LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 33
Chapter 33, A Sense of Familiarity
“Ah, still so delicious.”
Mu En sat at the dining table, which was only occupied by him, elegantly handling his knife and fork, enjoying today’s dinner.
The chef of the duke’s residence still maintained his standards, providing him with an exquisite taste experience.
“Since you find it delicious, Master, you shouldn’t forget to eat.”
An stood behind Mu En, unable to hold back her complaints.
“If the lord or lady finds out, I will be punished.”
“Sorry, An.”
Mu En smiled apologetically, “I will pay more attention in the future.”
“This kind of thing shouldn’t just be said.”
An leaned down and placed a crystal goblet in front of Mu En.
“Would you like to have a little? This is a rare red wine sent by Count Locke. It is said that his vineyard produces only a hundred bottles of this wine a year, a treasure he himself is reluctant to drink, and it has already been inflated to a sky-high price of two hundred thousand Amir per bottle on the market.”
“I…”
Mu En wanted to agree; after all, it was a fine wine he could not afford in his past life, so he naturally wanted to try it.
But when he thought about the tasks he still had to complete after dinner, he realized that drinking would not be conducive to memory. Mu En still suppressed this desire and chose to refuse.
“Forget it, I won’t drink.”
An’s hand holding the wine bottle stiffened.
“…Then what would the young master like to drink?”
“Coffee, I suppose.”
Coffee is refreshing.
Although it doesn’t quite match dinner, Mu En didn’t want to bring a beverage into the library, where every book was precious.
“…Coffee.”
“Is something wrong?”
Mu En noticed that An seemed a bit off; she wasn’t as quick and nimble in fulfilling his request as usual.
“Sorry, Young Master Mu En, for some reason, your drink options tonight are only red wine or black tea.”
“Hmm?”
He felt like he had heard this somewhere before.
However, Mu En didn’t think much of it and instinctively asked:
“Why?”
“Because of a certain maid’s oversight, the bag containing the coffee beans was chewed through by a mouse, and quite a bit of the coffee inside was eaten by the mouse.”
An replied, “I believe Young Master Mu En wouldn’t want to drink coffee that has been nibbled on by a mouse.”
“…Indeed, I wouldn’t.”
Mu En nodded:
“Then let’s go with black tea.”
If we’re talking about refreshing, tea works just as well.
“Understood.”
An slightly bowed and prepared to leave to brew the tea.
“Wait.”
Mu En suddenly called out to her, puzzled:
“An, are you going to brew it yourself?”
“Hmm? Young Master, am I not a maid?”
“But you are already the head maid; brewing tea is such a trivial matter…”
“Even though I am already the head maid, I am still the young master’s personal maid, so naturally, I should handle brewing tea myself.”
“Is that so…”
Mu En frowned slightly.
“Then you go.”
“Alright, young master.” An nodded, “I’ll take my leave now.”
“…”
Watching An’s departing figure, Mu En couldn’t help but pinch his chin, murmuring in confusion:
“Something feels off, as if it’s filled with a sense of déjà vu.”
But he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange.
“Maybe I’m just too tired.”
Mu En chuckled self-deprecatingly: “How could An possibly do anything against me?”
…
Before long, An brought over the black tea.
Just in time, Mu En had finished his meal and was wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“Thank you.”
Mu En took the black tea, preparing to take a small sip first.
But as he raised the teacup, Mu En paused.
He looked down at the black tea, then up at An’s expressionless face, unable to resist saying.
“An.”
“Yes, does the young master have any other matters?”
“This black tea is so red.”
“But isn’t black tea supposed to be red?”
“Yet the black tea I’ve had before was always a light red; yours is bright red.”
“Perhaps it’s due to the different tea leaves.”
An explained:
“Just like the oranges from the North Dun’er region compared to those from the South Xi Ling region, although the latter are smaller, they are sweeter. The color of black tea from different regions may also have subtle differences.”
“…Then.”
Mu En handed the teacup back, staring into An’s eyes as he said:
“Why don’t you drink first?”
“…”
An looked at the teacup, remaining silent.
She still wore an expressionless face; if it weren’t for the faint floral scent that Mu En could distinctly sense from her proximity, he might have thought that the person standing before him was not a living being, but a statue.
After a moment of silence, An took the teacup.
“Are you doubting me, Young Master?”
“No, I just think you’ve been busy all day, and you should take a break with a cup of tea.”
“You are so gentle, Young Master.”
An slowly brought the teacup to her lips.
Mu En continued to stare at her intently, not letting go of any strange movements she made.
Until she completely finished the tea.
“Sigh.”
But in the end, An did not drink it.
Instead, she suddenly sighed and softly said:
“When did you become so vigilant, Young Master?”
“There’s definitely something wrong!”
Mu En jumped up from his chair, hands on his hips, sneering:
“You put something in the black tea, didn’t you? Hmph, thinking you could trick me with such an old ploy, how naive!”
“Old ploy?”
An tilted her head:
“That is to say, have you used the same trick on anyone else, Young Master?”
“Ahem, ahem, that’s not important.”
Mu En cleared his throat a couple of times, then his expression immediately became serious, his gaze fixed on An in front of him.
“The important thing is, why did you drug me, and why did you betray me, An?”
An was Mu En’s personal maid.
She had been with him since he was eight years old.
Whether in the original story or now, An should be the most loyal person to Mu En.
So Mu En couldn’t understand, what reason could such a person have to betray him.
“I have never betrayed you, Young Master.”
An lowered her head, staring at the teacup. Through the reflection in the tea, she gazed at her own eyes, which, even if the truth were revealed, showed no excessive ripples.
But only she knew that beneath those calm eyes was a darkness and desire she could no longer suppress, surging wildly.
Surging, surging, and ultimately overflowing.
“I just want to bring everything back on track.”
“On track?”
Mu En frowned, somewhat unable to comprehend An’s words.
“I don’t care what your intentions are, but since it has already failed, then…”
“Failed?”
An suddenly lifted her head, smiling as she said:
“Why does the young master think so?”
“Eh?”
Mu En was taken aback.
Not only because of An’s words, but also because on her dignified face, there was a slightly sinister expression that Mu En had never seen before.
She was indeed smiling, but behind her deep black eyes, it seemed as if some monster was breaking free, casting a greedy gaze at Mu En like a dragon spotting a gem.
“Crack.”
The crisp sound pulled Mu En’s consciousness back to reality.
Mu En couldn’t help but widen his eyes in astonishment, for he saw An, with her delicate, fair, almost boneless hands—hands that had only ever tidied up his room, organized his clothes, and served tea, but had never held a weapon—suddenly crush the teacup into shards.
Oh no, fragments.
Because Mu En saw the crystalline powder flowing out from between An’s fingers, mixed with the tea.
“This is all your doing, young master~”
An stepped closer to Mu En, one step at a time.
“Not good.”
Watching this scene, a chill surged from the soles of Mu En’s feet straight to his head.
Is this the grip a maid should have?
But before Mu En could even muster a shout in his heart, he suddenly heard something slicing through the air.
From behind his head.
Then Mu En’s vision went dark, and he instantly lost consciousness.