“I’m back.”
Of course, no one replied with a “Welcome back.” Anna took off her shoes neatly at the entranceway, and not far from her own shoes lay a pair of pale purple stilettos casually tossed to the side.
Anna sighed softly, resigned, and began tidying up the scattered shoes by the door—this had almost become a nightly ritual for her.
The young lady’s living habits seemed rather terrible.
With a hair tie clenched between her teeth, Anna quickly gathered her long hair draped over her shoulders into a ponytail.
She took off her somewhat cumbersome uniform jacket, loosened the tie around her collar, and unbuttoned two buttons of her shirt.
She headed straight for the kitchen, where the maid brought from the Northern Home by Ophelia was warming milk using a Heating Stove fueled by Fire Magic Crystal.
A cup of warm milk before bed was Ophelia’s habit over the years.
The Castilan maids never intruded on the master family’s private spaces, and Ophelia was certainly incapable of getting out of bed herself.
Thus, the duty of bringing her milk fell to Anna, who had special access privileges.
Tonight, two cups of milk had been heated—did the young lady have an unusually good appetite this evening?
Anna didn’t think much of it and simply took the tray from the maid’s hands, carrying it steadily into the room she shared with Ophelia.
“Miss Ophelia, I’m back.”
Anna knocked on the door mechanically and stepped inside.
No one was there.
From the bathroom came the sound of trickling water; Ophelia’s bath was later than usual.
“Miss Ophelia, I’m back.”
Anna set down the milk and knocked on the bathroom door, but there was no response.
“Miss Ophelia?”
The sound of water hitting the floor stopped, replaced by occasional splashes as arms or legs disturbed the water’s surface.
No one spoke.
Anna grew a little uneasy.
She pressed her hand against the door handle and pushed down slightly, only to find the bathroom door was locked from the inside.
That was strange—Ophelia had never locked the door before.
“Miss Ophelia, are you alright? Miss Ophelia? Miss Ophelia?”
Anna pounded on the door anxiously, but the bathroom remained eerily silent, no response at all except the water.
“If you don’t answer, I’m coming in, Miss Ophelia.”
Intricate and arcane Magic Patterns appeared on Anna’s right hand.
Countless glowing points condensed in her palm, forming a broken sword.
Her mana flowed from her arm to the blade like a shooting star as she slashed at the door lock.
But an invisible Shield composed of countless Magic Sigils instantly materialized before the lock.
The sword clashed against the Shield; the Shield shattered, but the lock remained intact.
Ophelia was clearly inside, but for some reason, she remained silent.
Anna felt the Magic Mark on her lower abdomen rapidly heating up—Ophelia was manipulating her slave mark again.
“Hey, Ophelia, if you’re there, say something. I’ll get worried if you keep silent.”
Enduring the burning sensation, Anna let the sword vanish from her hand.
She knocked again, but still no reply.
Only the sound of water splashing against skin answered her.
A figure shrouded in steam gradually approached.
With a click, the lock was undone.
Ophelia, drenched and dripping water, stood silently in the doorway.
Her head hung low, and in the rising mist, Anna could barely make out her expression.
Anna hurriedly pulled a towel from the side and offered it to her, but Ophelia waved it away with one hand.
Step by step, Ophelia closed the distance, water rolling down her long hair, falling onto Anna’s foot.
It seeped into the white fabric of her sock, leaving a faint gray stain.
Anna tried to step back but was grabbed roughly by the collar.
“Hey, Ophelia, at least dry off and get dressed—”
Before she could finish, Anna was pushed hard to the ground.
Thanks to the thick carpet, the fall didn’t hurt much.
Ophelia gave her no chance to speak, straddling Anna’s waist, her legs clamping down on Anna’s hips like pincers.
She brushed wet bangs from her forehead, revealing a pair of blue eyes that held an unreadable emotion as they locked onto Anna.
One by one, the buttons on Anna’s chest were undone by Ophelia’s fingers, revealing the pristine white undergarment beneath the smooth fabric.
Her breathing was heavy and hot, each breath fanning against Anna’s neck, making Anna’s cheeks flush with warmth.
“Hey, the clothes.”
Anna grabbed some of Ophelia’s clothes tossed on the bed, intending to hand them over, but was blocked by a firm hand.
Perhaps to prevent Anna from doing anything else, a Chain formed from Magic Sigils bound Anna’s wrists tightly.
Ophelia’s fingers pinched Anna’s chin, forcing her to look up and imprint the scene before her eyes.
In the heavy, breathy exchange, Anna found herself captivated.
This was the first time she had seen Ophelia like this.
Even on the night of the “Forget-Your-Worries Lily,” Ophelia had never appeared before her in such a vulnerable state.
Anna swallowed hard, the water in her throat rising.
Droplets from Ophelia’s hair fell onto Anna’s eyelashes, reminding her of the rain on the day they first met.
Except that day, it was Anna who was drenched, and Ophelia had burst into her world after the rain.
Just as domineering and rough as now, yet she was the one who had pulled Anna out of the mire.
Life at the Magic Academy wasn’t easy, but it was a far brighter place than the gloom of before.
Anna felt that she might be starting to crave the light that shone through the pressure.
“Ophelia…”
Anna wanted to touch the skin so close to her.
But with her wrists bound by the Chain, she could only watch as the misty face drew nearer.
Ophelia’s lips landed on Anna’s neck—not a gentle kiss, but a rough, possessive bite like a wild beast sinking its teeth into its prey.
Blood seeped between Ophelia’s teeth.
It was more a bite than a kiss.
Ophelia resembled a toothless young beast tearing into its catch.
“Stop… Ophelia, what’s wrong?”
This wasn’t like her.
Even when punishing herself, she never showed such brutality.
She was always graceful.
The next place to be bitten was Anna’s collarbone, this time accompanied by a light suck.
When Ophelia’s lips left her skin, a small flower-shaped bruise appeared on Anna’s collarbone.
Then came the lower abdomen, the side of her waist, and then, she added a touch.
Ophelia’s fingers slid over the flesh of Anna’s thigh, rising to her abdomen.
Her fingers finally rested on the magenta Magic Mark, followed by another kiss.
Every place she kissed bloomed with pale pink bruises.
“Ophelia, I…”
No reply came.
Ophelia’s kisses continued without pause.
The last kiss landed on Anna’s eyelash.
When Ophelia’s lips brushed past Anna’s mouth, she deliberately changed course, kissing from the earlobe upward to the corner of the eye, finally resting on the lashes.
“Now everyone knows you’re mine, Anna.”
Ophelia finally spoke—the first words of the night—right next to Anna’s ear.
Huh…?
Anna snapped back, realizing that tonight, Ophelia hadn’t made much use of her slave Magic Mark.
Those bruises looked like tags stuck onto her skin—some hidden under clothes, some inevitably exposed.
Could it be… that Ophelia saw her with Beatrice in the library tonight?
If so, was Ophelia’s behavior tonight revenge? An outburst? Or… a declaration of ownership?
“Ophelia, can you unlock these?”
Anna shook her bound wrists.
Ophelia only glanced briefly, still not inclined to respond.
“Are you angry?”
“…”
“Don’t be angry, Ophelia.”
Only silence followed.
Anna sighed and lifted her bound hands, looping them behind Ophelia’s neck.
Using this support, she tilted her head up and kissed Ophelia’s lips.
A damp, sticky kiss landed.
Anna felt like a fish surfacing for air, greedily drinking in Ophelia’s warm breath.
“I’m yours… only yours, Ophelia.”
As the kiss ended, Anna’s forehead rested lightly against Ophelia’s collarbone.
With a soft “smooch,” she left a pale pink bruise on Ophelia’s smooth neck, the same mark as her own.
Anna thought she might be sick—and seriously so.
She could no longer deny that she had started to depend on this villainous mistress.
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