The Heroic Master Is Tough-Talking but Soft-Hearted: The Aloof Major General Has Fallen - Chapter 33

“Where is Asher now?”

The sudden voice startled the several bugs, who were already feeling guilty. One female bug looked back and saw the very High Lord of the bug they had just been discussing.

“L-Lord Cen Li.”

The legs of several female bugs trembled. Why was Cen Li here? This was the kitchen! Why would a male bug ever step foot in here?

“Who gave Asher alcohol?”

“This, well,” the female bug at the front forced a smile, trying to play it off. “No one gave the Major General alcohol. You must have misheard, My Lord.”

Cen Li glanced at him coldly. “I am not so deaf that I can’t hear. You had better weigh the consequences and tell the truth. Otherwise, I won’t spare a single one of you today!”

The bugs exchanged glances, their eyes filled with terror. The Duke’s intention in holding this banquet was clear; the heir was most likely going to be Lord Cen Li. They did not dare cross the future master of the Duke’s Palatial Residence.

Closing his eyes, the female bug did not dare to fool the male bug any longer. “It was Lord Mikhail.”

That bug again. Cen Li’s eyes darkened. He asked again, “Where is Asher now?”

The female bug said cautiously, “We truly do not know that. Lord Mikhail only ordered us to make sure the Major General was found.”

Realizing he could not get anything more out of them, Cen Li turned and left. It seemed that Asher’s absence from the banquet hall definitely had everything to do with Mikhail.

Following the system’s guidance, Cen Li went upstairs and spotted a familiar figure. Mikhail was pushing open doors one by one, peeking inside as if searching for something. Intuition told Cen Li that he was looking for Asher. He felt a slight sense of relief; at least Asher was safe for now.

“What are you doing here, acting so suspiciously?”

Mikhail turned around to find it was Cen Li. Reflexively, he shut the door he had just cracked open. He looked at the newcomer warily. “I drank a bit too much and felt dizzy, so I am looking for a room to rest in.”

Cen Li sneered, his gaze sweeping over Mikhail for a moment before finally landing on the door behind him. “You are not going to your own room to rest? Why are you pushing the door to my room?”

Mikhail lowered his hand from the doorknob, his smile not reaching his eyes. “Didn’t I say I was dizzy? I just took a wrong turn.”

Damn it, why did Cen Li suddenly appear here?

Cen Li chuckled. “Then keep your eyes wider next time. Someone might think you were going into my room to steal something.”

“Brother, you must be joking. Why would I steal your things?”

While Mikhail smiled on the outside, he was gritting his teeth internally. His father was the Duke; how could he possibly steal? Cen Li’s words were a blatant insult!

Suddenly, a dull thud came from inside the room, the sound of something falling over. Mikhail turned his head toward the closed door, his expression darkening. The target was hiding in here. Just a little more, and he could have.

Hearing the noise, Cen Li’s eyes flickered.

“It seems someone really did go into Brother’s room to steal something,” Mikhail said, his hand returning to the doorknob as if to push it open. “I want to see exactly who this little thief is, daring to steal in the Duke’s Palatial Residence.”

With a click, the door was pushed open just a crack. Most of the room’s interior became visible. Cen Li grabbed Mikhail’s wrist, stopping him from moving further, and peeled his fingers off the handle one by one. “Don’t trouble yourself.”

“It is just a little pet I am raising. He is being naughty again.”

Mikhail was pushed aside, watching helplessly as Cen Li opened the door and stepped inside. Just as he tried to peer in, the door shut with a loud bang, nearly hitting Mikhail’s nose. Mikhail stared gloomily at the tightly shut door.

On the other side of the wall.

“H-High Lord,” Asher heard the movement outside and his body shuddered. He tried to find a place to hide in a panic. However, before he could push open the inner bathroom door, the bedroom door opened.

He saw it was his High Lord. The clothes he was clutching fell to the floor with a soft thud. Asher looked at Cen Li, who was walking toward him, with panic and helplessness.

“I am sorry, High Lord. I,” Asher’s eyes were misty with moisture as the symptoms in his body gradually worsened. He looked at the expressionless Cen Li approaching him, a trace of helplessness flashing in his amber, crystal-clear eyes.

There were far too many reasons for his High Lord to punish him. He should not have sneaked into the High Lord’s room, he should not have taken the High Lord’s clothes, and he certainly should not have let the High Lord see him in his current state of heat.

Asher wished he could curl his toes into the floorboards.

A few minutes ago, leaning against the back of the door, Asher had heard intermittent voices. One voice was very loud; he immediately recognized it as Mikhail’s. Asher’s first thought was that the other party had found him so quickly. Although he had locked the door, it would not be difficult for Mikhail to get a key.

Sure enough, the door had been pushed.

Though he was not sure exactly what happened outside, he was relieved that the bug who entered was not Mikhail, but Cen Li. At least his High Lord would not resort to such despicable methods.

Asher vaguely recalled the voices outside and explained hurriedly, “High Lord, I am not a thief. I did not steal your things.”

Upon entering, Cen Li saw the panicked female bug looking at him in fear, though the bug soon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Yet, the moment he had stepped in, he had clearly seen Asher sniffing his clothes.

Cen Li walked up to the female bug and frowned at Asher’s flushed face. “Not a thief? Then did you not steal my clothes?”

Asher’s clouded brain jolted. Had he not just contradicted himself?

“S-sorry, High Lord. I only took this because I was feeling so terrible. I did not touch anything else.”

Asher’s consciousness was muddled, but he instinctively did not want to make his High Lord angry. He accidentally spoke too much, his words becoming incoherent and his logic scrambled.

A cold hand touched Asher’s burning forehead.

“Don’t, me.”

A wave of numbness shot up Asher’s spine. He tilted his head to avoid the touch, only to feel his legs go weak, his knees buckling involuntarily. He propped his hand against the wall to barely maintain his balance.

In that split second, the pheromones lingering on his High Lord’s fingertips surged into his pores. It made Asher tremble all over. He forced himself to suppress the rising desire in his heart, terrified that he might do something out of line.

Asher’s body temperature was unnaturally high; the situation was even more severe than last time.

“Were you drugged?”

Asher bit his lip and nodded. His usual expressionless face was gone, replaced by a lingering, seductive red flush in the center of his cheeks. With one look, Cen Li knew this was not normal drunkenness.

Cen Li frowned. “You dared to drink the wine he handed you?”

Both bugs knew exactly who he was.

The male bug’s displeased questioning caused a rare surge of grievance in Asher’s heart during this sensitive period. “I did not want to, but he is a male bug.”

In the Bug Race, male bugs could act as they pleased, while female bugs could only be oppressed. Only when pushed to the limit would a female bug offer a tiny, negligible resistance.

Indeed, if a precious male bug made a request, no matter how difficult, a female bug had no choice but to obey. Not to mention that in the eyes of everyone, Asher was merely a female concubine who was not favored by his High Lord. It seemed as though any bug could trample over him.

This realization made Cen Li feel inexplicably frustrated. “I am your High Lord. You only need to listen to me.”

He could only say that much; anything more and he would be reminded by the system.

Asher’s light-colored eyes were clouded with moisture from the heat. He offered a small rebuttal. “Listening is useless anyway.”

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