The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix’s Novels Also Desires Happiness - Chapter 229



7. A Different Path

“An, it’s… been a long time.”

After several struggles, Mu En steeled himself and stepped into the carriage, meeting the meaningful gaze of his personal maid.

An still looked dignified, dressed in a fitted maid outfit, sitting there with a straight back, hands resting on her knees, every movement seemingly measured with a ruler, elegant and precise.

“It hasn’t been that long, has it? We just saw each other a few days ago. But the young master…”

An’s gaze fell on Mu En, a half-smile playing on her lips as she said:

“Why is the young master all wet?”

“Ah, that…”

He couldn’t possibly tell you it was to cover up certain things, that he had just jumped into the river on a whim…

Mu En forced a smile and replied:

“Well, I was just so happy to see An that I took a bath first.”

“Oh? The young master took a bath… but why are even your clothes soaked?”

“Well… I thought washing my clothes along with myself would make it more formal!”

“Is that so? But why…”

An’s delicate nose twitched, her gaze sweeping over Mu En before she casually glanced out the window, smiling as she said:

“I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a strange scent about the young master~”

“Wha—”

Mu En shivered, nearly jumping up in fright.

He had gone so far as to ruin his own image, jumping into the river in front of those silent onlookers, and yet An could still smell it? Is your nose sharper than a serpent’s?

But he forced himself to calm down.

Experience told him that in moments like this, panicking was the worst thing to do.

The more you panic, the faster you die!

“It’s… it’s probably the perfume, An. The scent you’re noticing is likely just the leftover perfume on my clothes,” Mu En said, trying to maintain a serious face as he rambled on.

“This perfume… it really is unique, isn’t it?”

“It’s all-natural, so it’s only normal for it to be unique, haha, very normal.”

“……”

An squinted her eyes, gazing at Mu En for a long time, as the atmosphere in the carriage became thick with tension.

In this stifling pressure, Mu En felt his heart racing faster, almost to the point of breaking, when An suddenly broke into a smile.

“Why is the young master so nervous? As your personal maid, do you think I would doubt your words?”

“No… no, of course not. I unconditionally trust you, An. You are one of my closest people,” Mu En said, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.

“To hear the young master say that truly makes An incredibly happy.”

An’s smile was radiant, and on her dignified and beautiful face, a rare blush appeared.

But soon, her expression turned serious.

“Alright, I won’t scare the young master anymore. I came this time for an important matter.”

“Important matter?”

“There are two things. First, earlier today, many nobles from the palace suddenly sent a lot of gifts.”

“Gifts… why at this time…”

“The palace officials said it was to commend the Campbell family for their outstanding contributions during this crisis, a reward personally bestowed by His Majesty.

As for those nobles, they usually send gifts, but this time there were suddenly more. However, they were all returned according to the previous handling methods.”

“Outstanding contributions?”

Mu En raised an eyebrow in surprise, feeling somewhat confused.

What outstanding contributions?

During this incident, the Duke was leading troops outside, and the Duchess was in the countryside giving birth. It couldn’t be said that they had no contributions; they were practically irrelevant.

It was only himself who had plunged into the eye of the storm to save his senior.

But he hadn’t mobilized the Duke’s household at all.

And from the moment he saw so many silent observers surrounding him, Mu En understood that what he had done could not be considered a turning point in this massive upheaval; at most, it could be seen as a mere embellishment.

Even without him, the evil god’s plan would likely still fail.

Nothing would change… except for the fact that his senior might really die.

Well, and perhaps the moon could struggle a bit longer.

However, regardless, what Mu En had done could not be called “outstanding contributions.”

Not to mention…

He had just emerged from the mist of the dark moon, and the palace’s gifts had arrived even before him; the timing simply didn’t match up.

“I heard that after this incident, many nobles in the capital suffered quite severe losses,” An hinted, as if implying something.

“Is that so…?”

Mu En was taken aback for a moment, but quickly reacted.

Thanks to the Emperor’s brilliant maneuvering, the noble faction of Belrand has suffered a significant blow, and it seems they will be unable to stir for quite some time.

As for the Campbell family, due to their staunch royalist identity, they have indeed done nothing, yet they have lost nothing either. Coupled with the stability of the monarchy, this shift has inexplicably brought them great benefits.

Although they may become even more envied in the future.

“It seems that not having many heirs does have its advantages,” Mu En sighed with a complicated mood.

Generally speaking, the higher the status of a noble, the more they hope for the decline of royal power.

Yet among the great nobles, the Campbell family stands out as an anomaly.

With generations of only one heir and no household servants, they have naturally lost the greatest means of forming alliances among the nobility—marriage.

After all, there is only one Duke of Campbell, and only one son of the Duke of Campbell; one cannot expect them to marry dozens of noble daughters.

Thus, the Campbell family can only rely on the Duke’s prestige to gather a large number of smaller nobles, turning around to become the leaders of the royalist faction.

“Now that I think about it, in the original book, Mu En Campbell was demoted to a commoner after that incident, ending up in a tragic situation, and even the Duke’s residence was not allowed to intervene. It must not have been as simple as it appeared on the surface; it was likely driven by other nobles.”

Mu En thought to himself.

After all, many people did not want to see a high-ranking duke so closely aligned with the royal family, even planning to marry into it.

However, given that my actions were so outrageous, causing such a stir with the princess, in the original book, the original character was merely demoted to a commoner without shaking the Campbell family’s status at all, it is evident how much the Emperor trusted the Campbell family.

“Wait? Hold on a second.”

Suddenly, Mu En thought of something and raised his head in confusion:

“This doesn’t explain why the palace suddenly sent gifts at this juncture; isn’t that deliberately inciting hatred against our family?”

“Regarding this, when the palace sent the gifts, they also brought a message.”

For some reason, Mu En suddenly felt that An’s tone was oddly different from usual.

“What message?” Mu En asked curiously.

“They said…”

After a pause, An said with a hint of acidity:

“That the Duke’s residence can begin preparations for the… engagement ceremony between you, young master, and Her Highness Princess Celicia in a few months.”