Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What Do You Mean the Buyer Is My Former Maid?

“Big sister Lilinai, Madam is calling for you.”

—Here it comes.

Hearing her playmate’s call, Lilinai’s heart trembled.

She examined herself in the mirror once more: reflected in those amber pupils, the girl in the mirror carried herself with dignity and had a lovely face, her smooth dark purple long hair tied into a single braid that fell naturally down her back, her masculine-styled butler’s attire crisp and solemn—if one ignored the faintly glowing Obedience Collar on that pale neck, the girl looked every bit a noble.

Still uneasy, she leaned closer to the mirror and made a series of faces. Only after her expression had softened somewhat did the girl nod in satisfaction.

Yes, in perfect condition.

“I’ll be right there,” she answered in a crisp voice.

The blue-haired girl who walked into the room nodded. She looked at Lilinai, then glanced back out the door, wearing a conflicted expression.

“Big sister Lilinai… are you really leaving?”

“I’m sorry, Miuyi.”

Lilinai turned around and stroked the girl’s head with a bitter smile.

“I hear the one buying slaves this time is some important figure with real standing.

“You understand too—Madam Misite has high expectations of me. She won’t let this opportunity slip away.

“I know you don’t want me to go, but people like us don’t get to decide where we end up.”

Miuyi sighed sorrowfully.

Both being homeless orphans taken in by the Fimu City Slave Trading House, Lilinai and Miuyi got along quite well. Ever since she was caught by the Kingdom Guard two years ago through a slip-up and sold into slavery, Lilinai had few friends at the trading house, and Miuyi was the one closest to her. Madam felt the two of them had good bearing, so she deliberately protected them and taught them knowledge, hoping that one day she could sell them to those important figures who were picky about quality.

“Then,” the girl hesitated a moment before speaking, “once big sister Lilinai settles down, can we still meet again?”

The purple-haired girl froze for a moment, then showed a gentle smile.

“Of course. I’ll come visit you.”

“Good—it’s a promise!”

After lightly hooking pinkies with the girl, she set off out of the room.

The door closed behind her. Lilinai took a deep breath, a trace of gloom creeping into her expression.

“Sorry, Miuyi.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to break my promise to you.

“My destination isn’t here… because I still have something I must do.”

Stroking the collar around her neck, Lilinai murmured quietly to herself.

For these two years she had kept a low profile, waiting for this very day.

The people at the slave trading house had seen too much—they would never give the slaves a chance to remove the Obedience Collar, the magical device that forced slaves to obey their master’s commands, the shackle that bound them. But those so-called “important figures” were different. Such people often lacked vigilance and were inexplicably arrogant, making them far easier to deceive. As long as she deliberately acted frail and docile, these people would generally lower their guard around her.

And what she had to do was wait to be bought, feign fragility, and make the buyer relax.

Then…

“Whew.”

The girl calmed herself.

This carefully constructed facade must not be broken.

Before being bought by a customer, she had to hide her dangerous side.

This was her best chance to escape the collar and regain her freedom. She had to seize it properly.

“Here goes.”

Lilinai made up her mind.

She slowed her pace, descending the stairs while listening carefully.

The voices in the hall gradually grew clearer. One of them, somewhat aged, belonged to the mistress of the slave trading house, the Madam Misite she knew so well; the other was quite young, its tone as pleasant as a silver bell—what surprised Lilinai was that, judging from the voice alone, this buyer’s age didn’t seem greater than Lilinai’s own.

“I made myself very clear before coming here.” The buyer’s cold voice carried over. “I don’t need a ‘clever and proper servant’…”

“But you are an esteemed ‘Witch,’ Miss Airiya,” Madam Misite said. “A servant should be worthy of your status.”

—A Witch?

Curiosity kindled in Lilinai’s heart.

The so-called “Witch” was a term of reverence for those women who had received mysterious education and possessed the ability to manipulate magic. As one of the few groups in this world who grasped the mysteries of magic, they were few in number, noble, mysterious, and powerful, able to accomplish many things with magic that ordinary people found difficult or unimaginable. If a region could win the favor of a Witch, it was as though blessed with sweet dew, and therefore they held a status equal to nobility.

“What I need is an ‘obediently submissive plaything,’ not a butler. I have no interest in clever children.”

“There’s no harm in taking a look. I assure you, she won’t disappoint you… ah, perfect timing.”

Seeing Lilinai come down the stairs, Misite smiled and beckoned.

“Lilinai, come over here.”

“Yes.”

Lilinai walked briskly into the hall and around the sofa.

Then she saw her buyer, and her breath caught slightly.

It was the first time she had laid eyes on a member of this ancient and mysterious group.

It was a girl about her own age. The girl had a youthful face and wore a pale white robe-dress adorned with light purple lace, with a light robe draped over it; the warm light of the parlor fell upon her snow-white long hair, wrapping it in a soft veil of light. Most striking of all were her eyes: those pupils were violet, deep as a bottomless lake, like amethysts sealed in amber—beautiful, yet lacking warmth.

A rather large feathered formal hat hung on the coat rack. The girl sat upright on the sofa, holding a teacup and porcelain saucer in her hands, an ice-flower-shaped pendant hanging at her chest, dazzling and endlessly shifting in appearance. Upon seeing Lilinai, she froze for a moment, then looked her up and down without blinking; and Lilinai found herself involuntarily placing her gaze on this elegant and lovely girl—as someone psychologically male, it was truly hard not to appreciate such outstanding beauty.

It was just that, for some reason, she kept feeling the other party looked familiar.

Yet she couldn’t say where she had seen her before.

“This child is called Lilinai.”

Madam Misite stood up and walked over beside the dark purple-haired girl, explaining in the tone of one displaying merchandise.

“She’s very clever, she can write and do arithmetic. She also knows etiquette, and her housekeeping skills are impeccable. I think Miss Airiya will surely be satisfied with her…”

Lilinai bowed, fingers interlaced, striking a respectful posture. The white-haired girl rose and stepped forward, her white silk long dress rustling. She reached out and pinched the purple-haired girl’s chin, forcefully lifting her head, turning it left, then right. Lilinai only felt a surge of anger and resistance welling up in her heart—she had been a noble for 15 years, after all, and wasn’t used to being treated this way.

There wasn’t much difference in the two’s height, but the difference in their status was plain at a glance.

“How much?”

The white-haired girl asked bluntly. Madam Misite coughed twice.

“She… is worth 3,000 Universal Gold Yuan. However, Miss Airiya, you are an honored guest of Fimu City, so I can offer you a special discount…”

“Deal.” The girl named Airiya smiled. “3,000 gold yuan. I’ll take her. Your name is Lilinai, correct? Let’s go.”

“—!”

For a moment, both Misite and Lilinai wore expressions of surprise.

The slave transaction proceeded unusually smoothly. Airiya briskly signed a check and rewrote the permissions on Lilinai’s collar. Misite gave Lilinai a few instructions, including things about being obedient and observing etiquette; meanwhile Miuyi, hiding on the stairs, quietly waved to Lilinai in a final farewell. Then, without the slightest dawdling, Airiya signaled for Lilinai to follow her and left the slave trading house.

Until the two girls were seated inside the compartment of a luxurious carriage and it began to move, Lilinai still hadn’t come back to her senses.

Hmm…

Did that count as a success?

Still, a plan going smoothly was a good thing overall.

Lilinai sat in her seat, secretly raising her eyes to look at the white-haired girl sitting across from her, who was gazing out the window.

Although she had never seen a Witch before, paying readily without being picky did indeed fit the portrait of those proud and arrogant noble figures. Looking at it this way, the possibility of her deceiving Airiya wasn’t out of the question—perhaps the so-called Witches were the same sort as those nobles, not worth fearing; perhaps they might even be easier to deceive due to being removed from worldly affairs.

“Um, Master…?”

Lilinai attempted to strike up a conversation. Airiya turned back around.

“My name is Lilinai.” She spoke in the most respectful tone she could manage. “I’ll do my best to serve Master well and make you satisfied.”

As she spoke, Lilinai deliberately lowered her voice, controlling the expression on her face while making her shoulders tremble slightly.

This was pure “an actor’s self-cultivation.”

Through this performance, she would establish a first impression of being frail and pitiful to her buyer.

Who would be wary of a pitiful, weak, and helpless servant? Especially when she was a girl.

But this was all just appearance.

Lilinai lowered her eyelids.

The moment this white-haired girl grew careless, she would trick her into removing the collar. Then, slit her throat—

“—You really don’t remember me?”

“Hm?”

Airiya raised an eyebrow. Lilinai showed a puzzled expression.

“…I’m sorry, Master. I don’t quite understand your meaning.”

“I see. Hmph, I suppose that’s only natural.”

The Witch shook her head and gave a self-mocking smile.

And what happened next completely exceeded Lilinai’s expectations.

“Snap—“

Airiya snapped her fingers, and the elastic band Lilinai used to tie her hair broke on cue.

In an instant, that gorgeous dark purple long hair spread out like a curtain of night.

“What is this… nngh!?”

“Shh, be good.”

Before Lilinai could react, Airiya had already drawn the carriage’s white gauze curtains and come before her.

She seized the girl’s wrists and pressed her down onto the seat cushion, one leg forcing its way to the girl’s inner side without permission, locking down all of Lilinai’s movement. The Witch’s silver-white long hair hung down beside Lilinai’s face like a flowing waterfall, both tickling her cheek and stirring her heart—there was a pleasant fragrance about Airiya. Was it violets? She couldn’t say.

“M-Master?”

Lilinai didn’t understand what was happening, so she put on an even more timid appearance.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“How cruel. And here we were once family.”

“Eh… what does that mean?”

Airiya smiled gently and lowered her body.

Lilinai swallowed, turning her face away in some embarrassment.

Though she had been a girl for 5 years, whatever else, inside she was still a man.

But the words the Witch spoke beside her ear left her utterly shocked:

“That you didn’t recognize me truly saddens me.

“Even though 5 years ago, you personally drove me out of the house…

“Hm? Could it be you’ve already forgotten? My dear—young master of the Kaoenxier family?”

“…!”

Lilinai turned back in astonishment, looking at the enigmatically smiling white-haired girl.

She finally remembered—remembered why the other party had seemed familiar, and when she had seen her before!

“Liya… it’s you?”

“Correct~”

The Witch Airiya Moerdisike—once the maid named Liya, Lilinai’s own maid—answered cheerfully.