In the morning, when Catherine woke up, she found herself sleeping comfortably with Jace, with only a thin white sheet covering them.
Catherine frowned, She was lying with her head on Jace's shoulder while his arm was draped possessively around her waist.
It should have been the other way around, considering Jace was her 'boy toy.'
As she recalled the previous night—how she had been tricked and completely taken by him—her face turned a shade of red.
Embarrassment and a sense of humiliation washed over her as she remembered the sounds she had made while in that state of heightened sensitivity.
Gently, she tried to remove his arm from her waist. She intended to shift their positions and put Jace in her arms, reclaiming her role as the one in charge.
That was when Jace woke up. Seeing what she was about to do, he moved with the startling speed of a Clown, instantly pinning her to the mattress. He held her hands above her head, looming over her.
Catherine was caught off guard, a look of genuine surprise appearing on her face. Jace simply smiled, leaning in to steal a quick, firm kiss from her.
That did it for Catherine, She used superior strength to wrench her hands free, flipping their positions in a single fluid motion until Jace was the one pinned beneath her.
Jace was surprised by the sudden reversal, but he had seen the possibility with his intuition, so he stayed quiet and let it happen.
Catherine's eyes turned cold as she looked down at him. "Last night... What was that about?" she asked, her voice flat and demanding.
Jace averted his eyes, looking everywhere but at her. "I-it was just a playful prank... besides, you liked it, didn't you?" He threw her a cautious, sideways glance.
Catherine stayed quiet, her frown deepening.
Seeing her expression, Jace panicked a bit. "Y-you know, last night, you were moaning really loud, so I thought yo—Ow!"
Jace winced in pain as Catherine's grip on his forearms tightened significantly.
Her eyes narrowed in a flicker of true anger. "It seems like you have forgotten that night..." she said coldly.
She let go of one arm, her hand moving down to grasp his thigh with painful pressure.
"Do you want a replay of that night... Is that what you want, Jace?" she asked, spreading his legs apart with authoritative force.
"Wait!" Jace said quickly. He was still a bit traumatized by the memory she was referencing, and he realized he had pushed his luck too far.
He moved his free hand to her shoulder, looking up at her. "I'm sorry, okay? Let me make it up to you," Jace said, his tone turning apologetic and his eyes filled with sincerity.
Catherine stopped. She wasn't entirely ready to let it go—he had definitely crossed a line—but looking into those sincere eyes, she sighed deeply.
She released his hand and thigh, rolling off him to sit on the edge of the bed.
Their relationship had just gotten better she didn't want to ruin it.
In truth, she cared about Jace more than she was willing to admit.
Jace sat up beside her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Chu~"
Catherine remained stiff, her voice still holding an emotionless edge. "How exactly are you going to make it up to me?"
Jace chuckled softly. He got off the bed, reached for his discarded pants, and removed a small, crumpled paper ball from the pocket.
He stood before Catherine and handed it to her. She took the messy scrap with a look of slight confusion, glancing up at Jace, who merely gestured for her to open it with a nod.
As Catherine started undoing the paper, she found smaller paper balls nested inside. She stopped, raising a skeptical eyebrow as if to ask, 'Really?'
Jace immediately hid his face in his palm. "Don't—just don't look at me like that."
Catherine sighed but continued. She smoothed out the tiny scraps one by one, reading the disjointed notes. As she progressed, her face shifted from annoyance to a mask of solemnity.
Each ingredient and instruction was written in a different ancient language—Hermes, Jotun, feysa —all of which she knew.
When she finished, she pieced the fragments together in her mind:
[Main Ingredients
A Gigantic Woodland Spirit's eyeball
A Cat-faced Ghost Shadow's tongue
Supplementary Ingredients
150 ml of Gigantic Woodland Spirit blood
3 pieces of Cat-faced Ghost Shadow's nails
10 drops of Camellia essential oil
13 Hairs of degenerates.
Ritual
Become a mid-to-high-level official in a country, win over and corrupt seven individuals at the same level, forming a community of interests with them, and promote the implementation of a national policy that benefits the ritual performer but is detrimental to the people.]
'He actually gave it to me. The boy really did it!'
Initially, Catherine had been doubtful of Jace's claim.
She didn't think he was lying, but she doubted his capability; she hadn't expected a teenager to possess the secrets of a High-Sequence pathway.
She had kept him around because he was to her liking, eventually growing fond of his company.
But this changed everything. As she stared at the ritual requirements, she fell into a deep, silent contemplation.
Jace watched her for a moment and sighed. He reached out, gathered the scraps of paper from her lap and the bedsheets, and held them in his palm.
a burst of scarlet flames consumed the evidence, leaving nothing but a faint scent of burning parchment.
He smiled inwardly. The act of pulling a Sequence 4 formula out of thin air and presenting it in such a ridiculous manner had clearly amazed her, even if she wasn't in a state to praise him out loud.
He could feel the Magician potion within him digesting further, fueled by the shock of his "audience."
He finished dressing and picked up the Black Glove from the nightstand.
His work here was done; last night had been an unexpected bonus. He leaned over the bed and gave Catherine a lingering, soft kiss on her lips.
"Bye. I'll see you later," he whispered.
Catherine, still lost in the implications of the ritual, only nodded absent-mindedly.
With a swift movement, Jace stepped onto the balcony, jumped down, and disappeared into the morning mist.