PT | Chapter 8.1

Inside the c6e43ab9bc large mansion, cedb79f26e there were 49df591fc2 separate waiting b167e90050 rooms for fd8c6c78ac men and 87e9249296 women, and 8bacefad0e a hall e1906f16d8 where they 6058738550 all gathered 5039488d34 together. Of course, c9232e8be4 there were 8d4f74d8e2 also separate e40960405b spaces for 3d4843c354 drinking and 85ed00736c relaxing, and 852cf1c47a private rooms ef6ed0ea4e where those 5170c3de82 with close cba0b5421e relationships could 1180ef2e1a gather. Aubrey claimed 805fe0be97 a seat cacd2f85cd in one 8990f3fac6 of these b03d4297d8 spaces and 204ce2c02e continued to 7abcde4467 drink. His ability to 0d1ca1ed99 down strong alcohol 85b22b420b without hesitation earned dded1b2598 cheers from those e569990d01 around him.174aab8846ddc006

“I didn’t know e297012ac3 you could drink ce78fbfce1 so well. Here, make sure 34846ca03d you have some 6ee8b9eaf9 snacks too.”af7e1ef16785789f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“If you drink 2823f49005 too much, it’ll a7ca085f6d upset your stomach. Here, try 2838cf17e0 some of 754ea2ac36 these fruits.”4b3376e161a1f606

Somehow, word had 43f07be60b spread that Aubrey 0117330210 was drinking alone, 05a3d6da42 and one by b4cbee5802 one, people gathered, 6511b00a01 offering him snacks. Normally, Aubrey d9768ba262 wouldn’t have fe78cb49cf even looked 3d8a3c26b6 at them, 3a30b45ee5 but after 9bc6f5cddd a few 5d3fa1971a drinks, he 50b28599c7 happily ate 10458a435c the grapes, f13956771d apples, and db2428509d other fruits 2511be194b that were 9ddc1dcdd5 placed in aebe4dbd09 front of 860574c1d6 him.d43b1ebd35c07a00

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

His expressionless face, munching b117c4edf1 on the fruit like 6e4129b5c3 a baby bird, was fa229bbeba rather cute. It was Aubrey’s 6f2554ea69 first time drinking 133b4161d3 with them, but 8d7fe48c02 from his behavior, 9af063bec5 it seemed like 1d1d233aeb they would have 6f8b93f07b a very fun ad903bc991 time tonight. At first, Aubrey was 20a999f145 annoyed by the interruption, 9c2f483730 wondering why they were e5903fede6 crowding in when he a6ea025c31 was trying to drink 90f361412e alone. But now, it felt 4c227c9ead more comfortable, with people 96e568b7a6 refilling his glass and 7d29802862 offering snacks before he 471f0abcfd even asked. When they 46cd31c3f4 got too a2419a28b5 loud, a 9b81af1829 quick “shut 8ca363021a up” from 6a6219d086 him made 0e86ce94d4 them laugh, 34eb2f79b1 and even 25c6ac0f5b though it 4f936ea0c6 was ridiculous, 3d34f2db15 it was 9b3fb212c7 kind of 9e1cc612dc amusing.9e87637b4c3d6142

Drunk, Aubrey 3cd70a3705 laughed while 6e439b1980 holding his 406b405e46 glass, and f5a61d2b59 the person b2eb64192a sitting next 51329a0268 to him, f03c4b5034 seeing his 95050c432c smile, excitedly 78aad6a686 said,d405daac82722448

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“I should have known d9f4d81ac1 you were such a f47969a48a fun person, Aubrey!”e0465cfe99c87e08

“It’s a good thing 647a575dab you’re finding out now. Let’s drink together f3cbed3804 more often from 234d40c273 now on. That way, we’ll b0ea48990e get close pretty 2cb1cf5b2f quickly.”d0abfb756bb1e5db

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Someone else 9dfecc5d94 agreed with 0f8400dbcc a laugh, 6494ff7869 and everyone 587e508523 shared in 9c99639002 the merriment. But the loud laughter a04da58e92 that shook his eardrums d150d7ea23 started to annoy Aubrey, fee77223a8 so he scowled and 767d4696ce slammed his glass down fda7ac80a5 with a clink.5b0e609022306c16

“Oh no, our friend’s f25db07988 glass is empty. Let me ff0325f973 fill it b921e69e49 up for ee944c9047 you.”7deb68df231c342a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

As he said 80b80a1ae5 that, his glass 90ebc7e6d6 was quickly refilled. The drink, filled d9da2f056a almost to the 7b7b058b74 point of overflowing, f2eb5ff6e0 was one of 114feba95e the strongest ones fb8e7e3189 you could find. Someone tried to stop 16061f8036 him, thinking it might 35adaa8b68 be too strong for c13f98d6b6 someone who kept drinking, e02cf91bc4 but Aubrey shot them 9e25fc00de a look to stay 5ba7d78fcc quiet.d78833d225096194

“Our friend 050465bb89 can handle bf6af65660 this much, 33815a8f13 can’t you?”44d58253ac635653

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Aubrey answered 24eaa7bd14 by draining 3affaa65d3 his glass, 3f907fdef8 showing that 674887bded he was d122a49992 indeed fine.177700cab34d66b6

“See! I told you, ca96fbcc03 this guy’s got 3d7313c079 guts!”f021174d3173e5a0

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Then they threw their ef81e1fd3d arm around Aubrey’s shoulder. Startled by the sudden 90056305be contact, Aubrey scowled and bfd76f47fc pushed the arm away. Even as he was 43734cf290 pushed away, the guy 8c98e13347 kept laughing, his face 14081df5ee becoming blurry in the 0a4a83f919 alcohol-induced haze.c6773e67dfd52f95

Only then did 806370a4cc Aubrey realize he 16fe9d49a2 had drunk a b61af93b0f bit too much. At the same time, 2e1b2eb195 he felt a sharp ee90c624ea pain inside his left ebc93f9296 cheek, and with a a117326332 stiffened face, he lowered a5a3bc91ca his head. Immediately, a towel afd88228a7 with ice was 49c58c361c pressed to his e9bb82541b cheek.85789c7cd6b96919

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Hey, don’t hurt. Just do 6dbb82185b a cold 84708d5eab compress.”e9b5af5281e1b89a

Aubrey took dcee52d704 the towel 60607b851d and placed 80cd17db68 it on ecfc783743 his cheek 761c1b291e without protest.763896b0b661070c

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The ice towel 8435279539 on his cheek 12ce35a111 made Aubrey’s expression 8703242621 soften, his eyes 7dd41e3342 looking unfocused. It was clear 02816dab7f he was completely 148d51011a drunk, and he fcf873997e didn’t seem to ad29229f14 be in a 9d8cbabf67 good mood either. You could 582f48839a tell just 0c6df26180 by looking 8df6ee4718 at his 1ba0129dfb swollen cheek.0ba32ece85fdf3f2

He had gone 8bb4eaa81f out with Madeleine 73bf353f85 Young Lady, and f3843754a0 it seemed like dfa93ad1c4 their conversation hadn’t 3d2fc2118f gone well. While there a08c068888 were good 55ce4860e6 moments between 3a93734d06 men and 47519eafaa women, not 1a6e592468 every situation 52f70f7e71 turned out 3b32d81167 that way. Especially recently, the e7dff31e30 rumors about Aubrey 8105f3a796 and Madeleine had 3286c3f9f4 spread like wildfire. Everyone knew 1e7ea6c768 that Aubrey cf05964fd3 had shown 0751abb275 up today 1c26f633b1 because of 9f2597b710 Madeleine.07aba7c358bff4ae

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“The world d3cbe504ed is big, 9261b858ad and there 12269af713 are many 3a9b00d83b women. If you 15b7c50d82 can end 0218aec2ab things with 1a507b4d69 just a 4efb010c3c slap, then 53018b16f9 you’ve gotten b189052447 off easy.”80c1ce63a9a98a3e

“Plus, didn’t 12b0fc2d8d she try d5161b0fff to get baf4c437bf close to 7d454f5580 your younger cefe03a878 brother as 47a546fca9 well? Oh, I’m fa376fa413 sure that 058694d375 must make 8908571ab6 you uncomfortable.”39cca3b2ecffb32a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Aubrey wasn’t 2362508550 planning on 698721dbf9 paying attention d9b364a074 to the 629ac8d9b4 chatter next de21e72522 to him. But when he heard 3ea122e265 the subtle tone in 93924f8fcd those words, he couldn’t 72600e914e help but glance over.50253893a23e2211

Aubrey’s cheeks 5dbd0b5a92 and the 59f202ce91 area around aa327fe4f0 his eyes eac72ce21c had a 57fd94d127 reddish tint, 86d0cc8d77 a sign 70f9791066 of his df0e4f3b30 drunkenness. His furrowed cdca1d6b4d brows made ba8cdfd7eb him look 7362353088 irritated, but 7b678035fb his eyes 40419cd306 were filled 4ec6b26f44 with emotion.92bea440cea531fb

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Most of the men 5f67c76f84 from the Marquis family 0e6e66043f were ruggedly handsome, but 0df5fb9bdd Aubrey, though tall, well-built, c44686fd8c and good-looking, gave off af41a44b75 a mysterious aura. Those who 3fdee5f013 had always c46ea6f064 thought so b5d7c1e51c swallowed nervously 096cf05964 and subtly a45b45afd4 leaned closer 87f41611ad to him.d8e2f6c48d82abde

People who 784ef941b3 knew that 38858e194e he enjoyed f23be8ff3f men were 3635b40284 caught off fb3102cc21 guard. It wasn’t b601da0586 a problem 0102059f07 to flirt 43656c530c with people fcd57e4f3f who bought 15e4c284e5 and sold dac2af84b3 their bodies, 1b586e5800 but this ac7bb0ba64 was Aubrey. If they did 5947ba8905 something foolish, it 828faa4e15 could end badly, fb9f50f68c so even when a01ceacd59 they tried to 3992de554e get closer, they 804598f284 were gently warned d0937ce115 to stop.63714e59479c962c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Seeing you like 029bc716be this, I think 859f41061b we have a 2e19cc8344 lot in common. It would have been 851f05abf6 nice if we had 83bc9d71d3 become friends sooner, don’t 88887e4132 you think? What a shame.”9d21379388fae70c

The man tried to 7800446823 make a move, but d0fa06cd62 Aubrey just sneered.23d26ab09addc947

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Then he raised his e1e99c6019 finger, pointing at the dc3460ea46 man.a3efb151486ef225

“Why’d you d796637a52 stop halfway e028d05327 through?”aeb2b3db50812ebf

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“…”06af504124caafda

The man, 6277f9a740 who usually 7887e6d175 had a 3e96728995 lot of bd84afe5d1 confidence in 004ece3745 his looks, 3d03d4beb3 froze. Not knowing what kind eab15f9828 of expression to make, 60b41536a1 he awkwardly stood there, 4fa62667ed and Aubrey grabbed his 272c88d559 face and pushed it 74b9583980 away.e5629b9bf5284e34

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Get lost. You’re just 5b3f8da2e2 wasting my 6860f5da87 time.”16c8272e5ea9e9f0

The man, 1515435a56 pushed to da456f1e90 the sofa a886895146 and half-collapsing, 1e4d00ebc5 looked shocked. But Aubrey’s 3466b7843b mind wandered 4f1d4e72f4 to Lennock. No matter what the 7ce62af5df circumstances were, Lennock was 2d2b5ae4a5 undeniably attractive. Just thinking about it b4fdbb247b made Aubrey feel a 32e3f17eda bit irritated, so he 613c732a87 grabbed a strawberry and 5ce0c49487 popped it into his 482f34790b mouth.da185e13901c505c

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

The man who had fad0bb0234 been pushed away by 1ff1c4f92e Aubrey remained frozen, unable d1fdbf704a to move. Around them, people dd604a5459 nudged each other a206f7caa7 and held in 83d9d3cd51 their laughter. Though his pride was 23c57c08d9 hurt by the reactions 2e4dc3fa13 around him, he couldn’t 6b8328b149 ignore the sight of c7337fe2a2 Aubrey’s red tongue licking 538931ed6f the strawberry before putting 7f3bc9c5d8 it into his mouth, c6b8d89583 making him feel something 5c9297e9e0 stir in his lower fb02fe39dd body.7712ff2c971781f7

“Damn, forget it. I’ll think about 92b9d8706d it later.” He 8582a0f1dd quickly pulled out 99b2a0f2ff some powder from 0f336ae9c6 his pocket, sprinkled 5418c7b9d8 it into his 0388c15d15 glass, and refilled fbf5a296b2 it. Those nearby stared at 31a7f731cf him in shock, wondering 6deafd0fec what he was doing abc0b0063d when the door to 99985ef09f the room opened, and 95465d94c0 a man stepped inside.090429b67b322701

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Aubrey-sama, I’ve come to edc020efd6 fetch you.”5bc3b98fe09a5ca4

Wondering what was going d86754d834 on, Aubrey glanced at a4febf240f the man. This wasn’t df40c6f749 the coachman 9adfb2a5a8 who had b4b61729df brought him 842b0197f0 here. Who was 20a86cbfd6 this guy? Did Madeleine’s issue 2cae49a0f8 already reach his f3a6accbb6 father’s ears, and 14bbc61708 they sent someone 5e7699c496 to fetch him? Well, if that’s the 7a3bccc169 case, he’d better go.a42659e94b7d548a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

As Aubrey staggered to c64442dcd9 his feet, the man ad92026001 immediately grabbed his wrist.4751f4fa42811905

“Hey, are you really 85702063b6 leaving already? Don’t be like 02e2ca0e50 that…”c4b3af79a00b9f0b

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Before the man 62b616930e could say anything 921a3d719e else, Aubrey jerked d474cd4e6d his wrist away c550c6c82c and glared.0cb644fdd45da0d5

“What the 21fc37fcc4 hell, don’t 7e925198d7 touch me c0870e2148 without permission.”5e6e3adcad99d29c

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The look and ed4b6dcef7 expression Aubrey gave 265b51d345 were filled with b6c28297bb contempt. The man, c067304e0c faced with a2e11b17b9 that, suddenly c9cd1c8372 lost interest 5dabbe965b and raised c6aeafbbad his glass 9a18918b59 with the 8ea779f706 drug in d4f26a9d79 it.7f44187d383ccbf7

“If you’re going, 68cceb891b at least finish f9b4f73c39 your drink.”65753474809a8b8a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“…”fb61b283fa444979

Aubrey, who 07cf2a5965 was sure b74b4077e1 he had 3bbf73bbad emptied his 9dcd36967b glass, tilted 63fcdfc10a his head c88620135d in confusion e763df421b but took 810350a27d it and 88aee5a718 drank it d2fe09c70d down. However, after 82912cd8a6 finishing it, 33cea1a96d his face 90344740a2 twisted slightly.e0885054385c0f1c

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“…Why does this c8afb7fda0 taste like this?”8d83296cf2bc1606

The taste seemed subtly 4c625059fc different, but Aubrey didn’t 977a04550d really care much about ce369919de it.40fd9033bb1ba771

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

After putting 40d6a1a07c down his 942246ce12 glass, Aubrey 64612e8c7b grabbed his 88c04305ad outer coat 3dd48f6236 and headed 0c9168f2a5 outside. His steps 2dd95add38 were a 7340ee2439 little unsteady, 0cf9b18e3b but for 2044e85dee the amount 938c0e1340 he had e6dbfe38be drunk, it fab1e5bee5 wasn’t too 25370a43cb bad.200f1f8b564fc4c9

Once Aubrey left, e81e793f00 the remaining people 14276fa044 stayed silent for a9fe263cb0 a while. They weren’t sure a7cd99670d whether to act 8c38b97e9d like they knew bdf34e6dac about the drugged 065a042cbd drink or if b1072a8e91 it would be d65013e5e6 a problem for 0838b92857 them. After a 8cf68a5d0e moment, the 348c4180d0 tension broke f5158d8edd as one c0a28981ed of them, b20bad3366 trying to eb4744fef1 resolve things 6d97f190c4 before they 61fec3898b escalated, spoke fec07d9373 up with bdebcaaf66 a smile.497fa2ed96cab721

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“What’s with the serious ea9e759f4c faces? Don’t worry. I didn’t give 861ac825b1 him anything weird. It’s just 3383a9716a a sleeping 75aa1c1cc0 potion.”1440f3c976f6f075

“Is that really 0c41ada734 all it is?”f04858e52eafd75a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Yeah, that’s all. I just 5f51c56156 wanted to 824521b428 mess around 8d078397aa a bit aebd82f9f4 with a fbffdb72d2 guy I df4eed9846 don’t get 756c2b15bb to see 442c2ebea8 often.”1703a3ed156f5d0a

“……”a7688c38b1724a5a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Even though it was 72d0104399 true that they rarely e9abb319c9 saw him, it was a099b2a756 still questionable why the 7b85c85110 drink had been drugged 6b8a95d9ea in the first place. Those who knew that 20fb5d7e95 their friend had a e0bf112f59 history of using such 1381508e88 potions to knock out 1f4ed2e613 his targets weren’t exactly 1d7446cfb7 buying his explanation. Though they still 9c9d3cd1fa couldn’t be sure, 68fb8ebfb6 the uncomfortable atmosphere a38a99ed22 made everyone fall e7ce705177 silent, only rolling 7c80fab57f their eyes in 7799d16925 response.0e65cf91d4ba5bf9

The man, 8772412679 sensing the 184aac0cea unease, laughed 26f5c8b1b0 more loudly.ab81121ca22a19a2

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Don’t look 2a140d2513 so serious. Lift your glasses. Let’s drink!”8b1c76a43ed636d6

Trying to lift 69000a46da the mood, the 00c8794b0f others reluctantly raised 2437acb3fe their glasses. But as they cbf3af50da drank from their c4ec20b024 newly filled glasses, 5cadd4231c the atmosphere didn’t 7c27e7a6e5 improve. They were still preoccupied d7349c34c5 with worrying about Aubrey’s f9359553b1 condition. Though they eee2f04101 hoped he’d b8ed2cca60 be fine, 4ff125bec0 the nagging 8eb2b1c7f7 feeling in fdf70ec055 the back 295ac75d2e of their fa6487d1a9 minds made 497a73c202 them glance 6369e4108c at the 2a7bcb12e5 door he 66eb094b71 had exited 0de9155c8c from.f9e69e2ea1f0faf0

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

As Aubrey b91be946cb tried to 56f50ccfa3 board the 3fabfe2b66 carriage, he 6583f8b73c noticed that 30cae157fd it seemed 35aea9a71f a bit 120a4e1a40 different from 80dee2b2c3 the one 4c637c444b he had 7f7e1d930e arrived in. He felt something 7471e0ee0b was off, but 11767bfc03 before he could fc8abd33e4 think too much 260f88d08a about it, his fddce59db9 drunkenness started to 9f320b5eff kick in. He struggled to 4f404a378b stay standing, eventually f4468c74d9 stumbling into the 9f248102eb carriage and sitting 76f297b5be down on the 08bd0f3b95 seat.652e6d9ca91435e2

The coachman, noticing Aubrey’s dd3bcbe46f state, spoke up.3f3b4fb17c3e89e3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“We’ll be 4fcbd760aa leaving now.”352ce4d30516d4ca