“Get lost.”
Perhaps not expecting her timid older sister to curse at her, Malisi’s little mouth twitched as if she was about to cry. Xiliya said nothing and simply watched her performance quietly.
If it had been Xiliya from her previous life, she might have backed down at a time like this.
Malisi, that brat, was the best at bullying people. She knew her sister’s personality—every time she pretended to cry, Xiliya would panic and comfort her, agreeing to whatever she wanted.
But the current Xiliya didn’t say a word. She just watched as Malisi put on her loud thunder with tiny raindrops act. Malisi cried dryly a few times, saw no reaction from Xiliya, and immediately switched to another tactic.
“I’m going to tell Mom on you! I’ll say my big sister is bullying me!”
Xiliya smiled silently. No wonder even a bad kid like her was so straightforward in her mischief—it was clearly thanks to Masha’s excellent mothering.
From another angle, to fold so quickly under a threat from a little kid, how cowardly did she have to be in her previous life to do something so stupid?
But things were different now. Xiliya didn’t care about Malisi’s feeble threats at all. She reached out, grabbed Malisi by the back of her collar, and dragged her into the hallway.
“Go ahead and tell her. Whoever doesn’t tell is a little dog.”
There were ways to deal with bratty kids, and Xiliya stuck out her tongue. With a “bang,” she slammed the door shut.
Go tell on her all she wanted. Xiliya was hoping Masha would come looking for trouble now—she couldn’t find a good excuse to deal with that mother-daughter pair otherwise.
Chasing off the little pest put Xiliya in a great mood. That Ceramic Doll wasn’t the only thing her mother had left her, but Xiliya cherished every single item from her mother, especially after being reborn.
A mother was a child’s natural harbor. Even Malisi, that little brat, thought of running to Masha first when she had trouble, right?
Having protected her mother’s keepsake, Xiliya’s desire to punish Ximo even faded a bit.
Fine, it wouldn’t do to go too far the first time. From the look on Ximo’s face earlier, she was already scared. A verbal warning would suffice this time.
With that in mind, Xiliya relocked the door… but just then, a “crash” sounded from behind her—something shattering on the floor.
Xiliya’s heart sank with a bad premonition. She turned around—and sure enough, lying in pieces on the ground was that somewhat aged Ceramic Doll, its color yellowed with time.
Ximo stood by the cabinet, wearing an expression of utter helplessness… Yeah, obviously fake.
Xiliya’s mood plummeted to rock bottom. Ximo explained with eyes full of apology.
“Sorry, I was thinking of helping you clean the room while I was at it.” Ximo showed the rag in her hand. “I didn’t expect to accidentally knock your thing off while wiping the cabinet. My bad.”
Ximo’s apology was genuine. Breaking someone’s stuff to complete a System task wasn’t exactly good behavior, after all.
She had even confirmed with the System which decorative item it was supposed to be—the Ceramic Doll at the very back of the cabinet looked old, shoved to the deepest spot without being displayed out front. Maybe Xiliya didn’t even like this little trinket much herself.
So Ximo hesitated a moment before doing it. A proper apology afterward, and Xiliya probably wouldn’t care too much, right?
But to Ximo’s surprise, Xiliya’s face darkened as she strode over and grabbed her arm with a grip so tight it hurt her wrist.
“The rag is dry. Don’t you wet it before wiping the cabinet?” Xiliya glanced at the cabinet again. “The items out front show no signs of being moved, but the one at the very back is the one that’s broken?”
Xiliya delivered her cold conclusion: “Your acting skills aren’t that great, my little pet.”
Xiliya thought Ximo had some guts. She’d nearly been strangled to death yesterday, and today she dared to provoke her so blatantly. Was she not afraid of dying?
No, probably because Ximo hadn’t adjusted her perception yet. Makes sense—Malisi and Masha still treated her like the pushover young lady from before, so Ximo wouldn’t be any different.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried to fob her off with such a clumsy scheme earlier, or dared to smash her stuff right to her face now.
It seemed with people like this, she had to make it hurt physically for it to stick in their minds.
“Sorry, I know I was wrong.”
Under this mindset, Ximo’s sincere apology looked like naked provocation in Xiliya’s eyes.
Xiliya laughed in fury: “Good. Seeing how unrepentant you are, I won’t have any qualms about laying hands on you now.”
“Ah—”
Ximo let out a small cry of alarm because Xiliya dragged her with one hand and flung her onto the bed. Ximo couldn’t understand how those slender arms exploded with such strength.
No way, she was really, really angry?
A bad premonition rose in Ximo’s heart. She realized she’d gone too far this time—Xiliya didn’t look nonchalant at all.
“I-I really know I was wrong…”
“Too late.”
Xiliya locked both of Ximo’s wrists with one hand while roughly yanking her clothes down with the other. The soft fabric couldn’t withstand the violent tug and tore with a “rip,” perfectly exposing Ximo’s abdomen and the ornate Mark above it.
“I need you to remember your current status loud and clear.”
“You’re my pet, my slave. If you can’t remember it with your brain, then your body will have to learn it well.”
Xiliya pressed one hand to Ximo’s abdomen: “You must obey all my commands without violation—even if I tell you to die, got it?”
“G-Got it.”
“How do you answer?”
“I… I will…”
Ximo pulled a long face. How could she say no at a time like this?
The Mark on her abdomen glowed faintly, a tingling strange sensation surging up. Ximo bit her lower lip lightly, not daring to move as Xiliya’s hand rested on her belly.
The Slave Seal’s activation conditions were strict: the caster needed to be at least one major rank higher than the target, and the target had to sincerely consent. But Xiliya could handle both now.
If she couldn’t meet the second condition, she could just get rid of Ximo.
The odd sensation on her abdomen gradually faded, the strangely shaped Mark emitting a faint glow. Satisfaction flashed in Xiliya’s eyes.
Ximo knew the ritual was over and tried to prop herself up on her elbows, but Xiliya pressed her right back down.
“Did I say you could get up?”
Xiliya looked down at Ximo from above, speaking coldly: “We’re just getting started, Ximo.”
