In the study of Camberlan Mansion, Masha picked up her cup, but a moment later, her hand trembled slightly as she set it back down.
After such an incident, the winter hunt certainly couldn’t continue. Masha had ordered everyone present to withdraw, using the excuse that “those beastmen might catch up.” Upon returning to the city, she had “urgently” commanded the City Guard to mobilize fully to rescue Xiliya, but there was still no news.
However, Masha believed that Samuer’s people definitely wouldn’t fail. In that situation, Xiliya absolutely had no chance of survival.
She never expected that Xiliya had actually managed to pull it off… Masha steadied her mind. Eliminating Xiliya was only the first step; how to handle the aftermath was the most important. She couldn’t allow herself even a shred of suspicion.
No matter what, Camberlan Family was now thoroughly in her grasp. Xiliya had been quite the thorn lately, but what use was that?
A little girl who wasn’t even of age yet—in the end, she still couldn’t outplay her.
A “knock knock” sounded at the door. Masha absentmindedly called out.
“Come in… Xiliya? How are you here? You’re still alive?!”
Xiliya closed the door behind her. Her expression was grim, and the look she directed at Masha carried a faint spark of anger. Most importantly—Masha noticed that she was completely unscathed.
“…I mean, it’s wonderful that you’re still alive! Xiliya, are you hurt anywhere?”
Masha reacted quickly and immediately changed her tack, walking over with a heartbroken expression.
Calm down. Can’t deal with Masha here… Xiliya forcibly suppressed her urge to act, but her words remained icy.
“Yes, I’m still alive—or are you surprised to see me that way?”
“That’s not what I meant, Xiliya,” Masha trotted out her prepared excuse. “I told the coachman to wait for you to get on the carriage before leaving, but he was scared silly by the beastmen and drove off regardless, ignoring my orders. I couldn’t even stop him.”
“He’s been dismissed by me now. I’m just glad you’re okay, Xiliya. That puts my mind at ease.”
Masha wiped at the corner of her eye. Xiliya naturally didn’t buy her crocodile tears. It seemed the coachman had already taken Masha’s hush money.
“Those beastmen are too brazen. They usually rob passing merchant caravans, but I never thought they’d dare touch someone from Camberlan Family.”
Masha feigned righteous indignation. The best way to shut others up was to preemptively steal their lines.
“Yes, truly brazen,” Xiliya laughed in extreme anger. “It looks like it’s necessary to clear out all the threats around Camberlan—looks like I’ll have work to do after taking office.”
“Speaking of which, I’ve been doing pretty well as City Guard Captain lately, haven’t I? I think I’m qualified for the City Lord position now.”
Masha was stunned. She hadn’t expected Xiliya to bring this up at such a time.
Her original plan had been to set Xiliya up hard after she took office, then smoothly reclaim the City Guard Captain position. But now, she’d botched it, and her prepared excuses were useless.
“This… we can talk about this later…”
“What’s there to wait for? Since my abilities are no issue, succeeding as City Lord is only natural, isn’t it, Aunt Masha?”
“You’re not of age yet, after all. This matter should at least wait until after your birthday, right?”
“That’s even better. Two months from now, after my birthday, I’ll be of age. How about holding the birthday celebration and the inauguration ceremony together?”
Masha’s face darkened. She’d wanted to stall for time, but Xiliya wouldn’t let go.
“Um… that could work…”
Masha equivocated, but her resentment toward Xiliya deepened.
Fine then. This is what you asked for, Xiliya.
Once you really succeed as City Lord, it’ll be too late. She had to find a way now to ensure Xiliya wouldn’t live to see her next birthday.
—
“Masha definitely won’t sit idly by. She’ll absolutely find a way to make me disappear from the world within these two months.”
Back in her room, Xiliya lightly stroked Ximo’s face as she lay on the bed, chatting idly.
Fortunately, Ximo had only sprained her right ankle and suffered no life-threatening injuries. Xiliya had taken her to a small private clinic she ran to get treated, then rented a carriage to bring her home.
Just to be safe, Xiliya hadn’t let anyone else know about Ximo’s injury. She’d simply told Annaer that Ximo might need to stay in her room for the next couple of days and asked her not to assign Ximo any other work for now.
Annaer hadn’t said much, just reminded Xiliya to take care of her health—her condition wasn’t suited for strenuous activity…
“So this month, I need to rethink how to gather evidence on Masha.”
Xiliya fell into thought. Though the ledgers in the study were fakes, Masha surely had left some slip-ups.
Xiliya remembered clearly that Samuer and Masha’s meeting hadn’t detailed when or where to act against her. They hadn’t met again after that, yet now Masha had managed to join forces with the beastmen clan to target her. That proved Masha had some other means of communicating with the beastmen clan.
It made sense. Masha and Samuer couldn’t hash out every minor detail in person. Aside from critical information that required face-to-face for secrecy, the rest was probably handled through other channels.
But Masha wasn’t an ordinary person; she was Camberlan City’s acting City Lord. Her daily movements were completely transparent and public. So how exactly did Masha communicate with the beastmen clan?
Xiliya knew Masha spent most of her day in the mansion, visited by prominent figures like chamber of commerce presidents and the like. She couldn’t monitor Masha’s every move in the mansion around the clock…
“Simple,” Ximo unexpectedly chimed in. “Just let me handle it, right?”
“You?”
Xiliya surprisedly glanced at Ximo’s injured right leg. It wasn’t mockery, but heartache.
What had happened today left her deeply guilty toward Ximo. She worried that sending her on any task would put her in the same dangerous situation again.
“Don’t worry, Master,” Ximo patted her chest in assurance. “What’s dangerous about this? Besides, you can’t do it yourself—only I can.”
“Here’s my plan…”
Ximo chattered on, explaining her plan to Xiliya. Xiliya nodded silently. The little maid’s plan was indeed feasible. She hadn’t expected the little maid to have such a sharp mind.
What Ximo didn’t tell Xiliya was that if she obediently lay there recuperating as ordered, her next daily task would go down the drain.
Having already suffered one penalty for failing a plot task, Ximo had no desire to endure another.
