Chapter 17: I’m such a genius!

“Good morning, Young Lady~!”

The moment Su Mengdie stepped out of her room, the Head Maid was suddenly dazed, as if she was seeing the adorable Young Lady from years ago.

But how could that be?

The Young Lady was no longer the same as before…

So, it must be an act?

Looking into those sincere and earnest eyes, the Head Maid’s conviction wavered just a little.

Better keep watching for now…

“Head Maid, good morning… Is something the matter?”

Seeing the Head Maid with a hesitant expression, Su Mengdie couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

“It’s nothing, just that today’s Young Lady… looks very cute, I was a little captivated for a moment.”

The Head Maid averted her gaze, her cheeks unknowingly tinged red by her body heat.

Being so mesmerized by her mistress, that’s not something a servant should say in front of her master.

Yet, for some reason, meeting Su Mengdie’s gaze gave her the courage to tell the truth.

“Hehe~ Thank you for the compliment.”

Su Mengdie covered her lips and laughed softly, a warm feeling blooming in her heart.

Even though the one being praised was the ‘Young Lady,’ she still felt the joy of receiving praise.

“Oh right, Young Lady, the Xia family called earlier. They said Xia Miss will be coming by today.”

“Xia Miss…?”

Shuashuai?

Su Mengdie glanced back at Penelope, but she just gently shook her head, indicating she knew nothing.

Could it be that because I didn’t reply in the game yesterday, she’s coming today to settle accounts?

Surely not…

“Yes, Xia Miss said she called you several times yesterday, but you didn’t answer. So this morning, she called the Headquarters directly. I was afraid you didn’t know, so I came to inform you early.”

“Oh~, maybe I went to bed early yesterday (meaning around seven, when Penelope dragged me to bed), so I didn’t see it. In that case, please prepare lunch for today.”

Because she’d slept poorly last night, she had set her phone to silent later on.

As for this morning, she was busy getting herself ready, and didn’t have time.

“Of course, no problem. Young Lady, please have breakfast first.”

After Su Mengdie nodded, the Head Maid took the lead and started to guide the way.

The two walking behind her tacitly widened the distance a little and began to whisper to each other.

“Little Die, did Shuashuai send any messages?”

“Let me see…”

Su Mengdie just pulled out her phone, and right on the lock screen she saw over a dozen missed calls—all around midnight.

“?”

This Young Lady sure isn’t simple!

Bombarding me with calls in the middle of the night, instead of sleeping?

“Young Lady, is Xia Miss usually like this?”

Su Mengdie looked at Penelope, speechless.

“Not at all. I guess she couldn’t find anyone to play games with, so she kept calling. As for coming over today… most likely she wants to play games with you.”

“But I’m not that close to her, what do I do?”

The two only knew each other in passing.

Whether it was hanging out in person or gaming online, all of her interactions with Xia Shuashuai were sustained by the Young Lady.

“Don’t worry, Shuashuai’s a good person, and she’s not that sensitive. Just relax around her.”

“Just relax about anything?”

Su Mengdie was still uneasy.

“Of course! Besides, you’ve got me, haven’t you?”

Penelope patted her chest, reassuring her.

But what she didn’t know was that it was precisely because of her that Su Mengdie felt uneasy!

Whenever it came to games, she’d become overly enthusiastic, speaking a mile a minute, totally at odds with ‘Su Mengdie’s’ persona.

If Xia Miss didn’t mind, it’d be fine, but if she took offense and the Head Maid found out, that’d be real trouble!

“Young Lady, be careful later. I’m not going to start howling over a game.”

“Ehehe~ I’ll try, I’ll try…”

Penelope rubbed the back of her head, sticking out her tongue, looking completely untrustworthy.

But she hadn’t expected the Young Lady to actually behave anyway.

With a soft sigh, Su Mengdie fixed her gaze on the phone poking out of Penelope’s pocket.

“By the way, any news on my end?”

“Let me see… Doesn’t seem like it.”

Penelope just glanced at it briefly before putting the phone away again.

She moved so fast Su Mengdie didn’t get a chance to peek.

“Let me see? It’s my phone, after all.”

“But it’s mine now, hehe~! Don’t worry, if anyone really contacts you, I’ll tell you for sure.”

Of course, she’d screen the messages for Su Mengdie first.

Given how things were, it was pointless to try and grab the phone, so Su Mengdie had to settle for compromise and offer an exchange.

“Fine, then. If anyone looks for the Young Lady, I’ll let you know too, so you must tell me if anything comes up!”

“Mm-hmm, of course~”

***

After breakfast, Penelope found an excuse to return to her room.

As soon as she entered, she locked the door behind her, pulled out her phone, and opened an app with a Black Owl as its icon—

This was a chat app developed internally by the Evil Organization, used for communication among members.

Every high-ranking member had their own account, with a nickname based on their codename in the organization.

And Penelope’s nickname was ‘Canary’!

Caroline: I looked into that thing you asked about.

It’s just an ordinary Necklace.

Su Mengdie bought it at a jewelry shop two years ago.

Canary: Anything suspicious about the shop?

Ka: Checked everything I could.

It’s just an ordinary century-old store.

Taniya’s bought things there too.

Seems fine.

Can:

So, Little Die isn’t Swallowtail, huh?

Leaning against the door, Penelope let out a small sigh of relief.

When she first discovered the body swap, she’d once suspected Su Mengdie’s identity.

Now, being sure that Little Die wasn’t the Magical Girl Swallowtail was the best possible outcome for her.

She didn’t want Little Die to be her enemy.

But if she really was Swallowtail, Penelope wouldn’t show mercy—after all, that Basement at home was the perfect place for Little Die to fall…

Ka: Yeah, pretty sure…

Yesterday I checked the monitoring at that building.

Saw Su Mengdie go in, but later I saw her being carried out by Swallowtail.

Can: ?

Ka: She probably didn’t evacuate in time and got caught in the crossfire.

Then Swallowtail found her.

You could ask your little maid, maybe she remembers something.

Can: Are you stupid or am I?

If I ask her directly, wouldn’t that be admitting I’m Canary?

Ka: Offline

“Damn, how can she just go offline when she’s losing an argument!”

Penelope angrily sent a middle-finger emoji, then exited the app.

She was in a good mood today, so she couldn’t be bothered to argue.

“Little Die~… Swallowtail…”

Penelope rested her chin in her hand, thinking for a moment,

“Maybe I should just ask Little Die if she knows Swallowtail?”

If Little Die reacts, it means she’s seen Swallowtail before.

If not, then she hasn’t.

That way, she could get the information she wanted without revealing her identity…

“I really am a genius!”