110. The Execution Began
Xia Yi was walking through the corridor.
Her little head was spinning with thoughts.
She kept thinking about her own plan, which seemed like using herself for evil, to take down Xia Lulu and complete her revenge.
Firstly, the first step had been achieved.
She had obtained the information she desperately needed.
Through this series of operations, Sera herself didn't realize that she had been used by Xia Yi without knowing it.
The success of the first step was a good omen.
But the second step was still needed…
Suddenly, in Xia Yi's field of vision, a little green dragon maid holding a broom appeared.
Elly.
Elly was startled when she saw Xia Yi.
Xia Yi looked at Elly and slowly formed a shallow smile on her lips.
"Wow!!!"
Elly had personally experienced the terrifying power of this mischievous little princess.
A smile meant nothing good; she was definitely going to suffer again!
The shadow in her heart reappeared, and she turned and ran.
Don't think about escaping~
Xia Yi chased after her.
Seeing the silver-haired loli really running towards her, Elly was clearly panicked.
In her panic, her movements started to deform.
With deformed movements, her actions became abstract.
She performed a face-plant right there.
"Wuwuwu…"
Elly's performance was just like the clumsy maids in comics, falling to the ground with tears in the corners of her eyes.
It was too two-dimensional.
Even Xia Yi began to feel sentimental.
"Are you okay, Elly?"
"Ah! Your Highness, I'm fine, good afternoon!"
Elly quickly got up, realizing she had no escape, and her face expressed what was called "a smile uglier than crying."
She was supposed to respond to the Princess with outstanding Royal Maid Corps etiquette, but this expression was like going to a funeral.
And the key point was that she was mourning for herself.
"Elly, what are you afraid of? I won't eat you," Xia Yi muttered.
Elly was very helpless, "Your Highness, just eat me…"
"Oh? Elly, you even have such a request~ Since that's the case, I'll satisfy you, aow—!"
Xia Yi said, reaching out towards the little green dragon maid, opened her mouth, and was about to bite.
"Wow!!! Spare me, Your Highness, don't eat me, I really don't taste good, the meat is sour!"
"Just kidding, don't take it so seriously."
"You, you shouldn't joke like that, I can't take it! Your Highness, I was severely criticized by Sister Lucia earlier, I'm already disgraced, and becoming an official member of the Royal Maid Corps seems even more distant."
"You're overthinking it. I won't do anything strange, just asking you a question, don't be so nervous."
Xia Yi patted Elly's shoulder.
She wasn't stupid.
She had just caused trouble with Elly in the Purple Kite Valley, and Xia Lulu found out, and she was severely punished.
If she got involved with Elly again, it would be too conspicuous, almost like telling Xia Lulu that she was plotting something.
Impossible!
"Your Highness, what do you want to ask? I'm just a reserve candidate, I don't know much."
"It's not that exaggerated, just wondering if the Royal Maid Corps has any night patrol tasks recently?" Xia Yi asked.
Elly thought for a moment, "There's nothing recent. Usually, there's advance notice for arranging night patrols."
Xia Yi pondered and then left, leaving a word of encouragement.
"Okay, I understand. Keep up the good work, Elly, you were actually very brave in the Purple Kite Valley, I'm rooting for you!"
Eh?
Eh!!
Did the Princess just let me go like that!!
Elly was stunned, she even rubbed her eyes thinking she was dreaming.
But Xia Yi really walked further and further away.
She didn't do anything?
For a moment, she didn't know what to say, she was ready to be arranged by the Princess, but being let go so easily, she became unaccustomed and felt a sense of inexplicable loss.
…
At night.
Xia Yi lay on her bed in her room.
Now was the time to be a good baby.
Sera stood aside, checked the time, and it was deep into the night, time to rest.
Throughout the day, Xia Yi hadn't caused trouble, hadn't made a fuss, hadn't caused a disaster.
Apart from the test for Sera at noon, the rest of the time was spent attending classes properly, without any capricious demands, including during the afternoon tea time, even though she didn't particularly enjoy the sweets, she didn't complain at all.
This unusual behavior was becoming conspicuous.
Sera had a feeling that the more normal the Princess acted, the more abnormal it was likely to be.
"Your Highness, would you like a bedtime story tonight?"
"I don't need one," Xia Yi huffed, "I am a reliable adult, I don't need to be coddled to sleep, don't treat me like a child!"
"Of course, of course."
Sera acquiesced.
"Goodnight, Sera, you should rest as well," said Xia Yi.
"Goodnight, Your Highness, may you have sweet dreams."
Sera tucked Xia Yi in and then turned off the magic lamp.
The room plunged into darkness, the maid big sister left, and slowly closed the door.
Of course.
Sera didn't choose to leave immediately but stood outside the room.
Her intuition told her that the Princess's behavior was abnormal, and although she couldn't deduce her purpose yet, it was highly likely she was plotting something.
As a maid, it was her duty to confirm whether the Princess was up to any mischief… oh no, whether she was engaging in any improper behavior.
If so, it was important to record it properly.
Patience was key.
She didn't rush to open the door to check what Xia Yi was doing in the room.
As time passed, she waited for the rabbit to come out of its burrow.
"Sera?"
A soft call came from the room.
Sera lifted her eyes but didn't respond immediately.
This was clearly a test from the Princess to see if she had left.
If she responded, she would be alerting the Princess to her presence.
What she needed to do now was to draw the snake out of its hole.
Sera had already retreated to a corner, hiding in the darkness.
The door was gently pushed open, and a white fluffy head peeked out, looking around suspiciously.
Xia Yi was cautiously checking her surroundings.
As expected, it was similar to what Sera had anticipated.
Sera's lips curled into a smile.
She didn't show herself but continued to hide, far enough from Xia Yi's room that she wouldn't be discovered.
From the expression on the silver-haired loli's face, after observing for a while and deeming there were no abnormalities, she retracted back into the room and closed the door.
The corridor returned to silence.
Perhaps, the Princess was up to something in her room?
Sera became concerned.
Now she had two choices: one was to go and quietly check the situation in the Princess's room.
What if the Princess was planning to climb out the window?
It's possible that Her Highness the Princess is also choosing to watch cautiously…
Another option is to continue to choose to stay put, not taking any action.
"So, which path should I choose?" Sera murmured to herself in a low voice.
After pondering for a moment, she abandoned the idea of going to check and decided to wait, sticking to one path to the end.
A long time passed, and the door was opened again.
"Sera?" Xia Yi called out.
Sera did not answer, but she felt she had already succeeded.
"It seems she really left!"
This time, Xia Yi seemed to finally be at ease, pushed open the door of her own room, and walked out.
Sera quietly followed.
Princess, where do you plan to go so late at night?
Dressed in pajamas, without changing into clothes suitable for action, it didn't seem like she was going to do anything strenuous.
Walking along, Xia Yi skillfully avoided the guards and came to a place very familiar to Sera.
"The kitchen?" Sera was puzzled.
"Now that there's no one, we can start!"
Xia Yi pushed open the kitchen door and walked in.
Sera leaned over and secretly observed, finding Xia Yi opening the refrigerator, constantly searching for food.
This scene was quite common.
The Princess always came to the kitchen to sneak food in the middle of the night, which wasn't much of an issue.
Sera even felt she might be making a mountain out of a molehill.
The only strange thing was, for just sneaking food, the Princess had done it so many times, there was no need to be so cautious…
Just as Sera was considering whether to leave or not.
Xia Yi began an action that surprised Sera as much as when she suddenly pulled out a sword and defeated the puppet giant during the royal trial.
"How could it be… How could the Princess do such a thing?!" The disbelief was written all over the maid's eyes.
…
…
Tired.
So tired.
The next day, when Xia Yi woke up, she felt almost done for.
She had hardly slept last night and now had dark circles under her eyes.
"Ha~"
She yawned listlessly.
But it was all worth it.
Her evil plan had moved forward another step.
Last night, she had done something extremely terrible!!
And no one had discovered it yet.
She had avoided the Dragon Palace guards and confirmed through Elly that there were no patrols by the Royal Maid Corps at night.
Xia Lulu, oh Xia Lulu, you're slowly falling into my trap, yet you're still completely unaware.
Just a little more, just a little bit more.
At that moment, Sera placed breakfast down, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hmm, today's breakfast is a bit different from usual, isn't it?" Xia Yi was a bit surprised, raising her tone.
She tried to act very energetic, not wanting anyone to suspect she had gone out last night.
"…" Sera looked at Xia Yi, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Sera?" Xia Yi frowned, feeling a bit panicked.
Had she been noticed?
Impossible!
She had been very cautious.
"Your Highness, I wonder if the breakfast is to your liking?" Sera returned to her usual expression.
"It's okay, quite challenging!"
Xia Yi felt that she might be… overthinking it?
Today's breakfast even had coffee.
It's usually milk.
"Your Highness, can you drink coffee?"
"Of course," Xia Yi nodded, "Adults definitely drink coffee!"
She picked up the coffee and took a sip.
So bitter!!
Wuu.
If only she had added some sugar.
But now it was too late to ask, otherwise, Sera would think she was trying to act grown-up again, a humiliation that was harder to accept than the bitterness of coffee.
Stay graceful.
Xia Yi had to drink it down.
She didn't know what ingredients Sera used to make the coffee, but it was very invigorating.
It made Xia Yi, who was a bit groggy, much more alert.
…
After breakfast, it was time to start classes.
Today was not a magic class, but an alchemy course.
Xia Yi's alchemy teacher was named Clay.
He was thirty-three years old in dragon years, unmarried, lived in the northeast area of the capital, worked in the palace, and had to work overtime until eight o'clock every night before going home, didn't smoke, and only drank a little…
In short, a good teacher!
He was gentle and easy to talk to, much better than Gran or Vanessa. Even if Xia Yi made a mistake, he wouldn't punish her.
This was much better than other teachers.
"Good morning, Mr. Clay," Clay greeted Xia Yi.
"Yep, I'm here for class!" Xia Yi responded with enthusiasm.
"Princess, actually, in terms of alchemy, you could be considered to have graduated in stages; you're just missing a test to prove it," Clay explained, "But I believe with your abilities, passing the test shouldn't be a problem."
In the realm of alchemy, Xia Yi was far from ignorant.
Perhaps it was Clay's lack of pressure on her that made her feel relaxed, so she paid more attention in class.
She was quite grateful that she had studied well; otherwise, even if she had obtained the formula for the transmutation potion before, she might not have been able to refine it on her own.
Speaking of which, she hadn't used the transmutation potion for a long time and had almost forgotten about it!
"Princess?" Clay inquired.
"Ah! Nothing, Clay," Xia Yi quickly brought herself back to reality, "Let's just have a normal class. We can talk about tests and such after the course officially ends."
"Alright," Clay agreed.
Seeing Xia Yi so motivated, he began to explain the day's lesson.
"Clay, there's something I don't quite understand!"
"Where?"
"It's about the aspect of reactions in alchemy. Depending on the substance, when undergoing intense combustion, the energy released can trigger explosions of varying degrees—"
…
Xia Yi didn't attend the afternoon magic class; after all, Gran's lectures were hypnotically boring.
But such behavior would definitely be punished by the teaching staff.
Just a small punishment, nothing serious!
She even skipped afternoon tea.
For her evil plan, Xia Yi made a great sacrifice.
In the alchemy class, she managed to get the information she needed most from Clay and devoted the entire afternoon to crafting terrible traps.
With these traps, plus the crucial information provided by Dorothea, she was sure to capture Xia Lulu!
Time flew, and the Dragon Palace gradually quieted down for the night.
At this time, Xia Lulu, having finished her work, should have also gone to rest.
The little princess opened the window and stepped onto it.
The night breeze hit her face.
Everything was ready; all was set for action.
The next step was extremely bold, like dancing on the edge of a knife. When the Silver Dragon Queen saw her moves, she would be utterly astonished!
"Directly to Xia Lulu's bedroom!"
"He was thirty-three years old in dragon years, unmarried, lived in the northeast area of the capital, worked in the palace, and had to work overtime until eight o'clock every night before going home, didn't smoke, and only drank a little…"
ReplyDeleteI have a slight feeling that this person is a serial killer.