Upon Her Lips - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“So what?” Mu Fei frowned slightly. She swiped her fingertips across her tablet, mentally reviewing her schedule for the coming week.

“The banquet next month, hosted by the Campbell family—the invitations have already arrived at my estate. Their flair for theatrics is as grand as ever,” Yin Silie remarked. Her gaze fell upon a gold-threaded invitation sitting on Mu Fei’s long desk, embossed with the Campbell family crest.

The wax seal was still intact. Clearly, the recipient hadn’t even bothered to look at it.

“You’re truly heartless. You won’t even open it.” Yin Silie let out a playful huff, picking up the envelope with her pale fingers and breaking the seal herself. “Oh, look—it’s handwritten by the future head of the Campbell house herself, Mu Fei.”

Mu Fei stared into the swirling depths of her black tea, offering no response.

“‘It would be my profound honor to have the presence of Grand Duke Mu Fei at our humble abode. I look forward to seeing your noble silhouette on that day. Sincerely, Campbell Ci,’” Yin Silie read the final lines aloud. She watched with amusement as Mu Fei stood up and walked over.

Mu Fei snatched the letter from her hand and, without a single glance at the contents, tossed it directly into the fireplace.

“That woman disgusts me,” Mu Fei stated, watching the envelope curl into ash with a look of pure loathing.

Yin Silie curled her lips. “If she heard you say that, she’d probably be thrilled. The Campbell family is incredibly powerful right now. They have the most contact with humans, and even the Elders are starting to feel a bit wary of them.”

“And?” Mu Fei narrowed her eyes, sensing where this was going.

“The only one capable of rivaling them is your family.” Yin Silie stopped halfway, leaving the rest unsaid. She knew Mu Fei loathed the idea of political marriages.

Rumor had it—according to Silie’s subordinates—that the Campbell elders were keen on an alliance with the Mu family for the sake of pure interest. Apparently, an invitation had been extended during the time of the previous head, Mu Fei’s father, but he had flatly rejected their “kindness.”

The aggressive Campbells, however, didn’t know the meaning of the word “restraint.”

On the surface, they maintained a polite facade, but in the territorial disputes of the past few centuries, the forces led by Mu Fei’s father and the Campbells had suffered equal casualties until the Elders intervened. Since then, the Campbells had been pushing for a union again. Mu Fei had been barely an adult the first time she met Campbell Ci—a noble of the same age who could torture human children to death without blinking.

Her father had politely declined the “gracious invitation” back then too. Yet, somehow, rumors began to circulate that the Mu family had agreed to the match. It was a joke, likely the handiwork of those old fools on the Council.

While Miss Campbell Ci was reportedly delighted, Yin Silie could see from the look on her friend’s face that Mu Fei found the whole thing utterly revolting.

“I’ve been a noble long enough; killing an ‘old fool’ isn’t that difficult,” Mu Fei said, a chilling, murderous smile playing on her lips. No one would force her hand. No one.

The room, which had grown heavy with a dark aura, was suddenly interrupted by a high-pitched, childish shriek from outside. Despite the thick glass, Mu Fei’s preternatural hearing caught it instantly.

She pulled back the curtains with a look of suspicion, but her dark expression gradually shifted into a rare look of surprise.

The Red Bi Lotus—plants that should have been in a death-like hibernation—were blooming in vibrant gold and red clusters around the girl. The vines were gently, almost tentatively, reaching out to touch the child’s hand.

By all laws of nature, the Red Bi Lotus should not wake in winter. They only bloomed gold-red when Mu Fei touched them. They loved dark creatures; they were never supposed to be intimate with humans.

“That little fool actually made them bloom… a mere human? Is it because of the winter? They seem to adore her,” Yin Silie whispered, staring down in disbelief. “If I couldn’t smell the human blood on her from here, I’d doubt she was even human. How extraordinary!”

Down in the garden, the little protagonist of the scene shrieked and yanked her hand back. This time, she was certain the flowers were moving on their own. In the human world, flowers didn’t behave like this. Trembling, she backed away, only to trip over a small divot in the snow.

She fell backward, landing with her limbs splayed out like a tiny, frozen “X” in the white snow. It was a ridiculous sight.

Mu Fei couldn’t help it; she let out a short laugh. “The little thing is so cowardly.”

Yin Silie turned her head to look at Mu Fei, her surprise turning into a realization. “I finally figured out why you’re keeping that little idiot in the manor.”

Mu Fei arched an eyebrow. “I doubt anything decent is about to come out of your mouth. Shut up.”

“No, depriving an old lady of her fun is cruel. Let me guess: she makes you laugh. I don’t think you’ve been truly happy in a very long time. That laugh just now… I haven’t heard it in ages.”

Mu Fei snorted coldly, neither confirming nor denying. “A mere human, making me happy? Ridiculous.”

“But you laughed,” Yin Silie pointed out with blunt honesty.

“As if I haven’t laughed in centuries,” Mu Fei retorted, giving her old friend a strange look.

“Your previous laughs were always laced with ice—utterly terrifying, like that old witch on Mount Emi,” Yin Silie countered. “By the way, that old crone is still spending every waking moment trying to figure out how to kill you.”

“Is she? After all these years, the vultures haven’t finished eating her stupid brain yet?” Mu Fei smiled, her tone dripping with contempt.

“Allowing her to live this long is your mercy, isn’t it?” Yin Silie looked at her, the rest of the thought left unspoken.

Though Mu Fei was cold-hearted, she wasn’t a senseless killer. The weak were beneath her notice. The feud with the witch Saga went back a hundred years to a human tribe that had been wiped out by a pureblood noble. Saga was the only survivor; the only clue left behind was a Mu family crest engraved with a Red Bi Lotus.

Mu Fei had never bothered to explain to the old woman that she wasn’t the one who had slaughtered those hundreds of people. If hatred kept the old hag alive long enough to manufacture more “interesting” toys to try and kill her, Mu Fei was content to watch.

“Mount Emi is Campbell territory. It’s not my concern,” Mu Fei replied.

“Fine. Back to the topic: can I have her? This ‘mere human’ little fool? You only picked her up on a whim, and this manor is far too cold for a child to grow up in. My little Silian needs a new… ‘toy’ of a similar age.”

Yin Silie smiled charmingly, looking at the mistress of the house with mock sincerity.

“A toy,” Mu Fei repeated the word.

“Don’t worry, Silian usually takes very good care of his play—”

“Grand Duke Yin Silie.”

“Alright, alright. I take it that’s a no. It seems this little one is quite—” Important to you.

Yin Silie caught the icy glint in Mu Fei’s eyes and wisely shut her mouth.