Rhea’s cheeks were originally tinged with a rosy blush, lingering from the medicine’s effects and an overwhelming sense of shame, but when she heard the words “Three Days,” all color drained from her face as if swept away by a tide, leaving her utterly pale.
Three Days?
This terrifying state, where she lost control of her body and mind and was driven only by the most primal impulses, would last for three days?
Just imagining the scene sent a chill rushing up Rhea’s spine, filling her with lingering dread.
She didn’t even dare think about what might happen if, during those three days, she had close contact with Ize again—what uncontrollable, utterly mortifying things she might end up doing.
After all, as the Heir of the Arced family, she had received the strictest elite education from childhood.
Living as a man, she was required to suppress all feminine emotions.
Her willpower, tempered through Angelica’s devilish training, was far stronger than most people’s.
She once believed that nothing in this world could shake her composure.
But just now, under the terrifying power of that unknown potion, her prideful Iron Will had melted away like snow under the sun, offering no resistance at all.
This complete loss of control filled her with an unprecedented fear and… humiliation.
She took a deep breath, forced herself to straighten her back, and tried to don her usual mask of icy arrogance and disdain, using coldness to cover the turbulent waves inside her heart.
However, the flush that lingered stubbornly on her cheeks mercilessly betrayed her true feelings.
Almost gritting her teeth, she squeezed out a question, her voice laced with disbelief:
“You… Where on earth did you get this… this terrifying stuff?!”
Ize guiltily averted his gaze, scratching his cheek as he repeated his earlier weak explanation, “I-I told you, didn’t I… I just bought it from that Traveling Merchant…”
Rhea’s beautiful eyes, still shimmering from earlier emotion, now stared at Ize.
Her gaze, rather than pure anger, seemed to carry a trace of something else—a faint, unconscious mix of shame and allure:
“Are you sure you didn’t buy this indecent potion with some kind of wicked intent, planning to use it for… unsavory things?”
Ize immediately straightened up, putting on the most upright expression possible and defended himself earnestly:
“Lady Rhea, you’re wronging me! How could Ize be that kind of person? If I really harbored such filthy thoughts, just now… just now, in that situation, I would’ve already…”
“That’s enough! Stop!” Rhea’s cheeks turned bright red, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and she hurriedly cut off whatever Ize was about to say.
Just imagining what he might have said next was enough to make the blood rush to her head.
She forced herself to be calm, doing her best to make her voice sound cold and intimidating, though a faint tremor betrayed her unease, “What happened today—if you dare mention a single word to anyone…”
She paused, a sharp gleam flashing in her eyes, “I swear on my family name, Rhea, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth!”
The words had barely left her mouth when she suddenly remembered her secret, and her heart tightened. She hurried to add,
“And—about my… that secret, you must keep it as well. The reward I promised you before, I’ll naturally make good on it.”
She’d only meant to probe and confirm whether Ize still remembered that she was disguised as a man.
Now there was no need to probe at all; her emotions in turmoil, she’d blurted out the secret herself and even emphasized it.
Not only did Ize now know one of her secrets, but she’d also added an even more embarrassing, even bigger black mark to her history!
If she’d known things would turn out like this, she’d rather never have stepped foot in this room!
A wave of regret surged in Rhea’s heart, as bitter as swallowing an entire unripe fruit.
But what’s done was done; regret was useless.
She suddenly remembered Ize’s warning—the effects of that potion would still flare up intermittently for the next three days whenever she had contact with him.
The realization made her want to get away at once.
She almost fled, spinning around without another glance at Ize, her aloof composure and poorly concealed panic warring as she strode to the door, unbolted it, and disappeared into the shadows of the corridor without looking back.
Watching Rhea’s near-panicked retreat vanish behind the door, Ize felt as if all his strength had suddenly drained away. He flopped onto the bed and let out a long, weary sigh.
He knew it!
This damned Main Storyline wasn’t something you could just breeze through!
He’d only just started to get involved with a main character, and before the mission had even properly started, there was already such a ridiculous mess—and it involved some troublesome and ambiguous potion to boot.
Who knew how many more traps awaited him ahead?
“So bitter… this is too bitter…” Ize stared up at the ceiling, groaning weakly, “Why is my life so bitter?!”
All he wanted was to keep his head down and live quietly as some background nobody, just surviving in this world—why was it so hard?
Was this the price for impulsively picking the high-difficulty option six years ago, when the system first gave him choices?
He remembered it perfectly: when he first transmigrated, every S-rank or A-rank option the system offered, he’d picked almost all of them, driven by some “the protagonist never dies” delusion and thirst for excitement!
If only he’d had more resolve back then, chosen the safe options, and stayed put waiting for the rescue from Liyue Academy…
He would never have crossed paths with Rhea Arced, a key figure at the eye of the storm.
He wouldn’t have been locked in a magic array and tormented by that terrifying Angelica, nor would he have accidentally ended up at Starlight Academy and been taken in as an apprentice by Mentor Claire…
Then all of today’s farce—this soul-draining chaos—would never have happened!
Maybe, under the protection of those “safe” system options, he would’ve long since mastered the art of survival and lived an ordinary but safe life.
Ize tossed and turned on the bed, full of regret over his past choices.
Yet he knew there was no medicine for regret.
There was no point thinking about it now.
“Ah, just take it one step at a time.” He sighed, comforting himself, “For now, I’d better focus on safely getting through this task to investigate monsters in Raymond.”
Just as he forced himself to clear his mind and rest, his ears caught a faint rustling sound—the almost inaudible friction of clothing from the next room.
“Hm?” Ize’s ears twitched, his relaxed body instantly tensing up.
He sat up with a start, turned, and pressed his ear carefully against the shared wall, holding his breath to listen.
Sure enough, there was a very faint breathing sound from the other side… was someone else pressing their ear to the wall too?
Ize’s face darkened at once.
He took a deep breath, gathered his voice, and growled at the wall in a low, dangerous tone:
“Luke—get your ass over here!!!”
In the next room, Luke was scratching his head, desperate for more gossip. Suddenly, Ize’s shout made him jump out of bed, his heart thundering.
He instinctively wanted to lie back down and play dead, but before he could act, he heard Ize’s door slam open, and a second later, his own door was thrown wide.
Ize stood there like an avenging god, eyes sharp as a hawk, staring straight through him with a look that seemed to strip away all pretenses.
Luke, intimidated, raised both hands reflexively and stammered out a defense:
“Senior I-Ize! I swear! I didn’t hear anything! I didn’t even know Lady Rhea just visited your room! I know nothing!”
At those words, Ize’s lips curled into a cold smile.
Goodness, he hadn’t even asked anything yet and this kid had already confessed, flipping all his cards!
“As the saying goes, beware the walls that have ears…”
Ize advanced step by step, cracking his knuckles as he put on a “friendly” smile.
“I finally understand—those words were meant for eavesdroppers like you!”
Luke broke into a cold sweat, shrinking back as he tried one last desperate plea:
“Senior Ize, th-this isn’t all my fault… I was sleeping just fine until there was a big ‘bang’ from your room that woke me up… and then the noise from your side was… well, pretty loud… We’re just separated by a wall—how could I not hear something?”
Ize forced a grin that didn’t reach his eyes and replied,
“Oh? So it’s normal you heard something, but pressing your ear to the wall to listen in—that was involuntary too?”
As he spoke, he moved swiftly and grabbed Luke by the ear, applying a little force:
“Seems you don’t need these ears anymore—should I help fix that for you?”
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Senior Ize, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong!”
Luke winced and begged for mercy.
“I promise! Everything I saw or heard tonight, I’ll forget it all! I won’t breathe a word! I swear!”
Ize shook his head, his tone unyielding:
“No. Words alone aren’t enough. I’m not at ease. Looks like I’ll have to use my special ‘Physical Amnesia Magic’ on you, or I just won’t feel safe.”
Moments later, Luke’s room echoed with muffled, miserable wails and pleas for mercy, interspersed with the dull thuds of fists and Ize’s occasional, low-voiced explanations:
“This one’s to help you forget the sounds… This one’s to help you forget the images…”
After a thorough “education,” Luke finally “passed out” most convincingly.
Ize looked at Luke, unconscious and sprawled on the floor, nodded in satisfaction, then knelt and summoned a soft green glow to his hands. He used a basic Healing Spell to heal all of Luke’s external injuries, making sure there wasn’t a single mark left.
Once he finished, he dusted off his hands and, perfectly content, returned to his own room.
The next morning, everyone gathered in the inn’s main hall for breakfast.
Emma, watching Luke across the table as he kept rubbing his temples and the back of his head with a dazed, pained expression, couldn’t help but ask:
“Luke, what’s wrong with your head? You’ve been rubbing it since earlier—does it hurt?”
Luke frowned and kept massaging his sore head, puzzled:
“I don’t know… It’s weird. My head keeps aching, like someone beat me with a stick… But when I checked in the mirror, there weren’t any bruises or wounds…”
Sitting nearby, Ize maintained a calm demeanor as he ate his breakfast. Without pausing, he took a sip of milk and replied blandly,
“Maybe you just had a nightmare, or slept in a bad position. Don’t overthink it, eat up. We need to leave on time soon.”
Luke mulled over Ize’s words, his face lighting up in sudden realization as he nodded:
“Mm! Senior Ize, you’re right! That must be it! I dreamed of being chased and beaten last night… So it really was a nightmare!”
But then he frowned again, a hint of confusion in his expression, muttering quietly:
“But… I don’t know why, but I feel like I forgot something really funny… What was it? I just can’t remember at all…”
Ize kept eating his bread without a change in expression—sure enough, Physical Amnesia Magic was the most effective of all.