I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 28

The vision that had been trapped in pitch-black darkness for a long time suddenly brightened. At first, I couldn’t focus; everything blurred, then it cleared again.

“……”

The first thing that came into my eyes was Evan Bell’s face.

Evan Bell, absorbed in kissing me, sucking on my lips.

Evan Bell, cupping my face with both large hands as if it were a precious treasure, breathing hard.

Evan Bell, without hostility, hatred, mockery, pretense, or falsehood, closing his eyes and focusing solely on devouring me.

I stared at that face, spellbound.

And at last, Evan Bell opened his eyes and pulled his lips from mine.

A thin silver thread stretched between us, then snapped.

In the deep silence, Evan Bell’s blue gaze locked with mine.

Both his lips and mine were wet with each other’s saliva.

He said, “I didn’t expect you to be making that kind of face…”

“……”

“For someone under the drug’s effect, you should have been lacking stimulation, but why…”

“……”

“Why is it me who feels even more tormented, I wonder.”

Evan Bell furrowed his brows and mumbled disjointed words. It seemed even he didn’t understand why he felt that way.

Still, in the way he touched my face, the way his fingers caressed my saliva-wet lips, hesitation and regret were dripping out.

He clearly wanted to reach deeper into me. And perhaps if we kissed once more here, he knew he would no longer be able to stop and would go all the way.

But Evan Bell never laid a hand on me.

The hand that had been stroking my cheeks and lips was quietly withdrawn, and with a snap of his fingers, the restraints binding my hands and feet were undone.

“……”

In an instant, the pressure squeezing my wrists vanished, and I felt much lighter.

The cuffs and shackles were all gone. Only the faint red marks pressed into my skin showed where they had been.

As I blankly looked down at my freed wrists, Evan Bell asked me, “Are you hurt anywhere? Dizzy, nauseous?”

“…Not particularly, I think.”

I checked my condition briefly and replied.

Aside from my heart pounding wildly, my underwear being completely soaked and sticky, my lower body itching unbearably, and sweating so much that I felt hot, I was perfectly normal.

Confirming that I was in good health, Evan Bell spoke, “Then that’s a relief. What I asked you to do today is finished. With time, the effect of the drug will naturally wear off. Until then, rest on the sofa and return afterward. Or, since no drug was mixed in my cup, you may drink the remaining tea if you wish. Then.”

After neatly wrapping up the situation, he stood to leave. Without realizing, I grabbed the hem of his sleeve.

“Wait.”

His broad shoulders jerked once, then he stopped in place like a robot whose power had been cut.

“…What is it?”

“Even today… you won’t do it?”

“I’ve seen enough of you suffering. The purpose for which I called you has already been fulfilled.”

Without even looking back, Evan Bell answered as he tried to walk away. Again, I tightened my grip on him. He stopped once more.

“But… you want to hold me right now.”

“……”

Evan Bell said nothing. His silence was an affirmation.

But what he said next, turning to me, was completely different from what I expected.

“Today, just seeing that face of yours is enough.”

Then he shook off my hand and left.

With the sound of the door closing, I was left alone in his office.

It was a situation similar to a few weeks ago, but unlike then, I felt no absurdity. Instead, a strange, indescribable feeling wrapped around me.

‘That expression…’

I sat on the sofa, blankly recalling the face Evan Bell had shown me last.

His tone had been stiff, like the Evan Bell I knew, but his expression when he looked at me was so suddenly youthful.

It was the first time I had ever seen him with a face that wasn’t that of a businessman or an enemy, and it surprised me and felt deeply unfamiliar.

‘He looked just like a boy…’

Somehow, it felt like I had glimpsed his bare face, and my heart pounded loudly in my chest. And at that same moment, the status window appeared brightly before my eyes.

[Evan Bell’s affection has increased by 10%.]

[Evan Bell: Affection 15%]

‘Just a kiss made it go up 5% more than last time?’

Forgetting that I had been immersed in sentimental feelings only moments ago, I stared at the status window in shock.

All I had done today was lie groaning on the sofa and kiss a little, yet the affection rose to twice what it had last time. I was pleased but also flustered.

‘Of course, it was the best kiss I’ve ever had in my life.’

That much I could admit. But even taking that into account, it had risen a lot.

‘I really don’t understand what the standard is.’

From the last meeting, I had learned that even without actual penetration, the fact that the other person was aroused because of me was acknowledged.

Since the affection had gone up this time too, clearly, even if he didn’t show it, Evan Bell had been aroused by me.

But simply comparing what I did then to what I did today, the act from that day was far more stimulating. There had been penetration, albeit fake.

Yet the affection rose more from today’s comparatively lighter neglect play.

‘Does that mean he was more satisfied with just a kiss than with me moaning on a chair with a dildo attached?’

I still had many questions, but either way, the large increase in affection was good news.

And the important fact was that despite there not even being penetration yet, it had risen this much.

Once we actually did it, I couldn’t help but look forward to how much the affection would rise.

And to finally seeing Evan Bell’s real thing, which I had not yet seen.

‘But… just what kind of face was I making for him to say that?’

Pushing aside the status window that had vanished at some point, I leaned back comfortably on the sofa, closed my eyes, and thought of Evan Bell.

Until now, I hadn’t paid attention to his age, but suddenly I thought he might be far younger than I had assumed.

‘No way he’s actually younger than me, right?’

Even so, he was a nouveau riche known across the empire, and who his marriage partner would be was a major topic of interest.

He hadn’t become rich through inherited wealth, and since he was said to be a commoner, he must have climbed up from the very bottom. There was no way he was that young.

‘As long as he’s not younger than me, it’s fine.’

Evan Bell being a younger man? It was something I simply couldn’t imagine.

I prayed that, like Jeran Ennessy, his age was normal, and waited for the drug’s effect to fade.

***

After my second meeting with Evan Bell, by the time I was studying research texts and theses with Ruad in the library and finally understanding the basic outline of the research Lucia wanted to pursue, evening had arrived.

As I returned to the dormitory in time for dinner, a servant handed me a letter.

It was from Jeran Ennessy.

‘Why all of a sudden, a letter like this…?’

This was the first time I had received any communication since the letter he had sent before the semester began, right before the tuition payment deadline.

He hadn’t contacted me all this time, then suddenly sent a letter, and without reason, fear began to creep over me.

On top of that, I had some bad memories associated with letters.

‘Could it be that suddenly he’s unable to be my advisor due to unavoidable circumstances?’

The ominous premonition flashed through my mind and made my hair stand on end. Hastily, I threw off my bag and coat and unfolded the letter.

[To Miss Lucia Even,

The cold and desolate winter when we met in the laboratory has passed, and before I knew it, spring has come in full bloom.

Have you been well during this time?

After the semester began, I thought it might be good to ask how you were doing, but I refrained, thinking it might feel burdensome to you.

And because I believed you would do well even without my guidance. For you are both an excellent and diligent student. That is why I didn’t wish to disturb you.

But if the time comes when you need my help, don’t hesitate to contact me. If it’s urgent, you may come straight to the laboratory. I can always make time for you.

Enough of the digression. The reason I am writing to you is because I have good news that I believe will make you happy.

I could tell you by letter, but I would like to speak to you face-to-face.

Please come to my laboratory by 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I will be waiting.

From Jeran Ennessy.]