A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 35

Only then did Tilia feel the sweat-soaked chill down her back. Her heart had been pounding so fast out of fear that George might actually go to their father. Even now, her ribs ached.

‘At least it worked out.’

Tilia murmured to herself, placing a hand near her side. She had managed to pull out a convincing excuse quickly, and George was too dumb to see through it.

‘I won’t bring any official documents home again.’

Tilia finally calmed herself down, shuffling over to sit on her bed.

Though she had managed to get out of the situation by acting, there was a clear reason she had accepted George’s request. When the day came for her to attend the interview, she needed George—who might notice something—to be far away under the guise of a favor.

Even if he was an idiot, like today, he could always pull an unexpected stunt. She needed insurance for that possibility.

‘And I had to instill some fear in him so he’d never come into my room again.’

Letting out a small sigh, Tilia buried her face in her hands.

‘Brad Reynolds…’

She had heard the name before. He was definitely one of the group she’d seen at the bookstore.

‘Looks like they’ve finally decided to trade their sisters.’

She was certain he was no better than George.

Not that it mattered much—Tilia wasn’t exactly a virtuous person herself.

With a plan forming in her mind, a cold smile played on her lips.

***

The Ambrose family’s carriage came to a gentle stop at a place familiar to Tilia.

It was the same bookstore she had visited just three days prior to buy books.

“Meeting at the bookstore?”

“As if,” George’s smug voice came before she could even pretend not to know. “Underneath this bookstore is the most popular private room social club these days! You wouldn’t know anything about that, country bumpkin.”

Where did he even get the money to frequent a place like that?

Tilia stared at her brother, who shamelessly exploited the family’s wealth, and asked for confirmation.

“Are you coming along too?”

“Of course not, it’s just you two! I need to go meet Brianna… Ahem, anyway, it’s just the two of you!”

“……”

Good. It was actually better that way—it would make cleaning up afterward much easier.

“Alright. See you later.”

“Yeah! Don’t worry even if it’s late; I’ll cover for you!”

Leaving behind her overly enthusiastic brother, Tilia got off the carriage.

“Are you Lady Ambrose?”

As soon as she stepped down, a servant in a well-tailored tuxedo approached her, as if he’d been waiting.

“Yes.”

Tilia answered softly, with a gentle smile.

“I heard a gentleman was waiting for me?”

***

Drip. A drop of dark red liquid fell into the clear glass. Though it was denser than tea, it mixed easily with the existing brew.

Hehe. Brad Reynolds capped the bottle of concentrated holy water, his face twisted into a crooked grin.

They said even a single drop had a powerful effect, so there was no way she wouldn’t go into heat.

I wonder how beautiful she really is.

Sitting with both hands wedged between his legs, Brad imagined Tilia Ambrose, whom everyone said was so pretty. Since George wasn’t bad-looking himself, she must be quite lovely.

‘Idiot.’

Thinking of George, Brad’s face twisted with a sneer.

The guy seemed to firmly believe that if he introduced Tilia, Brad would, in turn, introduce his sister to him.

‘As if, you fool.’

No matter how low he might stoop, Brad wasn’t scum enough to pawn off his sister like George was. Besides, his sister wasn’t someone who could be treated as lightly as Lady Ambrose.

If he brought Brianna to a place like this and let her get involved with trash like George, their father would never forgive him.

‘Tilia’s different; she can handle a bit of rough play.’

Brad nodded to himself, fiddling with the bottle of holy water in his pocket.

‘It’s guaranteed to work, but just in case…’

After a brief hesitation, he pulled out the bottle and uncorked it again. He added another drop to the teacup.

‘Or maybe… Lady Ambrose might put up more resistance than expected.’

Pretending to hesitate, he added another drop. Then, another excuse, and another drop…

Only after the bottle was half empty did he stop, satisfied, and corked it. This should do it. There was a high chance she’d simply pass out, but that would work as well.

He stirred the tea thoroughly, checking to make sure it was well mixed, and then looked eagerly at the door, waiting for the lady to enter.

‘Is this her first time? It must be, right?’

It wasn’t long before the door finally opened.

A woman stepped in, like something out of a painting.

Tilia Ambrose was as beautiful as expected—no, even more beautiful.

There was a reason his friends had all said the same thing.

Lady Ambrose, with her jet-black hair and bright green eyes, was the kind of beauty who could leave anyone speechless if they encountered her on the street.

She did seem a bit aloof, but even that added to her charm.

“…Pleased to meet you. I’m Brad Reynolds.”

Momentarily stunned by her beauty, Brad stood up belatedly.

“I’m afraid I have a condition where I can’t quite function properly in front of someone so beautiful… My apologies. Please, take a seat here.”

Ignoring his pounding heart, Brad pretended to be polite, guiding her to the seat across from him.

Wow. I’m really going to sleep with a woman like this tonight.

Brad’s excitement wasn’t just in his chest. He watched Tilia, who took her seat with a haughty demeanor, his lower half feeling uncomfortably tight.

“Thank you for accepting my sudden invitation. I happened to see you from afar, Miss Tilia, and fell for you at first sight… But even though I know this is rude, I can’t regret it at all.”

Tilia glanced at him, then lowered her gaze to the teacup set before her—the very one that held the tea she had to drink to achieve her goal.

This was her chance.

“George mentioned you were quite fond of Earl Grey tea.”

Without a hint of shame, Brad lied as he gestured toward the teacup in front of Tilia.

“Hearing that, I specially arranged for some young tea leaves from the Eastern Continent. I hope you like it.”

“……”

But Tilia remained silent, simply staring down at the teacup without moving.

Why isn’t she drinking it?

‘Could she have noticed something?’

Brad anxiously watched her, waiting for her to act.

“Um.”

For the first time since entering the room, Tilia spoke.

“Before that, could we close the curtain?”

Tilia gave Brad an alluring smile as he stared at her, puzzled.

“The curtain on the door window. I sneaked out without my father’s permission, and I’m scared someone might see.”

“Ah, of course!”

Finally understanding, Brad awkwardly stood up and moved toward the door.

Right, no one else should see what happens in here. Especially with all the shady people in this place!

Brad generously closed the curtain and returned to his seat, sitting down with vigor.

Tilia was already holding the teacup.

Brad’s murky eyes followed her movement.

The teacup moved achingly slowly in her hand, until it finally touched her red lips.

At last, she swallowed, her throat bobbing.

‘Got her!’

Brad cheered inwardly as he watched her drink.

Tilia cupped the teacup in her hands and smiled at Brad.

“It tastes wonderful.”

“Does it?”

“Try it yourself. It’d be a shame for me to enjoy it alone.”

Parched already, Brad quickly grabbed the teacup and took a large gulp. With the rare beauty’s smile accompanying it, the tea tasted sweeter than usual.

‘She’s too good for just one night.’

Feeling wistful already, Brad allowed himself a brief vision of a future with her.

‘She might not make for a wife, but wouldn’t she be perfect as a mistress?’

It seemed she was taken with him as well—her frequent smiles directed his way suggested as much. Brad met her gaze with subtle intensity, quenching his ever-drying throat with the tea.

‘Damn, she’s gorgeous. But when is the drug going to kick in? I put in a lot of concentrate, so she should collapse soon…’

Wait.

Then why… is Miss Tilia swaying?

The thought didn’t last long. As soon as the question formed, darkness began to creep in around his vision.

The blackout happened in an instant.

And soon enough…

Thud.

The heavy sound of his body hitting the floor echoed throughout the room.