Ilus could not answer. Her consciousness was still submerged in a blurry mire, but the vivid pain and the current, almost gentle soothing felt like two opposing currents. They crashed and intertwined within her body, which she could no longer control.
She was no longer able to rationally distinguish between these two different sensations.
If Iliana could see into Ilus’s mind, she would find that the girl currently looked like a broken toy, lying on the ground without any attempt to hide her state.
The whites of her eyes showing as her pupils rolled up, along with the occasional twitching and spasms, all served as reminders of the terrible condition she was in.
The scent of the Herb Ointment was light and slightly bitter, quietly diffusing through the silent room.
Iliana applied it very carefully, not missing even the reddest areas on the very edges. It was only when the tube of ointment was nearly exhausted that she stopped, her fingertip giving one last light tap to the skin that still radiated heat.
“Alright.”
She whispered to herself, though it was unclear who she was speaking to.
She did not immediately fix Ilus’s clothes or cover her with a thin blanket. Instead, she stayed in that position, standing there quietly with a heavy gaze falling upon the marks she had personally drawn.
The swelling had not yet subsided, and under the warm yellow light, it gave off a moist sheen, creating a jarring and eerie contrast against the surrounding snow-white skin.
A look of frustration appeared on Iliana’s face. Next time she went to Magic Street, she really should buy more Memory Stones to record every bit of the Young Lady’s wretched appearance.
If the Young Lady dared to be disobedient again, she would use those recordings to blackmail her.
No matter how unwilling the Young Lady might be, she would surely have to obey her submissively.
At the thought of Ilus biting her lip in total reluctance but having no choice but to show her Obedience, Iliana felt a certain fire ignite deep in her lower abdomen.
She was truly looking forward to it.
A moment later, she finally made a new move.
She used a nearby wet towel to carefully wipe her fingers clean. Then, she leaned down and carefully pulled up the dress that had slipped to Ilus’s waist, tidying the girl’s clothes.
After that, she moved gently to cover the body that was still trembling slightly with a quilt, pulling it all the way up to her shoulders.
Her actions could even be described as considerate, making her seem like a completely different person from the cold enforcer who had just finished the punishment.
Having done all this, Iliana stepped back two paces and stood by the bed, quietly gazing at the person on it.
Ilus remained in her forced prone position. Only her messy white hair and half of her flushed cheek were exposed. Her long eyelashes, wet from physiological tears, were stuck to her lower eyelids. Her breathing had leveled out significantly, but it still carried an unstable tremor.
“Goodnight, Young Lady.”
Iliana’s voice was very soft, yet it carried an even thicker sense of provocation.
“I’ll be leaving for a little while~”
She turned around, her skirt silently brushing against the carpet as she walked to the door. She reached out and extinguished the main light in the room.
Only a dim wall lamp remained, casting ambiguous shadows in the corner. The door opened and then clicked shut gently.
The room fell into a silence that was half-dark and half-lit. The scent of the Herb Ointment seemed to linger in the air, along with a formless, weightless atmosphere that was heavy enough to suffocate someone.
Ilus still could not move, but her control over her body was slowly returning. However, the speed of recovery was despairingly slow.
As her body gradually recovered, the pain behind her became more and more tangible.
Under the Drug Effect, the sharp agony had turned into a continuous, stifling dull ache. It was no longer piercing, but it seeped deeper into her marrow, mixing with a lingering sense of shame that scorched her nerves.
She could clearly feel the soft wrap of the bedding, and she could also feel the extraordinary presence of the skin behind her.
It was swollen and hot. The memory of being struck was terrifyingly vivid. Although she didn’t know everything Iliana had said to her at the end, the mere thought of her caused the pain in her rounded backside to seem to intensify.
Tears slid silently from the corners of her eyes and soaked into the pillowcase. This wasn’t because of the pain, but rather a deeper sense of helplessness and humiliation originating from her soul.
She had thought Iliana was dead, but she hadn’t expected her to not only make a comeback but also nearly beat her bottom to a pulp.
In front of this Demon, she was only fit to be trampled upon at will. She didn’t have even a sliver of strength to resist. This sense of defeat caused waves of deeper despair to wash over Ilus.
What terrified her even more was that amidst the intense pain and the coolness after the application of the ointment, a certain unfamiliar shudder and strange sensation—which she refused to acknowledge—had quietly brushed past her heart. This realization was even more shameful to her than the pain itself.
Time flowed in the silence, every second stretched out infinitely. Ilus tried to concentrate her mind to regain control of her body, even if it was just to move a finger.
At the same time, she began to replay Iliana’s crimes in her mind over and over again, using anger and resentment to arm her crumbling dignity.
‘Iliana… how dare you… do this to me! Just you wait… once I recover…’ Her consciousness screamed silently in the darkness.
The girl swore that tomorrow she would look for the contact information of that so-called Dark House. No matter how much money they wanted, as long as they could kill Iliana, she was willing to pay any price!
She would chop this woman into mincemeat this time and see how she resurrected then!
Being constantly bullied by Iliana caused the long-accumulated anger in Ilus’s heart to explode completely.
She tried to clear her mind to focus all her effort on recovering her body, but the memories were too vivid. The crisp sounds of the slapping, the burning pain, and the sensation of those cold fingertips all lingered like ghosts that wouldn’t leave.
After an unknown amount of time, a faint, almost imperceptible sting came from her fingertips. It was a sign that her senses were beginning to return. Ilus’s heart tightened suddenly, followed by a surge of wild joy. ‘Soon, it will be soon…’
However, just as she was trying to gather her strength and move her body, an extremely faint but unusually familiar sound of footsteps came from the hallway outside.
The footsteps were elegant and steady, neither fast nor slow, approaching this very door.
Is it Iliana? No, it’s definitely her. She is the only one who would come to my room at this time.
Did she… come back again? What is she back for?
The small amount of strength she had just gathered scattered instantly. It was replaced by a cold fear that went straight to her marrow. What was she going to do to her now?
Was the punishment not over yet? Or was it…
Ilus froze on the bed, even unconsciously holding her breath. The dull ache behind her seemed to become vivid again, accompanied by the sound of her heart drumming wildly in her chest.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
Immediately after, the door was pushed open gently.
The door opened… In an instant, the anger that had been burning brightly in Ilus’s heart was extinguished, replaced by an indescribable sense of fear.
After the person entered the room, there was no sound. Ilus turned her head as much as possible to look for them, but just as she turned a little, she saw Iliana’s smile right before her eyes…
“Oh, you’re awake, Young Lady~”