Beside the long table laden with food, Charles was chatting happily with his lackeys, so much so that he didn’t even notice Ximo’s sneaky appearance next to him at first.
It wasn’t until Ximo deliberately ran over to grab a small cake beside Charles for the third time that he finally noticed her.
“Hey, isn’t this Xiliya’s maid?” Charles glanced at Ximo. “Lady Masha is quite merciful to allow lowly servants like you to attend the gathering.”
Ximo’s heart leaped with joy. It was great that Charles still remembered her—she was afraid he wouldn’t come to bother her now.
“That’s not it. I’m here attending the gathering with her as Miss’s dance partner.”
“Dance partner?” Charles burst into laughter toward the people beside him. “Xiliya’s dance partner? Xiliya actually found a maid to accompany her to the gathering.”
“Makes sense. Probably no one else is willing to come to the gathering with such a waste.”
Charles and his lackeys beside him laughed uproariously. Then Charles poked Ximo’s shoulder repeatedly with his finger.
“Even if you’re dressed like this, your status hasn’t changed. A maid is still a maid.”
“Mm-hmm, you’re right.”
The more Charles cursed now, the happier Ximo became.
“Since you’re a maid, do what a maid should do.” Charles shook his empty cup. “Go get me a glass of champagne.”
“Sure thing, please wait a moment.”
Ximo walked away with a beaming smile, leaving Charles frowning in place, feeling that something was off.
Last time they met, this blind maid had confronted him aggressively. Why was she suddenly so obedient today?
When she brought the champagne to Charles and he casually waved her away dismissively, Ximo finally let out a complete sigh of relief.
“How about it? That should count as completing the task, right?”
“Uh…” The System’s helpless voice rang in her mind. “Feels like you’re the type who skips easy points in an exam by not reading the question carefully.”
“Think carefully about what the task was: ‘Be slandered by someone and forced to apologize publicly.’ Were you slandered just now? Did you apologize?”
Ximo froze. The tasks she’d completed recently had given her a stereotypical impression of the Sickly Young Lady identity, so she’d subconsciously thought that just being bossed around by Charles would complete it.
Oh no, what should she do now?
Ximo looked up sharply and locked eyes with Charles again not far away.
“What are you staring at me for?”
Charles hadn’t planned to pay Ximo any more attention—her excessive compliance had made him a bit bored. But since their eyes met, he didn’t mind ordering her to do something else.
“Since you like staring at me so much, why don’t you do something a maid should? How about polishing my shoes?”
“You like having others do things for you so much? Didn’t you grow hands yourself?”
Charles’s hand holding the champagne glass paused, and he even suspected he’d misheard.
Why had this maid suddenly done a complete one-eighty in attitude? Was this… some kind of “soften them up before striking” tactic?
“A mere maid dares to speak to me like this.” But these doubts didn’t stop Charles from darkening his face. “Don’t you know what occasion this is? Even if Xiliya brought you to the gathering, do you not want your job anymore?”
Charles tilted his head toward Masha’s direction, his intent clear, but Ximo wasn’t intimidated and glared back fiercely with her eyes.
In truth, Ximo was quite anxious inside. It was easy to provoke this Chihuahua-like guy, but how was she supposed to get him to slander her?
Charles wanted to say more when a figure suddenly stepped in front of Ximo, staring coldly at him.
“I was gone for just a moment, and you seem to have been chatting quite happily with our little maid?”
It was Xiliya. Seeing Xiliya come to the rescue, Ximo wasn’t happy at all—instead, she felt even more despair.
Sis, your timing is way too off!
If Xiliya ruthlessly drove Charles away, wouldn’t her task be completely ruined?
“Xiliya…”
Seeing Xiliya appear with a cold face, Charles had initially thought of backing off. But when he saw Ximo behind her, a glint flashed in his eyes.
“Xiliya, do you know what attitude your maid had toward me just now?”
“I must remind you, Charles, she’s my dance partner now, not a maid. And you have no right to order my maid around.”
“So you’re going to condone the Camberlan Family’s maid being rude to a guest?”
Charles deliberately raised his voice in the argument, drawing the attention of many around them, including Masha.
“What’s going on?” Masha pushed through. “Xiliya, how can you speak to Young Master Charles like that?”
Xiliya swept a cold glance over her. Sure enough, just like in her previous life, Masha wouldn’t care about right or wrong—she’d blindly blame her.
“Rude?” Xiliya sneered. “If I ordered you to polish my shoes, Young Master Charles would probably be even ruder, right?”
“That’s different!” Charles feigned anger as he looked at Masha. “So, the young lady of the Camberlan Family intends to accuse a banquet guest for the sake of a maid?”
Charles hammered on Ximo’s maid status, drawing even more guests to watch the spectacle. Xiliya’s expression darkened, and she was about to teach Charles a lesson when Ximo, who had been hiding behind her, suddenly stepped forward.
“…I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
“This has nothing to do with you!”
Xiliya was stunned and reached out to pull Ximo away, but the usually timid little maid stood firm now, as if she’d made some resolve.
Of course Ximo didn’t dare move. Joking aside, this was a hard-won chance to complete the task smoothly—Sis, don’t pull me back!
“It was me who didn’t recognize my place as a maid and offended Young Master Charles. I’m sorry. And originally, it was I who begged the young lady to bring me to the gathering; she was soft-hearted and brought me along…”
“Ximo, you…”
Xiliya’s pupils contracted slightly. She reached out to grab Ximo again, but it was too late. With a crisp “slap,” Charles heavily slapped Ximo across the face.
“Heh, this slap is me disciplining the Camberlan Family’s servant on their behalf.”
Charles wore a smug smile on his face. He knew it would turn out like this—did Xiliya really dare get angry at him, a young master of the guild, over a maid? What would the other guests think?
What Charles didn’t notice was that in that instant, Xiliya’s pupils reddened slightly, and killing intent uncontrollably surged from her body. But a panting shout timely interrupted the chaotic farce.
“Miss Xiliya!”
It was a City Guard soldier. From his appearance, he must have run all the way here.
