"If there's nothing else, you're all dismissed!"
Leilin glanced at George, who looked like he wanted to say something but held back, and at the rest who remained silent, like Besta, and suddenly felt a wave of listlessness.
Ever since he had advanced to become a full Wizard, the people and circles he once belonged to already felt as though they existed in two entirely different worlds.
Though they still stood before him, they felt utterly unfamiliar, as if a thousand years had passed.
"Understood!"
The apprentices below bowed and backed out of the hall one by one.
Even George and Xiri, after offering a respectful bow, quietly withdrew.
Besta was the last to leave. She gave Leilin a glance laden with complex emotions, hurriedly bowed, and retreated.
……
Late that night, having completed one cycle of the Komoeye's Pupil meditation and lying in bed to rest, Leilin suddenly opened his eyes.
Right after, a gentle knock sounded from outside the door.
"Come in. It's not locked." Leilin sat up and spoke in a calm voice.
The door creaked open, and a figure shrouded entirely in a grey robe stepped inside.
"Besta. What do you need?" Leilin looked at the girl with her platinum-white hair, a flicker of amusement passing through his eyes.
"Lord Leilin! Please forgive Besta for her earlier offense!"
Besta's voice was soft and melodious as she spoke. Then she slipped off the cloak she wore, revealing the naked body beneath.
Besta had grown more mature since the first time Leilin had met her. Her figure was extraordinarily voluptuous, her skin snow-white and delicate, as though a single squeeze could wring water from it.
She stared at Leilin, slowly kneeling on the floor. In her eyes — beautiful as rubies — there gleamed a light that seemed part plea, part flattery.
Late at night, a beautiful, naked girl kneeling before you, begging for your forgiveness — what kind of feeling was that?
Leilin was experiencing it right now.
But his expression remained perfectly calm, as if Besta's alluring, tender body were nothing more than a decayed skeleton before his eyes.
Leilin regarded this shrewd and calculating girl.
"You're clever. It's just that sometimes you're a bit too clever for your own good!"
He extended his right hand and carelessly traced it across Besta's cheek, continuing down to her chest.
"You want to seduce me? With these two pieces of rot?"
Leilin's right hand kneaded Besta's breasts without restraint. The young woman let out a soft whimper, pain flickering across her face.
Besta suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of terror crash into her.
Her strength as a Third-rank Apprentice was utterly worthless before Leilin. The only thing she still had confidence in was her extraordinary beauty.
But now, looking into Leilin's icy eyes, she suddenly realized that everything she had done before was so helpless and laughable.
Leilin's frigid gaze nearly suffocated Besta.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat dripping steadily from her skin. As time dragged on, her body flushed an increasingly deep red while her face turned deathly pale, as though she might suffocate and die at any moment.
"But! Be grateful! In memory of the 'me' from before, I've decided to give you one chance!"
Just as Besta was about to pass out, Leilin's calm voice cut through.
She snapped back to reality, gasping for air. Before, it had felt as though an invisible hand were crushing her throat. Only when Leilin spoke did that suffocating sensation vanish in an instant.
Besta gulped down fresh air in great, desperate breaths, tears nearly spilling from her eyes.
She swore that she had never in her life felt that the simple ability to breathe freely was such an immense happiness.
"Follow me."
Leilin shook his head, stood up, and opened a side door.
Besta's body trembling, she picked up the cloak that had fallen to the floor and wrapped it around her exposed body.
A moment ago, she had been able to seduce Leilin without the slightest hesitation, but now she felt a strange sense of shame that made her face flush crimson. She wished she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.
After passing through the small door of the side passage, Besta found herself in a sealed chamber.
The room was not large. Traces of brick and stone construction were still visible on the walls.
In the center stood a heavy iron table, resembling an experiment bench, with manacles and chains fixed at all four corners for restraining limbs.
The moment Besta laid eyes on the iron table, her face went deathly pale.
She wanted to retreat, but dared not. Only now did she notice that the walls of the chamber were hung with all manner of strange and bizarre objects.