Chapter Forty: A Maiden’s Enchanted Dream

Dim candlelight bathed the room before her, the flickering shadows leaping with the flames as if alive. Iris sat in a chair, wholly absorbed in the book before her. Her hands moved constantly, forming a variety of gestures, and soon, with the girl’s motions, a clear magical sigil shimmered into existence in the air.

She had done it!

Gazing at the conjured rune, Iris broke into a delighted smile. What she did not expect, however, was that at that very moment, the once-stable magical sigil began to tremble, distort, and swell beyond her control. The magical aura began to flicker, and even the candlelight in the room grew dim.

“Waaah—!”

Seeing this, Iris’s expression changed at once; she frantically waved her hands, trying to curb the spell’s spread. But it was too late. With a “bang,” the already twisted incantation exploded, wild winds and thick fog erupting outwards, sweeping through everything in the room.

“Cough, cough—!”

Iris waved her hands, dispersing the smoke before her. She clenched her teeth, glaring furiously at the magic book. At that moment, a voice sounded from behind her.

“Failed again, did you?”

“Te-teacher?!”

Startled by the voice, Iris turned around to see Zane, dressed in a black robe, stepping out of the darkness toward her. His cold, reflective spectacles fixed steadily on Iris, making the girl feel flustered and lost. She looked down at the floor, anxious, and mumbled softly.

“I’m sorry...”

“How many times have I told you? Iris, you’ve only just begun learning magic; you must advance step by step. Don’t dream of flying before you’ve learned to walk. Why have you thrown my words to the wind once more?”

“Mmm...”

Hearing this, Iris bit her lip in distress, bowing her head deeply.

As the beloved little princess of Onyx Stone City, Iris was always adored by all. Her immense latent magical power proved she was destined to become a formidable spellcaster. Iris had always worked hard for this, but unfortunately, up to now, her understanding of magic was still quite rudimentary.

Thinking of this, Iris sneaked a glance at Zane, uneasy. He was her highly respected teacher—learned and, in her eyes, gentle with her. She both revered and cherished Zane, but now, having been caught secretly studying advanced magic, Iris felt a wave of nervous dread.

“Disobedient children need to be punished, you know what to do, don’t you, Iris?”

“Yes...”

Iris bowed her head in resignation and answered softly. She then stood, turned her back to Zane, bent over, and bit her lip.

“It’s all Iris’s fault. Please punish me, teacher...”

“Well said.”

At her words, Zane nodded, then picked up the whip in his hand and struck the girl forcefully.

Crack!

A scorching sting shot up from her backside, making Iris’s body tremble. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, but Zane did not stop. On the contrary, he raised the whip and lashed her again and again.

Crack—crack—crack!

The sharp sound of leather echoed through the study. Iris’s legs began to tremble. The initial stinging pain in her rear gradually faded, replaced by numbness mingled with a strange thrill.

Crack!

“Ah—!”

As Zane struck again, a sensation like lightning coursed through Iris’s body. Her knees buckled, and she toppled forward. Her hands, which had been braced against the wall, bent at the elbows for support. Yet even so, the girl did not relax; instead, she arched her hips backward, as if yearning for something. Zane did not see that her delicate face, turned to the wall, was flushed with color.

“I’m sorry, teacher...”

What a naughty child she was—she knew she shouldn’t do this, yet she’d deliberately angered her teacher. But Iris couldn’t give up this feeling. After her first punishment for failing, she found she enjoyed this “discipline.” As the pampered little princess of Onyx Stone City—her father never so much as raised a hand to her—she was shocked to realize she was so captivated by this sensation. That’s why she ignored her teacher’s advice and purposely attempted difficult spells, all to be punished...

Iris, you really are a bad child—this isn’t right—but this feeling...

Crack!

“Ah—!!”

With another stroke of the whip, electricity shot up her spine. Iris’s head lifted, and an involuntary moan escaped her lips—the one she’d kept buried deep within.

No, she couldn’t let her teacher know, couldn’t let him discover what a bad child she was. No—ahhh!

She gasped—

Iris opened her eyes.

Before her was the same dark ceiling of the prison, the cold stone slabs and furnishings, and the black iron bars, all unchanged.

“What is...?”

The girl sat up, confused, shaking her head. The dream was still vivid in her mind, but—what was going on? Iris frowned, unable to figure it out. She had indeed been punished for secretly studying advanced spells, but that was when she was five or six, and her teacher had been a nun from the Crimson Abbey, not a man. What’s more, she’d never been spanked by anyone—the worst punishment she’d ever received was solitary confinement... As the princess of Onyx Stone City, Iris had always known her limits. She was mischievous at times as a child, but never to the point of serious trouble.

But then—what was that dream?

What startled Iris was how lifelike the dream felt, not at all like a mere dream, but more like a memory. Even now, recalling it, she could remember the arrangement of the room, the magic book on the desk, and the very spell she had been practicing, as though she had truly experienced it. What’s more, the self in the dream was the same age as she was now, making it feel as though it had happened only recently.

But... that wasn’t possible, was it? She had always grown up at her father’s side, and after being sent to the Crimson Abbey, there were only women there—not even her father was allowed inside. As for that gentleman, being a man, he certainly couldn’t have entered the Abbey. Besides, she’d never seen the lord of the city before; she would surely remember if she had.

Iris turned the matter over in her mind again and again, but still could not make sense of it. If it had been just a dream, it would be nothing. The problem was, it felt nothing like a dream and, moreover...

At the thought, Iris blushed and reached back to gently touch her own rear. She could still feel a faint tingling there, as if she had indeed just been “punished”... No, impossible! Iris shook her head hard. How could she think such things? How could anyone find pleasure in being spanked? That had to hurt—she was being ridiculous, and didn’t know why she would think such things. She must be going mad...

Forcing herself to put aside the dream, Iris stood and closed her eyes, beginning to meditate. Yes, it had to be a nightmare—she must have been locked up too long in here, to be having such strange, unpleasant dreams. If she calmed her mind, surely she wouldn’t dream such odd things again. At this, a thought suddenly arose in Iris’s mind.

I wonder what Father is doing right now...

Elat was furious.

The Onyx Stone City patrol had been gone for quite some time, yet there was still no word from them, causing unease. Though small in number, the patrol was made up of the city’s finest. Elat was confident that even if they encountered the dark elves, they could hold their own. Besides, Iris had a teleportation scroll; even if things went badly, she should have been able to open a portal and return. Yet now, there was not a trace—not even the slightest sign. It was strange.

Since then, the city had sent several search parties to trace the patrol’s path, but all they learned was that the team had indeed found signs of the missing caravan and had given chase—but after that, nothing further was known.

They could, of course, send more teams, but after one loss, the city’s leaders were unwilling to risk more. Having already lost both the mission and the people, sending more and suffering the same fate would mean losing everything.

“However, I have managed to obtain some very interesting information.”

At that moment, the always-silent Devo suddenly spoke. Hearing this, Elat and Ras turned at once to face the tiefling.

“According to my informant in Brandon Stone City, the city’s magistrate, Kardec, recently acquired a pair of magical longswords from the surface...”

“You mean...”

At this, Ras, the serpentman, narrowed his eyes. He had personally appointed the patrol’s commander and knew well what weapons his men carried. If the two magic swords in Kardec’s possession truly belonged to his subordinates, then the patrol’s disappearance must be linked to Brandon Stone City. However...

“Isn’t Brandon Stone City a duergar settlement? Do they really have the strength to deal with our patrol?”

Elat frowned and spoke in a low voice, quite understandably. The duergar did have anti-magic properties, but Elat knew full well that Iris’s magical flame was not something mere resistance could stop.

“As a matter of fact, my informant brought another piece of news... Kardec recently recruited a necromancer.”

“A necromancer?!”

Everyone present was shocked, and Elat stood up at once.

“Is the information reliable? How strong is this necromancer?”

“Kardec has allowed him to build his own wizard’s tower outside the city—that’s no rumor. As for his strength... I’ve heard he helped the duergar solve a rather troublesome problem; he must be quite formidable.”

Devo’s news caused Elat’s expression to change several times.

“So... this is likely Brandon Stone City’s doing?!”