Upon Her Lips - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“My dear Grand Duke, I will have the most suitable gown delivered to your manor before tomorrow evening. Please, rest assured.”

Connie and her assistants finished discussing the garments with the mistress of the manor and prepared to head back to her studio. They were racing against time to deliver their perfect creation before the Campbell family’s banquet.

The Campbell family currently held a status that could arguably place them at the head of the five great noble families. Their patriarch was the most loyal follower of the Great Ruler who forever hid above the darkness. Naturally, their weight in the vampire realm was immense. Campbell Ci, the primary heir, seemed born with a natural charisma that commanded respect.

It was said that Lady Campbell Ci herself was organizing this banquet, and many considered receiving an invitation from the Campbells a supreme honor. However, rumors persisted that the charming heiress had long ago set her heart on someone—the gloomy and somewhat cold mistress of this very estate.

Connie, a genius designer famous in noble circles, had also been invited. However, having once offended the Campbell second miss by declining a commission to prioritize Mu Fei’s wardrobe, Connie decided it was safer to skip the gala. She was a celebrity now; she didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire of noble squabbles.

Lost in thought, Connie looked up as the Grand Duke stepped out of the room. Mu Fei had already changed into casual loungewear. She stood in the hall, nodding as Connie relayed the update. Mu Fei was satisfied with Connie’s craftsmanship; few tailors could withstand her fastidious demands, so she overlooked Connie’s habit of calling everyone “dear.”

Connie stole a glance at Mu Fei’s silhouette. As a designer, her eyes were sharp—a millimeter off and a physique was ruined. Yet Mu Fei, her most demanding client of several centuries, was the most perfect canvas she had ever seen. That was why Connie endured the Lady’s freezing temperament. Conversations with Mu Fei were always conducted at sub-zero temperatures—monotone, chilling, and impossible to banter with. For a talkative tailor, it was terribly dull.

Today, however, there was a novelty: a human child in the manor. It was unbelievable, but manor rules dictated silence regarding a guest’s secrets. Connie suppressed her curiosity.

Feeling the tailor’s inquisitive gaze, Mu Fei offered a cold “invitation.”

“Since you are so curious, would you like to stay for dinner, my dear master tailor?”

Connie immediately looked away, waving her hands in a cold sweat. “No, no, the Grand Duke jokes. I must get back to work!”

Mu Fei stopped teasing her, but just before the tailor left, she couldn’t help but speak up.

“You should have ready-made suits for a twelve-year-old girl.”

Connie froze, her expression shifting to one of sheer disbelief. She had dressed all sorts of eccentric clients, but this—

“The twelve-year-old girl… do you mean the one from just now?”

Mu Fei remained cold and gave no direct answer.

Caught her, Connie thought. Still, she was puzzled. Her studio dealt in high-end evening wear. While she had children’s sizes for noble purebloods, she wondered who this plain-looking girl could possibly be.

“I’ve dressed many noble children, Grand Duke. I have many styles,” Connie replied with a smile.

Mu Fei nodded, satisfied. “Bring her clothes along with mine.”

“Oh… yes, of course.” Connie glanced at the girl standing respectfully a few meters away. The child was so frail; she didn’t look twelve at all. “If I may ask… the style and the occasion?”

Mu Fei arched an eyebrow. Beside her, Daolei began to piece together his master’s plan, though he found it hard to believe.

“Simple. A formal occasion.”

My God, Connie thought, is she taking a human to a pureblood gathering? That’s dangerously exciting.

Mu Fei walked up to Connie, looking directly into the eyes of the woman who wore layers of powder and loved to pry. She reached out and smoothed a slight wrinkle on Connie’s patterned collar.

“I would hate for the world to lose such a great tailor, Ms. Connie,” Mu Fei whispered.

Connie felt her pulse throb at her temples from the sheer pressure of that gaze. Sensing the threat beneath the touch on her neck, she immediately stepped back, grabbed her assistant, and scrambled into her car.

“Dear Grand Duke! I will deliver perfection! No need to see me out—!!” The car tore away from the Mu estate at high speed.

“Hmph. That woman never knows the meaning of ‘restraint’.” Mu Fei took a silk cloth from Daolei to wipe her hands. She glanced at the “little thing” waiting by the door. Wuming had claimed You Ran’s head again, nesting in her hair. It seemed the raven liked her.

“Master,” Daolei began after a long silence.

Mu Fei looked at him.

“The suit for Ms. Connie… are you really planning to—”

Mu Fei placed a fingertip a millimeter from the man’s lips, signaling silence. “Daolei, how are you any different from Connie?”

“Fine, Master. I’ll be quiet.” Daolei rolled his eyes internally. His mistress wouldn’t even tell her loyal butler the full story, yet she’d surely expect him to carry out the orders later.

…

The Kitchen and the Butcher

Mu Fei decided to stay at the manor for a few days. Despite being a centuries-old noble who disliked crowds, she enjoyed the quiet when she wasn’t traveling for business. She assigned Daolei to handle the estate’s industrial affairs in her stead.

Daolei, wanting to spend his “senior years” in peace at the manor rather than the cutthroat business world, tried to negotiate.

“Master, I am happy to manage the industries, but my kind heart is worried. Han Sheng’s teaching methods are too cruel for a child. Furthermore, a butcher can only teach her scraps. I believe the little one needs… intellectual nourishment.”

Mu Fei smiled. “Rare of you to care. She shouldn’t be too stupid if she’s to work by my side. But I need someone reliable.”

Daolei puffed out his chest. Before becoming a butler, he was a genius with a double-doctorate in Sociology from Alga University. He was a high-paid intellectual who somehow ended up as the Mu family’s most overworked servant.

“Ah, I forgot Mr. Daolei is a brilliant doctor of sociology,” Mu Fei praised.

“So, if you find my suggestion reasonable, I could take You Ran to the headquarters when I go… teach her some knowledge. Han Sheng doesn’t know his own strength.”

Mu Fei narrowed her eyes and rejected him instantly. “There’s no need for her to understand the family business yet. As for other knowledge, why can’t you teach her here?”

Just say you want the little mascot to stay with you while you rest, Daolei thought. “Ah, I overstepped.”

“Don’t be too concerned about a human child, Daolei,” Mu Fei said coldly as they walked back inside.

As they passed the door, You Ran bowed her head in greeting. Seeing snow on the girl’s shoulders, Mu Fei frowned. “There’s nothing for you here. Go find Han Sheng,” she ordered.

Instead of being happy to escape the cold, You Ran looked disappointed. “Ye… yes, Lady.”

She waited until they were gone before trudging through the snow to the kitchen. As she pulled back the curtain, a blood-stained deboning knife flew toward her face.

You Ran’s eyes went wide. Her training kicked in, and she dodged it by a hair’s breadth, losing only a few strands of hair.

“Tea… Teacher!” she screamed.

Han Sheng didn’t even look up from the Ao-Wolf carcass. “Remember, being distracted will get you killed. No matter what the distraction is.”

He looked at her, his face covered in blood like a demon from hell. “What’s wrong? Did Mu Fei scold you? You look pathetic.”

You Ran shook her head. She put on her apron and stepped into the “slaughterhouse” of the kitchen. Surprisingly, the blood and gore didn’t make her nauseous anymore.

“Hold this hind leg,” Han Sheng commanded.

You Ran stepped through the bloody water and gripped the slick flesh. With one stroke, Han Sheng severed the bone. “Speak. Why are you so wilted?”

He patted her head with a bloody hand. He wasn’t one for hygiene. You Ran didn’t mind the mess; she just helped him move the limbs. “It’s… he… here. It hurts,” she whispered, pointing to her heart.

“Why?”

You Ran felt embarrassed. She thought of the scene in the hall—Ms. Connie touching the Lady’s shoulders, helping her in and out of her gown. She didn’t understand this strange new emotion.

“There was… someone… in the room. Helping the Lady… with her clothes.”

Han Sheng paused. “So? Connie was fitting the gown for the Campbell banquet. What’s the problem?”

You Ran blurted out, “She! She even took… took the Lady’s clothes off…”

Han Sheng stared, then a wide grin split his bloody face. “And you think she shouldn’t have? Or is it…” He leaned in. “Is it that you want to be the one doing it instead?”

You Ran gripped the wolf meat, her face burning. She wanted to replace her? No, it was just—

I don’t want the Lady to be touched by anyone else. If someone must do those things, it should be me.

Terrified by the possessive thought, she bowed her head. “I… I’m sorry, Teacher.”

Han Sheng laughed and ruffled her hair. “Don’t be embarrassed, brat. You’re just experiencing your first crush.”