There’s No Way My Maid Is a Villain

Flower Coffin

The thick clouds pressed down heavily from the sky, rain fell in sheets, and the flowers and grass on the ground swayed wildly in the gale.

The thunder grew louder and the rain more intense as Aili and Shui Cangxuan raced back to the Imperial Capital at incredible speed.

The water pooled deeper and deeper along the road, but it did not affect them in the least.

When they reached a spot not far outside the capital, they saw Liqin waiting in the torrential rain.

As soon as Liqin saw them, she shouted, "Master, little Yin, she, she..."

Seeing her disciple drenched through, Shui Cangxuan couldn't help feeling a pang of heartache.

She conjured up a rain-repelling barrier and gently said, "It's alright, Yinhua is perfectly fine. Let's head home first. I'll explain everything to you in detail."

While softly comforting her beloved disciple, Shui Cangxuan carried her toward the palace, her eyes unable to hide her doting affection.

Aili followed close behind.

Once inside her own palace hall, Shui Cangxuan dismissed all the servants, set Liqin down, and asked gently, "Are you cold? It must be freezing, isn't it?"

Liqin shook her head and replied, "I'm okay, master. After all, I am a water mage. This bit of cold means nothing to me. Let's not worry about that. Tell me about Little Yin—how is she!?"

Seeing how anxious her disciple was, Shui Cangxuan sighed helplessly and turned her gaze to Aili.

Aili took off her black battle dress and produced a square piece of glass from within its folds. Trapped inside was none other than Yinhua's soul.

"Is Yinhua's soul inside that?"

Liqin was shocked when she saw Aili.

From what she'd heard before, she already suspected that Aili was not an ordinary maid, but she never would have thought that Aili actually knew her master.

"She can be considered a friend of mine,"

Shui Cangxuan said softly.

"Why are you helping me?"

Aili ignored Liqin's comment and looked toward Shui Cangxuan.

"Because my disciple asked me to, and for some personal reasons. That's all I can say,"

Shui Cangxuan replied.

The reason was simple: knowing Aili's power, Shui Cangxuan didn't wish to be her enemy.

If Yinhua was sent to the Yuexing Kingdom, it would mean a complete break between Aili and Wanhua.

Yuexing outmatched Wanhua in every field: populace, resources, military, and politics.

Wanhua's sole reason for standing on even footing was because the Sage of Water resided there.

If Aili broke with Wanhua, it would be pushing a Sage over to the opposing side.

Shui Cangxuan herself was not afraid of Aili, but she was burdened with governing an entire nation while Aili was free.

Aili could hide, assassinate officials, eliminate a royal descendant—or even stealthily kill the emperor himself.

That possibility was what gave Shui Cangxuan many headaches, so, quite helplessly, she had to help Aili snatch Yinhua back from Yuexing's Beichen.

Yes, those are the details. My disciple's plea really was just a little part of the reason... honestly, just a bit!

"So what now?"

Aili asked Shui Cangxuan.

"It's simple. We just need to return the soul to the body. All we need is to find Yinhua's body. With our abilities, that's not a challenge. But I must say: once she's revived, take her and leave—never come back. Don't let the emperor see her again,"

Shui Cangxuan's tone grew stern as she finished.

Aili nodded. "You don't need to worry, I'll take care of it."

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Just as she finished, someone knocked at the door.

There was instant silence in the room. Aili gripped her dagger and cautiously approached the door.

"Who is it?"

"Hello, I'm Louguan Xiya from the Louguan family. I'm worried about Princess Yinhua and wanted to ask where she's been lately."

The voice from outside gave Aili a jolt. She wanted to chase Xiya away, but she was also curious why Xiya had found her way here.

She glanced at Shui Cangxuan and Liqin, who exchanged a nod of tacit agreement.

After Aili opened the door, Xiya appeared—looking just slightly better than Liqin but also soaked to the skin.

Aili spoke first. "How did you know to come here?"

When Xiya saw Shui Cangxuan in the room, her mind went blank for a moment. She didn't recover until after Aili had repeated her question.

"I saw you heading this way from outside the window, and since you're always by the princess's side, I wondered if you'd know where she went. I haven't seen her at all since the Spirit Selection,"

Xiya explained.

For once, Aili looked a bit surprised. No matter whether coming or going, she was in her battle dress—she hadn't expected Louguan Xiya to notice her. She wanted to speak, but didn't.

Shui Cangxuan looked at the young woman before her. "You're the Louguan family's daughter?"

"Y-yes, sage,"

Xiya replied, startled at being addressed.

"Mm, I remember you. Seven years ago you registered a 90% magical compatibility in the tests—a genius,"

Shui Cangxuan said.

"It's an honor. I... I've... admired you ever since... I was a child... Never thought..."

Overexcited, Xiya bit her tongue mid-sentence.

"Hahaha."

Xiya's behavior made Liqin giggle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I know who you are. When we left Shayuola City, Yinhua insisted on saying goodbye to you. Ah—forgot to introduce myself. I'm Liqin—Wanhua Liqin, Yinhua's older sister."

"The princess's big sister? Then where is she now?"

Mentioning this brought Liqin's spirits down again and she began, "Well, here's what happened..."

After hearing Liqin's explanation, Xiya's eyes widened. "So, you mean, the soul of Her Highness is inside there?"

Aili nodded. "Exactly. We're about to go find her body, otherwise things will get even more complicated."

"I see..."

Xiya lowered her head. She had no idea that so much had happened to Yinhua while she was away.

Yinhua's determination to gamble her soul to participate in the Spirit Selection clearly showed how important it was to her. Fate was truly cruel.

As the rain outside gradually subsided, Shui Cangxuan said, "Since that's the case, we should hurry and take action. Get ready."

"You don't need to prepare anymore," a red shadow landed in everyone's view before she finished.

"Miss Zhi?!"

Liqin exclaimed at the newcomer.

"You know her?"

Xiya asked.

"Mm... She's also a friend... of Yinhua's, I guess?"

After a moment's struggle, Liqin managed to say it.

"What are you here for? And what did you mean by that?"

Aili was instantly on alert upon seeing Zhixi. Even Shui Cangxuan felt a sense of danger, her gaze fixed on Zhixi.

"Easy, easy—I'm not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to tell you, it's already too late to set out. When the soul was removed, that emperor ordered his men to take Yinhua's body to the crematorium. By now, it's probably ashes."

This statement struck everyone like a thunderclap. No one expected the emperor to be so ruthless, showing not a shred of mercy even to his own daughter.

"How could he!?"

"No way!"

Xiya and Liqin could not accept the truth. Only Aili managed to remain barely calm. She looked at Shui Cangxuan and asked, "If there's no body, what happens to the soul?"

"If the soul is without a vessel for too long, it will simply dissipate."

Even an ocean has waves—Shui Cangxuan's normally steadied tone finally wavered.

"Then I'll use my body instead!"

Aili's tone was eerily calm. But anyone who knew her would sense she was approaching her breaking point.

"No. Your body is too different from hers. If her soul rejects it, both of you would be in danger."

"Then tell me what I should do!"

"This..."

There was no solution. To find another body in this world with 0% magical compatibility and 0% intimacy was virtually impossible.

Watching the quarrel, Zhixi sighed. She remembered her superior's instructions and found them absurd—this sort of thing really shouldn't be possible.

She spoke up, "If it's a body you want, I actually have one here—missing a soul. If you don't mind, you can give it a try."

She produced a crystal coffin from the void, whose contents were entirely visible.

Inside, the girl looked somewhat different from Yinhua, but also very similar—as if modeled after her, or perhaps Yinhua was modeled after the girl inside the coffin.

If Yinhua's hair was silvery gray, this girl's was pure silver; Yinhua had sakura-colored eyes, this one's were wine-red.

Her figure was petite, between 1.5 and 1.6 meters tall, dressed in pure white clothing, a white skirt, white stockings, and black headpiece, with skin so pale it showed no trace of blood.

She was surrounded by a profusion of flower petals, none of which even widely experienced Shui Cangxuan could recognize—they did not belong to this world but came from some far-away realm.

The girl in the coffin exuded an overwhelming sense of sanctity.

"What is this—?"

Aili had just begun to ask when Zhixi cut her off.

"Don't ask me who she is, or anything else about her—I can't tell you. I'm not qualified to know. Just see whether she's compatible with Yinhua's soul. This body is empty—no other soul in it. If it fails, at least it won't do it any harm."

"..."

Her words were met with utter silence. Xiya and Liqin had lost all sense of purpose.

Shui Cangxuan could not decide, and so she looked to Aili, who was herself hesitating, afraid to try—if it failed, how could she bear it?

There was no reason not to try—they had run out of other options.

"If that's the case, let's give it a try!"

Aili gritted her teeth and made the decision.

"That's more like it. I want to see if this is really possible,"

Zhixi remarked with visible satisfaction, showing her first smile.

"We should get started right away,"

Shui Cangxuan said as she crushed the square glass.

"Then, let's begin,"

Zhixi said as she opened the crystal coffin. Shui Cangxuan guided the soul into the girl's body.

Since there was no other soul present, Yinhua's entered smoothly and without resistance.

Time ticked on—one minute, three, five, ten, thirty, an hour—no response. In the second hour, Xiya's Spirit Companion, a priestess of the elf race, appeared.

"Niya?"

"Shh."

As Xiya was about to speak, Niya gestured for silence.

Like everyone else, she stared intently at the girl in the coffin. The body looked familiar—pure silver hair, wine-red eyes.

If you'd seen her once, you'd never forget her. She was certain she'd seen her somewhere.

At the fifth hour, night had fallen. The girl's finger twitched ever so slightly.

That movement did not escape Aili and the others' notice.

"Master, are you awake?!"

Aili knelt by the crystal coffin as the girl inside fluttered open her eyes.

"So destiny wills it...?"

Zhixi muttered in shock, as if she'd witnessed something terrifying.

The girl sat up, looking at her hands, her legs, her clothes. Her wine-red gaze swept the room.

Parting her cherry lips, she spoke softly, "Aili, Xiya, sister Liqin, Zhixi, sage."

Her voice was like the gentle chime of a spring, or rain on leaves, or the lilt of a girl's hand gliding over strings—music echoing the mountains and rivers.

Even the harshest soul would soften hearing it, and every restless heart would be soothed.

Looking closer at her features, everyone realized this body was even more beautiful than the last—like a refined version, the original inferior, this a masterpiece.

"Master!"

"Your Highness!"

"Little Yin!"

The three were so excited they wanted to gather her up in a hug, but feared something could go wrong, so no one moved.

"Everyone, it's strange... I remember... shouldn't I be..."

"Princess, I know you're confused. Please, let us explain. Every doubt you have will be answered,"

Shui Cangxuan softly reassured her.

After their explanations, Yinhua looked down at her new body.

"So, this isn't my original body anymore... I'm sorry, Aili—you must want to scold me, right? Sorry, sister Liqin, for worrying you so long. Sorry, Xiya, for making you so concerned. Thank you, sage, for your trouble. Thank you, Zhixi—I imagine you did a lot for me, too. I promise this will never happen again."

As she spoke, seeing Xiya and Liqin in tears and Aili's concerned gaze, Yinhua realized: she was not alone in this world.

She stood up and found it effortless.

She'd thought she might feel unaccustomed, but in fact, it felt perfectly natural, as if it truly was her own body.

At that moment, upon seeing the entire figure, Niya finally recalled it.

"Hello, Princess. I am Niya, Xiya's Spirit Companion, a priestess of the elf tribe."

"Hello, Niya,"

Yinhua extended her hand politely, but withdrew it when the other didn't reach out.

It wasn't that Niya wished to refuse—she simply felt unworthy to take her hand, as if it would profane her. Not even in front of the elf Goddess had she felt like this.

"In memories left by the Goddess, I have seen the original owner of this body."

"Huh?"

"What I mean is, I don't know who the original owner was, but I believe it may be connected somehow to the elves. If you can, please come back to the elf tribe with me."

"Then, what exactly was the original owner of this body?"

Aili wondered.

"I don't remember very clearly, but... perhaps... she was a god?"

Even Niya herself was not certain.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Finally, some progress...
Leave Wanhua kingdom...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】