“Su Mengdie, do you know Swallowtail?”
“Cough, cough~!?”
What does that mean?
Has her identity been exposed?
Hearing Penelope’s question, Su Mengdie choked on her own saliva.
This was way too sudden; she was completely unprepared…
“N-no, I don’t…”
Su Mengdie glanced aside, answering a bit guiltily.
However, Penelope caught all of this.
“Really? I suggest you tell me the truth, Su Mengdie~”
Penelope shifted her chair, then placed her hand on her thigh wrapped in black stockings and gave it a light squeeze.
Hmph~!
As expected, Su Mengdie has seen Swallowtail.
“Uh… I’m telling the truth. Swallowtail… who is that?”
Faced with the Young Lady’s probing, Su Mengdie’s face gradually turned pale.
At this point, she was almost certain the Young Lady definitely knew who Swallowtail was, and for some reason suspected her.
Could it be because of that Necklace?
But without magical power infused or the incantation spoken, it’s just an ordinary Necklace, it shouldn’t have any reaction at all.
She couldn’t figure it out, just couldn’t…
But it wasn’t just Su Mengdie who couldn’t figure things out; Penelope was equally puzzled.
She hadn’t expected Su Mengdie to ask this question—
Who is Swallowtail?
Good question!
If she said directly that Swallowtail was a Magical Girl, how was she supposed to explain knowing Swallowtail was a Magical Girl?
She couldn’t very well say she was Swallowtail’s nemesis, the Evil Organization’s officer ‘Canary.’
The identities of Magical Girls had to be kept secret from ordinary people.
Her own identity also had to be kept secret, or else the Magical Girls would be at her door in no time.
Eh~!
Suddenly, Penelope had a flash of inspiration and came up with a brilliant explanation.
“Swallowtail is a friend of mine, but I haven’t seen her for a while. I’m a bit worried, so I wanted to ask you, Su Mengdie, if you’ve met her… She looks kind of like this.”
Penelope pulled out her phone and, relying on her memory, used ai to generate a picture similar to Swallowtail’s likeness.
Since Su Mengdie wasn’t Swallowtail, Penelope felt saying this was no problem.
After all, Swallowtail couldn’t possibly tell an ordinary person about her social circle.
Yet, after hearing this answer, Su Mengdie wore a puzzled expression.
The Young Lady and Swallowtail were friends?
How could she not know that?
And whenever she transformed into Swallowtail, it seemed she never ran into the Young Lady…
‘Could the Young Lady be a Magical Girl too?’
Piecing together the Young Lady’s information, a thought suddenly flashed through Su Mengdie’s mind.
A friend of Swallowtail, hasn’t seen her for a while, and most importantly, doesn’t know her true identity…
Succubus?
Chuan Bird?
Or Lily of the Valley?
There seemed to be quite a few Magical Girls who fit those criteria.
Su Mengdie really couldn’t be sure at the moment.
“Haven’t seen her, truly haven’t, Young Lady. I can swear an oath to the heavens—I really don’t know any Swallowtail.”
After careful thought, Su Mengdie decided not to reveal her identity for now, nor did she intend to dig into the Young Lady’s identity.
Whether the Young Lady was a Magical Girl or not, it was a form of protection for both of them.
Once, Magical Girls had revealed their identities to each other and suffered a disaster—
A Magical Girl who defected to the Evil Organization gave up the true identities of all the Magical Girls she knew, resulting in those Magical Girls being captured in one fell swoop and, until their rescue, continuously drained of magic.
Since then, all Magical Girls had become extremely cautious about revealing their identities to companions.
“Mmhm~, let’s just leave it at that then. Speaking of which, Shuashuai should be here soon. We should go to the entrance and have a look.”
Su Mengdie’s caution, in Penelope’s eyes, meant something else entirely—
Su Mengdie was a very trustworthy person; Swallowtail had told her to keep it a secret, and she truly did.
But Penelope wasn’t bothered in the least.
As long as she knew Su Mengdie had met Swallowtail, there were plenty of ways to make Su Mengdie talk.
As for now, she could hardly restrain her hands—she couldn’t wait to play a Game with Shuashuai!
The two had just walked to the entrance when they saw the Head Maid greeting a girl in a white sunhat and a long white dress.
“Xia Miss, good morning~”
“Hello, Xiao Sister. The Young Lady is at home now, right?”
The girl pressed down the brim of her hat with her hand, stretching out her fair neck to look inside.
Soon, the two coming down the spiral stairs from the second floor entered her sight.
“Yes, she’s here. I’ll go…”
Before the Head Maid could finish, Xia Shuashuai waved her hand to interrupt.
“No need, no need. They’re here—Penelope~!”
“Shuashuai, long time no see~!”
As Penelope had taught her, Su Mengdie politely shook hands with Xia Shuashuai.
“It really has been a while, and Su Mengdie too… Speaking of which, I came today because I have something to ask Su Mengdie.”
Yikes!
Could she really be here because I didn’t reply to her chat yesterday?
Though Xia Shuashuai was speaking to Penelope, Su Mengdie broke out in a cold sweat.
“Um… Young Lady, since Little Die is with you, I’ll go get lunch ready?”
Seeing Xia Shuashuai seemed to have serious business, the Head Maid immediately offered to step away.
“Okay, thanks for your hard work today~”
“Is Xiao Sister cooking herself today? Looks like I’m in for a treat~”
“Xia Miss, you’re too kind. Excuse me.”
The Head Maid lifted her skirt and gave a curtsy, then headed for the kitchen.
“Shuashuai, let’s go talk in the room.”
“Mm~, up to you.”
After entering the house, Xia Shuashuai took off her hat and coat and handed them to Penelope.
Penelope stared blankly at the items in her hands, taking a moment before realizing this was her job.
Sigh~, maybe being a maid isn’t all that fun after all?
***
After opening the room door, Penelope helped hang Xia Shuashuai’s hat and coat on the rack by the door.
With her hat off, Shuashuai’s waterfall-like, smooth black hair was revealed, making her look youthful and beautiful.
Su Mengdie couldn’t help but admire her along the way.
Maybe noticing her gaze, Xia Shuashuai asked if she wanted to touch her hair as soon as she entered.
“Uh… Is that really okay?”
Su Mengdie’s hands were itching to reach out, but out of pride, she didn’t make a move.
“It’s just touching my hair, what’s the harm? Besides, it’s just the three of us here—no one else will know, right, Su Mengdie?”
“Mm~, if the Young Lady wants to, just do it.”
Penelope said yes with her mouth, but the look in her eyes said something different.
Those eyes, glinting coldly, seemed to say, ‘Go on, try and see what happens!’
Chuan Bird, Chuan Bird—better not touch, then.
“No, no, let’s talk business first. Shuashuai, you definitely didn’t come just to let me touch your hair, did you?”
“Mmhm~, actually, I’ve met a master in a Game recently, and I just can’t beat her. So I came to ask for your help~”