Chapter 4

“Ah….”

Milian, entering the room, made a dazed sound. Reshu and Milian’s eyes met directly. It was already too late to use an invisibility spell or teleport away.

What should she say? How did Milian get here already? He should be at the Swordsmanship Division event right now. Reshu’s mind went blank, and she couldn’t move, just standing there by the desk, staring at Milian.

“Reshu…? Reshu?”

Milian slowly blinked and tilted his head. He wore that unique, unreadable expression. He looked so lost, as if he couldn’t even grasp the simple fact that ‘Reshu had secretly entered his room.’

How long did Reshu, frozen in place, and Milian, tilting his head in confusion, stand facing each other? Suddenly, Milian’s face cleared as if something dawned on him.

“Ah… I see.”

Then Milian stepped right up to Reshu, who was standing by the desk. Reshu caught her breath—not because she didn’t know what would happen, but because Milian’s face, bending closer, was suddenly so near.

Milian waved his hand in front of Reshu’s eyes. Normally, she would’ve snapped, “What are you doing?” but right now, for some reason, she couldn’t retort. She felt as if she shouldn’t even blink, so she just stood there, focusing all her nerves on not moving.

“That’s right… There’s no way the real Reshu would be in my room… And if it were really her, she wouldn’t just stand there like this… Yeah, I thought I woke up in my room after falling asleep in the auditorium, but actually, if I’m still asleep and haven’t woken up yet….”

Muttering to himself, Milian seemed to reach a conclusion on his own.

“Yeah, this must be a dream.”

Reshu almost slapped his back, thinking, ‘You idiot,’ but held back. At least it was fortunate for her that Milian had made such a silly mistake.

If Milian believed this was a dream, Reshu could just wait for a chance, use the staff in her pocket, and teleport away. Then, the absent-minded Milian would just think, ‘I must’ve woken up from a dream.’

All she needed to do was wait for Milian’s gaze to leave her. Reshu waited patiently. Milian, blinking ever so slowly, kept staring at Reshu standing before him. Still, surely he’d stop soon, she thought, and kept waiting.

Then suddenly, Milian’s hand touched Reshu’s hair. Her fine, soft hair slid through Milian’s long fingers. Reshu almost flinched. Her heartbeat was strangely speeding up. Milian bent his head even closer to Reshu, and brought her hair to his nose.

“It smells nice….”

Milian murmured. Reshu’s face burned with embarrassment, thinking, ‘What on earth is this absent-minded fool saying?’ She nearly considered running away, unable to bear the strange feeling any longer. But there was no chance. Milian suddenly pulled Reshu’s small body into his arms, burying his face in her neck.

“It’s Reshu… It feels real.”

Thump, thump—her heart was pounding uncontrollably. Milian’s breath brushed over her shoulder and neck. Her collarbone tingled. Was it just her imagination, or did Milian’s breath feel especially hot?

Reshu couldn’t understand why her whole body felt so tense. She’d never felt this way before. Even when Florin bragged about her first kiss and described how sweet it was, Reshu could never understand what was so enjoyable about something like exchanging saliva.

As the shivers slowly spread through her body, Reshu unconsciously focused all her nerves. The cool, tingling sensation ran down her spine, spreading to her wrists and the nape of her neck. Milian’s breath kept brushing her neck. If this kept up, her skin would tingle from the sensation.

Then it happened—a very soft touch brushed Reshu’s neck.

“Reshu.”

Milian whispered.

“Reshu, Reshu, Reshu….”

With each soft, sticky sound of Milian’s lips, the skin around Reshu’s neck burned. She struggled to suppress her pounding heart, which felt like it might burst. Her mind was spinning; she felt she’d have to recite the basic formulas of magical theory in her head just to keep it together.

“It’s Reshu.”

Mumbling feverishly, Milian kept nuzzling Reshu’s neck, inhaling her scent as if he were a wild animal searching for something. 

‘Enough, this is ridiculous, I’m going to stop this now.’

Reshu thought. But then a ticklish tongue licked her neck.

“…!”

A strange sensation spread instantly, and Reshu clenched her hands, enduring so as not to react. She was embarrassed by her own reaction. What was hardest to bear was the uncontrollable response coming from below—a part of her body she’d never really been conscious of before.

“Reshu.”

Milian’s feverish tongue traced over Reshu’s soft, pale neck. Soon, the tongue started teasing her earlobe. Reshu, unable to keep her composure, forced herself to breathe slowly.

Milian showed no sign of stopping. His lips nibbled on Reshu’s earlobe. His soft tongue teased, and his hot breath made her skin tingle. It felt as if her skin was melting in his mouth.

“….”

Just holding back her moans was all she could manage. Reshu bit her lower lip as hard as she could. I can bear this, she told herself, using all her strength.

Maybe because she was so focused on holding back her voice, she wasn’t prepared for the next move. Milian’s palm suddenly wrapped around Reshu’s waist. It felt as if her whole body was melting in his arms; unable to withstand the caresses on her earlobe and the hand stroking her waist, Reshu let out a moan.

“Haah…!”

“….”

The thought that her moan might have revealed this wasn’t a dream made Reshu’s heart drop. But for some reason, Milian just stayed silent, holding her in his arms with a gloomy expression. Then, as if sad, he stroked Reshu’s hair with one hand and murmured,

“That’s right… As I thought… it’s not real. If it were the real Reshu… she wouldn’t like me doing this….”

Would acting as if she enjoyed it only convince Milian further that this was a dream? Reshu considered it for a moment, then dismissed the thought.

If Milian realized it wasn’t a dream while she was moaning and breathless in his arms, there’d be no going back. No matter how skilled a mage she was, Reshu couldn’t use magic to turn back time or erase memories.

The best thing was still to wait for Milian to let his guard down, then teleport away. So that Milian would think it was just a short dream and forget everything. Until then, it was safest to act like a lifeless statue, a mere dream figure.

She had already wasted too much time, caught up in Milian’s nonsense. Maybe it was better to force herself to use her staff and teleport away right now. As Reshu hesitated, reaching for her pocket, suddenly she heard rain. Drops began to fall outside the window. Still holding Reshu in his arms, Milian murmured gloomily,

“I like you….”

The words sounded like mist, like clouds, like wind—a riddle. It didn’t sound like a confession; it was so weak and sad, it seemed to carry some deeper, incomprehensible meaning.

Was it the sound of the rain that made Reshu’s hand freeze as she reached for her staff, or was it Milian’s whisper that stole her senses? Or was it Milian’s fingers entwining with Reshu’s left hand?

Milian’s palm was much larger than Reshu’s. No matter how powerful her magic, her hand was so small and soft compared to his. Milian’s strong hand wrapped around hers, their fingers tightly interlaced.

And then Milian kissed Reshu. Their lips met. The gentle movements of tongue and lips felt as if they’d been promised long ago. No one had ever taught them how to breathe or what to feel, but it all came naturally.

Milian’s tongue slipped into Reshu’s mouth. It was intimate and gentle, their bodies closely entwined. Time and space melted away like cream. Everything felt warm and soft.

Unconsciously, Reshu squeezed the man’s hand tightly. For this moment, all thoughts of not responding or being discovered disappeared from her mind. She just wanted to stay connected like this, holding hands, entrusting their bare selves to each other.

‘…Ah. …No.’

After a long kiss, Reshu finally came to her senses. Her heart was beating too fast. Her breathing was ragged, and the embarrassing response in her body was too obvious to ignore. At this rate, even if she got the chance, she wouldn’t be able to properly calculate the teleportation formula.

‘Before it’s too late, even now….’

But again, Reshu’s attempt was thwarted. With a soft sound, the button on her blouse came undone, and all thoughts shattered. When she came to, her pale skin was exposed before Milian. Her full br*asts, her rosy n*pples—everything was revealed to his gaze. At some point, her blouse, jacket, and all her outerwear had been undone.

‘W-What is he doing…!’

There was no turning back now. If she tried to protest, it would only make everything ‘real.’ At this point, all Reshu could do was play the part of a ‘dream figure’ who knew nothing.

“Ha….”

Milian’s face, flushed to the point of looking unfamiliar, pressed his lips to Reshu’s br*asts. Sensing what was about to happen, Reshu stiffened her body, struggling not to moan.