Cold water forced its way into Lia's mouth, dragging her back to consciousness with a violent cough. As her lungs burned and her vision cleared, she realized she wasn't alone.
She was resting against something warm, firm, and alive; the steady rise and fall of a chest beneath her.
Ashan held her carefully, one hand supporting her back while the other patiently tilted a water bottle to her lips.
Through the haze, she realized they were both completely soaked.
Embarrassment flared, but the ache in her throat won out. She drank slowly, the cold water easing the fire in her chest, before weakly pushing the bottle away. Her fingers lacked strength, and when she finally tried to speak, her voice was nothing more than a rough, unsteady whisper.
"That's enough…"
She swallowed, her throat still tight as she forced herself to speak again, her brows drawing together slightly as confusion settled in.
"What… happened…?"
Her gaze shifted faintly, still unfocused, her awareness catching up in fragments.
"Why am I… lying on you like this…?"
Ashan's lips curved into a quiet, knowing smirk, the kind that didn't need exaggeration to carry weight, his eyes reflecting a calm satisfaction as though he had already anticipated this exact moment.
"Oh?" he replied lightly, tilting his head just enough to make the gesture feel deliberate rather than casual. "You don't remember?"
There was something in his tone that made her chest tighten before she even understood why, a subtle pressure that lingered between them.
"Did I go too far?" he added, the question hanging in the air for just a moment before he finished softly, "Try to remember."
That was all it took.
The moment his words settled, her mind jolted violently as everything came rushing back, fragmented memories snapping into place with brutal clarity, the loss of control, the overwhelming sensations, the way her body had betrayed her again and again until she passed out, leaving no gaps, no room for denial.
Her eyes widened as the realization struck.
"…Ah…"
The faint sound escaped her lips before she could stop it, her face heating instantly as the full weight of what had happened settled into her awareness, forcing her to relive it in a single, merciless instant.
"So… in the end…"
Her voice dropped, quieter now, strained under the weight of both realization and disbelief.
"You really made me faint…"
Ashan didn't hesitate, didn't soften it, didn't pretend otherwise.
He simply nodded, calm and composed, as if the outcome had been inevitable from the start.
"Yeah," he said evenly, a small pause following before he added, "I won."
The simplicity of his answer made it worse.
Lia's fingers curled slightly against his shirt as she tried to push herself up, her pride reacting faster than her body could support, but the moment she attempted to move, her strength failed her completely, her limbs trembling under their own weight as if they had forgotten how to function properly.
Her body refused to cooperate.
Heavy.
Unresponsive.
She froze for a brief moment before slowly turning her face away, unable to meet his eyes, her breathing uneven as the lingering aftereffects continued to ripple through her nerves, making even the smallest movement feel exaggerated.
'This is… ridiculous…'
Her thoughts twisted, frustration and humiliation blending into something far more uncomfortable.
'Me… an S-ranker… reduced to this…'
Her lips pressed tightly together as the reality sank deeper.
'And I lost consciousness… from something like that…'
The embarrassment burned far worse than any physical exhaustion.
"I feel worse than death…" she muttered under her breath, her voice low and strained. "I'd rather just disappear."
Ashan set the bottle aside without much concern, his gaze remaining on her, steady and observant, as if he was studying her reaction rather than judging it.
"So, Professor…" he said after a moment, his tone light again, though something sharper lingered beneath it, "you admit that I won, right?"
He leaned slightly closer, just enough to close the space between them.
"Say it properly."
Lia's brows twitched faintly, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion as she let out a slow breath, clearly lacking the energy to argue the way she normally would.
"You really want me to say it myself…?" she murmured, her voice carrying a faint edge of defeat. "Just kill me instead."
A soft chuckle escaped him, low and unbothered.
"You're overreacting," he replied, his tone dropping just slightly. "You didn't do anything that deserves that."
A brief pause followed before his voice sharpened, just enough to carry weight.
"If I actually wanted to kill you, I would've done it the moment you discovered my secret."
The words settled heavily between them.
"Why would I go through all this trouble otherwise?"
That shut her up.
For a moment, she said nothing, her thoughts shifting slightly as she processed what he said, before finally asking in a quieter, more controlled tone,
"…How long was I out?"
Ashan glanced toward the wall clock casually.
"Almost thirty minutes," he replied. "I was starting to think you'd need actual treatment."
He looked back at her, his expression unchanged.
"Good thing you woke up."
Her stomach tightened.
Thirty minutes.
The realization deepened her embarrassment further, making her shift slightly in his hold, her body still not fully recovered, her nerves overly sensitive even now.
Lia exhaled slowly, long and tired, as if trying to push the entire situation away.
"So what now?" she asked, voice bitter. "You basically raped me. What more are you planning to do?"
A visible shiver ran down Ashan's spine at the word.
"Rape? That's not what happened."
Lia gave a weak, mocking smile. "Then what was it? A massage? It was rape."
"What the… It's not rape," he protested. "We didn't even have direct intimacy. At most, it was sexual harassment. Women can be really scary with that word."
"Haha… how can you say that so shamelessly?" she laughed bitterly. "You admit it was sexual harassment."
"So? You harassed me first with your succubus skill, and I harassed you back. We're even now. No more arguments."
Silence.
"…Now what?"
Ashan raised a finger lightly, as if reminding her of something obvious.
"Did you forget already?"
His gaze sharpened just a fraction.
"The rules."
Her eyes flickered.
"Since you lost…"
A brief pause.
"You follow my terms."
Her jaw tightened immediately, irritation forcing its way through her exhaustion.
"I refuse," she said, her voice firmer this time despite her condition. "I'll tell Maren everything."
A cold edge slipped into her tone.
"So either kill me… or let me go."
Ashan didn't react immediately, instead reaching for his phone with calm precision before turning the screen toward her.
"Are you sure about that?"
"I still have the recording, remember?"
Lia's body trembled. Her expression crumpled.
Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating, her fingers trembling faintly as the reality of her situation settled in completely.
Seeing that reaction, Ashan's smile deepened slightly.
"So," he continued, his voice calm but firm now, "do you understand your situation?"
A brief pause.
"Or do you still want to test me?"
Something inside her snapped.
Lia surged forward suddenly, grabbing his collar with what little strength she could muster, her eyes blazing with anger and humiliation, her voice trembling despite her effort to control it.
"You… absolute bastard… are you even human…?"
Her grip tightened.
"How could you do something like this to me…?"
For a moment, Ashan didn't react outwardly, his expression remaining unchanged, but inside, something shifted slightly, a quiet tension forming beneath his composure.
'…So this is how it turns out.'
A faint bitterness surfaced in his thoughts.
'To think I would hear those words from someone… My whole life has changed since I came here.'
'But I don't have a choice. If I want peace, I have to do this, even if I don't like it.'
Slowly, he reached up and removed her hand from his collar, not forcefully, but with enough firmness to make resistance pointless, his gaze meeting hers directly.
"I don't care if you hate me for this," he said quietly, his tone losing its earlier teasing edge. "But I don't have a choice."
A brief pause.
"You can ruin everything for me."
His voice steadied.
"So I need to make sure you don't."
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't interrupt.
"I won't release the recording," he continued. "You just need to do one thing."
Another pause.
"Pretend you never found out."
Lia's expression tightened, conflict flickering across her face.
"You're asking me to lie…" she said slowly. "To Maren…"
Her voice lowered.
"The one person who trusts me the most."
Ashan didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No apology.
Then, after a moment,
"I know what I'm asking."
His tone softened slightly, though his eyes remained firm.
"But it's necessary."
She let out a hollow scoff.
"And I'm supposed to believe you're not dangerous…?"
Her gaze sharpened.
"I don't even know who you are."
Ashan leaned forward slightly, his expression turning serious in a way she hadn't seen before.
"Then let me show you."
A brief pause.
"I'll tell you everything, about my secret."