The proverb “anything unusual must have a demon behind it” rang true. Xiliya remembered clearly that in her previous life, during the winter hunt, all the mansion’s servants had gone out of the city with them. The Camberlan Family’s entourage had been quite large.
But now, Masha had deliberately left Annaer and half the servants behind at the mansion. Xiliya didn’t believe this was mere coincidence. With fewer servants going… didn’t that mean it would be easier to make a move?
Xiliya couldn’t help recalling the conversation between Samuer and Masha that night: “I’ll find a way to make the move. All you need to do is cooperate with me.”
Indeed, the winter hunt was a perfect opportunity to strike—far from Camberlan City, and any mishaps could be blamed on the Northern Beastmen. Plus, the magic aptitude test from before had been to ensure she had no means to resist, right?
Xiliya’s expression changed. She had been arranging her actions based on events from her previous life, thinking that with Ximo replacing her at the winter hunt outside the city, the worst that could happen was Malisi bullying her a bit. But she had overlooked that in this life, she was no longer the pushover young lady she used to be, so things might unfold differently.
It was her oversight. If she were the one riding out in that carriage now, she wouldn’t fear however many Northern Beastmen came. But it was Ximo who had gone in her place! She knew full well the little maidservant’s capabilities.
Xiliya anxiously pushed open the door and rushed out. The carriage had only just left not long ago; if she set off now, she should be able to catch up and protect Ximo. But doing so…
Xiliya glanced toward Masha’s bedroom. She hadn’t had a chance to search Masha’s bedroom yet, and this was likely her last opportunity to sneak in before the imperial capital’s envoy arrived. After that, there probably wouldn’t be another chance with the mansion so empty.
After hesitating in place for a moment, Xiliya gritted her teeth and hurried out of the mansion. She could no longer convince herself with excuses like “Ximo’s just a tool.”
—
Meanwhile, Ximo was in the carriage, staring down Malisi in a wide-eyed standoff.
Upon closer inspection, the little brat was actually pretty cute. Her features took after her mother, all chubby and soft—too bad she was such a rascal.
Ximo had originally planned to cozy up to Malisi, since today’s plot task still depended on this little troublemaker to complete. But Malisi shrank straight into Masha’s arms and stuck her tongue out at Ximo.
After the study incident last time, Masha had severely scolded Malisi and sternly warned her to stay away from Xiliya next time.
Hiss, this was getting tricky.
Ximo recalled the system’s plot task.
[As the sickly young lady confined to bed, you had no interest in an activity like the winter hunt. So when everyone else was setting up camp and lighting fires, you chose to stay quietly in the carriage alone, reading a book.]
[But your sister Malisi set her sights on you, clamoring for you to take her out to play. Unable to refuse her, you got out of the carriage and accompanied her into the woods.]
[However, Malisi didn’t listen to you and ran all the way to the depths of the forest far from the camp, nearly awakening a bear in hibernation.]
[To protect Malisi, you scooped her up and ran for your life back to camp. The intense exertion triggered your congenital illness, yet Masha blamed you, the older sister, for taking Malisi to such a remote spot to play.]
Mm, it was actually pretty straightforward. All she had to do was carry Malisi and run a stretch, right? Ximo had some confidence in her current body. Xiliya had been preparing medicine for her every day lately, so now she just needed to wait for the brat to come pick a fight.
Thus, when the carriage procession halted in the suburban woods to set up camp, Ximo followed the original plot description and didn’t get out. Instead, she patiently waited for Malisi to come find her on her own.
Through the window, Ximo saw the snow-covered forest outside. In the distance, a few roe deer wandered leisurely. Even spotting the human caravan, they didn’t flee; they just stood there dumbly, peering over.
The servants and the City Guards serving as escorts were all busy setting up camp. In the original story, it was because no one had time to play with Malisi that the brat came looking for Xiliya.
Ximo idly watched everyone set up camp. After waiting quite a while, she suddenly realized—why hadn’t Malisi come looking for her yet?
Peering through the carriage window, Ximo couldn’t spot Malisi anywhere. Could it be that the brat had been bullied too harshly by Xiliya and was too scared to come play?
Ximo grew restless. Just as she was pondering whether to take the initiative and go find Malisi, the carriage door was suddenly yanked open.
Ximo’s heart leaped with joy, but she froze upon seeing who it was. Standing outside wasn’t Malisi, but Masha, her face beaming with a smile.
“Xiliya, it’s rare to get out like this. Staying cooped up in the carriage is no fun—come on down for a stroll.”
“Ah?”
Ximo was a bit at a loss. The plot task hadn’t even started yet—why was there this bizarre deviation?
“Coming down to breathe some fresh air will be good for your health too—I see the woods over there have nice scenery. Want to go take a look?”
“Uh… what about Malisi?” Ximo blinked. “I’ll go with her.”
“Oh, Malisi’s over there watching the servants build the fire. Let her play on her own.”
Ximo started to panic a little. Why was this brat acting so unpredictably? But her task this time was tied to Malisi, meaning Malisi had to be present to complete it.
“Let’s still call Malisi over. I’ll take her along for a stroll—it’s a rare outing, right, Aunt Masha?”
“Forget it, Malisi she…”
“Come on, Aunt Masha, I don’t usually have time to play with Malisi at the mansion. It’s a good chance to bond as sisters.”
Ximo figured pulling the sisterly bond card would make it hard for Masha to refuse. Masha was momentarily speechless. This girl usually couldn’t stand her little sister—why was she insisting on bringing Malisi along today?
Could it be… Xiliya had sensed something was off?
Masha’s mood sank. Was Xiliya planning to drag Malisi along as a shield if something happened? As expected, the girl wasn’t as easy to fool as before.
Masha felt torn. After all, she and Samuer… had agreed on a time and place. She needed to get Xiliya to that specific location.
…Fine, whatever. Samuer’s people were targeting only Xiliya anyway.
“Alright then, I’ll go call Malisi over. We’ll all go for a stroll together. The servants don’t need me watching them work anyway.”
Masha gritted her teeth a bit. In that case, she’d tag along too—she wasn’t about to let Malisi go alone with this girl.
“Oh… sure!”
Ximo didn’t mind either. One more person probably wouldn’t disrupt the task flow, right? Masha would just have to keep up later.
