ll feed you cake. Here, open wide—”
Xiliya smiled, looking not angry at all, but Ximo clearly felt a slight burning sensation from her lower abdomen.
Ximo cautiously leaned forward, but Xiliya pulled the fork back and placed the small piece of cake in her palm instead.
“Mistress, this…”
“Eat,” Xiliya said with a smile, patting Ximo’s head with her other hand. “I think reminding you of your pet status from time to time is good.”
The sensation in her lower abdomen intensified subtly. Ximo didn’t dare say more and slowly leaned in.
Xiliya’s hand was slender with distinct knuckles, her pale fingertips smeared with a bit of cream. And she held it low, forcing Ximo to bow her head low to carefully nibble the small piece of cake.
“You have to eat it all clean. There’s still some left.”
Xiliya crooked her finger. Ximo whined softly, closed her eyes, lowered her head again, and after a moment’s hesitation, gently licked the cream from Xiliya’s palm and fingers clean.
Xiliya’s hand was cool, and the tongue was sensitive to begin with. With her body’s sensitivity heightened, Ximo’s tongue flinched the instant it touched Xiliya’s palm.
