Chapter 30: Keep Going, Brother-in-Law 7

The daylight gradually faded, and candles were lit all around. One red wax candle was placed on a holder atop the table, waiting for the letter to be finished so the wax seal could be pressed.

Slan unfolded a sheet of parchment. In this world, both paper and ink were exorbitantly expensive. Since the letter was to be sent in the name of his noble house, he approached it with extreme caution. After a moment’s thought, he turned his brilliant, sapphire-blue eyes toward Xining, seeking her approval before reciting the content he had drafted.

"Respected Maria: Regarding today's events, there were many misunderstandings. Your younger sister is indeed staying as a guest; as such an honored guest, I shall naturally treat her with the utmost hospitality and ensure she is not neglected—"

"Stop, stop!" Xining frowned and cut him off immediately. It was all so stiff and formal—what kind of drivel was this?

Slan tilted his head slightly, failing to grasp the issue. "Is it written too indifferently? Should I add more honorifics?"

"Honorifics? Forget that!" Xining tapped the table with her finger. "If you write a letter like this, it’s no wonder my sister doesn't like you. I am certain that the moment she receives this, she will tear it to shreds."

A girl's mind was truly difficult to fathom. Slan had no trouble with magic, but when it came to matters involving women, he decided it was best to ask for humble advice. "Then how should it be written? Please, Miss Su Yun, enlighten me."

"It's just about needing some clothes, why drag out all that useless nonsense?" Xining cleared her throat.

Slan hurriedly picked up his quill, dipped the tip into the ink, and prepared to write.

Xining stated with blunt, booming audacity: "Maria, let me tell you, your sister is staying at my house. Send some clothes over quickly, otherwise your sister will have nothing to wear. Don't blame me if she ends up running around naked!"

The words were far too coarse. This was not a letter from a nobleman; it was the speech of a bandit. Slan sat there with his posture erect, gripping the pen, his sapphire eyes wide in shock. He couldn't bring himself to write a single word.

Xining stared back, her expression one of faux innocence. "Brother-in-law, write! Why aren't you writing?"

"Ahem… this…" Slan coughed twice, struggling to find words that would be both polite and subtle, his face flushed with embarrassment. "If this letter is sent, your sister will definitely still tear it up."

"She’ll definitely tear it up!" Xining admitted with a nod, blinking her sea-blue eyes in an entirely harmless manner. "But brother-in-law, she would have no excuse not to send the clothes, and it would leave a deep impression on her. I guarantee she’ll be so furious that she’ll arrive here before the clothes do. Then you’ll get to see each other again, won't you?"

Looking at Maria's younger sister and her innocent expression, Slan found himself unable to argue. He was rendered speechless.

Finally, he took a deep breath. "Forget the letter. I will find a way to get your clothes."

Xining continued to blink. "But it's not just clothes—there are shoes, bags, jewelry, and so on. You really should write the letter and ask my sister to pack everything and send it over."

"I will handle all of it!" Slan felt that if he wrote such a letter, Maria would not only confirm he was a villain, but also a degenerate hooligan, and she would hate him to the core. Even without the family seal and wax stamp, he lacked the face to write such a thing.

"Then thank you, brother-in-law!" Xining smiled brightly. "I’ll need to change soon. They don’t have to be new, just clean will do."

"No problem." Slan felt an inexplicable sense of relief. It was just a matter of a letter, after all.

"Hahaha!" A young man’s voice rang out. "This girl is interesting."

Who was that? Xining looked left and right, but there were only she and Slan in the room.

Slan frowned slightly, his expression shifting into one of authority. "Nightwing, do not be rude."

A small puff of white smoke rose from the floor, and a figure appeared within it.

He was a young man wearing an open-fronted mage’s robe. There were no marks on the lapels, but embroidered along the wide cuffs were golden olive branches representing the Cameo family. Underneath, he wore no black robes, but rather a black sweater, black trousers, and black leather shoes. He held a scepter topped with a gemstone; judging by his stature, he was likely a powerful mage as well.

What kind of theatrical entrance was this? Having magic was truly cool, but the girl whose body she now inhabited—born into a prestigious magical lineage—could not use magic at all. It was like being born into a family of scholars where everyone was highly educated and successful, only to be the one who couldn't read. Xining wanted to bang her head against the wall.

The man who appeared was handsome, also with blonde hair and blue eyes, but his style was entirely different from Slan’s. A cynical, lazy, and roguish air clung to him.

After appearing, he found a chair, sat down, and propped his long legs up on the table, holding his scepter upright like a walking stick. His sky-blue eyes watched her with a mocking smile, the corners of his mouth curled into an evil smirk.

Slan introduced him to Xining with a hint of awkwardness: "My younger brother, Nightwing."

"Oh, a pleasure," Xining replied simply, then turned to Slan. "I would like to return to my room to rest."

She didn't want to waste time with this secondary character. In the original owner's memories, this guy barely appeared. Today was a school holiday, but tomorrow he would return to the academy to resume his boarding studies.

Slan picked up a bell from the table and rang it a few times.

At the crisp sound, a servant waiting outside the side hall opened the door and stepped in. Slan instructed them to take Miss Su Yun back to her room. The servant nodded, retreated with practiced discipline, and gently closed the door behind them.

"So that’s what the second daughter of the Ponfard family is like. She’s far inferior to her sister." Nightwing looked like a delinquent, sitting with no posture at all. Perhaps because he couldn't inherit the Cameo family mantle, he had simply given up on himself.

Xining’s face turned cold. "The second-born is often the ugly one. You’re far inferior to your brother, too."

"Heh heh!" Nightwing gave a dry laugh. "You’re quite to my taste, though it’s a pity I heard the second daughter of the Ponfard family lacks the talent and cannot use magic."

If both parents were mages, their offspring almost always possessed magical ability. If one was a mage and the other a commoner, the odds of the child being a mage were fifty-fifty, and there was even a chance of the magical ability weakening. Yet, despite being born to two great mages, the girl in this body had no talent at all. Among the ten great magical families, she was the only one. Xining sighed for the original owner—this was a truly unlucky draw.

The brat spoke with a hint of contempt, deliberately trying to provoke her.

Xining, however, just smiled. "My sister is the one inheriting the family, so it doesn't matter whether I can use magic or not. I’m happy to be at leisure."

She was twisting the knife into the wound, hitting exactly where it hurt. Come on then, let’s hurt each other—who was afraid of whom?

Nightwing remained nonchalant, but his brow twitched.

Just then, the servant returned. Xining, fearing she hadn't annoyed the boy enough, said, "I hear you’re still studying at the magic academy. You should be heading back tomorrow, right?"

She tilted her head and greeted him with a noble flourish. "I’ll go rest now. While I wander the gardens, read books, and enjoy afternoon tea, I shall wish you well in your studies and hope you achieve great success."