Chapter 36: A Glimpse of Truth and an Unexpected Encounter

Xiluo’er lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. It took her a good while to regain enough strength to finally push herself back to her feet.

The enormous metal cabinet seemed an insurmountable obstacle for a girl as slender as her. Yet, with unyielding determination, Xiluo’er managed to budge it, creating a tiny gap.

Having stood, Xiluo’er immediately peered at the fruit of her labor.

Indeed, her hunch had been correct.

A faint smile touched Xiluo’er’s lips as she observed the small strip of metallic floor now visible.

Though pushing the cabinet open by such a small margin was the absolute limit of her strength, the metal flooring beneath it was highly telling.

After all, this storage room was floored with wood, making that small strip of metal starkly out of place.

While she lacked the power to push the entire cabinet aside and reveal whatever lay hidden beneath, it wasn’t difficult to guess that this metallic floor likely marked the entrance to a basement.

Even if she couldn’t access this mysterious basement yet, and even if she didn’t know what secrets it held, Xiluo’er was certain this discovery significantly heightened the possibility that Rona was hiding something.

‘For now, I should bide my time. Later, I’ll find another opportunity to infiltrate the City Lord’s manor and explore the basement. That way, I should be able to uncover Rona’s weakness.’

A sudden sound of a door opening shattered Xiluo’er’s thoughts. She swiftly turned, taking a small step to the left, positioning herself directly in front of the metal cabinet.

‘Damn it. I was so engrossed in wrestling with this cabinet that I lost track of time and didn’t notice any movement outside.’

Xiluo’er quickly composed her expression, already formulating lies to deceive whoever had arrived.

However, upon recognizing the person standing in the doorway, the carefully constructed expression on Xiluo’er’s face crumbled.

Rona stood there, her face etched with a look of confusion, right at the entrance to the storage room.

“Oh? Xiluo’er, what are you doing in here?”

For a fleeting moment, Xiluo’er contemplated drawing her dagger and confronting Rona directly. But after a brief internal struggle, she forcefully suppressed the urge.

‘No, no, no. Calm down, Xiluo’er. This is the City Lord’s manor. Even if I completely expose myself in front of Rona, she wouldn’t dare kill me here to silence me. Doing so would put her in grave danger as well.’

‘This means there’s still room to maneuver.’

“Um… I was catching butterflies in the garden. I saw a beautiful blue one earlier and chased it for ages. It eventually flew into this room, so I followed it inside.”

As she spoke, Xiluo’er casually picked up a small net from a pile of nearby clutter, delivering the excuse she had just concocted.

“What about you, Sister Rona? Why are you here? Aren’t you usually very busy?”

Xiluo’er blinked, her eyes wide and innocent.

Despite her words, Xiluo’er’s nerves were taut, ready to engage Rona in a fight at a moment’s notice.

Hidden behind her body, one hand gripped her dagger, her eyes fixed intently on Rona, wary of every potential move. Yet, Rona appeared entirely normal, as if nothing were amiss.

“Me? I came specifically to find you, Xiluo’er.”

“Eve and Serol have finished their conversation, but you hadn’t returned, so I came to help look for you.”

“Serol mentioned you might have come to the garden to play, but I circled the garden and didn’t see you, which is why I came in here… I didn’t expect to actually find you here.”

Rona smiled, looking at Xiluo’er, who appeared a little disheveled.

Although Rona’s words seemed perfectly innocuous, Xiluo’er dared not let her guard down.

Not only was the small gap from the pushed cabinet still unsealed, but even if Rona hadn’t immediately noticed anything amiss in the room, the appearance of a suspected individual in a room containing her secret basement would undoubtedly arouse suspicion.

‘Rona must already know that I know her secret… Ugh, in any case, she’s probably pretending to be oblivious because she can’t make a move within the City Lord’s manor.’

“However…” Rona cast a puzzled glance around the room. “This room doesn’t have any windows, so how did a butterfly fly in?”

At that simple question, Xiluo’er’s tension instantly spiked. The small hand behind her back clenched tightly around the dagger.

“Never mind, let’s leave here for now, or your Sister Eve will get impatient waiting.”

Rona didn’t seem to dwell on the minor issue, extending her hand directly towards Xiluo’er.

However, Xiluo’er didn’t immediately take it. Instead, she stared at Rona’s hand, contemplating whether she could safely do so.

“Xiluo’er—”

Fortunately, at that very moment, a distant, muffled call reached them, allowing Xiluo’er to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

It was Eve’s voice. Eve had come looking for her as well.

‘At least now, Rona definitely wouldn’t dare to make a move.’

Xiluo’er took Rona’s hand, allowing herself to be led away from the garden.

****

“In that case, I shall trouble you then, Eve.”

Serol’s face held a faint smile as she saw Eve all the way to her carriage. Rona stood beside Serol.

“Bye-bye, Xiluo’er. Come play again sometime.”

“Mmm… okay, Sister Rona.”

Before they left, Rona even smiled and bid Xiluo’er farewell. However, Xiluo’er, nestled in Eve’s arms, dared not meet Rona’s gaze.

‘Come play again sometime,’ she had said. If she were to come again, Xiluo’er feared she might never leave.

As the carriage swayed, a conflicted expression, a ‘囧’ of sorts, involuntarily appeared on Xiluo’er’s face.

“What’s wrong? Did you not have fun?”

Noticing Xiluo’er’s state, Eve asked with concern.

“No, Sister Eve, I’m just a little tired…”

Hearing Eve’s familiar voice, Xiluo’er instinctively snuggled deeper into Eve’s embrace.

While she had always been terrified that Eve might chop her up, in this particular moment, being close to Eve offered her a surprising sense of security.

At least, by Eve’s side, she didn’t have to worry about Rona chopping her up.

Noticing Xiluo’er’s kitten-like actions in her arms, Eve’s mood instantly brightened.

‘Perhaps the child feels lonely playing by herself. If I have time, it would be good to spend more of it with her.’

However, Eve didn’t know that the Xiluo’er nestled in her arms was, in fact, preoccupied with the problem of Rona.

‘This won’t do. After today, the delicate balance of mutual suspicion between Rona and me has been shattered. Although neither of us explicitly acknowledged it, I’ve undoubtedly accelerated my actions.’

‘If I manage to find conclusive evidence of Rona’s wrongdoing first, I might even get Eve to help me take her down.’

‘But if Rona exposes my identity first, then it will be both her and Eve coming after me.’