Ize’s heart tightened. He hadn’t expected the effect of the sedative he had meticulously prepared to be so short-lived.
Was the dosage insufficient, or were the side effects of that “Obedience Water” simply too overbearing, creating a drug resistance?
Rhea’s condition was clearly worse than it had been last night.
Her originally cold, silver-gray eyes were now shimmering with moisture, veiled by an inseparable, hazy mist. Her cheeks were flushed like the stain of a sunset, a glow that spread all the way to the tips of her ears and her slender neck.
Her breathing became rapid and scorching. Her fingers, which had been tightly clutching the corner of the quilt to maintain the last vestiges of dignity and reason, began to relax unconsciously. Her body leaned forward slightly, as if drawn by invisible threads, wanting to get closer to the only source of heat in the room—Ize.
“Ize…” she murmured unconsciously, her voice soft and clinging, carrying a heart-wrenching tremor. “It’s… so strange…”
Just as Ize’s scalp tingled and he was about to say something to steady her, the cold and familiar system notification sounded just in time, like a life-saving straw (or perhaps a death warrant):
[God-Level Choice System at your service. Host, please make an appropriate choice as soon as possible.]
[Option 1: Use a hand-chop to quickly knock Rhea unconscious. Difficulty: B. Reward: Protagonist Points +10]
[Option 2: Order Rhea to kneel on the floor, look down at her, and say in an arrogant tone: “You are the heir to the Arseid family, and this is all the endurance you have? Or did you come to my bed in the middle of the night just to have me satisfy you?” Difficulty: B. Reward: Villain Points +10]
[Option 3: Prepare a sedative once more to let Rhea temporarily return to normal. Difficulty: C. Reward: NPC Points +10]
“Are you kidding me!” Ize quickly scanned the options, crying out in his heart. “This time, the options regarding Rhea don’t even have an A-rank difficulty?”
This was very unusual. Usually, when involving this central figure of trouble, the difficulty of the options would be ridiculously high.
His gaze lingered on the Villain option for a moment, his expression becoming extremely strange.
Was the difficulty evaluation for this option wrong?
Saying something like that to Rhea would definitely result in a fight to the death once she regained her senses. No matter how you looked at it, that was an S-rank suicidal act!
On the contrary, the seemingly simple pharmacy option actually had a C-rank difficulty?
It was clearly just mixing some medicine…
Although he had strong doubts about the system’s difficulty judgment, the “survivalist path” instinct he had cultivated over a long time still led him to choose the seemingly safest C-rank option without hesitation—preparing the medicine again.
“You… hold on a little longer!” Ize retreated quickly, pulling a safe distance between them while clumsily pulling out portable medicine-making tools and basic medicinal herbs from his storage ring. “I’ll prepare another dose of sedative for you right now! It’ll be ready soon!”
Rhea seemed completely drowned by the surging, unfamiliar tide of passion within her body.
The last trace of struggling logic on her face was about to dissipate, replaced by total longing and helplessness.
She bit her lower lip hard, trying to use pain to wake herself up, but the effect was minimal.
Hearing Ize’s words, she seemed to grasp at a final straw. She nodded with all her strength, squeezing out a fragmented, tearful response from her throat: “Then… then hurry up… I… I really… I can’t take it anymore…”
Who could have imagined that Rhea, the heir of the Arseid family who was usually as cold as ice to the outside world, would show such an alluring appearance?
Ize did not dare to delay. He immediately crouched on the floor, immersing his mind in the medicine-making process.
Grinding, extracting, blending… His movements were slightly stiff due to nervousness, but he strove for precision in every step.
However, he soon understood why the system had judged this seemingly simple task as C-rank difficulty.
The real challenge did not come from the pharmacy itself, but from the extreme interference from the outside world.
“Ize…” Rhea’s voice seemed to have hooks, floating over softly. “I feel so bad… Can I… hold you like last time? Just for a little while…”
As she spoke, she unconsciously pressed her legs together, her slender waist twisting slightly in distress, as if countless ants were gnawing and crawling inside her.
Ize’s hand shook, almost spilling the essence he had just extracted.
He forced himself not to look at her and said in a muffled voice, “No! Holding will only make it worse! Just endure it!”
“But… it’s really so hot…”
Rhea didn’t seem to hear his refusal at all. Instead, she began to tug at her already messy collar, revealing a small patch of exquisite collarbone and pink-tinged skin.
“Ize… your hands… are they cool? Can you… touch me? Anywhere is fine…”
Ize felt cold sweat break out on his forehead instantly, a wave of heat rushing uncontrollably to the top of his head.
He gritted his teeth, frantically chanting a “Heart-Clearing Mantra” in his mind: “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form… If I touch her, I’m dead. If I touch her, I’m dead…”
“Ize…”
Rhea’s call became even sweeter, even taking on a pampered tone, something that was absolutely impossible when she was conscious.
“I want… I want a kiss… Can you kiss me? Or… let me kiss you…”
As she spoke, she actually wobbled and tried to get off the bed, fumbling toward Ize’s direction.
“Hold on just a bit longer!” Ize almost roared, his voice changing pitch.
He felt like he was undergoing a battle more dangerous than facing a Lord-class Goblin.
At least a Goblin could be punched to death. This person in front of him couldn’t be hit or scolded; he even had to “serve” her carefully.
He could only speed up the movements of his hands while trying to use words to soothe or deter her: “If you keep moving, the potion will fail! If it fails and you lose control, there’s no guarantee others won’t discover what you look like now! Think of your status! The heir of the Arseid family! Think of your sister, Angelica!”
At the mention of “sister” and “family,” Rhea’s movements seemed to stiffen for a split second. A flash of struggle and fear crossed her eyes, but it was soon covered by a more surging tide of passion.
“Sister… No… I don’t want to think… Ize… help me…”
She eventually stumbled to Ize’s side, her burning body almost pressing against his back.
Ize could clearly feel her scorching breath blowing against his ear and the side of his neck, causing waves of tremors.
She even reached out her slender fingers, carefully tugging at the corner of Ize’s clothes, like a small beast seeking comfort but not knowing its own strength.
Ize’s whole body was as stiff as a stone. All his willpower was used to resist the fatal temptation and impact coming from behind him, while simultaneously dividing his attention to ensure the medicine-making did not go wrong.
Sweat slid down his temples and dripped into the merging potion, making a slight “hissing” sound.
He felt like he was going crazy. This was simply double torture for his soul and body!
Damn it, why wasn’t his transmigration identity the protagonist, Rean!
If it were the protagonist Rean, he wouldn’t have to worry about so much right now.
“Almost… almost there…” he muttered to himself, not knowing if he was comforting Rhea or encouraging himself.
In the system’s notifications, Rhea’s favorability had already broken through 95 and was still slowly climbing. This fully demonstrated that her reason was almost gone, completely dominated by the primal impulses triggered by the drug.
Finally, after a period of frantic and perilous operation, the liquid in the test tube gradually took on a stable, light blue luster, emitting a cool and peaceful aura—the new sedative was about to be completed!
“Success!”
Just as Ize dripped the last stabilizer into the test tube and watched the potion completely take shape, the string in his heart that had been tightened to the limit relaxed for a ten-thousandth of a second due to the dawn of success—
A sudden change occurred!
Perhaps Ize’s momentary relaxation allowed her to catch a gap, or perhaps the accumulated impulse finally broke through the last dam. The misty water in Rhea’s eyes suddenly condensed, turning into a certain resolute longing.
Her hand, which had been resting on Ize’s shoulder, suddenly exerted force. Seizing the moment when he was fully concentrated on the potion and his physical defenses were at their weakest, she used that strength. Her whole person was like a moth to a flame, lunging forward regardless of the consequences!
Soft and warm!
Moist!
With a hint of sweet yet scorching breath!
Ize only felt his vision go dark, and a completely unfamiliar and soft sensation suddenly came from his lips.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Ize’s eyes widened, his mind went blank, and the test tube of sedative he had just finished almost slipped from his hand.
He looked in disbelief at Rhea’s tightly closed, slightly trembling eyelashes right in front of him, feeling the inexperienced yet exceptionally persistent touch on his lips.
Rhea… kissed him?!
*Buzz—*
Ize only felt a huge surge of heat explode from the place where they touched, sweeping through his entire body in an instant, making his limbs feel numb as if an electric current had passed through them.
His heart was like being struck by a heavy hammer, beating wildly, almost breaking through his chest.
He froze in place, unable to move, even forgetting to breathe.
With this kiss, it was as if a switch had been flipped on Rhea’s side, and her movements became increasingly intense.
Neither of them had ever kissed before, but this purest kiss, born from physiological desire itself, surpassed all technique.
Rhea attacked desperately, wanting to get a response from Ize.
But Ize seemed to be petrified, without any movement.
Finally, the blue light emitting from the sedative in his hand allowed Ize’s thoughts to temporarily return. He sucked the sedative in from the corner of his mouth without hesitation, though he only swallowed a small portion.
But even this small portion of the sedative allowed the desires of both people to be temporarily suppressed at the same time.
However, at this moment, neither of them dared to move. Finally, Rhea’s body softened, and she slowly fell backward, slumping on the floor, staring blankly at Ize.
Only her violently heaving chest and still-flushed cheeks proved that the world-shaking scene just now was not an illusion.
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