Chap 63-Corporal Punishment

 

After receiving the assistant professor’s clumsy treatment, I ended up waiting alone in a place called the punishment chamber.

The dorm supervisor left me here with a click of her tongue, telling me to wait without moving until the Disciplinary officer arrived.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed.

The scene was so different from what I had expected.

The punishment room I had accidentally seen in Bastille Prison.

A place filled with the stench of blood and screams, gruesomely displaying all sorts of terrifying torture devices.

Whips, brands, instruments for pulling out fingernails, and terrifying tools whose use I couldn’t even imagine.

But this place?

There was nothing.

The bare room contained only a hard chair, and a few switches that looked endlessly thin and flimsy to me hung on the wall.

‘Is this it? Really? How boring…’

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

But thinking about it, it was only natural.

In the first place, the academy is a place of education that cultivates future talents to fight for Terra.

In such a place, they wouldn’t inflict such terrible torture as in a prison, even on a student who had committed a wrongdoing.

The punishment chamber here was merely a space with an educational purpose, meant to make students reflect on their mistakes.

I even heard that, to minimize students’ shame, regulations stipulated that no one except the Disciplinary officer could enter.

The thrilling humiliation and pleasure I felt when I was shamefully spanked in front of all the other children a while ago.

I felt a wave of disappointment, as it seemed unlikely that it would come close to that intense feeling.

But…

Still, a sliver of hope remained.

Even if this punishment room itself is boring, the important thing is that the person being punished is me, Yeon Bennet.

I don’t know who the Disciplinary officer is yet, but they certainly won’t stop at light discipline as they would with other ordinary students.

Considering my notoriety, my reputation…

Surely… they will give me special ‘attention’…

‘Haa…’

Here we go again.

How long has it been since I vowed not to give in to pleasure, and I’m already thinking like this…

Um…

Still…

Wouldn’t it be okay to enjoy it a little?

If I have to be punished anyway…

I fell into inner conflict once more, waiting for the Disciplinary officer to come.

Hoping that it would be a very ‘excellent’ Disciplinary officer who wouldn’t disappoint me.

Someone who could heat up this boring punishment chamber even a little more.

How much time had passed?

I felt a faint presence outside the door.

The sound of footsteps was getting closer.

‘Oh, finally.’

I swallowed hard and looked towards the door.

My heart was pounding with anticipation.

Who could it be?

A strict, principled professor? Or a professor who usually dislikes me?

But.

This presence.

It felt somewhat familiar.

Could it be…

Creak-

With the sound of the heavy iron door opening, the Disciplinary officer finally entered.

And the moment I saw her, I let out a short gasp without realizing it.

“…Ah.”

Of all people, she is the one I never want to face right now.

“…What’s with that stupid look on your face?”

A cold and aloof expression, but with a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

It was Bella, my senior.

She crossed her arms and looked down at me with an absurd smirk.

I’m screwed.

…

In the frigid air of the punishment chamber, Bella entered, scanning Yeon Bennet’s appearance.

The same expression she had seen at the disciplinary committee earlier, never changing her face amidst all the insults and accusations.

She had been a little afraid that she might be hurt by those cruel gazes and perhaps crying.

But Yeon, contrary to Bella’s worries, was standing there upright as if nothing was wrong.

As if she didn’t care at all about the situation she was in.

The same Yeon Bennet she knew, always calm and dignified no matter what unfair things happened to her.

“H-How did you get here, senior…?”

But as soon as she saw Bella, Yeon’s dignified demeanor crumbled in an instant.

She mumbled in a flustered expression, not knowing what to do.

Still her usual slightly foolish self.

Bella couldn’t help but chuckle at Yeon’s appearance.

“Who knows? Let’s just say I came to punish the academy’s troublemaker.”

Bella approached Yeon with a playful smile.

And the next moment, Bella hugged Yeon tightly without hesitation.

And she sat down on the chair in the middle of the room, placing Yeon on her lap.

A gentle touch, as if soothing a child.

“W-What are you doing…! Let me down!”

Yeon struggled to get out of Bella’s arms in embarrassment, but Bella only held her tighter.

“Shh. You’re here to be punished, and this is the punishment I’m giving you. Stay in my arms without moving until the discipline is over.”

Bella’s soft voice contained a firmness that wouldn’t allow refusal.

“S-Senior…? This… doesn’t seem like… a punishment…”

Yeon continued to protest while squirming, but Bella didn’t respond to her words.

Instead, Bella gently stroked Yeon’s hair and asked.

“So, what exactly happened with Elise?”

“It was nothing. I just… tried to mess with Elise a little, but I got played instead.”

At those words, Bella hugged Yeon even tighter.

Another lie.

“Hmm… I can’t believe you messed with anyone in the first place, and I definitely can’t believe you got played by Elise? Tell me properly. What happened?”

Under Bella’s gentle questioning, Yeon hesitated for a long time before finally opening her mouth.

“Elise was cursed… so I was trying to fix it… Heuuk…”

Before Yeon could finish speaking, Bella hugged her even tighter.

Yeon’s body trembled slightly in Bella’s arms.

“B-But… it was necessary… Elise could have been in danger… and other students could have been involved…”

Yeon said with difficulty, as if making excuses.

“And in return, you ended up in this punishment chamber…”

At Bella’s quiet whisper, Yeon couldn’t say anything more and fell silent.

Bella gently stroked Yeon’s hair.

“…Senior…? What are you doing?”

Yeon asked, feeling awkward at Bella’s actions.

“Like I said before, I’m punishing a troublemaker.”

Bella replied, still holding Yeon in her arms.

But there was no sense of punishment in her voice.

And…

Bella added in a sincere voice.

“…You did well, Yeon.”

“…Huh?”

At the unexpected answer, Yeon looked up at Bella in confusion.

“Thanks to you, Elise is safe. And you prevented other students from being in danger. So… you really did well, Yeon.”

Bella looked straight into Yeon’s eyes and said it again.

Her eyes were filled with warm recognition and praise.

“U-Uh-huh…”

Yeon blushed slightly and avoided her gaze, as if she wasn’t used to being praised.

Despite being a child who deserved praise more than anyone else.

Bella, seeing Yeon’s reaction, suddenly recalled a memory and spoke.

“You once said that you wanted to create a world where there were no magical beasts, no Contamination, and everyone just lived happily, right?”

Yeon’s eyes widened slightly at Bella’s words, but she soon nodded slightly.

“Yeah.”

Bella’s voice became serious again.

“You have to create the world you want, the world you want to see. I… I’ll be by your side.”

Yeon’s pupils began to shake slightly in confusion.

Bella continued with a determined expression.

“And someday… when the world you wished for comes, I will let everyone in this world know your true story. So that everyone can know that you worked harder for the world than anyone else, that you sacrificed more than anyone else.”

Bella paused for a moment.

And looking at her trembling eyes, she added.

“How good you are, and… how brave you were.”

When Bella finished speaking, Yeon moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she couldn’t say anything and hesitated.

Her eyes were swirling with complex emotions.

Bella waited for her to speak, but Yeon’s lips never opened.

She simply leaned into Bella’s arms and quietly closed her eyes.

The two of them, in the cold and empty punishment chamber… spent some time quietly feeling each other’s warmth.

…

A sophisticated and luxurious study filled with an enormous number of books covering the walls.

From rare ancient books to the latest magical theory books, the bookshelves that seemed to reach the ceiling held all the wisdom of the world.

The subtle scent of paper and well-dried wood filled the space, and only the soft sunlight filtering through the windows occasionally disturbed the quiet atmosphere.

In the center of the study, a middle-aged woman with a dignified and intellectual aura was sitting in a comfortable leather chair, absorbed in a thick book.

Eyes that revealed sharp intelligence, neatly combed-back red hair, and elegant gestures as she turned the pages.

Just then, a small crystal orb on the desk began to emit a faint light and tremble.

Like a stone falling on a calm lake, the vibration of the crystal orb disturbed her quiet reading time.

The woman frowned slightly.

“I told you not to contact me at this time.”

Her voice contained irritation at being disturbed from her reading.

“I-I’m sorry, Cassandra!”

A hurried and trembling voice flowed from the crystal orb.

“But the matter is so important that I couldn’t dare not contact you!”

“Haa…”

The woman called Cassandra sighed deeply and placed a bookmark on the page she was reading.

Then, reluctantly, she asked the crystal orb.

“So, what is it? What’s so important that you’re making such a fuss?”

The voice in the crystal orb hesitated for a moment, then reported in a confident tone.

“Yeon Bennet. It has become certain that she… is truly the seal, Cassandra.”

The moment she heard those words, all the annoyance and boredom disappeared from Cassandra’s face.

Instead, a radiant glow of irrepressible joy arose, as if the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

A satisfied smile spread across her lips.

“…Finally.”

She murmured quietly, but in a triumphant voice.

It was the moment when the last puzzle piece of the grand plan she had been preparing for a long time was put into place.

Author’s Note

I think it would be better to set days for taking breaks.

Starting in June, I decided to take breaks on Tuesdays and Thursdays and update 5 days a week…

The reason why it became 5 days a week is because I actually used up all my stockpiles during the exam period…