At this moment, high above the alleyway on a certain rooftop.
A woman cloaked in black released a small bird summoned by magic. Tied to one of its legs was the intelligence she had recorded. This bird would fly to Elena’s mansion to deliver the information that Ai’er had been taken away by Sirius’s subordinates to the butler, Sebas.
Regarding this silver-haired girl who had suddenly appeared, the people in the mansion had to remain wary, even if they were reluctant. It all came down to two words: motives.
If that young imperial doctor spoke the truth, what exactly was the motive for this girl to entrust her life to Young Lady Elena? According to Elena’s description, the two of them had only met for the first time last night… No one knew what this silver-haired girl was thinking.
The woman in the black cloak silently watched the carriage in the distance, seeing Ai’er’s figure disappear into the carriage’s compartment. Just as Sebas had instructed her, all she had to do was follow and observe; she was only to intervene when the girl named Ai’er fell into danger.
Even if doing so went against Elena’s wishes… as a servant of this Duke’s daughter, there were some things that had to be done.
“Miss Ai’er… I hope you do nothing to wrong Young Lady Elena.”
After saying this, the person hid herself back within her black cloak and secretly followed the carriage carrying Ai’er.
…
Ugh, I was tricked. There isn’t any cake here at all!
Plain wooden chairs, a plain wooden table; no sofa, no carpet—the monotonous room had almost no decorations. But what was even more ridiculous was that this room wasn’t even in the Marquis Residence!
Looking around, the furniture in the room was pitifully sparse, looking nothing like a noble’s mansion. Although the bed looked alright… this was a total scam! A cute and innocent girl like me has been deceived!
Ai’er ruffled her silver hair in a frenzy before collapsing onto the table like a deflated balloon.
Several minutes ago, the carriage had brought Ai’er to a small villa in the suburbs.
“Marquis Sirius White is not at the residence tonight. We must trouble Miss Ai’er to rest here for the night. Early tomorrow morning, we will set out to take Miss Ai’er to see the Marquis.”
After dropping those words, the attendants brought in a timid young maid and left the room, surrounding the entire villa.
What was the meaning of this? They said they wanted to see me, but the master of the house ran off and isn’t even home?! They even kidnapped me to some strange place!
This is just great. I originally planned to get close to Sirius to see if I could find some dirt on him. As a result, not only have I not seen Sirius, but now I’m under house arrest!
And the most important point—where is the cake they promised?!
Unable to contain her anger, Ai’er slammed her pink fist onto the tabletop, startling the little maid who was carrying tea.
“Eek! I—I’m sorry!”
The tea mixed with the shattered tea set, but the little maid didn’t seem to care and knelt directly onto the mess, pressing her forehead to the ground to beg for forgiveness.
This time, it was Ai’er’s turn to be startled.
Ai’er blinked. She had no clue why this maid, who looked even younger than herself, would suddenly act this way—until she saw the blood seeping out from under the little maid’s legs, mixing with the tea.
“Get up, get up quickly! You… you’re injured?! Someone! Help!”
The door was shoved open, and Sirius’s attendants entered in a file with swords drawn. After confirming there were no intruders, they turned their gaze toward Ai’er and the little maid kneeling on the floor.
“Miss Ai’er, is there something wrong?”
“Go get some medicine! Can’t you see this child is hurt?!”
The attendants glanced at each other. After hesitating for a moment, only one attendant eventually left the room to fetch external medicine and bandages.
“These will be deducted from your wages.”
After tossing this sentence to the trembling little maid, the attendants withdrew from the room and locked the door again.
What is with these people’s attitude… Seriously, what a nightmare! Like master, like dog!
Sticking her tongue out in the direction the attendants had left, Ai’er helped the little maid into a chair. As she gently lifted the little maid’s skirt to reveal her calves, she was completely stunned.
Scars covered the girl’s skin like brands. The wounds were still seeping blood, but the young girl didn’t make a sound. She was just silent, as if… she had already become numb to such things. Only when the medicine touched the girl’s wounds did the little maid tremble slightly.
“Young Lady… you… you are such a good person… but I am just a lowly slave. You don’t need to be so kind to me…”
After bandaging the little maid, Ai’er looked into her eyes. These eyes—they were dark blue, eyes that Ai’er felt she had seen somewhere before.
These eyes… look a lot like Elena’s?
“What is your name?”
“Fina… Kind Young Lady, you can just call me Fina.”
Fina? What about a surname? Don’t people here like to give their full names when introducing themselves?
That’s not right… Elena gave her full name earlier. And Ai’er remembered from the foreign movies and novels she had seen that people usually give their surnames in this kind of situation?
Ai’er didn’t know why she was suddenly obsessing over this point. She subconsciously spoke the words aloud: “And your surname?”
“I don’t have one! I don’t have a surname! I really don’t, I really don’t!!”
Fina suddenly became frantic, her eyes swallowed by an emotion called terror, and her entire body began to shake violently.
Whoa?! What’s going on?!
“Calm down!”
Ai’er immediately hugged Fina, trying to use the warmth of her embrace to calm her down.
[Warning: If the Host continues to consume points, you will only be able to maintain two days of remaining Transmigration time.]
“I’m sure! Hurry up!”
[Host consumes one System Point to query character information.]
[Please wait…]
[Fina White, fifteen years old. The illegitimate daughter of Sirius White and a maid in his household after a night of drinking.]
[For the sake of his reputation, Sirius refuses to acknowledge this daughter. To avoid trouble, he dismissed Fina’s mother.]
[Fina’s mother, who was already suffering from an illness, passed away while doing her best to raise Fina. Fina, having no source of income, begged her “father,” Sirius, to give her a job as a maid.]
[Because other nobles were present at the time, Sirius very reluctantly took Fina in.]
[Through means such as abuse, Sirius strictly forbade Fina from revealing her identity. Afterward, he arranged for her to stay alone in this villa in the suburbs, keeping her away from the center of the Duchy while leaving her to fend for herself.]
[In addition—]
“…Stop.”
Ai’er didn’t want to hear anymore. Rage was burning fiercely in her heart.
Ai’er made up her mind: even if it wasn’t for Elena, that animal Sirius—I’m going to make him pay!
But currently, there is only one System Point left. What should I do?
“Escape first… take Fina and escape together; then go find Elena.”
If I explain things clearly and get Sebas to help persuade her, I should be able to complete the System’s mission.
Ai’er looked out the window. The evening sun had already stained the horizon red. If I’m going to do something, I have to do it quickly!
“Dammit… if only a stroke of luck would fall from the sky like in those cultivation novels—”
[Detected that the Magic Stone used to interfere with Mana Control in Elena’s room has shattered. System goal achieved.]
[Host’s current stage mission is complete. Rewards are being distributed…]
—Eh?