Chapter 2: The Encounter

“Yexi, no slacking off!”

The sun was a warm hand on the land, the breeze a gentle sigh through the leaves. A young woman with hair like spun silver sat nestled in the grass, her back against the gnarled trunk of an oak as she dozed. A basket, meant for gathering herbs, lay forgotten by her side.

Hearing her name, Yexi barely managed to pry her eyes open. “Oh, it’s just you, Elienla,” she murmured, a lazy smile touching her lips. “You should join me. It’s a perfect day for a nap.”

The once-fledgling maid had blossomed into a graceful young woman. She stood with her hands on her hips, a picture of playful exasperation. “What are you talking about? The Lady sent us out to gather wild herbs and fruits, not to laze about.”

“Alright, alright.” Realizing her peaceful rest was truly over, Yexi patted down the crisp fabric of her maid’s uniform, brushing off stray leaves as she rose gracefully to her feet.

“I’ll just sleep after the work is done!”

“You’re not supposed to sleep on the job!”

Elienla’s exasperated cry was carried away by the wind, having no effect on Yexi, who simply smiled and muttered under her breath, “I’ve finally earned such a peaceful retirement. How could I not take the time to slack off properly?”

Nearly seven years had passed since Yexi had been rescued. In that time, she had completely mastered this unfamiliar body, training and honing it with a discipline that bordered on obsession. Perhaps it was because bodies in this other world were naturally stronger, or perhaps it was the muscle memory of a lifetime of training, but her progress was far faster than it had been in her previous life.

But there were limits. A woman’s body was more slender, more supple than a man’s. While she could, if she truly dedicated herself, regain her former terrifying strength, it would ruin the delicate aesthetic of this form, turning her into some kind of muscle-bound doll. That was a fate Yexi could not accept, neither mentally nor physically.

Slenderness and softness were not necessarily weaknesses. It simply meant she needed to make slight adjustments to her approach, trading raw power for lethal grace, further reducing her capacity for direct combat while increasing her efficiency in the silent, deadly arts of assassination. Of course, Yexi didn’t know if she would ever need these skills again. It was merely a habit, a compulsion etched into her very soul to make herself stronger.

In truth, she had rarely needed them. After all, she served the family of a marquis at the edge of the borderlands—the most powerful family in the entire region. The Lady and the Marquis were good people, truly good, in a way that still felt foreign to her. They were kind and gentle to the citizens of their domain and to their servants alike.

When Yexi was little, the Lady would often take her and Elienla into town, her laughter echoing in the cobbled streets as she bought them delicious treats and whimsical toys. Although Yexi had little interest in such things, she always feigned delight so as not to disappoint the Lady’s kindness. If only the Lady wouldn’t suddenly embrace them from time to time, treating them like cherished, fluffy pets. Yexi had to work very hard to suppress her body’s lethal instinct to counter-attack during those surprise ambushes. Sometimes, when the Marquis was away, the lonely Lady would even use them as pillows, her gentle snores a soft rumble against their backs.

Yexi, having been a grown man in her past life, would always find a way to push Elienla forward in those moments, letting her friend receive the full, smothering force of the Lady’s affection.

Seven years of this leisurely life had allowed Yexi to experience a true childhood, a peaceful retirement she’d never thought possible. If the only price for all this was being reborn as a little girl, then the Sister from her past must truly be watching over her from the heavens, allowing a soul as stained as hers to start anew. But could it really be that simple?

A shadow of doubt still lingered in her heart. In her past life, she never wasted time on such thoughts. She took missions, she killed people, she indulged her desires. Her days were a blur of tension and emptiness. After being reborn, she was suddenly free from the chains of her past and had been showered with so much happiness that it felt unreal, leaving her confused and even frightened.

She longed for someone who could give her answers. Although the Lady and her family were wonderful, she could never bring herself to reveal her secret—that she was an assassin from another world. And the one person she could have confided in… not only was she not in this world, but she had already passed away in the old one.

Yexi shook her head, casting the complicated thoughts from her mind like scattering crows. No matter what she believed, she had accepted her current identity. If nothing unexpected happened, she planned to live out the rest of her days peacefully as a maid. Why think so much? Emptying her mind was probably the smartest thing to do.

Today, the Lady had asked them to gather wild delicacies for the banquet that evening, hoping to let the guests taste the most natural flavors of the land.

“Though I suspect the real reason is that the Lady wanted to eat them herself.”

Yexi chuckled, recalling her mistress’s adorably guilty expression as she’d made the request, insisting it was for the guests. The Lady had a particular fondness for these rustic ingredients, even though Yexi felt that the high-end foods from the capital tasted far superior.

But she had been a competent assassin, and now she was a competent maid. She would dutifully obey her mistress’s orders.

It didn’t take long for Yexi to fill her basket. Over seven years, she had become intimately familiar with the surrounding environment. She knew every hidden grove and sun-dappled clearing. Combined with her efficiency, the task was completed quickly. She was not the type to be lazy and freeload; she always finished her work conscientiously before taking a well-earned break.

“However, it looks like today’s harvest won’t be purely vegetarian,” Yexi murmured. She gently set down her basket and turned, her movements fluid and silent. A bear-like magical beast with bared tusks was stalking her from the shadows, its massive form moving with surprising stealth.

“A Tusk-Bear,” she noted, her voice calm. “How strange. This is supposed to be a safe zone. Your kind’s territory is much farther away. How did you get here, little guy?”

The area was regularly patrolled by the Marquis’s knights. Any creature with a bit of intelligence knew not to make its lair here. For a Tusk-Bear to appear here was highly unusual. Yexi’s sharp eyes noticed the beast was injured. Two deep, ragged wounds marred its back, likely pierced by the tusks of another, still bleeding sluggishly.

“Ah, I see,” Yexi said with sudden understanding, a flicker of something like pity in her golden eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re the alpha who just got kicked off his throne?”

The alpha was the leader of a Tusk-Bear pack, a position won and held through brutal, bloody combat. Survival of the fittest was an unchanging truth, no matter the world.

“So how did you manage to escape from the new alpha with your life, you loser? Well, I suppose it’s none of my business.”

Ignoring her monologue, the Tusk-Bear, now discovered, let out a low growl, its ferocious intent rolling off it in waves. Saliva dripped from its tusks, its powerful muscles tensed, ready to pounce. It was badly injured and desperately needed a meal. The human female before it looked soft and easy.

Yexi, however, was completely at ease. Instead of running, she drew a dagger from a hidden sheath on her thigh. The blade glinted, a sliver of deadly light. This was a gift from the house. The Trefle family had an interesting policy: even servants were required to undergo combat training. Of course, a Tusk-Bear that could compete for the alpha position was far beyond what a normal servant could handle. Yexi, however, was not a normal servant.

“Hmph. Looks like I’ll be bringing back a little extra something for the pot tonight.”

Provoked by her casual taunt, the Tusk-Bear could no longer restrain itself. With a deafening roar, it lunged, a mountain of fur and fury, straight at the ‘frail’ girl before it.

Yexi didn’t move. A confident, almost predatory, smile played on her lips as she twirled the dagger, waiting for the beast to enter her kill zone.

“Xi!”

“Watch out!”

Two voices cried out at the exact same moment. One was clearly Elienla’s, panicked and shrill. But the other… the other was a man’s, deep and urgent.

Splurt!

There was no more time to think. The Tusk-Bear was upon her. But before Yexi could strike, a black-clad figure blurred past her. A flash of steel, and the beast was sliced cleanly in half, the two massive pieces falling to either side of her.

This wasn’t some fanciful tale where the hero emerges from a bloody battle without a single stain. Being so close, Yexi was instantly showered in a warm, crimson rain. The hot, sticky liquid drenched her hair and clothes, and the sudden shock of it left her frozen on the spot, a single, furious thought screaming in her mind: My clothes are ruined! This is disgusting! Who did this? Some amateur who can’t even control the blood spray! I am going to kill you!

And that amateur, a handsome, black-haired man in simple traveler’s clothes, was busy stylishly flicking the blood from his longsword before sheathing it with a flourish. He turned to Yexi, his dark eyes softening as he took in her state. A gentle, reassuring smile touched his lips. “Are you alright? It’s safe now, don’t worry.”

Stare.

The man’s smile faltered. Things were not going as he had imagined. The beautiful, silver-haired maid before him was not throwing herself into his arms in tearful gratitude. Instead, she was staring at him with her stunning golden eyes, a gaze so intense, so utterly murderous, that it sent a shiver down his spine.

He, of course, noticed her disheveled state. The bright red blood splattered across her pale skin and silver hair gave the lively maid a dangerously bewitching, almost demonic, allure.

It’s just my imagination, right? It has to be, the man thought, trying to comfort himself as he felt a nervous sweat begin to form on his brow. I mean, I did just save her life. She wouldn’t want to kill me just for getting her a little messy… would she? Probably not… right?