A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 13

“……”

Left alone in a stranger’s bathroom, Tilia stood frozen in place, her hand still on the first button of her shirt, as if she had turned to stone. If not for the lingering scent of Ilex Davenport in the bathroom, she might have stayed that way for a long time.

‘If I don’t wash, we can’t do it…?’

Her flushed head tilted slightly.

Is this how it usually works? Even in a hurry, you still have to wash first?

Tilia, momentarily lost in thought, reached for the second button with a blank expression.

But that can’t be. The book Judy brought didn’t say anything about having to wash first. Still, Tilia tried to accept the situation, undoing the rest of the buttons.

Whether she understood it or not, she had no choice but to follow his instructions. In this situation, no matter what anyone said, the one in control was Ilex Davenport. And with her lack of experience, she had no option but to rely on the advice of a veteran.

As she came to the conclusion that the novels had likely been exaggerated, Tilia undid the final button. Her skirt dropped, and her shirt slipped off. Finally, her undergarments, soaked with sweat, slid down her white legs, leaving her completely naked.

The cold air touched her heated skin, covered in patches of red, and she shivered involuntarily.

It felt like she was trapped in an unrealistic dream. The luxurious bathtub, which didn’t belong in a dorm room, only added to the surreal feeling. She had heard there was a vast difference between the regular dorms and the special dorms, but this was beyond her expectations.

Lost in her dazed thoughts, Tilia staggered toward the bathtub. The heat, which had briefly faded from the cold air, and the desire that had temporarily subsided, began to rise again.

‘It’s too hot.’

Tilia reached out and turned the valve for the cold water. The water that poured out was icy cold, but it wasn’t enough to cool her body, which felt as though she had swallowed a ball of fire.

‘I’m burning up… I feel like I’m going to die.’

Her insides, especially one indescribable part, felt as though the sun itself was growing inside her. The sensation was no longer just uncomfortable; it had become painful.

No matter how much cold water she poured over herself, the heat wouldn’t subside. At the same time, her whole body trembled as if she were freezing.

As the cold water hit her, Tilia looked up at the mirror in front of her. Reflected back at her was a woman with red, flushed eyes. She looked pitiful, like a wet mouse, with nothing but desire and thirst in her empty green eyes.

Slowly, Tilia could feel her rationality slipping away entirely.

What she had thought was her limit earlier had only been an excuse. Now, she had truly reached her limit.

If she held on any longer, she was sure that something inside her would break completely.

I have to get out.

Like a puppet on strings, Tilia staggered out of the bathtub. She didn’t even glance at the pile of clothes she had discarded like a shed skin. She stumbled several times, her knees bruising red, before she finally reached the end of the vast bathroom.

Drip, drip.

The cold water dripped from her body onto the beautifully carved brass handle.

I have to get out.

Breathing heavily, Tilia placed her hand on the doorknob. She had to get out and find someone who could cool this unbearable heat. She had to embrace someone to douse the flames inside her.

Consumed by nothing but that desire, Tilia turned the doorknob.

Click.

The sound of the lock smoothly turning reached her ears.

Click… click, click.

But despite her expectations, the door didn’t open.

Her dazed hand turned the knob more forcefully.

What’s going on?

The once smooth handle began to make rough noises. Even as she twisted it with more strength, the lock wouldn’t budge.

Why won’t it open?

Frustrated, Tilia stomped her foot, her irritation growing as the handle spun uselessly in her hand.

I need to get out. I need to cool this body down.

The heat spreading through her body made her more anxious by the second.

The poison-like feeling caused Tilia to bite her lips repeatedly, making her unable to stop even when she should, eventually drawing blood.

Her pale cheeks were now soaked with water, making her earlier washing futile. Tears of fear flowed down her face.

She was scared.

She was terrified that this fire, which felt as though it was melting her insides, would consume her completely and reduce her to ashes. That fear controlled her every movement.

Let me out.

Please, someone, save me.

But despite her desperate prayer, the broken door handle wouldn’t grant her release.

Just when she felt she couldn’t take the suffocating sensation any longer, when she was on the verge of letting go of her sanity, she heard a voice.

“Tilia?”

Along with the sound of footsteps approaching, the voice of the man she had longed for reached her ears.

“Ilex.”

Tilia, feeling as though she had just heard the voice of God, hurriedly stood up from her crouched position.

“The… the door won’t open. I think it’s broken. Please, open it for me,” she spoke in a hurried, cracked voice, desperately pounding on the door.

The footsteps outside, which had briefly paused, grew quicker.

The sound of someone moving quickly approached, and she could feel him placing his hand on the door handle she had been holding.

Even though she knew it was impossible, Tilia felt as though she could sense his warmth through the brass handle.

As she clung desperately to the handle, holding on as if her life depended on it, her savior spoke from the other side of the door.

“Tilia, are you holding the doorknob by any chance?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Let go of it for a moment. I need to turn it with some force to open the door.”

Like an obedient child, Tilia immediately let go of the handle and knelt quietly in front of the door.

“I let go.”

Placing her trembling hands neatly on her knees, she waited, and then, as if by a miracle, the thing she had been longing for happened.

Clunk.

The door handle, which wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she had tried, moved with a solid click.

The wet brass handle slowly turned. The scene played out in slow motion in front of Tilia’s eyes.

The handle turned fully, and finally, the door began to open.

Tilia instantly knew, even in her foggy state, that this moment would be etched in her memory forever, no matter how irrational she felt or how much she regretted it later.

As sunlight streamed through the narrow gap, the face of the man who would quench her insatiable thirst appeared.

“Sorry, I forgot.”

Ilex Davenport’s beautiful blond hair was still wet, as if he had just washed. His features, better described as beautiful rather than handsome, held a hint of awkwardness.

Kneeling on the floor, Tilia stared blankly at her savior with his holy pale gray eyes.

“You must’ve been shocked since the door wouldn’t open…”

Ilex, speaking while looking off into the distance, finally directed his gaze downward to where Tilia sat at his feet.

Ah.

The moment his eyes met hers, Tilia’s body jerked involuntarily.

She saw the faint trace of discomfort flicker in his delicate expression. His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly, and his gaze, which seemed unable to settle anywhere, wandered restlessly.

The way he moved struck Tilia as oddly alluring, leaving her unable to close her mouth.

“Put your clothes on and come out. I have something to give you.”

Just as Ilex was about to pull the door shut again, it happened.

Thwack.

A pale, sweaty hand stopped the door from closing.

Ilex turned his head slightly to see what had interrupted his movement.

His eyes moved minimally, as if trying to avoid looking at her bare body at all costs.

That reaction made Tilia’s eyes narrow.

‘No.’

Tilia’s red tongue darted out to lick her swollen lips. The sensation of raw flesh stung.

‘I don’t like being the only one in this state.’

Still gripping the door, Tilia slowly rose to her feet.

Once again, she saw Ilex’s Adam’s apple move.

His downcast pale gray eyes trembled slightly before she felt them land on her feet.

His gaze traveled slowly up from her pale feet at the threshold, over her ankles, calves, and thighs.

Tilia followed his eyes intently as they moved up her body.

Finally, when his pale eyes reached her stomach and chest, and their gazes met, Tilia knew instinctively.

‘Got him.’

She could feel it.

He was now in the same position as her.

He too had become just another slave to his desires, no different from her.

‘See? I told you. He’s just like you.’

With a satisfied smile, Tilia took a step further into his room.

She was going to see it. She was going to watch him become as much of a mess as she was, rolling in the filth alongside her.