Silver moonlight flowed like water into the silent room, illuminating Ian’s silent face and Otillia’s hazy, sleeping countenance.
Ian took a deep breath and pulled out a Memory Sealing Scroll.
The scroll was a leftover from when Ian was still ‘correcting’ Otillia at House Philemons.
In the early stages of her correction, Otillia’s Tyranny Disorder required frequent venting.
Marquis Bert would find various injured Demonic Creatures for her to ravage at will.
Otillia had been a mere child back then.
Regardless of who it was, anyone would likely end up psychologically twisted if they woke up to see severed limbs and a literal river of blood surrounding them.
To protect young Otillia’s mental health, Marquis Bert had no choice but to use Memory Sealing Scrolls to seal away her memories of those violent days.
Later, as Otillia stabilized, Marquis Bert no longer needed to suppress her by force. Naturally, this task was handed over to Ian.
The use of a Memory Sealing Scroll required the target to be non-resistant for it to take effect.
That was the reason Ian had purchased the Psychedelic Sleeping Potion.
Ian’s plan was to seal the memory fragments of the past few days where Otillia had discovered him.
He wanted to return her to the state she was in when her ‘correction’ was first completed.
Just as the Memory Sealing Scroll was about to touch Otillia —
“Ian…”
A clear call caused Ian’s hand to pause mid-motion.
Otillia was not entirely asleep.
The effects of the medicine left her consciousness floating in a state of superposition between wakefulness and slumber.
Her eyes were half-open, her blurred blue gaze reflecting the moonlight and Ian’s shadow.
Her focus was so intense it made one’s heart tremble.
“Ian… you’re back… Hug me~”
Ian’s hand froze in midair, his fingertips only 1 inch away from Otillia’s forehead.
The scroll’s light flickered slightly.
Otillia’s soft voice was like a fine needle, unexpectedly piercing through his cold mask.
Under the moonlight, the half-open blue eyes showed no trace of the frenzy or murderous intent Ian remembered.
There was only a shimmering, misty dependence, like that of a child.
Ian hesitated.
It wasn’t because he had grown soft-hearted.
It was because an incident had occurred; Otillia still possessed a sliver of consciousness and could even call out his name.
Forcing the seal could trigger resistance or even cause damage to her spirit.
“Hug me~”
Otillia whimpered again, her voice softening further with a hint of a wronged sob.
Her body leaned slightly toward him, and she opened her arms wide.
Those blurred eyes stared straight at him.
It felt as though if she didn’t receive a response, the moisture in her eyes would coalesce into teardrops and roll down her cheeks in the next second.
Ian’s scalp went numb.
He had ‘infiltrated’ this place!
If she actually started crying or made too much noise and attracted the guards, the consequences would be disastrous.
“Fine, fine, I’ll hug you. Be good, don’t cry…”
Ian lowered his voice and was forced to compromise.
He quickly tucked the scroll back into his robe, deciding to stabilize her first.
He steeled himself and moved closer with stiff movements, tentatively reaching out to gently wrap his arms around her willow-thin waist.
Otillia immediately acted like a fledgling bird finding its nest.
Her entire body went limp yet leaned into him with surprising strength.
Her head naturally burrowed from his arm into his chest, searching for the most comfortable position.
Ian was pushed by her momentum and had to sit back on the bed to hold her properly.
Then, Otillia skillfully pushed her luck.
She struggled to adjust her position until she was sitting sideways on his lap, her arms tightly encircling his waist and her face buried deep in his chest.
He could clearly feel the warmth of her body and smell the faint scent of sunlight and refreshing plants lingering in her hair.
It was a strange contrast to her current soft, powerless state.
Suddenly, she did something that caused Ian’s muscles to tense instantly.
Buried against his chest, she took a deep breath, and then another, as if confirming a familiar scent.
Immediately after, she let out a satisfied, silly giggle.
Her tense body completely relaxed, and with that foolish smile still on her face, she rubbed against his lapel and stopped moving.
Ian: “…”
Ian felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
He could only maintain this intimate posture, not daring to move a muscle.
He had to wait for her to fall into a deep sleep before he could continue his grand plan of sealing her memories.
The moonlight flowed silently, leaving only the sound of their intermingled breathing in the room.
Otillia’s breathing gradually became even and long.
Just as Ian thought the timing was right and quietly took out the scroll again to finish the job quickly, the girl in his arms stirred again, letting out a blurred murmur.
“…So much blood… I’m scared… no…”
“With Ian here… I’m not afraid… I’m not…!”
Her voice was broken and intermittent.
Otillia’s sleep-talking once again paralyzed Ian’s hand holding the scroll.
She was still conscious; she wasn’t fully asleep!
Moreover, because the quality of the potion was too good, some of the previously sealed memories had begun to leak out.
These were memories from shortly after he had started her correction.
Back then, Ian was inexperienced with the memory-sealing task, which had allowed little Otillia’s previous memories of her rampages to leak.
A world of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, along with her own monster-like appearance, had brought little Otillia to the brink of collapse.
At that time, to comfort her, he had embraced her even though she was half-transformed, covered in blood and sharp spikes.
He had said: “You aren’t a monster; you’re just sick. You’ll get better. Don’t be afraid, I’m here…”
Even when her resistance caused the spikes to dig deep into his flesh, Ian had not let go.
“You said… I would get better… that I would become… an amazing… shining person…”
Her voice dropped, carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.
“I believe you… I’ve always… always believed you…”
Her arms tightened, burying her face deeper into his chest as if it were the source of warmth that protected her from all cold and darkness.
“Ian…”
She suddenly lifted her head, her blurred blue eyes trying hard to focus, attempting to see the silhouette beneath the mask so close to her.
The potion had muddled her logic, but it made her emotions more direct and overwhelming.
“I… I like you…”
She stared straight at him.
“Since a long time ago… I’ve liked you… I like you so much…”
“Do… do you like Otillia?”
The moonlight was like frost, quietly enveloping the two people in their embrace.
The girl looked up, her gaze hazy yet persistent, filled with absolute expectation and a sliver of hidden fragility.
She was stunningly beautiful.
Even while pale and haggard, that breathtaking beauty and her current unreserved dependence were enough to make any man’s heart skip a beat.
Not to mention, through their thin clothing, he could feel the curves and temperature of her body…
From a male instinctual perspective, it would be a lie to say he felt nothing when faced with such a beautiful girl’s heartfelt confession in such a setting.
Ian felt his heart skip a beat, and his throat went dry.
But…
From a rational perspective…
It was the same old story; he wasn’t a masochist.
In his memories, Otillia had brought him nothing but bone fractures and shocks.
Therefore, his answer was…