“Why did you do this, Annaer?”
Faced with Xiliya’s question, laced with undisguisable disappointment, Annaer did not panic. She merely let out a soft sigh.
“I’m very sorry for keeping this from you for so long, Miss, but… this was actually your mother’s wish.”
Annaer stood up and, with a click, opened the hidden compartment in the cabinet. Xiliya narrowed her eyes slightly. All the servants’ furniture was standardized, so it was clear that only Annaer’s cabinet had this secret addition.
Annaer carefully took out the items from the hidden compartment and handed them to Xiliya. Upon seeing the familiar earrings shaped like blue jasmines, Xiliya breathed a sigh of relief.
The blue jasmine, formed from smooth, warm gemstones, reflected a gentle light under the lamp. Xiliya couldn’t identify the exact material of the earrings, but seeing her mother’s relics intact before her filled her with satisfaction.
In her previous life, these earrings had been completely destroyed before they were handed over to her.
In addition, there was an old letter given to Xiliya. The envelope was well-preserved, but the slightly brittle and yellowed paper attested to the years it had endured.
“This was something your mother… Lady Xiwei entrusted to me before she passed away.”
Annaer’s gaze toward Xiliya grew slightly distant, as if she saw someone extremely similar to Xiliya on her face.
“As Lady Xiwei’s personal maid, I was once very close to her… She had no attachment whatsoever to the Camberlan Family. Before she left, the only thing she couldn’t let go of was you, Miss.”
“She entrusted this letter and these earrings to me. She said the earrings were a token and asked me to keep them safe. So, after Lady Xiwei passed away, I took advantage of my work to retrieve these earrings from her belongings.”
“Lady Xiwei said to give them to you on the day when you no longer had a place to stand in the Camberlan Family…”
Xiliya let out a long sigh. In her previous life, she hadn’t even known this letter existed. She didn’t believe Annaer would destroy her mother’s relics, but having been reborn, she couldn’t ask the current Annaer about the doubts from her past life. She could only bury those questions deep in her heart.
Watching Xiliya carefully put away the items, Annaer fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking. “I’m sorry, Miss.”
Xiliya knew what Annaer was apologizing for, and her response carried a hint of tension.
“So… you knew about Masha’s actions from the very beginning, didn’t you, Annaer?”
“…Your mother served the Camberlan Family for many years, Miss.”
For some reason, Annaer suddenly brought up a topic that seemed completely unrelated to the current situation. Xiliya knew this—Annaer’s mother had even been buried in the Camberlan Family Cemetery because of it.
“But perhaps you don’t know, Miss, that my mother was brought back by the Camberlan Family’s great-grand patriarch—your grandfather. At the time, my mother was a refugee from outside the city, and the Camberlan Family gave her a job and a home.”
“So my mother felt deep affection for the Camberlan Family. She hoped to see it grow strong and restore its former glory. I want to fulfill my mother’s wish. I grew up in the Camberlan Family, and I have deep feelings for it too, but…”
Annaer paused. “I’m sorry, Miss. It might not be appropriate for someone of my status to say this, but after your father succeeded as family head, the already declining Camberlan Family fell into further decay. Lord Dos… lacks any talent for managing the family.”
“You must know this too. If things continued like that, the Camberlan Family’s downfall would have been inevitable, so…”
“So you chose Masha, right?”
Xiliya had already guessed Annaer’s intent. To Annaer, the past version of herself had been just as weak and incompetent as Dos Camberlan, utterly incapable of managing the family.
“As the head maid of the estate, even Masha couldn’t completely hide her actions from me… But I never expected Madam Masha to go so far as to collude with the enemy and betray the nation.”
Annaer had seen all of Masha’s moves, but with the once-mighty Camberlan Family now lacking heirs, Masha seemed like a “choice without choice” in Annaer’s eyes. At least her tough methods wouldn’t lead the family to ruin.
However, Annaer had only vaguely guessed that Masha was orchestrating shady dealings in secret. She never imagined the crimes would be this severe.
“I also let down Lady Xiwei. I knew she was most worried about you, Miss… But my mother’s dying wish was equally important to me.”
“But Miss, you’re truly different from before. I wonder if Lady Xiwei would be happy to see you now?”
Annaer’s tone was filled with unmistakable guilt, but her gaze toward Xiliya was one of relief and reassurance. She knew the current Xiliya wouldn’t let the Camberlan Family fall to ruin. Annaer calmly retrieved her already packed luggage from the bed and faced Xiliya squarely.
“So, whether it’s dismissal or being handed over to the City Guard for knowing and not reporting, I can accept it. Please punish me as you see fit, Miss.”
Xiliya didn’t answer directly for a moment. She simply shook her head and murmured as if to herself.
“I actually knew… Mother always hoped I could live a stable and happy life. But it seems, whether in my previous life or this one, I’ll end up disappointing her.”
“What did you say, Miss?”
“Nothing,” Xiliya suddenly smiled at Annaer. “I didn’t say anything, Annaer. Besides, after I leave, the Camberlan Family will still need someone to look after it.”
“Miss, you… plan to leave the Camberlan Family?”
Of course. Although Masha’s expulsion was gone this time, Xiliya was still determined to leave the Camberlan Family and attend the Imperial Capital Magic Academy. She couldn’t stay peacefully in the Camberlan Family forever, so she still needed to have a good talk with Selina later.
“I’m just going off to school…” Xiliya suddenly made a “shh” gesture near Annaer’s mouth. “No need for thank yous or apologies, Annaer. With you in the Camberlan Family, it’s the Camberlan Family who should be thanking you.”
Annaer opened her mouth, but Xiliya had cut her off, so Annaer merely bowed slightly, speaking calmly as she had done countless times in her role as maid.
“Understood, Miss.”
—
However, what Xiliya hadn’t expected was that the next day, before she could seek out Selina, the other woman summoned her instead.
“Please sit, Miss Xiliya.”
