A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 18

The memories that followed were fragmented. Whether it was the effect of the drug or simply a result of her own mind trying to forget, Tilia couldn’t say for sure.

All she clearly remembered was crying until her eyes were sore. She also remembered begging when she couldn’t withstand the overwhelming pleasure anymore, and Ilex licking the shell of her ear.

“You did whatever you wanted, so now I’ll do whatever I want.”

Ilex had mumbled something nonsensical, and when licking her ear wasn’t enough for him, he began to bite down on her wet earlobe.

“You have no idea, do you? How biteable your ear looks.”

Is he some kind of cannibal? Even in that chaotic state, she thought something like that. No, she might have even said it aloud.

Right after thinking it, he had burst into laughter, and the tickling sensation around her neck suggested that was probably true. When she had snapped at him to stop laughing, he had kissed her eyes. Even though she had tried to push him away, he kept pressing his body against hers, and in the end, she might have hugged him back.

Yes, she was sure that’s what had happened…

Blinking slowly, Tilia lay on the wide bed, her body heavy with exhaustion. She could feel her body, which had been intoxicated by an uncontrollable force, slowly returning to normal. Her sense of reason, which had been banished, was coming back, and little by little, she began to grasp the reality of her situation.

Realizing what a crazy thing she had done, Tilia turned her head to look at the clock hanging on the wall. The hour and minute hands pointed to ten minutes before three o’clock. Her blurred eyes, which had been staring at the clock, widened in shock.

“What’s wrong?”

A low voice came from just behind her, near her head.

“Are you still in pain?”

The voice of Ilex, who was hugging her tightly and burying his face in her black hair, carried a different warmth than it had at noon.

“Or, maybe you haven’t calmed down yet…”

“Exam.”

But Tilia couldn’t even hear his words.

The moment her reason returned, only one thing came to mind, and she shouted it out loud.

The exam.

I have to take the graduation exam.

Tilia shoved his arm, which was wrapped around her chest, and sat up abruptly.

“I have to go in ten minutes.”

“What?”

“I have to go take the exam, I… Ah…!”

As she tried to turn her body, a sharp pain shot through her waist, and she looked at Ilex with an irritated expression. Seeing her cold glare, Ilex lowered his leg, which he had still been resting on her, with a strange look on his face.

Annoying bastard. Shooting one more glare at him, Tilia tried to get out of bed. Or rather, she tried to.

“Ugh.”

Until she realized that her legs had no strength left in them.

Her whole body felt like it didn’t belong to her. Every muscle ached as if it had been overworked and was now protesting.

She collapsed onto the floor with a ridiculous expression of pain on her face, and the sound of Ilex Davenport rising from the bed echoed through the room.

“You’re really going to take the exam?”

“Yes. I need to graduate,” Tilia shouted irritably, propping herself up with her arms on the floor. “Aren’t you going?”

For some reason, the fact that he was standing on both legs after doing the same thing annoyed her.

“Don’t you need to graduate? The exam starts in ten minutes.”

But despite her confident tone, her lower body refused to regain strength. Her thighs, which were marked with handprints, trembled violently, adding to her growing resentment. Yet, despite her gritted teeth, she finally managed to stand up.

This minor pain wouldn’t make her give up on graduating. After all, she had even managed to study after being beaten by her father’s cane. She wasn’t going to let this pain defeat her.

‘Alright. I just need to put on my clothes and go.’

As Tilia, still trembling, reached for the wall to steady herself and move forward, something dropped in front of her with a thud.

“Wear this.”

It was her neatly folded school uniform, the one she had intended to grab from the bathroom.

Ilex, now wearing a robe, asked her nonchalantly, “Do you need help putting it on?”

Without answering, Tilia reached out, picked up the uniform, and began putting it on. The state of the clothes felt somewhat, no, very unpleasant, but now wasn’t the time to care about such things. Her thighs burned with every step, and she wobbled several times, but nothing could stop her.

‘If I take the shortcut, I’ll reach the main building quickly…’

Her mind was solely focused on finding the fastest route to the exam room.

‘If I take that remote path, I can make it in five minutes. The exam will start at three ten because of the roll call, so I’ll be fine.’

Having dressed quickly, Tilia turned to check on Ilex.

Unlike her, who was now fully dressed, he was still standing in his robe.

‘Is he still lazing around?’

Tilia glanced at him with a slightly scornful look, noticing that his gaze was fixed on the bed where they had rolled around earlier. She raised her eyebrows.

‘Ah.’

Only then did she remember why her legs were trembling so much.

‘That’s right. It was my first time.’

Without much emotion, Tilia slipped her arms into her jacket, the last piece of clothing, and thought. There was no way he was just staring at the bed for no reason. He was probably looking at the bloodstain left on the sheets.

‘Unlucky. I heard some women don’t even bleed.’

With a blank expression, Tilia pulled her long hair out from under the jacket and observed Ilex.

Sunlight streaming in through the window cast a shadow on his face as he looked at the stained bed sheet with a serious expression, as if he were staring at some ancient artifact.

What could he be thinking?

As she fastened the last button, Tilia tried to imagine what was going through his mind. To think that the woman who had acted like she was so experienced had actually been a virgin.

Would he feel cheated, or…

Would he like it?

Just as she was about to scoff, a sudden sense of fear ran down her spine.

‘Could he be about to say something like, “I didn’t know it was your first time,” or “I’ll take responsibility for this”…?’

Tilia quickly shook her head, startled by the idea.

No way. Ilex Davenport wasn’t the type to cling to a woman like that. He was famous for not stopping women from coming or going as they pleased.

‘Right, there’s no way…’

Even as she recalled all the rumors about him, her eyes narrowed.

But still, his expression seemed a bit too serious for someone who didn’t care.

“That…”

Unable to suppress her anxiety, Tilia finally spoke up.

“Aren’t you going to get dressed?”

At her words, Ilex finally turned his head. But his sea-gray eyes, usually clouded with indifference, were as unreadable as ever.

‘What’s with that look?’

Feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze, Tilia’s discomfort only lasted for a moment before she was caught off guard.

‘Why is he coming this way?’

Startled by Ilex’s approach, Tilia instinctively took a step back.

The smell of raw, unrestrained masculinity still clung to him, his hair tousled and his eyes sharp, reminding her of the sensations he had etched into her body. Unconsciously, she clenched her fists behind her back, her lips dry and her heart pounding with a sense of urgency.

Just as she braced herself, ready to punch his perfect face if he got any closer, something unexpected happened.

Ilex’s sea-gray eyes, which had been fixed on her, smoothly passed over her and settled elsewhere.

Of course, he wasn’t heading toward her.

He walked right past her, as if she didn’t exist, and made his way toward the bathroom, where his discarded clothes lay.

Watching Ilex stand in front of his buttonless shirt, his expression complicated, Tilia sighed quietly, realizing her tension had been for nothing.

‘He was just going to get dressed.’

Her relief was fleeting, mixed with a hint of embarrassment.

I got scared for no reason. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself as she prepared to turn around.

“Tilia Ambrose.”

Ilex closed the distance between them again.

He held out a small brown bottle in front of her.

“Drink this before you go.”

What’s this now?

Tilia, filled with suspicion, stared at the small vial in his hand and then looked up at Ilex.

His face had returned to its usual serious expression, as if the man who had been nibbling on her skin just a short while ago was a completely different person.

She hated the idea of taking any more mystery drugs.

Eyeing the vial with distrust, Tilia spoke, “What is this?”

“It’s medicine. I should have given it to you as soon as you arrived, but I forgot. Take it now.”

As soon as I arrived? What could it possibly be…

Oh.

Realization dawned on Tilia, and her expression relaxed.

Of course. What else?

“Is this a contraceptive?”

She let out a short laugh as she took the vial from his hand.