"N-nothing..." Claire Yi braced herself, took a small sip, and only relaxed when Damien Gray drank as well. No matter what, as long as her goal was achieved in the end, it was enough.
Damien Gray finished the soup, fiddling with the spoon in his hand. The calculation in his eyes went unnoticed by anyone. He looked up at Claire Yi, noticing that she only took one sip and stopped, then asked, "What's wrong? You don't like it?"
"No..." Claire Yi saw that Damien Gray kept staring at her, so she stiffly picked up the spoon and slowly finished the whole bowl of soup.
Suddenly, her hand was empty. Claire Yi looked up to see Damien Gray taking her bowl and filling it to the brim again before handing it to her. She wanted to refuse, but then heard his gentle voice, "Drink a bit more, you're too thin. If Master sees you like this, he'll think I'm mistreating you!"
Damien Gray wasn't intentionally gentle—he was never truly gentle, only displaying the refined composure expected of the Ghost King. He never showed tenderness to women; to him, women were trouble. Even pretending to be gentle made him impatient. But now, something unexpected happened. Thinking of Morgan Shangguan, his heart softened.
Yet, those words made Claire Yi feel he was very gentle. Her gaze trembled, eyes misting over, her heart filled with bittersweet emotion. Touched, she murmured, "Senior brother..."
Damien Gray's lips curled slightly as he handed her the bowl again. Claire Yi, dazed, took it from him, and under his gaze, happily finished the soup, completely unaware of the coldness in his eyes.
After a while, a sudden wave of heat made Claire Yi snap back to reality. Only then did she realize her foolishness—she had forgotten the soup was drugged and drank so much of it!
"Mm... Senior brother..." As the drug took effect, Claire Yi was completely powerless to resist. Her vision blurred, and she could only see a vague figure. She tried to get up and approach, but her legs went weak and she collapsed helplessly to the ground.
Damien Gray watched her struggle with her clothes in discomfort, his face expressionless. Without hesitation, he turned and walked out. He had drunk the soup too, and now the drug was taking effect on him as well. He didn't know what aftereffects there would be, and the thought made him frown. The potential consequences were truly troublesome; he could only hope they wouldn't appear too soon.
At the entrance of the Nether Court, Damien Gray happened to run into Maxwell Jing. In a cold voice, he ordered, "Find out who gave Claire Yi the drug!" That drug was unique to Rakshasa Palace, and he wanted to know how Claire Yi had gotten it.
With those words, he rushed into the Nether Court. Maxwell Jing didn't need further explanation; he would naturally investigate the rest.
Bang—The door slammed against the wall. Morgan Shangguan looked up just in time to see Damien Gray sweep in like a gust of wind. Before she could say anything, he pulled her into his arms, and a torrent of kisses overwhelmed her.
Morgan Shangguan forcefully pushed him away, frowning, "Damien Gray, what are you doing?"
When she saw his strange condition, Morgan Shangguan's expression darkened. She reached out to check his pulse and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"
Damien Gray pressed his lips to her neck, kissing her, his words muffled, "Claire Yi drugged me." Even as he spoke, his hands began to roam restlessly over her body, murmuring, "Mo'er..."
Morgan Shangguan's face remained calm. She neither spoke nor moved. Though Damien Gray was affected by the drug, he still retained some rationality. Seeing her reaction, he couldn't read her thoughts and felt a vague unease.
After a while, Morgan Shangguan finally acted. She pushed him away and walked to the door, calmly instructing, "Susie Yun, go find two beauties."
"Huh?" Susie Yun didn't understand what she meant and was about to ask, but Ryan Ouyang pulled her away. He had seen Damien Gray come in and knew what those symptoms meant. Though he didn't know why Miss looked so angry, it was best not to get involved in matters between her and the Ghost King.
Seeing Susie Yun being pulled away, Morgan Shangguan didn't stop her. Behind her, Damien Gray's voice came, hoarse, "Sorry to disturb you, Princess Consort." There was a hint of self-mockery in his tone.
Morgan Shangguan turned and looked, meeting Damien Gray's gaze, which was filled with suppressed pain. Her heart tightened, but she still didn't speak.
Seeing her only look at him with indifference, Damien Gray's eyes gradually dimmed. He opened his mouth and said bitterly, "No matter what I do, do you not care at all?" Fixing his gaze on Morgan Shangguan, he couldn't give up and asked again, "Do you not care about me at all?" It was the first time he'd seen himself so cautious.
Morgan Shangguan finally stepped toward him, stopping in front of him with a cold smile. "Keep pretending!" She had intended to see how far he would go with his act, but with him, she couldn't remain indifferent.
She knew he was only acting to soften her heart, but seeing his sadness, she still felt pain for him. Even knowing it was his scheme, she still fell for it.
"Mo'er..." Damien Gray seemed at a loss for words, only murmuring her name and leaving it at that.
Anger surged in Morgan Shangguan's heart, and she said coldly, "This is one of Rakshasa Palace's famous poisons. How could you, Ghostmaster, not know?" If Damien Gray lacked even this much vigilance, could he have survived until now?
Besides, the aftereffects of the drug could be severe or mild. That's why Damien Gray knew more about such things than most, so he could avoid accidental poisoning. Would someone like him be so easily caught off guard?
The drug Damien Gray was affected by was called 'Under the Peony's Spell,' named after the saying 'to die under the peony is still romantic.' It was an aphrodisiac, but Rakshasa Palace classified it as a poison because of its peculiar effects. For healthy people, it was just a potent aphrodisiac, but for the sick, it was fatal!
Claire Yi's act of drugging was anything but simple. How did she get Rakshasa Palace's poison? That alone was worth pondering, and she wouldn't want Damien Gray dead—so who was trying to use her hand to kill him?
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click 'Next Page' to continue reading the exciting story!