Chapter 36: The Great Purge

Chloe sat behind Xina, her cheeks flushed. Though they shared a single horse, a subtle distance lingered between them.

Chloe cast a resentful glance at Anna, who rode Simon, leisurely trailing behind them.

‘It was all her fault,’ Chloe thought, ‘for tainting my feelings toward Xina, leading to this awkwardness.’ The usually jesting Xina had remained silent throughout the journey, an anomaly that struck Chloe as deeply unsettling.

Unaware of Chloe’s gaze, Anna surveyed the farmlands stretching on either side, observing the peasants toiling in the fields.

Xiao Nuoqi rode his pony at the front, a deliberate arrangement by Chloe, who intended to keep a close watch on his every move.

‘He must be the one who killed Tucker, the hunter,’ she mused. ‘But why? Could it be to protect Anna’s secret?’

‘If anyone else knew Anna’s secret, it would be Xina and I,’ Chloe considered. ‘Was Xiao Nuoqi planning to silence us both as well?’

‘If Xiao Nuoqi could tear open Tucker’s throat today, he could just as easily slit mine tomorrow.’

Chloe’s heart hammered against her ribs. ‘Who stood behind Xiao Nuoqi? Could it be Cliff again?’

The constant betrayal and suspicion had left her utterly exhausted. If this was Cliff’s objective, he had undoubtedly achieved it.

Lost in thought, they soon found themselves back at Sirena Castle. Lucia had been waiting by the entrance for quite some time, with Miko standing beside her, holding a parasol to shield her from the sun.

“This place looks much livelier now,” Anna remarked, glancing at Sirena Castle.

She dismounted Simon, giving his back an affectionate pat.

“Welcome back, my ladies,” Lucia said, her gaze lowered. She then cast a slightly surprised glance at Simon. “Is this… a tiger?”

Simon bared his teeth, causing Miko to gasp in terror and her parasol to tremble. Lucia shot her a cold look, and Miko instantly composed herself, her eyes fixed rigidly forward.

“He is my friend,” Anna stated, stroking Simon’s back. “It’s been a long time, Miss Lucia.” Her sapphire eyes met Lucia’s.

“You are…” Lucia’s gaze shifted to Anna, and she murmured, “Anna Vitricia, you’re alive?”

“Yes, I am,” Anna replied simply.

“Why are you dressed like this?” Lucia inquired, scrutinizing Anna’s long animal-skin robe with a puzzled expression.

“It’s a long story,” Anna said. “Let’s go inside first.”

Chloe stretched, longing to tumble onto her soft bed rather than contend with endless intrigues.

“As you wish, my lady,” Lucia conceded. “However, what shall we do with Miss Anna’s… unique friend?” She turned her head to look at Simon, who was now licking his paws. “—Should he be confined to a cage?”

“A proud tiger would never accept such treatment.”

“If he’s allowed to roam freely, the servants will live in terror,” Lucia countered immediately.

Anna and Lucia exchanged a challenging gaze, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Just as Chloe prepared to intervene and de-escalate the situation, Xiao Nuoqi suddenly emerged. He patted Simon’s flank and suggested, “There’s a small, uninhabited hill near the castle. If Simon doesn’t mind, he could stay there for now.”

“I have no objections,” Anna replied.

“Excellent! Let me take him there; I know the way,” Xiao Nuoqi volunteered eagerly. He patted Simon’s head, then departed with the tiger.

“How strange…” Anna mused, her face clouded with suspicion. “Why is Simon so obedient to him?”

“Perhaps Xiao Nuoqi simply has a way with tigers,” Chloe lied casually.

Yet, she knew that powerful beasts only obeyed humans when confronted with overwhelming strength.

Her level of vigilance towards Xiao Nuoqi escalated further.

As they walked abreast down the corridor, Chloe spotted a familiar figure leaning against the wall in the distance.

Alice, bathed in the sunlight streaming through a nearby window, was engrossed in reading a letter, entirely oblivious to their presence.

“Alice!” Chloe called out, greeting her. Alice glanced at Chloe, then quickly tucked the letter behind her back.

“You’re back?” she asked.

Alice’s eyes flickered uncertainly as she looked at Anna, her brow furrowed. “And who might this be…?”

Chloe offered a brief introduction between the two women. Alice showed little reaction, merely uttering a simple “Oh.”

“I haven’t finished compiling the legal code yet; I must get back to work,” Alice stated. With that, she hastily entered her room, slamming the door shut with a resounding thud.

‘What was wrong with her?’ Chloe wondered.

A terrifying possibility bloomed in her mind: ‘Could Alice also be in league with Cliff?’

Chloe shook her head, realizing her own mindset had subtly shifted. ‘What has come over me?’ she thought. ‘Why am I starting to suspect everyone around me?’

“How beautiful,” Anna murmured, gazing at Alice’s closed door. “As lovely as a saint descended to earth.”

‘Oh, not again,’ Chloe thought, shaking her head helplessly.

Lucia had arranged Anna’s room right next to Chloe’s and Alice’s, a proximity that filled Chloe with profound unease.

“Don’t worry, I won’t raid your room at night,” Anna declared, seemingly seeing through Chloe’s apprehension as she puffed out her chest.

‘That only makes me more afraid…’

Anna entered her room, and Lucia returned to her duties.

Chloe took a few steps back, eager to retreat to her own room for a well-deserved sleep, only to bump into Xina, who had been silently following her all this time. Xina’s quiet presence had made Chloe almost forget she was there.

“Xi… Xina?”

Xina averted Chloe’s gaze, her cheeks flushed crimson. A strange, palpable tension enveloped them, hinting at an unusual turn of events.

Then, unexpectedly, she blurted out, “Little Chloe, do you like me?”

‘…?’

‘What was she saying?’

At first, Chloe thought Xina was jesting. However, Xina’s eyes were fixed on her with an unnerving intensity.

This bewildering question left Chloe’s mind reeling. She took a deep breath and delivered her answer.

“No.”

“Eh?” Xina asked, taken aback. This was clearly not the response she had anticipated.

“You are my rival, don’t forget that,” Chloe stated. “No lord in this world would tolerate another sitting in the same position as themselves.”

Xina’s eyes grew visibly moist, yet Chloe showed no sign of stopping.

“Listen closely, Xina Sirena,” Chloe continued, her voice firm. “After what happened with Mosin and Sir Rurik, do you still not understand how fragile trust can be? One day, I might even betray you, so never place your affections in the hands of another.”

Chloe’s lips moved mechanically; these words were clearly not her true feelings, or at least, not Chloe’s. However, as Xia Ni, rationality dictated that this was no time for emotions.

First, there were Mosin and Sir Rurik, then Xiao Nuoqi, and now perhaps even Alice. How many people had Cliff truly planted around her?

In a game, such schemes and betrayals were commonplace; even one’s own children might turn a blade against them. But this was reality.

Only now did Chloe truly grasp the profound helplessness of being ensnared by conspiracy.

When Chloe finally collected herself, Xina had already departed without a sound.

‘What was Xina thinking now?’ Chloe wondered. ‘And what were her true feelings towards me?’ Chloe found she had no energy to consider such questions at the moment.

After all, even Xina could be Cliff’s puppet.

Dragging her weary body, she reached for the doorknob and clicked it open.

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, she collapsed onto her bed.

She felt herself inextricably caught in the web of some dark conspiracy, with the eight-legged spider that spun it now chuckling in the shadows.

She had to tear through this web, but how?

The answer was already brewing in her mind, a solution only she, a Traverser, could conceive.

A Great Purge.