Chapter 31: The punishment of attempted escape
Clara stared at Lilith strangely from the seat beside her.
More specifically—
She stared at the empty space directly above Lilith’s lap.
Lilith sat farther away from the desk than normal, and beneath the table both of her arms looked like they were tightly wrapped around absolutely nothing.
From Clara’s perspective it probably looked insane.
"...Lilith?"
Lilith calmly looked toward her.
"Yes?"
"...Why are you sitting like that?"
Lilith tilted her head innocently.
"Like what?"
Clara pointed beneath the table awkwardly.
"Like you’re aggressively hugging a ghost."
Meanwhile—
Said ghost was currently attempting to escape.
I carefully tried prying one of Lilith’s arms loose while remaining invisible.
Unfortunately—
It was like trying to bend solid steel.
Impossible.
Lilith noticed immediately.
Her grip tightened.
Painfully.
I nearly twitched.
"...Lilith?"
Instead of answering Clara normally, Lilith slowly leaned closer toward her.
Then quietly whispered something into Clara’s ear.
Clara blinked.
Then blinked again.
"...What?"
Lilith smiled happily.
"I’m holding Leo."
Clara stared at her with the most confused expression I’d seen yet.
"...You brought Leon to class?"
Lilith nodded proudly.
"He’s currently trying to escape."
Clara looked beneath the table again.
Then at Lilith.
Then back beneath the table.
She looked like she was questioning reality itself.
"Wait..."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Leon is actually there right now?"
Lilith happily nodded again.
Meanwhile I was still trying to escape with what little dignity I had left.
This was horrifying.
Absolutely horrifying.
Before Clara could continue though—
The classroom door opened.
A boy with light blue hair calmly entered.
Adrian Eirvale.
The moment I saw him—
I froze slightly.
The protagonist.
The hero of the original novel.
The person destined to stand against the future Void Witch.
And currently—
He was walking directly into a classroom where that future Void Witch was secretly using invisibility magic to hold me hostage on her lap.
The plot had completely derailed.
Adrian calmly walked into the room while several students immediately began whispering.
His expression remained confident as usual.
Meanwhile Clara noticed Lilith’s attention shift.
"Oh," Clara whispered softly. "It’s Adrian."
Lilith looked completely uninterested.
That was probably for the best.
Meanwhile my own thoughts spiraled rapidly.
Why was the protagonist here already?
Things were happening far earlier than they should have.
And more importantly—
How much had the story already changed because of me?
Before I could think any deeper though—
Lilith suddenly tightened her invisible hold around my waist again.
A silent warning.
Apparently she noticed I was distracted.
Being kidnapped by a future villainess made strategic thinking incredibly difficult.
The lesson eventually came to an end.
And unfortunately—
My suffering continued.
Now instead of being trapped in a classroom, I was trapped at lunch.
Lilith and Clara sat together in their usual isolated area near the academy gardens while snow lightly drifted down around us.
Except this time—
There was technically a third person present.
Me.
Invisible.
And still imprisoned on Lilith’s lap.
At this point I had almost accepted my fate.
Lilith calmly sat beneath the tree while holding a bowl of soup in one hand.
Meanwhile both of her other arms—
Yes somehow it felt like she had more than two at this point.
Remained tightly wrapped around my invisible waist beneath the table.
I was currently attempting yet another escape attempt.
Carefully.
Slowly.
Strategically.
Nothing worked.
It was like trying to escape reinforced steel restraints.
"...Leo."
I froze slightly.
Lilith casually sipped her soup.
"Give up already."
Absolutely not.
Meanwhile Clara sat across from us trying very hard not to laugh at the situation.
Though from her perspective—
It probably looked ridiculous.
Lilith was basically hugging empty air while occasionally talking to nobody.
"...This is honestly kind of terrifying," Clara admitted quietly.
Lilith looked pleased.
"Thank you."
"That wasn’t a compliment."
I tried shifting again.
Immediately Lilith tightened her hold.
Painfully.
How was she this strong?
"Stop struggling," Lilith whispered quietly toward me.
"No."
Except no sound came out because of whatever magic she’d placed on me earlier.
Lilith somehow still understood anyway.
"You’re very noisy today."
I stared at her in disbelief.
I WAS LITERALLY SILENT.
Meanwhile Clara rested her chin against one hand while watching the entire situation with endless amusement.
"I still can’t believe you brought Leon into class."
"He would’ve escaped otherwise."
Lilith lightly patted my invisible head.
Honestly—
This woman treated me like a kidnapped cat.
Clara eventually giggled softly.
"You two are strangely cute together."
Lilith immediately brightened.
"We are."
I attempted another escape.
Failure.
Again.
Meanwhile Lilith casually continued eating soup with one hand while maintaining a perfect prison hold around my body with the other.
Watching someone multitask this effectively was horrifying.
After a while Clara smiled mischievously.
"So Leon’s just been sitting on your lap this whole time?"
Lilith nodded proudly.
"Yes."
"That sounds romantic."
"It is."
It absolutely was not.
Clara laughed softly while Lilith happily leaned her cheek against the side of my invisible head.
Then quietly—
"So warm..."
I genuinely feared for my future.
Eventually—
After enduring what felt like hours trapped on Lilith’s lap—
I finally got an idea.
A dangerous idea.
But also possibly my only chance at freedom.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
One of my invisible hands reached upward.
Then gently grabbed the tip of Lilith’s chin.
Instantly—
She froze.
Her purple eyes widened slightly as I slowly tilted her face upward toward mine.
The reaction was immediate.
Lilith’s entire face flushed bright red.
Then suddenly she released me completely before placing both hands against her burning cheeks.
Her eyes closed.
And she slightly lifted her face toward me expectantly.
She actually thought I was going to kiss her.
Meanwhile Clara sat across from us trembling violently while using every ounce of strength in her body not to burst out laughing.
I could literally hear her struggling to breathe.
Lilith waited patiently.
Then waited longer.
And longer.
A few seconds passed.
Still nothing.
Slowly—
Lilith opened one eye.
Silence.
Then she looked downward.
The grass under the table wasn’t lightly being pressed downwards anymore.
Footsteps.
Invisible footsteps.
Rapidly getting farther away.
For a moment—
Complete silence.
Then—
Lilith’s eye twitched.
"...Leo."
She immediately shot up from her chair.
"HE’S GETTING AWAY!."
At this point Clara completely lost control and nearly collapsed onto the table trying not to laugh out loud.
Meanwhile—
I was already running for my life.
I had no idea where I was even going anymore.
My only thought was escape.
Because there was absolutely no chance Lilith was letting me get away after tricking her like that.
I sprinted across the academy grounds desperately while remaining invisible.
Behind me—
I could hear footsteps.
Fast footsteps.
Terrifying footsteps.
I glanced backward slightly.
And immediately regretted it.
Lilith was chasing me.
But worse—
She looked genuinely angry.
Cold purple eyes locked directly onto me despite the invisibility.
Terrifying.
I immediately looked ahead again.
The academy gardens were mostly grass.
Which meant visible footprints.
But further ahead—
Stone pathways.
If I reached those, she wouldn’t be able to track me anymore.
Hope surged through me.
I ran faster.
Behind me Lilith accelerated too.
The distance between us barely changed.
How was she this fast?!
Finally—
I leaped forward onto the paved pathway.
No more footprints.
No more tracks.
I turned around breathing heavily.
Lilith had stopped near the edge of the grass.
Victory.
Finally victory.
I almost laughed.
Then—
Lilith slowly closed her eyes.
"...What is she doing?"
Two seconds passed.
Then her eyes reopened instantly.
And immediately locked directly onto me.
My blood ran cold.
’...HOW?!’
Before I could react—
Lilith lunged forward.
A blur of black and purple instantly crashed into me.
SLAM.
I was violently tackled onto the stone pathway.
The invisibility flickered slightly from the impact as Lilith pinned my entire body beneath her.
I was beginning to think this woman hunted professionally.
"You ran."
Her voice was terrifyingly calm.
"I panicked!"
"You tried escaping."
"Because you kidnapped me!"
Lilith narrowed her eyes slightly while holding both of my wrists above my head.
Meanwhile Clara finally caught up behind us.
The moment she saw the situation—
She nearly died trying not to laugh.
Both hands covered her mouth while her shoulders shook violently.
At least nobody else nearby saw this.
Because explaining why Duke NightBane’s daughter had tackled an invisible boy onto the academy pathways would’ve been impossible.
Lilith continued pinning me against the stone pathway while Clara stood nearby still barely holding herself together.
This had somehow become the most humiliating moment of my life.
Lilith’s deep purple eyes narrowed slightly as she looked down at me.
"You tried to trick me."
"...It worked though."
"That makes it worse."
I immediately attempted another escape.
Failure.
Again.
I was starting to understand how prey animals felt.
Meanwhile Clara finally managed to calm herself down enough to speak.
"...So," she said between restrained laughs, "what exactly are you going to do to him?"
The moment she asked—
A slow smile spread across Lilith’s face.
A dangerous smile.
I didn’t like that expression at all.
Lilith thoughtfully tapped her chin while still keeping me pinned beneath her.
"Hm..."
Her voice became oddly calm.
"I think first I’ll make him sit on my lap for the rest of the day."
"...That’s not even a punishment," Clara pointed out.
"It is for him."
Then Lilith continued.
"And then tonight he has to sleep in the bed properly."
Absolutely not.
"And if he tries escaping again..."
Her smile widened slightly.
"I’ll tie him to me with magic...permanently."
My soul left my body.
Clara immediately choked trying not to laugh again.
"Lilith you can’t just say horrifying things so casually!"
Meanwhile I was actively reconsidering every life decision that brought me here.
Lilith ignored Clara completely while continuing to think.
"Oh."
Her deep purple eyes brightened slightly.
"I could also make him hold my hand all day tomorrow."
"That’s your birthday, not his execution."
"It can be both."
Terrifying woman.
Lilith leaned slightly closer toward me.
"And maybe..."
A faint purple glow appeared around her.
"I’ll put tracking magic on him so he can’t run away anymore."
"...That sounds illegal."
"Only if you get caught."
Clara had fully turned away at this point while silently shaking from laughter.
Meanwhile I stared upward in complete horror as Lilith continued listing punishments.
"I could also move all his clothes into my room."
"No."
"Or lock the windows so he can’t escape at night."
"I hate that you’ve specifically planned around escape routes."
"And maybe," Lilith continued dreamily, "I should start introducing him as my future husband publicly."
"THAT ONE’S THE WORST."
Lilith looked genuinely surprised.
"Really? I thought the tracking magic was worse."
"It was close!"
Clara finally burst out laughing completely.
Meanwhile—
I lay there pinned beneath the future Void Witch while listening to my horrifying future being planned in real time.
I should’ve just accepted the kiss.
