VIP Chapter 354: I Like It When You Call Me That Name
“Don’t cry, Teacher Liya~”
The instant his hand touched her cheek, Liya’s body trembled slightly.
Will was a “well-behaved” good student—at least he used to be. Therefore, even with a teacher as close as Liya, he rarely dared to be so bold.
Especially…
The fingers he was using to wipe her tears now, and their gentle touch, didn’t feel like they belonged to a “student” at all.
It was a touch that was provocative, and even contained a hint of probing within the provocation.
It felt more like the fingers of a “lover” who had always loved her.
“—This is the touch, this is the feeling.”
“—A little more, a little more, a little more.”
“—Give me a little more, let me feel a little more.”
“I… I’m not crying.”
“But your tears haven’t stopped.”
He reached out again and wiped away a few more tears. Because Liya was tied up, no matter how “stubborn” she was, she couldn’t wipe away the tears that kept falling.
Upon feeling the touch of Will’s fingertips, Liya finally confirmed that this was not a “dream.”
Will, whom she thought was dead, whom she thought had willingly embraced death, and for whom she had grieved for a long time—
Was now, indeed, alive and here.
“I… I missed you.”
“You… you clearly heard what I just said… heard my sleep talk.”
“So, I hope Teacher Liya will say it again, frankly, not in a dream, but right here, in reality~”
Teasingly, Will spoke to Liya in the tone of a “younger junior” who used to be most difficult for Liya to handle, a tone that was somewhat like a spoiled child.
“I… I missed you.”
“Whether it’s every night when I sleep, or during the day when I’m awake, especially… especially when I feel my blood slowly cooling, and… and when I’m completing the missions you gave me… I… I… really miss you…”
She didn’t evade anything.
She even said it all with excessive “frankness.”
“Mm… Mm, I can see that.”
But, strangely, Will’s reaction to her frankness seemed overly “calm.”
And…
In a room filled with this strange liquid, similar to Blood Mint Essential Oil, his calmness was also exceptionally abnormal.
Liya “observed” her current situation—
She… was tied to a chair?
And…
To tie her more securely, her mage’s robe, which she had been wearing, had been removed by him. Now she was only wearing a thin white shirt.
Her shirt was already covered in the viscous and strange liquid, similar to blood, that he had just poured.
The clothes clung tightly to her skin, and one could even see the flat shape of her abdomen and navel through them.
Moreover, the liquid dripped irregularly down her neck and chin, staining her clothes.
Her face was almost completely red, and she was panting. Touching her cheek just now revealed that it was even hotter than when she had a severe cold accompanied by a fever.
…Is Will… is he a little… different… something is not right?
“So, what happened? Didn’t you… didn’t you die? Why are you alive and here now?”
Just as Liya was about to follow this line of thought, her lowered head was drawn to the sound of Will moving the chair, scraping against the ground.
What happened?
And…
Could it be because of those strange red liquids?
Liya felt that every move Will made was amplified in her eyes, ears, and sense of touch. Even the slightest action he took would make Liya immediately alert.
And all her thoughts were focused on Will…
As if she were only paying attention to him.
Liya looked up.
“Let me think about how to explain it.”
Will said, while placing the chair behind him.
Liya sensed something different about him. When Will thought, he had a habit of “looking left and right,” his gaze often wandering unconsciously around the space.
After all, she was the one who had witnessed him thinking the most times.
But…
Now, his heterochromatic eyes, a blend of deep blue and purple, were fixed tightly on Liya. Even when he sat down, he showed no intention of looking away from her.
Those eyes seemed to be guiding her, guiding her to look at Will.
“If you’re asking about Will Systom, you can consider him dead in the Dust Bone Corridor—along with the Dust Bone Corridor being cleared by you all, he has dissipated into the stories of the past.”
He slightly adjusted his Monocle, which was prone to slipping off his right eye, and spoke.
From just these few actions and his tone of voice, Liya could clearly feel an unusual sense of “rebirth” about him.
The person in front of her was undoubtedly the Will she loved.
—But something fundamentally essential had changed.
“Of course, you can still call me Will. I once thought about whether to give myself a new name to signify a new beginning. But, well~ I ended up not doing it. After all, I quite like the meaning of this name, and…”
He slightly extended his hand, his fingers brushing across Liya’s golden forelocks, as if picking up some of the remaining red liquid.
“I really like you calling me this name.”
Liya felt his scorching gaze. Even the hand that touched her cheek felt like touching a red-hot iron, making Liya’s cheek feel that intense heat.
“Teacher Liya, so, would you call my name again? Please?”
As if coaxing her, Will, with the liquid on his hands, spoke with an imperative tone that carried a hint of command.
“Wi… Wi…”
—She wanted to call his name.
—She wanted him to keep looking at her.
—She wanted to possess him like before.
—She wanted, wanted, wanted to reclaim him after seeing him again…
—She wanted to shout his name, to keep saying his name like before, to say she loved him, without reservation, word by word!
Liya felt her brain being swept away by blood and magic circuits, and intense, fiery emotions began to surge.
It was…
Something she had never felt in the three months since she thought Will was dead.
“Will…”
Liya finished speaking, taking a deep breath, a little breathless.
She realized that her heart was pounding uncontrollably when she said that name. During the time Will was gone, the crazy thoughts that had gradually faded from her mind began to resurface one by one.
“Will.”
—She wanted to tie him up again, to make him unable to move.
“Will… Will… Will…”
—She wanted to infuse all of him into her blood. To make him unable to leave her.
“Will… Ha… Ha… Will…”
—She wanted him to look at her forever, just like he was doing now, filled with love, filled with emotion, filled with an eternal, deep love.
Her magic circuits were now like a giant wave that had accumulated in the deep sea due to an earthquake. Energy was contained from the very bottom of the ocean, then rippled to the surface.
She seemed to realize that since she walked in here, she had fallen into a trap designed to “seduce” her into love. Not only was it the red liquid that made her more sensitive and wild…
But also the suggestion in Will’s words.
Will sat up straighter. His fingers, which looked thinner and more slender than before, moved away from her cheek.
“Mm, that’s right, Teacher Liya.”
She heard Will sigh.
“However, you in this state are still not enough. Don’t you love me? Bring out the love you once had—”
He suddenly stood up.
There were only two steps between the two chairs they were sitting on. But the sound of Will’s boots as he walked those two steps sounded so clear, so oppressive.
It was as if he were stepping on her head as he advanced.
Looking up, she saw Will raise the “beaker” in his hand. Inside the transparent beaker was a striking, bright red liquid.
Splash—
From above her head, Will poured the liquid from the beaker down onto her.
“Ha… Ha…”
Involuntarily, Liya gasped for air.
Blood rushed through her body, her heart began to pound frantically, each beat faster than the last. Her body grew hotter, and her fingertips, without any conscious thought, seemed to be burning with fire magic…
Her thighs began to tremble slightly. Despite the cool early spring weather, Liya was sweating uncontrollably.
So strange.
Why?
Will was now acting like an arsonist, constantly provoking her nerves with the liquid in his hand, his words, and his actions.
He was guiding Liya in a direction she had once thought was irreversible.
Towards what she considered a “wrong” direction, one she had never truly recognized, a direction that had pushed Will to his limit.
“Will…”
She looked at Will’s red eyes, now filled with pink hearts, wanting to encompass him entirely.
She had never used her fire magic so “clearly.” Without incantation, she concentrated all her power to a single point to melt the tough ropes that bound her.
Because…
Because she desperately wanted to pull Will towards her; she couldn’t bear the restraint of this “love” that bound her.
She wanted, wanted, wanted to prove her love, to leave her mark on him, to make his current gaze linger on her.
“Do you know why I like hearing you call me that name?”
He finished pouring one bottle of liquid.
Will seemed to feel it wasn’t enough. He clapped his hands, approached Liya, lowered his voice, and leaned close to her face.
Crack.
Liya burned through the ropes binding her.
Also burned…
Was the last trace of rationality she maintained before love, the part that prevented her from becoming a completely mad witch.
“Because, when you say this name, you have to purse your lips slightly, then relax them to the sides, and your tongue needs to roll around slightly in your mouth.”
“It’s like begging for a kiss. Very cute.”
But Will was not satisfied with this.
He approached Liya’s lips like a treat delivered to his doorstep and kissed her.
Liya’s burning fingertips clutched his neck.
The thin ropes used to bind people, from her ring, were instantly released.
At the same time, the “love” in her eyes ignited.
However…
Will seemed more satisfied with all of this, a smile of a completed plan curving his lips.
