By the time Tsukiyuki Rio returned to the palace, the sky had already darkened.
“The Young Miss didn’t end up going to the Old Man’s side after all,” Yu Qingxue remarked, stepping on the brake and parking the Mercedes in the garage.
“After all, he was originally one of my targets to eliminate. What surprised me was that he died so easily.”
Opening the car door, Tsukiyuki Rio shuffled along in her geta, her heart completely calm.
Yu Qingxue silently watched her departing figure and felt a slight chill. Rio was a monster devoted to love; to her, all other emotions were nothing but burdens.
“Qingxue, this is good news for you. Now you only need to kill Tsukiyuki Uzuki alone.” Tsukiyuki Rio turned her head, her dark red eyes staring straight at Yu Qingxue. “You can succeed, right?”
“Of course.”
Yu Qingxue smiled faintly, bowed elegantly to Tsukiyuki Rio, and followed closely at her side.
However, Tsukiyuki Rio did not seem to be heading toward the palace; instead, she strolled straight toward the Cherry Blossom Garden.
The entrance to the basement was over there.
“Young Miss, will you be going to the basement next?” Yu Qingxue asked in a low voice.
“Although Gao-kun wanted to resist me, no matter what, he is still my beloved Gao-kun. Taking care of him is my duty.” Tsukiyuki Rio quickened her pace, almost as if she wanted to run to the basement entrance.
The splendid moonlight shone upon her, making her glitter.
Stopping before the iron door at the basement entrance, Tsukiyuki Rio unlocked the layers of doors one by one using fingerprint, retinal scan, and the digital code lock.
With such thorough security measures, anyone who knew would understand that Gao Sijin was locked inside. If they didn’t, they’d probably think the basement housed a priceless treasure.
Watching Tsukiyuki Rio’s figure disappear behind the iron door, Yu Qingxue bowed and took her leave, hoping they would have sweet dreams tonight.
——Sijin, wait just a little longer.
Yu Qingxue hid the ambition in her eyes and walked alone by the stream. The cool breeze rustled her waist-length high ponytail. Before she knew it, she had arrived at the familiar garden. She stopped, looked up at the moon, and spread her arms to enjoy the refreshing coolness of the night.
“Meow~”
The black cat that everyone mistook for a stray cat poked its little black head out from the flower bushes.
“The day after tomorrow, before dawn, I will accept the mission to assassinate Uzuki.”
Yu Qingxue half-squatted, gently stroking the cat’s head, and in the depths of her heart, she told all her plans to the little cat.
“Sister Yu, Grandfather passed away at 2 a.m. today…”
The cat’s shimmering golden eyes lost their innate wildness.
In her mind, Uzuki’s voice came through.
“I’m sorry to hear that, but your grandfather’s death had nothing to do with Rio and me.”
The little cat nodded slightly and meowed.
From its eyes, one could faintly glimpse the sorrow in Uzuki’s heart. Knowing Uzuki as she did, Yu Qingxue guessed she had probably cried her heart out not long ago.
“The deceased are gone, but we must still live on well. Uzuki, isn’t the power you hold meant to help Sijin escape Rio’s cage and regain his freedom? So you need to pull yourself together quickly!”
“Sister Yu, what exactly should I do next?”
“The day after tomorrow, before dawn, the Tsukiyuki family will likely hold a funeral for Tsukiyuki Kyoichi. Have you decided where to conduct it?”
“It’s been decided at Horyu-ji Temple.”
“When the time comes, I want you to go alone to a place with no one around. I’ll attack you there, and then I hope you’ll use your paranormal power to kill me.” Yu Qingxue gently scratched the cat’s chin.
“How could I possibly kill Sister Yu!”
“Of course it won’t be a real kill. I don’t want to die either. I need you to fake my death. Almost all of Tokyo is within the Young Miss’s field of vision. Only by pretending that you’ve destroyed my body and erased all traces can I completely escape Tsukiyuki Rio’s sight and then become your ally.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry, when the time comes, don’t hold back. Just attack my vital spot. This is the first step in our rebellion against Tsukiyuki Rio, and the most crucial step toward saving Sijin!”
Yu Qingxue faintly heard Uzuki’s sigh. With her inherently kind nature, she could never willingly become a perpetrator.
“The reason for making you a perpetrator is so that we can become saviors. Uzuki, don’t you want Sijin to be saved? Are you really willing to watch Sijin be imprisoned until he dies of old age?”
“I understand, Sister Yu. I’ll prepare my resolve.”
A buzzing sound.
The voice in her mind disappeared. In reality, the black kitten kept meowing nonstop; Uzuki was no longer inside that body.
Yu Qingxue stood up, stepped forward in her high heels, and practiced swinging her tachi through the air among the trees.
The power Gu Xiarui had previously granted her was enough to let her withstand a single fatal wound.
After dying, she would become an enemy invisible to Tsukiyuki Rio, looking for an opportunity to snatch Gao Sijin and take him to their love nest.
“Sijin, I can hardly wait…”
Her heaving chest swayed as she swung the tachi.
Yu Qingxue felt fear over her impending disloyalty, but that level of fear was quickly replaced by the excitement of success, and a fire of desire rose in her heart, driving her next actions.
With a swing of her blade, a pine tree was cleanly cut in half at the waist.
The Head Maid who had honorably died in the line of duty while carrying out Tsukiyuki Rio’s tasks had already done her utmost. From now on, she would live for herself.
“Young Miss, perhaps I’m not suited to be a true maid.”
In the basement, Gao Sijin sat on a reclining chair, staring blankly at the virtual projection of moonlight.
Living here all alone, his mind had regained a long-lost calm. Yet, in the end, humans are social animals, and fearing loneliness is likely an instinct.
Just as Gao Sijin was thinking that Tsukiyuki Rio probably wouldn’t return today, she suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Her black kimono seemed to merge with the white moonlight, like a beautiful, bewitching ghost.
“Was Gao-kun waiting for me to come home?”
The instant their eyes met, Tsukiyuki Rio’s peerlessly beautiful face lit up with childlike joy, and she hastened toward him.
Compared to the daytime, Tsukiyuki Rio was better suited to appear at night.
Her breathtaking figure made him dizzy and want to flee, but by the time he came to his senses, he was already tightly embraced in her arms.
“You must be hungry, Gao-kun. I’ll cook for you right away. Please wait just a moment.”
“Rio…”
“What is it, Gao-kun?”
“You didn’t go and cause trouble for Uzuki, did you?”
“As soon as I return, Gao-kun says such disappointing things.” Tsukiyuki Rio grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the western-style house. “Next time, please don’t mention other women’s names in front of me. I am clearly your fiancée. If Gao-kun does this again, even I will get angry, and if I get angry, you’ll suffer tonight.”
“I don’t want to tonight either…”
“I let Gao-kun off last night. Tonight, no matter what, don’t even think about getting out of it.”
Tsukiyuki Rio said in a tone that brooked no argument.
