‘Damn it, are you deliberately teasing your humble abode?’
This crappy System claimed to be a plot roleplay system, didn’t it? Up until now, all the tasks it issued had fit the sickly young lady persona as a punchbag. Why was it suddenly deviating from the original plot now?
‘The task is the task. It wasn’t set today, cutie. Don’t worry. If there’s an issue, you can ask customer service once that function unlocks.’
Ximo now even suspected this crappy System didn’t want her confronting customer service, which was why it had issued such a troublesome task.
All previous tasks had followed the plot progression. Could this pair of Blue Jasmine Earrings hold some special secret? It was making it seem so important…
The Imperial Capital Magic Academy started in spring. In the original plot, there was enough time for Ximo to search for the item before leaving the Camberlan Family. But she knew how crucially important these earrings were to Xiliya—they were her mother’s relic, after all. How was she supposed to ‘take them back’ from her?
Yet Ximo also found it tricky. The System had told her last time that the punishment for task failure couldn’t be mitigated normally. She had calculated that one more failure, and her physical condition would truly deteriorate into the original sickly young lady’s weakling state.
‘Ximo—why did you come all the way out here?’ Speak of the devil. Xiliya’s voice carried from afar.
“Ah… I was just wandering around the rear garden,” Ximo made up an excuse. “Is something up, Mistress?”
“Yes.” Xiliya waved the yellowed envelope in her hand. “I found the letter Mother left for me. Come look at it with me, Ximo.”
In truth, Xiliya didn’t dare face this letter alone, much like how some people fear checking their college entrance exam results by themselves and need to drag a friend along.
“Oh, sure…”
Winter had quietly passed. The early spring sunlight was gentle as the two sat side by side on chairs. Xiliya carefully unfolded the yellowed paper.
The creases on the letter paper were deep, and the writing had faded slightly, but Xiliya recognized her mother’s handwriting at a glance.
‘Xiliya, how have you been lately?
‘I don’t know how old you are now or if your health is okay. I hope you’re happy at school. Have you grown into a big kid already, taller than Mom?’
A few plain greetings, just like how Mother used to speak. As she read, Xiliya’s vision blurred uncontrollably. She quickly turned her head away to keep her tears from falling on the letter.
Ximo thoughtfully handed over a tissue. Once her emotions settled, Xiliya looked back at the letter. After the brief greetings, her mother changed the subject.
‘I’m sorry, Xiliya. I shouldn’t write so many things that will make you sad. But thinking about how long it might take you to see this letter, Mom can’t help wanting to ask more.
‘If possible, Mom actually wishes you’d never have the chance to see this letter.
‘Mom hopes you can live a stable, happy life. That’s Mom’s greatest wish. Unfortunately, Mom probably won’t have the chance to watch you grow up.’
Mother’s wish?
Xiliya knew her previous life had nothing to do with stability or happiness. This life… probably disappointed her mother too.
If she truly wanted stability and to mind her own business, she shouldn’t have accepted Selina’s olive branch. After all, Xiliya knew very well that a storm of blood and violence would soon sweep through the Imperial Capital Magic Academy.
Unlike Annaer, she probably couldn’t fulfill her mother’s wish.
‘But Mom also knows life is unpredictable. Perhaps you’ve already left the Camberlan Family by now. Mom hopes you at least have a place to return to.
‘You can try searching for traces of the Dekareya Family, though they may not have taken root in the Roland Empire.
‘If you do find them, show them those Blue Jasmine Earrings. They’re a token. They’ll understand your identity once they see it.’
The Dekareya Family? A token?
Xiliya had never imagined the earrings her mother left were so precious. And… the Dekareya Family?
Neither in her previous life nor this one had Xiliya ever heard of this family.
The letter wasn’t long. Soon, Xiliya reluctantly read the final lines.
…
‘Xiliya, Mom believes encounters between people are fated.
‘Sometimes I think maybe I married into the Camberlan Family not because of fate with your father, but because of fate with you. Maybe that’s why Mom stayed here—to meet you.’
Fate?
Xiliya froze. Tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes. She gripped the paper tightly, as if clutching her mother’s hand.
At the end was her mother’s signature. Xiliya noticed the familiar yet strange name—Xiwei Dekareya.
Her mother’s name was Xiwei Camberlan. Xiliya knew she had changed her surname after marrying into the Camberlan Family, and Mother had never spoken of her past.
Xiliya had always thought her mother was just an ordinary woman, and her father had married her for her beauty.
Now, she recalled the faint, indelible sorrow often in her mother’s eyes, though she had never known its source.
The Dekareya Family… So that was Mother’s original surname and family?
Xiliya let out a deep breath and carefully tucked the letter away. She shook her head.
“I might have disappointed Mother… I could have chosen to stay in the Camberlan Family and live quietly. Looks like I can’t fulfill her wish.”
“Ximo, let me give you something.”
Xiliya suddenly turned to Ximo. Before she could refuse, Xiliya pulled something from her bosom and earnestly clipped it onto Ximo’s ear. Her movements were quick; Ximo didn’t catch what it was but stayed still cooperatively.
“Consider it doing me a favor—Ximo, are you still wearing that necklace?”
Ximo instantly understood. She took out the magitool necklace that altered appearances and put it on. Just like looking in a mirror, an exact copy of herself appeared before Xiliya.
Xiliya had always thought Ximo resembled her past self. She had never before seen Ximo as a stand-in to redeem that past self, but now…
“I’ve gone against Mother’s wish. Maybe the current ‘me’ has no right to hold this token.”
Ximo was still a bit dazed until the next second, when the System’s task completion chime rang in her mind. Only then did she realize what Xiliya had given her.
“Mistress, you’ve already found… Wait, isn’t that the super important token your mother left you? Are you sure it’s okay to just give it to me?”
Ximo was shocked. She hadn’t expected Xiliya to find the earrings so quickly—and to give such an important item to her.
Xiliya just smiled. Facing the identical “herself,” she said, “No problem. You’re not going to run off with it, right? This should count as a family heirloom Mother left behind?”
Heirlooms given to others usually meant tokens of affection… Ximo quickly caught the subtext and blushed slightly. But she also spotted the trace of loneliness in Xiliya’s eyes.
Ximo’s heart stirred. Without thinking, she subconsciously answered Xiliya’s earlier self-question.
“I think… your mother wouldn’t be disappointed.”
“In my worl—uh, back home, this happens a lot too. Mothers not wanting their kids to leave too far and such.”
“But most mothers don’t actually want to keep their kids from going out. They’re just worried the kids will suffer outside and won’t be able to protect themselves.”
“But the current ‘Xiliya’ isn’t some ‘sickly young lady’ anymore, right? You definitely have the ability to protect yourself now. You won’t get bullied outside anymore.”
“I think…” Ximo lowered her eyes slightly. “I think your mother would be relieved seeing you now.”
Xiliya was stunned. Hearing such words from Ximo, who looked exactly like her, she felt disoriented for a moment, unsure if it was Ximo or her past self before her.
But she soon reached out and removed the necklace—no, it was Ximo.
“Why do you get so eloquent at times like this?” Xiliya laughed. “Thank you, Ximo.”
“And—I have one more gift for you.”
Xiliya suddenly grew formal. “I’m planning to leave the Camberlan Family. Would you come with me to study at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy?”
“Eh?” The surprise came too suddenly. “No problem! Wherever you go, I’ll go. I’ll accompany you, Mistress.”
Ximo had originally worried that since Xiliya hadn’t been kicked out of the Camberlan Family, if she didn’t follow the original plot to the academy, what would happen with future plot tasks.
But Xiliya shook her head. “Not accompany me… And Ximo, you don’t need to call me ‘Mistress’ anymore. Rather than a master-servant relationship, I want to… continue with you in a different way.”
Xiliya pulled out the gift she had prepared before coming to the rear garden—a small handful of jasmine flowers.
“Do you know, Ximo?” Xiliya’s voice was soft. “Mother once told me that four colors of jasmine together represent a special flower language.”
Four jasmine blooms in four shades of depth—meaning, “You are my life.”
“Oh, right.” Xiliya’s hand suddenly rested on Ximo’s lower abdomen. “Since that’s the case, shouldn’t this Slave Seal be removed too?”
“Ah…” Ximo seemed a bit shy. “This… this one can stay…”
The two drew very close. In the rear garden, the patch of baby blue jasmine flowers swayed gently at that moment, like a silent joy and blessing.
Vol 1 End: Jasmine and Baby Blue
