Chapter 16: Dead End!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: Dead End!
“Do you have any last words, Muen Campbell?”
At this moment, just as Ariel had suspected, Celicia was pinning Muen firmly beneath her.
The "ravaging" was over.
After a fierce struggle of indeterminate length, the two had fought their way from the sofa to the floor, even knocking over the tea table and shattering the teacups, leaving the wool carpet in a state of utter ruin.
It wasn't until both were utterly exhausted and the effects of the drug in Celicia’s system had completely faded that the battle finally ceased.
However, a strange scent lingered in the room, and the indelible marks of their struggle—along with their continued nakedness—bore witness to just how intense the encounter had been.
The battle was over. All that remained was the "settlement."
Celicia remained in an ambiguous position, sitting atop Muen. However, her exquisite face had long since lost its earlier flush of desire. It was now coated in frost as she stared down at him, her eyes brimming with cold, murderous intent.
Her fingers tightened around Muen’s neck, bit by bit, as she repeated her question:
“Speak your last words. This is your final chance before you die.”
“Well...”
Muen looked utterly spent. He squeezed out a smile that looked more painful than crying.
“If I don’t say anything, does that mean I won’t die?”
“It seems you still don’t understand the situation.”
A terrifying chill suddenly erupted from Celicia’s fingertips. In an instant, it swept through half of Muen’s body, bringing with it a sharp, agonizing pain and the heavy shadow of death.
Muen suddenly realized that this woman was truly going to kill him, and she wouldn't hesitate for a second.
Even though they had just shared an intimate connection.
“Wait, wait! I’ll talk! Please, let me speak!” Muen shouted in terror. “I did this for a reason!”
“Heh, a reason?” Celicia sneered coldly. “I’d love to hear what kind of 'reason' could drive you to commit such a subhuman act.”
“Because... because...”
Muen’s mind raced, searching for an excuse.
Transmigration, fate, prophetic dreams—those kinds of things sounded like obvious lies and definitely couldn't be said. He needed a reason that was at least somewhat plausible!
For instance, he could say his left foot tripped over his right and he accidentally dropped the aphrodisiac into the black tea.
Or perhaps that it wasn't an aphrodisiac at all, but a weight-loss supplement for fitness.
Or maybe that everything that just happened was merely a dream, and once they woke up, nothing would have changed.
However, when the words reached Muen’s lips, they transformed into a completely different answer.
“It’s because I love you, Celicia!”
“Eh?”
“Ah.”
Celicia was visibly taken aback.
But she wasn't the only one shocked; Muen himself was completely stunned.
What the hell am I saying?!
Even if I really liked Celicia’s character in my past life—even if I bought her official life-sized poster and hung it by my bed just so she’d be the first thing I saw when I woke up—there’s no way I could fall for a person who used to be fictional this quickly!
He wasn't some fat otaku who called 2D characters his "waifus"!
Even for a slip of the tongue, this was going too far!
Wait, could this be the influence of the Original Host?
He remembered that the original Muen seemed to truly love Celicia. After all, if he hadn't truly loved her, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to go to such extremes.
Damn it, you’re already dead! Stop trying to screw me over! Muen roared in his mind.
But... since he had already said it...
Logically, if a young girl suddenly received a confession, she should be at least a little bashful, right?
Muen’s sudden survival instinct made him cling to a sliver of hope. Maybe...
...
“I see. So that is your disgusting reason?” Celicia quickly regained her cold composure.
Her hands didn't leave Muen’s neck, and she wasn't moved by his confession in the slightest. As for being "bashful," the Muen pinned beneath her looked far more fitting of that description at the moment.
“Disgusting?” Muen managed a wry grin. “Well, in a sense, my feelings are quite sincere...”
“You call this sincere?” Celicia interrupted him sharply, her voice icy. “Stealing a girl’s purity is what you call sincere? What kind of joke is this, Muen Campbell! If you truly loved me, you would have stood before me with dignity. You would have used your character, your strength, and your heart to move me like a real man! You wouldn't have resorted to such a despicable act as drugging me! If you had done that, even if I still didn't love you, I might have honored our engagement and become your wife. But now... Heh. Or do you naively believe that this physical connection would make me feel something special for you? No, Muen Campbell. I will never love a despicable coward who only knows how to use schemes and trickery. And I will never marry a beast.”
Celicia leaned down, bringing her face very close to Muen’s.
They could feel each other’s breath, just as they had not long ago.
But this time, what Muen felt was different.
Through Celicia’s ice-blue eyes, which seemed frozen over, Muen thought he saw something hidden deep within.
It was a burning, holy white flame.
That’s right. This was Celicia.
Celicia Leopold.
The primary heroine of the original novel.
Just like the short description on the poster Muen had bought:
—She is the eternally proud, eternally pure White Swan; she will never bow to any evil or filth.
So, even now, though she was unclothed and stained, she remained a Queen in full regalia, looking down upon a lowly sinner.
“So beautiful...” Muen murmured involuntarily as he gazed at the girl inches away.
“Enough. You’ve said your piece. It’s time for Young Master Muen to be on his way.”
Hearing Muen’s murmur, Celicia’s expression remained unchanged as she gradually tightened her grip.
“I hope that in your next life, you will remember my words and seek your own love with a sincere heart.”
“Farewell...”