12. There Will Always Be a Butterfly Flapping Its Wings
“You—”
The teacup in Celisia’s hand instantly froze and shattered into ice fragments. Icy blue frost quickly spread from beneath Celisia’s feet, and in just a moment, the terrifying cold completely enveloped the entire room.
The aura of death tangibly brushed against Mu’en’s heart.
Mu’en gritted his teeth to suppress the immediate urge to tremble.
Fortunately, fate finally sided with Mu’en for once.
Celisia suddenly staggered.
The frost, which could have instantly frozen Mu’en solid, was only a step away from him, yet it couldn’t spread any further.
“Despicable.”
Celisia’s ice-cold eyes glared at Mu’en with hatred, revealing a trace of unwillingness, but ultimately she couldn’t do anything before collapsing under the drug’s effect.
“Phew.”
As the killing intent dissipated, Mu’en could finally breathe a long sigh of relief, though lingering fear remained in his eyes.
“Truly worthy of being Celisia.”
If the drug had taken effect two or three seconds later, she might have killed him without hesitation.
“But no matter what, I still won in the end.”
Surviving the crisis, Mu’en couldn’t help but feel elated.
“Do you understand what modern workers’ underhanded tactics are like? Do you realize the value of my cross-table deception and misdirection maneuvers?”
He had indeed almost been cornered by Celisia, who was more cautious than expected, but what Celisia never imagined was that both cups of red tea were drugged!
Mu’en was gambling that Celisia would temporarily lower her guard after seeing him drink the tea first!
Fortunately, his gamble paid off.
“I should also thank the shop owner for providing such potent drugs. They really do work instantly!”
Expensive for good reason, and worth every bit of those 130,000 Emirs!
If he ever needed something similar in the future, he’d definitely patronize that shop again.
“Now for the main event.”
Looking at the unconscious and completely defenseless Celisia, Mu’en felt nervous once more.
But having come this far, there was no turning back.
…
The flames in the fireplace flickered, gradually warming the room again.
Mu’en bent down and carried Celisia to the sofa.
Why not the bed? Inviting Celisia to a room with a bed for a private conversation—even a fool would see something suspicious.
Fortunately, the sofas in the Duke’s mansion were all large enough.
“Now then, what should I do next?”
“If I remember correctly, in the original novel, Mu’en Campbell was caught by the protagonist while undressing Celisia, right?”
Mu’en glanced at the door.
In the original novel, that idiot original owner didn’t even think to lock the door while doing such a thing.
That’s why the protagonist, who had wandered here by accident, could open the door and immediately witness Mu’en Campbell’s ill intentions toward Celisia.
“Since that’s how the original plot went…”
“I’ll have to play the part completely. I’m going all in!”
Looking at the sleeping Celisia, Mu’en couldn’t help but feel his mouth go dry.
Celisia, in this moment, was at her most vulnerable. The icy aura around her had long dissipated, replaced by a faint fragrance that kept entering Mu’en’s nostrils, teasing his wavering rationality.
Celisia’s white formal dress was simple and elegant, yet it accentuated her cold beauty all the more.
“Look not upon what should not be seen, touch not what should not be touched. But under these circumstances, I truly apologize.”
Mu’en muttered apologetically, then slowly extended his somewhat trembling hand, gently lifting the lightweight Celisia, and fumbled for the zipper on the back of her dress.
His hand wouldn’t quite obey him. Mu’en groped several times before finding the zipper’s position.
Zip—
Along with the clear sound of the zipper sliding down, Mu’en’s heartbeat involuntarily quickened by several beats.
He swallowed what might have been a nonexistent gulp of saliva. His still-trembling hand grabbed the dress strap on Celisia’s fair shoulder.
Then, slowly, very slowly, he pushed it to the sides of her arms.
Her skin was smooth, reminiscent of white ribbons floating on milk.
Celisia’s impressive bust proved its function at this moment—even with both straps fallen, the dress still firmly protected the important areas.
With no other choice, Mu’en again extended his index finger to hook the front of the white dress, slowly pulling it down.
And so, a deep valley gradually appeared, the round, lustrous moon partially revealed.
Only when even the white cloud that veiled the moon was half-exposed did Mu’en reluctantly withdraw his hand.
“This… should be enough, right?”
Clothes disheveled, chest exposed—by anyone’s standards, this wasn’t the appearance of someone engaged in normal conversation.
Mu’en glanced at the tightly closed door.
The protagonist hadn’t appeared yet.
“Could it be that this isn’t enough?”
Mu’en thought for a moment, then removed his own formal attire, which weighed twenty kilograms, exposing his relatively sturdy and powerful upper body. He then placed both hands on the sofa, positioning Celisia beneath him.
Although there was no actual physical contact, this pose would appear extremely suggestive to anyone.
In a Feng Ao Tian novel, this level of suggestiveness would be enough to trigger thousands of angry comments from readers, considered a major spoiler.
If the protagonist doesn’t come to the rescue now, it would be quite discourteous!
But…
The protagonist still didn’t appear.
“Maybe the timing is off? I should wait a bit longer.”
Thinking this, Mu’en maintained this position without moving, silently waiting as time passed second by second.
Three minutes…
Ten minutes…
Half an hour!
“What the hell!”
With arms aching unbearably, Mu’en cried out in frustration:
“Protagonist, what are you doing? The female lead is lying beneath me at my mercy, come save her already!
Isn’t this enough time to do whatever you need to do?”
But despite this, the protagonist Ariel, Celisia’s supposed savior, still showed no sign of appearing.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Mu’en began to review everything he’d done today.
First, inviting Celisia to a private room—the room had to be correct, since this plan had been in Mu’en Campbell’s mind from the start, and the room was prepared long ago. There couldn’t be a discrepancy with the original novel in terms of location.
Then, drugging Celisia.
This part was definitely fine, as Celisia was currently lying beneath him.
Finally…
The only thing left was the protagonist, who, because her dress was stained by wine accidentally spilled by a clumsy maid, had gone looking for a bathroom alone. But being bad with directions, she got lost and ended up at this room, inadvertently thwarting Mu’en Campbell’s evil deed.
But why hadn’t she shown up yet? Had she gotten too lost?
Wait.
Clumsy maid?
Mu’en spotted another flaw.
The Duke’s maids were always well-trained—they could walk on tightropes holding wine glasses without issue. How could any of them be described as “clumsy”?
Not to mention the discourtesy of accidentally spilling wine on a guest! If such a thing really happened, the head maid would have to resign in disgrace!
Unless…
The maid’s “accidental” spilling of wine wasn’t due to clumsiness at all.
But because…
She was sick.
Yes, the original maid must have been sick, which would explain such a small mistake!
And where was that maid who was supposed to drive the plot forward now?
She was resting.
Resting, on Mu’en’s orders.
She wouldn’t be appearing at this banquet tonight, so she couldn’t accidentally spill wine on the protagonist’s dress.
Which meant…
The protagonist might not appear at all.