Chapter 26: Precautions for the Magical World

Annie had informed the Goddess of his existence.

Lu Xing was not particularly worried. Although he knew nothing about the gods of this continent, his understanding and deduction led him to believe that the goddesses of this magical world were not necessarily as formidable as the Ice Fairy.

He certainly did not mean to belittle the magical world.

It was simply that the Ice Fairy was too powerful.

With one of her precious mirrors, Lu Xing could turn grass and trees into human form just by reflecting them; with a single hum, she could dispel wind and snow.

In the context of this magical world, she would be the equivalent of both the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Ice combined.

Lu Xing continued reading. The head maid stood by the bed, watching him with cold eyes.

"Mr. Lu Xing, in order to ensure you have a pleasant journey in the city of Rowensche and the Northern Territory, please read the following instructions carefully."

After addressing the matter of the Goddess, Annie had poured out a long passage in the letter about her excitement regarding going to Earth and returning, before finally starting on the magical-world version of the "notes"—which were clearly plagiarized from his own instructions.

"First, your identity is Annie—that is, me!—Annie Wiz Swinton, daughter of the Duke of Swinton in the North. The Swinton family is... Wiz is... The Swinton family has a history of one thousand years..."

Lu Xing read through two full pages before finishing the first set of instructions, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Annie, you really should learn to control your urge to express yourself and study the art of concise writing."

The head maid heard his remark.

Lu Xing picked up the third sheet and continued.

"I am very sorry, Mr. Lu Xing; I wrote a bit too much earlier. I wrote that two nights ago while my mother was by my side. I wrote so much without realizing it, so I just put it all in the envelope."

Lu Xing raised an eyebrow. Did this mean her mother knew?

He read on, and it turned out she did not.

"Instruction Two: Apart from praying to the Goddess, I have not told my parents or anyone else about Mr. Lu Xing. I thought about it all night and decided that your existence should remain a secret from others for now.

"Therefore, I must trouble you to ask others for guidance. Rest assured, I have already told everyone that if you see me acting strangely in the future, you must not make things difficult for me (a strange way to put it, but I believe you will understand, Mr. Lu Xing)."

Lu Xing nodded; this kind of phrasing was something only those who had swapped bodies would understand.

"If there is anything you don't understand about this world, you can ask my maids, or ask my father and mother, or my teachers and friends. If you are leaving the city, you can also ask my captain of the guard.

"My head maid is someone who appears cold but is actually very kind. She might be hostile toward you. If—and I mean if—she behaves that way, just stiffen your face and command her, saying: 'I, as the heir to the Duke of Swinton, command you to do such and such!' She will surely listen."

Lu Xing glanced at the maid with the emerald eyes and continued reading the letter.

"The sentence above is very serious; it is best used with caution. Or, Mr. Lu Xing, you could try another way: 'I am Annie, go do such and such.'"

Lu Xing laughed out loud again. Annie’s words were vivid and lifelike, and applying them to this cold, beautiful maid created a strange sense of irony.

Command her to do anything?

The head maid looked at the letter in his hands, sensing something, and asked in a flat tone, "What are you laughing at?"

"There wasn't a 'please' in there either."

Lu Xing uttered this non-sequitur without explanation and kept reading.

The head maid, however, understood his meaning, and her tone grew a degree colder: "If it were Miss Annie, she would say: 'My dear Catherine, hurry and bring that letter for me to see!'"

Lu Xing understood.

His tone of voice was worlds apart from Annie's. Although the timbre was the same, Annie’s tone was high-pitched and cheerful, while his was flat and direct. The head maid could detect this subtle difference.

Lu Xing continued reading on the bed, ignoring the long-legged, tall maid for the moment.

"If you need to ask my father or mother questions, or if my other elders press you with questions you don't want to answer, you can say: 'The glory of the Goddess shines upon the North,' 'I do not wish to answer your question,' or 'My dear so-and-so, please don't ask; I will answer you in a couple of days.'"

Lu Xing realized that the words Annie taught him carried the distinct tone of a noble lady—these lines were written in the language of the magical world.

But he understood Annie's true intention: with the Goddess's verification, it was a way to prove that "I, Annie, have not been possessed by an evil spirit!"

It was equivalent to the Goddess of Holy Light endorsing her, ensuring that an oddly behaving Annie wouldn't be dragged to the church for an exorcism.

"Instruction Three: Mr. Lu Xing, you do not know magic. Until you learn the principles of mana circulation, please be very careful with all magical items. You may wear any of my jewelry, just be careful not to trigger them with your mana."

"Four: Before you understand this world, it is best not to go out to inspect the territory. You can enjoy yourself within the city of Rowensche; I have quite a few friends in the city, and you can go find them to play."

Lu Xing smiled slightly. This was another idea typical of a noble young lady—why would he go find little girls to play with?

"Those are all the instructions. There are others that I was too embarrassed to write but still wanted you to know, Mr. Lu Xing. For example, I would like to ask you to go to the garden at five in the afternoon, or a bit later, to play with Phoebe. It is a pet I have raised since childhood and is very close to me."

Annie had mentioned many things, then deleted some—presumably things she had written earlier but had already taken care of herself since Lu Xing hadn't arrived yet.

These included, but were not limited to: wearing a beautiful dress to attend a lady's tea party, visiting a certain madam with her mother, praying at the church, trying on a new dress at a certain shop, and visiting poor families in the west of the city to deliver gifts, and so on.

Mixed into the daily life of a noble lady were the serious duties that a Duke's heir ought to perform.

Annie did not mention magic or lessons, presumably because she assumed he wouldn't know how, so she didn't bother.

And finally, at the very end!

In smaller handwriting, Annie made a small, shy request to Lu Xing:

"Mr. Lu Xing, you may see my body; this is unavoidable when changing clothes or cleaning. But please, I beg you, do not do anything else. The Swinton family is conservative and traditional, and I do not want to be seen as a socialite with many lovers."

"Regarding what happened on Earth last time, I apologize once again and hope for your understanding."

The letter was signed: "Annie, who has swapped souls with you and is exploring Earth."

She already knew that when Lu Xing became her, she had become him, currently situated in a school on Earth.

Lu Xing put down the letter and finally turned his gaze toward the maid waiting by the bed.

Their eyes met, as if both knew the other's secret, and a silent contest began.

Lu Xing spoke first: "Tell me your name!"

On the head maid's exquisite face, her expression was extremely cold, and her voice carried a biting chill: "Rude person, you are not Miss Annie! Who are you?!"

The maids behind her exchanged shocked glances, then turned their eyes together toward the daughter of the Duke, who sat on the soft bed, her golden hair still messy from just waking up.

The person on the bed... was not Miss Annie?