The next morning, Masha suddenly called Xiliya to her room.
Although she already knew what Masha was scheming from her past life’s experience, Xiliya still smiled and asked, “Is there something you need, Aunt Masha?”
Masha sighed with feigned distress and laid out a stack of complaint letters in front of Xiliya.
“See for yourself.”
Xiliya gave the letters a quick scan. Sure enough, they were complaints from West Street residents sent to the City Guard, griping about the guards’ incompetence.
It had been the same in her previous life. Camberlan City, bordering the Northern Border Beastmen Territory, was frequently harassed by beastmen.
But those beastmen had never been so bold as to rob goods from transport caravans outside the city or harass residents on the outskirts. Now, they had sneaked into the city under the City Guard’s nose to rob warehouses, making the residents feel an unprecedented threat—especially the people of West Street, who were particularly vocal in their resentment.
Xiliya sneered inwardly. In her previous life, Masha had summoned her under these exact circumstances, claiming it was a chance to temper her and let her take over City Guard duties as preparation for becoming family head someday.
But strangely, after she took charge, the beastmen’s harassment around Camberlan City had suddenly intensified. The timid and cowardly Xiliya from her past life had been utterly unable to cope, leading to widespread resentment among the residents. Many had doubted this prospective young miss of the Camberlan Family.
In her previous life, Xiliya had lost the people’s support this way, resulting in almost no one backing her succession as family head.
This time, before Masha could spin her manipulative nonsense, Xiliya took the initiative.
“The Northern Border Beastmen have grown so rampant that they’ve become a real threat to Camberlan City’s residents. This must be treated seriously.”
“Aunt Masha, why don’t you let me take over City Guard affairs for this? Consider it early practice for family head duties. I guarantee I’ll handle the beastmen clan’s harassment.”
Masha was stunned, all her prepared persuasive rhetoric stuck in her throat.
“Of course… that’s fine. I’m delighted to see you so proactive, Xiliya.”
Masha smiled on the surface but snorted coldly in her heart. She hadn’t expected this little girl to be so reckless. Fine then—if she volunteered for this mess, any fallout would be squarely on her shoulders.
“Oh, right, one more thing. The family is hosting a gathering in a couple of days…”
“Mm, I know.”
Xiliya gathered up all the complaint letters from the table. She had no interest in bandying words with Masha and turned to leave the room immediately.
Masha occasionally organized these gatherings, inviting all the city’s merchants. It was a straightforward way to win hearts and minds through socializing. Xiliya had grown used to it in her previous life.
She had no interest in such events and had no intention of attending… But just as she stepped out the door, Xiliya suddenly remembered something and paused.
Masha hosted so many gatherings that they blurred together in her memory—but had that particular one from her previous life happened around this time?
Perfect. A smile tugged at Xiliya’s lips. It seemed she should pay attention to this gathering after all.
—
That afternoon, Xiliya dragged Ximo away from helping Annaer prepare for the gathering and took her out.
They wandered East Street for half the day until Xiliya finally selected a custom clothing shop and led Ximo inside.
“Master, are we… shopping again today?”
Ximo had noticed that Xiliya quite enjoyed strolling and buying things. Was this just a girly commonality?
“No, today we’re here to get you some clothes.”
“For me?”
Ximo blinked in confusion, unsure why Xiliya was suddenly doing this.
“Hello, welcome~”
“Do you have evening gowns for banquets? Bring a few over for us to look at.”
“Certainly, please wait a moment.”
Once the shop assistant left, Xiliya lowered her voice to Ximo. “Masha’s hosting a gathering at the house in a couple of days, but I’m short a dance partner right now.”
“Ah? But… I don’t know how to dance.”
Xiliya couldn’t help rolling her eyes. This little maid’s intelligence was a bit worrying.
“The point isn’t whether you can dance. The point is, if I show up alone, certain people will seize the chance to mock me, got it?”
It had happened that way in her previous life. Midway through the gathering, when dancing began, the merchants close to Masha had avoided Xiliya as if by prior agreement, then deliberately mocked her afterward.
This time, Xiliya decided to bring her own partner. Ximo naturally didn’t have a proper dance gown, so Xiliya planned to buy her one.
Soon, the shop assistant returned with several styles of gowns and laid them out before Ximo.
“Um…” Ximo rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “I think they all look pretty good?”
She blinked her innocent wide eyes at Xiliya, awaiting her opinion.
Xiliya sighed. “I’ll pick. Do you have other styles?”
“Yes, miss. We have some new custom designs upstairs. Let me show you.”
The assistant led them to the second floor. Ximo trailed behind and snuck a peek at the prices of those earlier gowns—two to four silver coins each.
Fine, compared to that, her spending over ten silver coins on a commission earlier had been pretty outrageous.
Unlike the ready-made items downstairs, the second floor was for custom orders. Samples hung on the walls, and a catalog of the shop’s latest designs sat on the table.
Xiliya’s eyes immediately fell on a maid outfit on the tailor’s table. Unlike a standard maid uniform, this one used scant fabric and had a pair of cat ears and… a cat tail accessory beside it.
“Ahaha…” The shop assistant hurriedly whisked the outfit away. “That’s for another customer. Please look at the catalog over there. Any styles you like?”
Xiliya glanced sidelong at Ximo, who suddenly felt a chill down her spine for no reason.
“This one.”
Xiliya quickly took a liking to an inky black gown adorned with starlight motifs on the hem.
“You have excellent taste, miss. That’s one of our designer’s newest styles, and we have a sample right here. Would you like to try it on?”
And so, Ximo bewilderedly clutched the gown and entered the fitting room nearby. As soon as she closed the door, Xiliya approached the assistant again.
“That outfit earlier… the maid one.”
“Do you have a ready-made version? Let me see it.”
