Lairin burst out laughing, as if Silei had made an especially outrageous joke.
But she soon realized that she was the only one laughing in the room—whether it was Silei or Simoya, their expressions were unnervingly calm.
Lairin's laughter and smile slowly froze. Then she looked at the others in confusion. "...Murder?"
Silei, Simoya, and Hesta all burst out laughing at once. The three of them had been amused by the change in Lairin's expression.
"What are you thinking?" Hesta patted Lairin on the shoulder. "I'm a law-abiding Quicksilver Needles. How could I possibly do something like that?"
Lairin finally let out a breath of relief.
"Back to the point," Hesta said. "Now that this account book has been delivered into our hands, we need to show some kind of response."
"Exactly," Simoya said. "They sent us such an absurd account book. If we just accept it, we really will become soft targets."
"I have an idea," Silei suddenly said.
Everyone looked at her in unison.
"Power rationing," Silei said.
That night, when Lairin and the others left Hesta's study, it was already around eleven o'clock. They had discussed many plans for the farm's future. Lairin was glad that Hesta still cared about the estate and had not simply washed her hands of it.
The night wind blew in through a window at the end of the corridor, and Lairin shivered for no apparent reason.
She and her younger sister Elie did not live in the palace. Though she often came by to visit, she still lived at the farm for the sake of her daily work.
"Do you want me to walk you out?" Silei asked.
"No need. I drove here in my pickup," Lairin said.
Silei waved to her, and Lairin did the same—but at that moment, she