Chapter 5 : Hands-On Teaching
Chapter 5: Hands-On Teaching
Bang.
The crisp sound of shattering echoed through the great hall, each note striking Lilia’s heart like a hammer.
Time froze.
The air solidified.
Lilia stood stiffly in place, all the blood in her body rushing in reverse, finally gathering in her cold limbs.
It was over.
Only those two words remained in her mind.
That cold declaration—“I will twist off your neck”—now replayed infinitely in her ears, turning into a death sentence.
She could clearly sense it.
Not far behind her, by the window, that magic aura which had been as calm as a bottomless icy abyss was now surging into towering waves.
An extremely cold killing intent locked onto her with precision.
This was absolutely no illusion.
It was feedback from 【Absolute Senses】.
The temperature in the bedchamber dropped sharply, and even the floating crystals dimmed slightly.
“I…”
Lilia opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry that no sound came out.
She could not die here.
Her instinct to survive overwhelmed her fear. She hurriedly crouched down, trying to pick up the crystal fragments that still flickered with their last traces of light.
Maybe… maybe it could still be put back together.
The thought was ridiculous.
But she had no other options now.
As her fingertips just touched the sharp edge of a fragment, a sting shot through her.
“Hiss…”
She instinctively withdrew her hand.
A drop of bright red blood seeped from her pale fingertip, then fell.
Drip.
That drop of blood landed right on the mirror-smooth obsidian floor, spreading into a small, glaring patch of red.
In Hera’s bedchamber, where not even a speck of dust was allowed to exist, that drop of blood was far too conspicuous.
Lilia stared at that drop of blood, her mind going blank.
It was over. This time, she was really dead.
At that moment, a tall figure walked in.
The footsteps were light, yet each step sounded like a heavy hammer striking Lilia’s nerves.
Once.
And again.
Hera’s gaze swept over the scattered crystal fragments on the ground, then settled on that small pool of blood, and on Lilia’s injured, bleeding finger.
The air in the entire bedchamber seemed to be drained away.
Lilia felt like she was about to suffocate.
She could no longer hold herself up. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees, her body trembling uncontrollably.
“M-Master, I didn’t do it on purpose!”
Her voice carried a sob, trembling with despair.
“I… I’ll clean it up immediately!”
She frantically grabbed the cloth at hand, about to wipe the bloodstain.
Hera said nothing.
Step by step, she walked in front of Lilia. The black battle boots stopped within her line of sight.
Lilia’s heartbeat skipped.
She resigned herself and closed her eyes, waiting for that slender yet terrifyingly powerful hand to twist off her neck.
One second.
Two seconds.
The expected pain did not come.
Instead, a slightly cool hand gently grasped her injured hand.
Lilia suddenly opened her eyes, staring in disbelief at the scene before her.
Hera had crouched down.
This lofty Demon Queen had actually crouched, meeting her at eye level.
Hera held her bleeding finger, her golden pupils devoid of emotion as she calmly examined the small wound.
Then, under Lilia’s astonished gaze, Hera’s other hand came around from behind her, half-enclosing her within her embrace.
Warm breath brushed against Lilia’s ear, sending a shiver through her.
A cool, unique fragrance enveloped her.
Hera’s body pressed against her back, a soft touch carrying a faint chill.
Then, Hera’s hand covered the one holding the cloth.
The Demon Queen’s palm was larger than hers, slightly calloused, yet extremely strong, completely enveloping her hand.
“Useless.”
The cold yet faintly magnetic voice sounded beside her ear, making her eardrums tingle.
“You can’t even clean properly.”
Lilia’s mind completely crashed.
W-what was going on?
“Watch.”
Hera’s voice carried no fluctuation.
“I will only teach you once.”
As her words fell, Hera held her hand and guided her arm, moving it slowly.
The posture was strange.
Hera adjusted her wrist angle, corrected her posture, and even nudged her lower back with her knee, forcing her to kneel straighter.
“Use your wrist. Keep your waist straight. The point of force is your core, not your arms.”
Hera’s voice sounded again, like the strictest instructor giving one-on-one personal guidance.
Lilia was completely stunned.
Her entire body was controlled by Hera, forced into a standard, textbook-perfect cleaning posture.
She could feel the softness at Hera’s chest pressed against her back.
She could smell the cool fragrance from her hair.
And she could feel the faint breath brushing her ear.
How was this teaching?
This was clearly an extreme, heart-flustering kind of punishment!
The iron-straight male soul she once had screamed in protest at this excessive intimacy.
But this girl’s body betrayed her, raising a layer of fine goosebumps, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her throat.
“Focus.”
Hera seemed to notice her distraction. The strength in her grip tightened slightly.
Lilia jolted and immediately snapped back to her senses.
Under Hera’s control, the cloth in her hand precisely covered that drop of blood.
“To deal with stains, you use a ‘wrapping’ method, not ‘smearing.’”
“The former removes, the latter spreads. Understand?”
Hera’s voice remained cold, yet Lilia seemed to hear a trace of… extremely faint, almost imperceptible… patience?
She was not sure.
Under Hera’s guidance, the cloth rotated gently.
The red stain on the obsidian floor was completely absorbed by the fibers of the cloth, leaving not a single trace, not even the slightest spread.
After finishing, Hera did not immediately release her.
She maintained the posture of embracing her from behind, still holding Lilia’s hand as she tossed the blood-stained cloth into the obsidian bucket nearby.
The liquid in the bucket made a faint sizzling sound, and the blood on the cloth vanished instantly, turning it spotless once more.
【Ding!】
【Hidden Event Triggered: The Demon Queen’s Personal Training.】
【Due to your extreme stupidity during cleaning, you have successfully aroused the Demon Queen Hera’s ‘teaching’ desire.】
【The difficulty of the mission ‘Clean the Demon Queen’s bedchamber until it is spotless’ has increased.】
【New Requirement: Under Hera’s supervision, complete all cleaning tasks according to the ‘Demon Queen’s standards.’】
【Mission Reward upgraded to: D-Rank Cleaning Magic · Magic Shockwave (Cleaning Version).】
【Failure Penalty upgraded: Endure the Demon Queen Hera’s ‘hands-on’ punishment teaching until you learn.】
Lilia looked at the lines on the System panel, her entire being going numb.
This System was definitely doing this on purpose!