How Lilies turn Black - Chapter 10

Lilia snapped out of her reverie and stared ahead. 

Two women, already finished with their stuff, were waving at her.

“Yen, what are you doing lying around? Since you brought the clothes, you should probably go out and get ready first.”

The next words were directed at the redheaded woman behind Lilia. There was a flurry of noise as she busily organized something.

“Oh, I’m done, wait…!”

Then, the sound of iron rang out in a scathing tone.

Bam…bam!

The bucket slammed against the tile floor, and the spilled water drenched Lilia’s legs.

“Ah…!”

A lone scream pierced her ears, and when she turned around, the woman called Yen was frozen, her eyes wide.

She quickly put down what she was carrying and grabbed an extra towel.

“Sorry, I’ll clean up this place. Why don’t you go get ready first?”

“Oh, my gosh, I’ve got my hands full.”

The gruff annoyance returned, but there was nothing they could do about it… The two women standing by the door sighed and opened it.

“Let her in, roughly cleaned up. Just don’t put any robes on her. She’ll be dressed right away anyway.”

The rustling outside the bathroom faded away.

Until the two women’s footsteps were barely audible. Fidgeting, Yen’s face turned as if she were a different person.

As she pulled off the dressing gown, she grabbed Lilia and whispered.

“The second injection is going to be administered right away, so it’s hard to touch it. I’ll just take the last one and replace it with another. That’s the best I can do. After that, you’re on your own.”

“…!”

The woman smirked and said, “My life is already a mess, it’s not going to get any worse.”

✨

The purple velvet couch gave off a lewd vibe just by its appearance.

Curtains draped in black mesh and the dim glow of a lamp that had lost most of its function as an illuminator probably contributed to this.

But the pinnacle of obscenity was the woman reclining on the couch.

The glimpses of pure white flesh peeking out from beneath the thin négligée invited dirty imaginations, and the few strands of platinum hair that spilled out of her upturned head invited conquest, as if she were vulnerable.

How about the tempting parted lips, so enticing that every pale breath that escaped from between them was worth stealing?

Or the way her eyes were wide open, as if drunk with a dream.

That was Lilia, about to be visited by Theodoro.

Despite the last dose being switched, Lilia was floating in a world of clouds.

It had been such a futile endeavor, trying to stop the drugs.

‘I can’t… I can’t think straight.’

Her weak body, new to drugs, was sickened. 

Two doses of the drug, coursing through her blood, were enough to break her down.

The first dose had knocked her out, but the second hadn’t.

She blinked her heavy eyelids that kept trying to close. The pupils of her lost eyes appeared and disappeared.

‘I’m very grateful for her help, but hah… I don’t know if I can ever repay her.’

I couldn’t help but feel resentful of my brain, which sometimes flashed with reason, but quickly fizzled out, and my limbs, which gestured at me in a futile manner.

Without help, my condition would have been incomparably worse, and I would have reached a state where I could not think.

‘Haa… I don’t know if I should be relieved that the worst was prevented, or if I should consider myself unfortunate.’

In any case, she, Lilia, was like a different person, so much so that someone familiar with her would not recognize her as the same person.

Antonio, though hardly an acquaintance, reacted no differently.

When he walked through the door, he gulped for a moment, then slowly licked his dry lips with his tongue.

“You’ve gotten a bit wasted.”

He strode in and grabbed Lilia’s pale face. The smile on his lips deepened as his hazy eyes turned to hers.

“My fine lady. You’ve been spoiled.”

With a muffled murmur, his face drew closer. His lips, to be exact.

“Sigh…!”

My breath caught in my throat at the touch of warm flesh. Her mouth involuntarily clenched shut, but two thick fingers slipped between the lips, parting them.

“Hmph… ha…”

Something hot and fierce rushed into her mouth.

Like a snake, it slithered savagely through her mouth, disorienting her. 

It kissed her so savagely that saliva trickled along the corners of her lips as they were forced apart.

“Amp…”

It was strange. It was an indescribably bizarre feeling.

The vibrant, dynamic sensation was both shudder-inducing and erotic.

Perhaps that was why her mind and the strange drugs were constantly at odds.

Her body burned with an unhealthy lust, and the opposite feelings of revulsion and shame were busy waking her up.

If she’d taken all three doses, she’d probably be tangled up in him, Lilia thought in a hazy voice of reason.

The same lustful moans from the next room…must have echoed in this room.

Soon enough, Antonio pulled away. His interest was completely gone. He turned the corner of Lilia’s plump lips and muttered, unimpressed.

“You need to change your drugs, young lady, because you’re acting like this fine, slender neck of yours is so unyielding that it’s fun to snap it, and there’s nothing charming about being so stubborn.”

“…”

“It’s delicious when it’s given and taken, my lady.”

Lilia exhaled sharply and gazed up at Antonio.

She felt like spitting in his face. Contrary to her mind, she found it difficult to even move her facial muscles to open her mouth.

Antonio stuck his lips out in an uncharacteristic manner and clicked his tongue.

“Look at that. You’re closing that muzzle you’re so good at, it’s not funny.”

“…”

“Well, at least you’ll be able to keep your mouth shut when Theo gets here, so that’s one thing, right?”

Just as he was about to smile slyly, a knock on the door broke the subtle confrontation.

“Lord Antonio, you have a visitor.”

“Ah…. I guess he can’t be a gentleman. I know you speak my language.”

Antonio’s hand clenched on his chin, and then it fell away.

Finally, his gaze fell to the quivering face, and when he saw the red rouge marks that had faded, he squinted in satisfaction.

“Looks good.”

How could Lilia know what he was talking about, she wondered, her bleary eyes deepening in anxiety.

But before she had time to think about it, Antonio stood up and walked straight to the door, pushing it open.

“My brother, you’re a welcome sight in a dingy place.”

Finally, he came.

I don’t know if it was the cold air that blew in through the open door, or if his mere presence made the atmosphere darker.

My fuzzy mind couldn’t answer that question, but I felt goosebumps rise on my skin.

Thump—

Thump—

Footsteps resembling the sound of a heart echoed through the room.

A tall man in a neutral-colored suit crossed the room on long legs and casually sat down at the head table.

His dark eyes scanned the room before stopping on Lilia.

“…”

There was no surprise, no question in those eyes, but she could tell that Theodoro recognized her.

But he didn’t ask any questions, just stared at her wordlessly.

‘I don’t know why, I feel as if I’ve committed a great sin, even though it’s not my will that I’m sitting here, dressed in such lascivious clothes.’

Say something… I should say something…

Whatever he was thinking, I had to explain the situation properly, but what was I going to say?

My mind raced in a drug-induced fog. Fragmented words jumbled together, some fading to white.

“Ah…”

The words would follow if she opened her mouth, but she didn’t.

‘Nothing was going my way, even though my mind was racing.’

“Brother, don’t you think she looks familiar?”

Antonio’s voice sounded dreamy. The excitement in his voice was palpable.

“She’s a funny girl. She came here to work. I don’t know where she got the idea that our club treats her well. I’m telling you, Theo, this place isn’t as rotten as you think it is.”

The intense gaze that had been fixed on Lilia shifted to Antonio, who was enjoying Theodoro’s stare, fixated intently and casually shaking his head.

“What else did she say, ah…! That she couldn’t work for that horrible man if it meant giving away her life?”

Antonio glanced over at Lilia. His dark eyes, similar to Theo’s, were filled with amusement. 

Despite making up words that weren’t there, she knew all she could do was feel helpless.

“Hah… I didn’t know my great-brother caused an organization like that. That ungrateful, stonewalling wench can’t comprehend the profound meaning.”

If Antonio had known what Theodoro would say, he wouldn’t have made that pointless and shameless speech.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“A blow to the head has turned you, my dear brother, into a stoner. Was that all you wanted to do, my busiest fellow?”

Antonio froze in place as the arrow flew straight at him. Theodoro didn’t stop there, pointing at Lilia with a jerk of his chin.

“Use her however you want, but don’t ask her to come back for something unseemly.”