After Ye Feng left, Ji Lin led Rita to the changing room.
"My apologies, this is the only one left…"
Ji Lin opened the wardrobe. Where there was once a dazzling array of clothes, only two outfits remained.
One was a palace gown, custom-tailored for Ji Lin. There was no way Rita's 36D figure could fit into it.
"Ah? N-No, it's alright."
Rita accepted the exotic dancer's outfit.
Here, she finally changed her clothes.
Rita was a little bewildered. So, her previous attire wasn't "common sense" after all.
"Then why..."
Ji Lin said nothing, merely changing her clothes in silence. The pure white palace gown flowed down, concealing her fair, smooth skin and hiding her delicate collarbones.
Ji Lin lowered her head, raised a graceful hand, and removed the white jade hairpin she used to style her "madam's bun." A full head of silken black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
A white-haired dumpling darted in. She looked at Ji Lin, who had just finished arranging her dress, then glanced at the jade hairpin in the beautiful madam's hand and couldn't help but pout.
"Ah Lin, did that dog bastard Ye Feng make you wear this all the time?"
"Kiana, you're here."
Ji Lin's eyes held a smile as she walked forward.
"Hmph, it must be that dog bastard's idea. He's the worst. He even said that one day he'd make Bronya wear a ring..."
A modern wedding ring, symbolizing marriage.
In ancient Shenzhou, however, married women typically used hairpins to style their hair in a matronly bun.
Thus, "putting one's hair up" had a much deeper charm in a historical context.
Ji Lin no longer felt the initial gloom associated with it. One couldn't exactly say she was used to it, but… Master… wasn't completely irredeemable.
"It's alright, Kiana. It's nothing."
"Hmph, Ah Lin, you're just too honest! There's nothing good to say about that dog bastard!" Kiana grumbled, her words showing no sense of distance between them.
After all, the two of them shared a common secret... well, it wasn't much of a secret, more like a form of self-deception, wasn't it?
But Kiana and Ji Lin were more intimate in terms of being "frank and open with each other" than they were with their respective best friends.
At the very least, Mei had no idea about Kiana's tolerance levels, and Cangxuan and Danzhu didn't know that Ji Lin was serving Ye Feng.
Both Kiana and Ji Lin had revealed their most vulnerable sides in front of each other.
Kiana's arrival this time was, naturally, not by chance; Ji Lin had contacted her.
They needed to reveal a sliver of the "truth" to Rita.
Even if they were punished by their master for it... they would face it together.
Of course, Kiana was aware of this, which was why she had rushed over without a moment's delay.
This was what the two of them had agreed upon beforehand.
---o---
The setting sun, casting its rays diagonally from the sea's horizon, bathed the room in a golden-red hue.
Ji Lin, having arranged her attire, stood elegantly in the twilight-filled room, her graceful figure appearing noble and serene.
Her red lips parted, her expression solemn.
"Sister Rita, I feel we are kindred spirits. There are some things that must be said."
Seeing her so serious, Rita couldn't help but listen intently.
The impression Ji Lin gave was that of an extremely steady and dignified goddess, her every move exuding an otherworldly temperament.
For her to give a warning with such caution, it had to be a matter of utmost importance.
Kiana smiled and put a hand on Rita's shoulder.
"No need to be so formal. Now that you're here, we're all comrades on the same battlefront."
Battlefront? Did that mean there was a great enemy?
In that case,
"Who is the enemy?"
"That dog bastard Ye Feng!" Kiana said fiercely, clenching her fist.
"...Mister Ye Feng?"
Rita froze for a moment, thinking she had misheard.
Lord Ye Feng was such a good person... Or perhaps, the "enemy" they were referring to wasn't what she understood it to be?
She couldn't help but shift her gaze to Ji Lin.
Dressed in her palace gown, Ji Lin truly looked as if she had stepped out of a classical painting of a court lady—gentle and graceful, giving off a tranquil and dignified feeling, possessing a unique style of her own.
Ji Lin stood gracefully, her slender hands lightly clasped together. "What Kiana said is largely correct, though a bit biased."
"Huh? How is it biased?!"
Ji Lin glanced up at Kiana.
This child clearly screams louder than anyone else, and every time, she seems to be... thoroughly enjoying herself.
"Ahem, what this servant means is, Master is not entirely our adversary. He has also done many things for us."
"Mmm..."
Kiana stroked her chin and nodded. "That's true."
The power he provided, the futures he foretold...
And most importantly for Ji Lin, her revived dear friends and the chance to see Hua again.
Rita grew even more confused. "Then... Lady Ji Lin, what is the important matter you mentioned?"
"Well, although Master doesn't have any bad intentions... no, Master has very few bad intentions, but..."
"...But?"
Ji Lin was, after all, a graceful and refined lady. Forcing her to say words like the f-bomb was ultimately too much for her to bear.
"Master's words may not be deceptive, but you must still think them through carefully."
Ji Lin thought for a moment, then pointed to her own attire as an example. "For instance, why is it that every time we've met, Sister Rita, you have only been wearing black pantyhose?"
"Is there some hidden reason?"
Kiana sneered. "Heh, what hidden reason? It's nothing more than that dog bastard's fetish."
She had said it quite plainly. There was no way the intelligent maid wouldn't understand.
"You're saying, this was all Lord Ye Feng's idea?"
Kiana crossed her arms. "Who else? He's the god of this world, so of course he can do whatever he wants. Yep, and that includes doing you."
"...?"
Rita stared blankly at Kiana.
She never imagined that this seemingly pure young girl, who looked to be in the bloom of her youth, could have such an... uninhibited side.
Were these words that one could say to someone they were not well acquainted with?
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Kiana instinctively felt that something was off about Rita's gaze, which made her a bit embarrassed, so she retorted even more loudly.
"N-No... It's just, that's a lot to take in..."
Rita stood with her hands by her sides. Suddenly thinking of something, she asked, "Then what Mobius did to me before, was that on Lord Ye Feng's orders...?"
"Oh, you mean that snake. She's always been a nasty piece of work. When she went to St. Freya High School, she even... " whipped me unconscious with her tail.
It was best not to bring up such an embarrassing story. Kiana stopped abruptly.
Ji Lin explained, "That was not Master's will. It was likely Mobius acting on her own accord."
"Is that so?"
"So, what you mean is, I should be careful of Lord Ye Feng?"
"No, being careful is useless. What's going to happen will happen."
"Then what are you trying to say...?"
"Nothing much. We're just giving you a heads-up, so you can be mentally prepared," Kiana said with a shrug.