Chapter 464
To meet with the Pope, I must bring Perci... just as a precaution.
“Ta La.”
Xia Er looked towards the door and called out.
Knock, knock—
After two soft knocks, Ta La pushed the door open and entered, looking at Xia Er as she spoke, “My lord Xia Er, you called for me...”
The moment she locked eyes with Xia Er, Ta La felt a slight tremor in her heart.
Was it just her imagination? She felt that Xia Er’s gaze seemed even colder... and the sensation of her heart racing was more pronounced than before.
The power of the Mother Goddess... has it returned significantly?
Ta La’s heart fluttered with excitement.
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PS1: A soft half-portrait of Xia Er, thanks to @2BB for the commission~
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PS2:
Gomenasai! My schedule has been a bit chaotic lately.
I’ll try to add an extra update tomorrow, depending on how I adjust my routine!
I’ve already found an artist for Ai Wei Na, the same one who drew the Reformer, but the schedule is booked until March!
Good night!!!
【Leave Request 3/3】The last leave request
Today, I’ll adjust my schedule again. If I keep writing late, I’ll end up updating at midnight, so I’ll use my leave at the beginning of the month to stay true to my intentions.
I’ll take a day off to plan the upcoming plot.
Wishing everyone eternal life.
Good night in advance!!!
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Chapter 245: Killing the Strong Sound... Me? (4000 words)
The earliest is the 20th, the latest the 21st.
This is when Perci will arrive in Ansu City, which Xia Er had previously asked Ta La about.
In other words, she would meet Perci as soon as tomorrow.
Xia Er must kill the Strong Sound as soon as possible, but she cannot do it herself; it must be someone else—preferably the Pope of the Order of the Gods, Ai Ri Ge Ma.
This way, it would leave the Strong Sound with misleading information, minimizing the impact on her subsequent plans.
“My lord Xia Er... what do you need from your servant?”
Ta La slightly bowed her head, respectfully inquiring.
“Wait a moment.”
Xia Er opened the system panel and looked at the simulation interface.
“Tomorrow: 1 Day (Year 741, July 20, 18:58) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)”
“Four days ago: 4 Days (Year 741, July 15, 19:15) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)”
One day later and four days earlier.
These dates are very close, and during both time frames, she was in Ansu City... there’s no fundamental difference.
Xia Er had no intention of simulating; she needed to prepare some things before Perci arrived.
She had no doubt she could kill the Strong Sound, but the key point was how to accurately locate where the Strong Sound would be after the time rewind, and it had to be precise—no room for error.
That was the challenge.
In reality, Xia Er couldn’t constantly monitor the Strong Sound’s every move; her intelligence network wasn’t that advanced yet.
So she needed to utilize everyone she could to ensure that after the time rewind, she could immediately obtain the coordinates of the Strong Sound’s location.
So far, the person Xia Er could confidently control who was closest to the Strong Sound was Lafayette.
But to control Lafayette, Xia Er needed to team up with Ai Wei Na—at least that’s how she planned to do it in the simulation.
“Prepare the carriage; we’re going to Ai Wei Na’s house,” Xia Er instructed.
This matter needed to be discussed with Ai Wei Na, and it was essential to find her.
Because Lafayette was currently staying in the basement of the Windsor residence, to see Lafayette, she had to go to Windsor Palace.
In the previous simulation, Xia Er had gone to Windsor Palace with Ai Wei Na, and she had coincidentally encountered the Strong Sound in the basement.
She couldn’t just sneak through the secret passage from the washroom to the Strong Sound’s chamber; if she ran into the Strong Sound like that, Xia Er wouldn’t be able to justify her intrusion.
Thus, at the time of going to Windsor Palace, Xia Er had to ensure that the Strong Sound was engaged in some public event outside, minimizing the chances of running into him.
For information on the Strong Sound’s public appearances, asking Windsor would be less effective than asking Ai Wei Na.
“Understood.”
Ta La accepted the order and went downstairs to prepare the carriage for Xia Er.
Meanwhile, Xia Er took this time to change out of her uniform and into a more modest dress—compared to the other outfits Ai Wei Na had picked for her.
It was now six-thirty in the evening, and Ai Wei Na was likely still busy meeting with other nobles or wealthy merchants. After all, she had just moved into her new home and was preparing to host a banquet on the 21st, so many people would want to come by to establish connections.
But that was fine; Xia Er could wait until late at night.
After Xia Er and Ta La got into the carriage, the driver steered the carriage towards Ai Wei Na’s residence.
Ai Wei Na’s home was very close to Xia Er’s, just a few minutes on foot, but Xia Er still chose to take the carriage—there had been too many close calls lately, and she didn’t want to scare any passersby with just a glance, causing unnecessary chaos.
Soon, the carriage stopped at the entrance of Ai Wei Na’s residence. Xia Er looked out through the glass window and saw several carriages parked outside.
Servants were still busy decorating the exterior of the building, and many carriages were lined up outside, seemingly waiting to introduce themselves to the butler at the door.
Among these people, there were few nobles; most were wealthy merchants, likely there to discuss business with Ai Wei Na.
A servant stopped at the carriage door, and Ta La, dressed in her maid outfit, opened the door and spoke with the person for a moment before returning to the carriage and closing the door. She looked at Xia Er and said:
“My lord Xia Er, those people seem to be here to see Miss Ai Wei Na; it looks like they need to wait in line...”
Xia Er shook her head and replied, “It’s fine; let them wait.”
Ai Wei Na was hiring new servants and a new butler, so it was normal for them not to recognize Xia Er. She had no intention of doing anything to draw attention, so waiting in line for the servants to announce her was perfectly fine.
Xia Er could also use this time to further refine her plans in her mind.
Knock, knock, knock—
Just then, there was a knock on the carriage door.
Xia Er slowly opened her eyes and glanced at Ta La.
“Please wait a moment, my lord Xia Er.” Ta La slightly bowed her head and softly spoke to Xia Er before opening the carriage door to face the elegantly dressed middle-aged man who had knocked.
“May I ask what you need?” Ta La frowned slightly, looking at the visitor, seemingly irritated by his interruption of Xia Er.
“Oh, what a feisty little one,” the man chuckled, thinking himself quite humorous, then his gaze swept over to Xia Er, who was resting with her eyes closed, and his eyes lit up.
“What do you need?” The man’s gaze made Ta La narrow her eyes; she stood up to block Xia Er and questioned the man, “Please retract your disrespectful gaze.”
Ta La was tall enough to stand in the carriage; she only needed to bend slightly.
“Hey, don’t be nervous,” the man waved his hands repeatedly, stating his purpose, “I wanted to ask if this young lady is a friend of Miss Luo Su?”
“Yes, what about it?”
Xia Er’s voice came from behind Ta La.
Xia Er’s response startled the man; he quickly said, “When I saw you through the carriage window, I knew this beautiful young lady must be a close friend of Miss Luo Su... I mean no offense; I just wanted to say, you both share a noble and charming aura.”
“Ahem...”
Realizing he had been rambling a bit too much, he cleared his throat and continued, “I wanted to find you mainly to ask if you could introduce me to Lady Ai Wei Na... but first, please allow me to introduce myself.”
As he spoke, he took out two steel wheels from a crossbody bag he was carrying, one gleaming with a blue mirror-like sheen, while the other was worn and chipped, causing some reddish-brown flakes to fall off as he pulled it out.
“Do you know why the steel-wheeled carriages on the streets of Ansu are always wafting with the smell of rust? Uncoated steel wheels, after soaking in coal ash and manure for three months, become as brittle as wafers. Last winter, a carriage axle on Regent Street suddenly broke, and the splintered pieces cut the throat of the horse pulling it, blood spraying everywhere...”
“Get to the point.” Ta La interrupted him directly.
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