“You—”
The teacup in Celicia’s hand instantly turned into ice shards and exploded. An eerie blue frost spread rapidly from her feet, and in an instant, a terrifying chill completely enveloped the room.
The aura of death truly brushed against Mu’en’s heart.
Mu’en gritted his teeth, barely suppressing the urge to immediately kneel and beg for mercy.
Fortunately, for once, luck was on Mu’en’s side.
Celicia suddenly staggered.
The frost, which could have frozen Mu’en into a popsicle in an instant, was now just a step away from him but could not advance any further.
“Despicable.”
Celicia’s icy eyes glared at Mu’en with a hint of resentment and unwillingness. But in the end, she couldn’t do anything more. Under the effects of the drug, she collapsed to the ground.
“Phew.”
The murderous intent dissipated, and Mu’en finally let out a long sigh of relief, though a trace of lingering fear still remained in his eyes.
“As expected of Celicia.”
If the drug had taken effect just two or three seconds later, she might have killed him without hesitation.
“But no matter what, in the end, I won!”
The joy of surviving a near-death experience instantly surged into Mu’en’s brain, making him unable to resist looking up and laughing heartily.
“Do you even understand what it means to be a modern worker’s cunning? Do you know the sheer brilliance of my sneaky, underhanded move, perfected through countless nights of drinking?!”
Indeed, he had almost been pushed to the brink by Celicia, who was more cautious than he had imagined. But what Celicia never expected was that both cups of black tea had been drugged!
Mu’en had gambled, betting that Celicia would let her guard down after seeing him drink the tea first.
Fortunately, he won the bet.
“I should also thank the shopkeeper for the potent drug—it really works on contact!”
Expensive things have their reasons for being expensive. It’s no wonder the stuff cost a whopping 130,000 Emiles!
Next time I have any needs, I’ll definitely go back to support the shopkeeper’s business.
“Now, it’s time for the main event.”
Looking at Celicia, who was unconscious and completely defenseless, Mu’en couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous again.
But at this point, there was no turning back. The arrow had been fired, and there was no way to retreat.
…
The flames in the fireplace flickered, and the room gradually regained its warmth.
Mu’en bent down and carried Celicia to the sofa.
Why not the bed, you ask? Inviting Celicia to a room with a bed would have made even a fool suspicious.
Luckily, the Duke’s Mansion had plenty of large sofas.
“So, what should I do next?”
“If I recall correctly, in the original story, Mu’en Campbell was caught by the protagonist while trying to undress Celicia.”
Mu’en glanced at the door.
In the original story, that idiot didn’t even think to lock the door while doing such things.
That’s why the protagonist, who stumbled upon the scene by accident, could just open the door and catch Mu’en Campbell in the act of trying to take advantage of Celicia.
“Since that’s how the original plot went…”
“If you’re going to act, you might as well go all out. I’m going for it!”
Gazing at the sleeping Celicia, Mu’en couldn’t help but feel his mouth go dry.
This might be the most vulnerable Celicia had ever been. The icy aura that usually surrounded her had completely dissipated, replaced by a faint, enticing fragrance that kept wafting into Mu’en’s nostrils, teasing his already wavering resolve.
Celicia’s white dress was simple and elegant, but it only served to highlight her cold beauty.
“Forgive me for looking, forgive me for touching, but I have no choice. I deeply apologize.”
Mu’en muttered a few apologies under his breath, then slowly extended his trembling hands. He gently lifted Celicia’s light body and began feeling for the zipper at the back of her dress.
His hands weren’t cooperating. It took him several tries before he finally found the zipper.
Ziip—
With the clear sound of the zipper sliding down, Mu’en’s heart couldn’t help but skip several beats.
He swallowed a mouthful of what was probably nonexistent saliva. His still-trembling hands grabbed the straps of Celicia’s dress on her fair shoulders.
Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he slid the straps down to her arms.
Her skin was smooth, reminiscent of a white ribbon floating on milk.
And Celicia’s impressive bust came into play. Even with both straps completely slipped off, the dress still stubbornly clung to the more crucial areas.
Helpless, Mu’en could only extend his index finger again, hook the front of the white dress, and slowly pull it downward.
Thus, a deep valley gradually appeared, and a round, luminous moon began to peek through.
It wasn’t until the similarly white clouds veiling the moon were half exposed that Mu’en reluctantly withdrew his hand.
“This… should be enough, right?”
Her clothes disheveled and her chest exposed, it definitely didn’t look like a normal conversation.
Mu’en glanced at the still-closed door.
The protagonist hadn’t appeared yet.
“Maybe it’s not enough?”
Mu’en thought for a moment, then took off his own twenty-kilogram men’s suit, revealing his fairly sturdy upper body. He then placed his hands on the sofa, leaning over Celicia, who lay beneath him.
Although there was no actual physical contact, this position would look extremely suggestive to anyone who saw it.
In a typical overpowered-female protagonist novel, this level of suggestiveness would already be enough to make readers flood the comment section with thousands of angry posts—it’d be considered a major scandal.
Not coming to rescue her now would just be downright rude!
But…
The protagonist still hadn’t appeared.
“Maybe the timing’s off? Should I wait longer?”
Thinking this, Mu’en maintained his position, quietly waiting as time ticked by.
Three minutes…
Ten minutes…
Half an hour!
“What the hell!”
Mu’en, whose arms were now aching unbearably, broke down.
“Protagonist, what the heck are you doing? The heroine is lying right beneath me, completely at my mercy! Hurry up and come save her!
With this much time, I could’ve done anything!”
But even then, Ariel, Celicia’s savior, showed no signs of appearing.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Mu’en began to review his actions today.
First, inviting Celicia to the room alone. The room couldn’t be wrong, because this plan had long been in Mu’en Campbell’s mind, and the room had been prepared in advance. There was no way it didn’t match the original story’s setting.
Then, there was drugging Celicia.
That part definitely worked, because Celicia was currently lying beneath him.
Lastly…
There was only one thing left: the protagonist, who, after her dress was stained by spilled wine from a clumsy maid, ran off to find a restroom alone. But because she was bad with directions, she got lost, stumbled into this room, and accidentally thwarted Mu’en Campbell’s evil plans.
So, why hadn’t she shown up yet? Did she get lost beyond recovery?
Wait.
Clumsy maid?
Mu’en once again noticed something amiss.
The Duke’s Mansion’s maids were always well-trained, capable of walking a tightrope with a wine glass in hand. How could they be associated with the word “clumsy”?
And spilling wine on a guest? Such a rude mistake would require the head maid to resign in disgrace!
Unless…
The maid didn’t spill the wine because she was clumsy.
But because…
She was sick.
Yes, the original maid might have made such a small mistake because she was unwell.
And where was that maid, who was supposed to push the plot forward?
She was resting.
On Mu’en’s orders, resting.
She wouldn’t be appearing at tonight’s banquet, nor would she accidentally spill wine on the protagonist’s dress.
Which means…
The protagonist might not show up after all.
