Chapter 4: Kiss My Hand

As promised, Anna arrived at the main gate of the Royal Capital Magic Academy.

She glanced up at the complex dial of the Clock Tower—half an hour early.

That young lady is probably still asleep, Anna thought, but her footsteps grew uneasy.

The Kasdilan Family’s servant had sent the academy’s uniform in advance.

Now, the luxurious, carefully tailored uniform fit Anna perfectly.

She looked… not bad at all.

Anna caught a glimpse of her reflection in the Glass Curtain Wall and let out a small sigh of relief.

It wasn’t her first time at the Royal Capital Magic Academy.

When she was first summoned, all five of them were assigned to the Hero Special Class, spending two years there.

But back then, she was the class’s overlooked corner—apart from attending classes, she practiced swordsmanship alone in the Little Grove behind the Dormitory.

When it came to the academy’s most proud social environment, she had zero experience.

Besides the stray cats on campus, she hadn’t made a single friend.

“Mimi~”

A flash of orange streaked across the academy wall.

Anna crouched down, and the orange figure suddenly leapt off like an arrow, rushing toward her.

It was an orange cat, its primitive pouch swaying with each stride.

Anna reached out her hand, but the cat stopped cautiously, its tawny eyes fixed tightly on Anna’s face.

It seemed to be trying to remember something, then suddenly arched its back and hissed like a stubborn snake.

“Ha—”

It hissed.

“You don’t even recognize me anymore, huh?”

Anna instinctively reached into her pocket, then realized she no longer carried any cat food.

She stood up with a hint of regret, her hands hanging loosely at her sides as if all hope had vanished.

She always felt she should say something to ease the awkwardness, but after fumbling for a long time, she still didn’t know what to say.

After all, whether she spoke honestly or feigned it, cats couldn’t understand words, right?

Then there was no need.

“Jintiao, you can’t just hiss at people like that!”

At the voice, Anna looked up to see a girl with teal hair and eyes, a Student Council Badge pinned on her arm.

She was panting as she hurried over, clutching a Student Registration Book.

The orange cat immediately obediently sat still, rubbing its head against the girl’s outstretched hand.

She really was popular with cats.

“Oh, a new student—” Her eyes briefly scanned Anna from head to toe. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Just call me Anna. Anna Tahisia Sieglinde… no, Anna Tahisia Kasdilan.”

“Kasdilan… you’re related to that Ophelia, aren’t you?”

“Sort of…”

Anna almost blurted out her real name, Anna Tahisia Sieglinde.

She lowered her gaze to the Student Identification Card hanging on her chest—the Kasdilan name glaringly obvious.

Of course, she knew that continuing to carry the Sinner Hero title at the academy would only bring endless trouble.

But living under another’s surname felt incredibly awkward.

“So the new roommate Ophelia reported… is that you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Well then, good luck.”

What was that expression? Suddenly looking troubled.

Could it be that the villainous heiress’s lifestyle habits were so horrible they brought tears to anyone who heard about them?

“Beatrice, what’s the meaning of blocking my servant?”

A faint burning sensation stirred in her abdomen— that bad guy was misusing the magic circuit through the Order of the Crest Command again.

“Servant? You mean Anna is your servant?” The girl called Beatrice suddenly straightened her chest, facing off against Ophelia. “I don’t recall the academy rules allowing servants to accompany students.”

“Huh? Beatrice, are you deliberately looking for trouble?”

“Isn’t it Ophelia who’s causing a scene?”

Should Anna say their relationship was good or bad? Caught in the middle, she felt like the sky was collapsing.

Anna saw Beatrice’s identification card—her full name was Beatrice Karat, from the kingdom’s western Lord’s Territory, famous for its military strength.

These two started quarrelling the moment they met, and Anna would undoubtedly be the collateral damage.

“Anna, you tell her yourself what you are.”

The burning in her abdomen shifted suddenly from a slow simmer to a scorching blaze.

Anna instinctively crouched, then endured the pain and stood again.

That bad guy… was enforcing the Order of the Crest Command.

“I… am Miss Ophelia’s servant.”

Anna felt her voice nearly faltering.

“Ophelia! What have you done to her!”

“I didn’t do anything, right, Anna?”

“Right…”

The burning eased, and Anna gasped for breath, sweat rolling down her temple.

She wiped her sweat with a handkerchief and obediently followed Ophelia’s victorious strides.

They passed the towering red-brick buildings, the quiet classical gardens, and the marble-and-chandelier-adorned corridors.

Anna lowered her head, trailing behind Ophelia’s steps.

Familiar scenes flickered before her eyes.

Ophelia’s footsteps stopped at the Little Grove behind the Dormitory—an area no one visited during lessons, often frequented only by outcasts.

Could Ophelia be an outcast too? No, no, she didn’t seem like one.

Her presence shone like the sun, brilliant and scorching.

“Anna.”

Ophelia grabbed the collar of Anna’s uniform fiercely.

Her fair hand tensed, faint blue veins visible beneath the skin.

Her knuckles whitened from the grip, trembling slightly as if afraid Anna might slip through her fingers the moment she loosened.

With a loud “thud,” Anna was slammed against the wall.

Ophelia lifted her chin, narrowing her eyes in examination as she closed the distance between their faces.

“It’s only the first day… and you’ve already forgotten your place?”

Ophelia brushed Anna’s bangs aside, her hand pressing against Anna’s forehead, forcing her to look up.

She seemed to vent some pent-up emotion as she tugged Anna’s hair, then angrily released it.

Anna barely had time to breathe before Ophelia’s shadow enveloped her again.

“Anna.”

“I—I’m here.”

Anna dared not lower her head, nor meet Ophelia’s gaze.

“Stand straight.”

“Yes…”

Anna controlled her emotions, obediently straightening her back.

Ophelia’s figure was tall and graceful like a crane, standing proudly before Anna, towering over her by more than half a head.

She grabbed Anna’s forehead again, forcing her to look up, and pressed a domineering, forceful kiss upon her lips.

Her lipstick left a vivid red mark on the corner of Anna’s mouth, as if blood had seeped out.

Anna instinctively tried to wipe it away but was caught by the wrist.

“Did I give you permission to move?”

“Sorry…”

Then Ophelia’s fingers brushed over Anna’s lips, wiping away the bright red stain, and smoothed it onto the side of Anna’s neck, just visible beneath the collar—a faint pink mark, like a kiss.

“Anna, you are mine. No one else is allowed to touch you.”

Ophelia released Anna, who staggered back two steps, her back pressed against the wall, chest rising and falling heavily, her heart pounding.

“Beatrice didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”

Hard time? It looked more like you were the one giving me a hard time, Anna thought, swallowing her feelings and shaking her head obediently.

“Is that so? Then let’s say it’s true.”

Ophelia’s eyes flicked over the red mark on Anna’s neck, and a slight smile lifted the corner of her mouth.

A strange satisfaction swelled in her chest.

The desire called possession grew in her heart.

She looked at the petite, doll-like but thin and bony Anna—the night she made her her own flashed through her mind.

How she longed to possess her again here—in this place no one came, just a wall away from the classroom.

How she wanted to mark her body completely with her own symbol, so everyone would know whose she was, and no one would dare covet her.

“Anna.”

Each word was infused with magical authority.

“Kneel down, then kiss my hand.”

Looking at the silver-haired doll kneeling before her in pain and submission, Ophelia extended her hand, allowing Anna to leave a warm, breathy kiss upon the back of it.

Her hand hung there, cold and stiff.

Anna kissed with utmost sincerity.

She gently cradled Ophelia’s hand like a priceless treasure, kissing upward along the ring finger, over the knuckles, and stopping at a vein that had appeared when Ophelia had grabbed her collar.

She closed her eyes and bit lightly like a small beast, as if listening to the rhythm of the blood pulsing beneath.

Seeing her like this, the heaviness pressing on Ophelia’s heart suddenly vanished.

She reached out with her other free hand and gently covered Anna’s head, smoothing the hair she had tousled moments ago.

She wanted to say, “You did well,” but the words stuck in her throat.

“Ding ding,” the bell for class rang abruptly.

Ophelia withdrew her hand and turned around, but her gaze involuntarily drifted back to the hand Anna had kissed.

The mark of Anna’s lips and teeth remained.

“Stand up, and come with me to class.”

Satisfied, she walked toward the Dormitory without looking back.

Behind her, Anna silently stood and brushed the grass off her socks and skirt as if nothing had happened.

She looked at Ophelia’s retreating figure and spoke in a quiet but clear voice.

“You didn’t bring me here just to punish me, right? You need me for more than just being an obedient servant, don’t you?”

Ophelia didn’t answer.

She only hesitated for the briefest moment.

This time, she didn’t impose any punishment.