Chapter 72: The good news escaped, the bad news was a trap.

A Practical Lesson?

Lilia shuddered, her dizzy mind instantly clearing up.

Whenever this pervert mentioned a “Practical Lesson,” it absolutely meant nothing good!

“I’ve learned, meow!”

She raised her hand and nodded repeatedly.

“Master, you taught me so well that I understand everything now! There’s no need for a practical lesson, meow!”

“Is that so?”

Lucia looked at her.

“Since you understand everything, then prove it to me.”

She released the arm that was restraining Lilia.

Lilia’s body felt light; she could finally move.

“The rules are simple.”

Lucia held up a finger, dark purple mana floating at its tip.

“I will give you ten seconds to use Teleportation to get out of my arms.”

“As long as you are more than one meter away from me, you win.”

Lilia blinked.

Ten seconds?

Leave by one meter?

That… wasn’t hard?

She had messed up earlier.

But at least she had teleported Lilith over, which meant her sense of direction was fine!

As long as she didn’t get the target wrong this time—

“And if I lose, meow?”

She still decided to ask.

She felt like this pervert was up to no good.

“If you lose…”

Lucia’s palm landed on her perky buttocks and gave them a pat.

“Or if ten seconds pass and you haven’t moved…”

Lilia’s body tensed, the muscles in her bottom contracting.

The pain of being held over someone’s lap and struck seemed to come rushing back.

“…I’ll help you ‘stretch’ a bit so you’ll have more motivation next time.”

Lucia’s voice was very low.

Lilia’s face flushed hot.

That wasn’t stretching!

That was an outright threat!

“Lilith.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lilith, who had already changed back into her maid uniform, bowed.

No emotion could be seen on her face.

It was as if the person wearing the cartoon nightgown earlier wasn’t her.

“Begin the countdown.”

“Understood.”

Lilith raised her hand, her voice steady.

“Ten.”

The cold number was uttered.

Lilia’s entire body tensed; her survival instinct made her ignore everything else.

She closed her eyes and poured all her mental strength into the mana network.

Space!

She could perceive that Lucia had laid an invisible “net” around them.

The Laws of Space had become viscous, making every movement difficult.

But there was a chance!

On this “net,” there was a spot where the energy fluctuations were weaker!

Right there!

“Nine.”

Lilith’s voice was devoid of emotion.

Lilia grit her teeth.

She condensed all her spatial power into a single point and pierced toward that weak spot!

“Eight.”

She broke through!

She felt her connection to the external space restore.

Now!

Lilia activated Teleportation!

Target: five meters ahead!

“Seven.”

“Buzz—”

Space fluctuated.

Lilia’s figure vanished from Lucia’s arms.

Success!

She appeared on the carpet five meters away.

Her body swayed slightly from the mana consumption, but her heart was filled with wild joy!

She did it!

She really escaped from that pervert’s embrace!

She turned around triumphantly, just about to say, “This young lady isn’t someone to be trifled with, meow”—

The expression on her face froze.

A powerful gravitational pull surged from behind her, one she couldn’t resist.

The scene before her eyes reversed at high speed.

Her body had already fallen back into that familiar embrace.

She was back on Lucia’s lap.

Even her posture hadn’t changed!

“Meow?!”

Lilia was stunned.

What happened?

Hadn’t she already teleported out?

“Not bad.”

Lucia’s voice rang out from above her.

“Finding the Backdoor I left and successfully teleporting out on your first try was faster than I expected.”

Backdoor?

Lilia froze.

“Did you think you could break through my Spatial Lockdown so easily?”

Lucia’s finger traced down her spine.

“I deliberately left a small gap to see how long it would take my little pet to find it.”

Lilia’s head buzzed.

So…

All her desperate efforts just now.

Were they just her crawling into a trap someone had intentionally set?

That so-called “successful escape.”

From beginning to end, was it just this pervert’s game?

Shame and frustration rushed through her.

“You played me, meow!”

Lilia was shaking with anger.

“It’s called teaching.”

Lucia corrected her.

“Now you’ve learned the first lesson: never trust an enemy to reveal a weakness so easily.”

She pinched Lilia’s cheek.

“The game continues.”

“Lilith.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Restart the timer.”

“Ten.”

That voice rang out again.

Lilia was on the verge of tears.

Again?!

She had just fallen from the clouds, and now she had to do it all over again?

“Nine.”

No!

She wouldn’t give up!

Since that “Backdoor” was a trap, she would open a door herself!

Lilia mobilized her mana again, but this time she didn’t look for a weak point.

Instead, she condensed all her spatial power and hammered at the Spatial Barrier beside her!

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

“Six.”

The Spatial Barrier vibrated violently, but it was exceptionally resilient.

Her mana was being consumed rapidly, and her mind began to sting with pain.

It won’t work; brute force alone won’t break it!

“Five.”

Lilia was sweating with anxiety.

What should she do?

Right! She remembered the feeling of absorbing the dragon scale.

Tear it, then reconstruct it!

If she couldn’t break it, she would tear it open!

“Four.”

Lilia changed her strategy.

She no longer condensed her mana into a single point but spread it out, attaching it to the Spatial Barrier.

Then, she yanked it toward both sides with all her might!

“Three.”

“Sizzle—”

A soft sound echoed.

A crack was actually torn open in the Spatial Barrier by her!

There’s hope!

“Two.”

Lilia poured all of her remaining mana into it.

She widened the crack until it was large enough for her to squeeze through.

She immediately activated Teleportation!

“One.”

“Buzz—”

Lilia’s figure vanished once more.

This time she didn’t dare to be happy but immediately looked back.

She successfully appeared three meters away, and she wasn’t pulled back!

She really escaped using her own strength!

A massive sense of achievement welled up inside her.

She looked at Lucia, just about to talk some trash—

A more dangerous smile appeared on Lucia’s face.

“Congratulations, you’ve learned the second lesson.”

Lucia stood up and walked toward her.

“Forced Space Tearing is indeed effective.”

“However…”

Her figure vanished from where she stood.

The next second, she appeared behind Lilia, her cold fingers pressing against the back of Lilia’s neck.

“…In front of a higher-level space user, the crack you tore open is also a door wide open for me.”

Lilia’s body froze.

She turned her head little by little.

Lucia’s face was right there, her tone filled with the delight of a victor.

“Caught you.”

As soon as the words fell, Lilia was scooped up by her waist and slung over a shoulder.

Then, she was pressed heavily face-down onto the soft sofa.

“Meow-ah! What are you doing! Let me go, meow!”

Lilia struggled desperately.

“The ten seconds are up. Although you teleported out, you were caught by me again.”

Lucia’s voice came from above, laced with amusement.

“Therefore, you lost the game.”

“Now, it’s time to settle the punishment.”

She raised her hand.

Lilia’s tail puffed up, and her body went stiff.

“Wait… wait a second, meow!”

Her voice was trembling.

“I… I worked really hard, meow! And I really did teleport out, meow!”

“The rule was to leave me by more than one meter.”

Lucia’s palm lightly patted her upturned buttocks.

“You did that.”

“But the rules didn’t say I couldn’t catch you back.”

Lilia’s eyes widened.

What… what kind of logic was that?

That’s cheating!

“Therefore…”

Lucia leaned down, whispering into her ear.

“The punishment begins.”