The air in Iris’s private bathroom was thick with tension, heavy enough to choke on.

  Iris, her face flushed and hands trembling, was still bent in an awkward bow, her eyes locked on the floating window in front of her.

  Her mind was a whirlwind of fear, shame, and a strange thrill, amplified by the constant friction of Kai inside her, where he’d slipped minutes earlier, brushing against her sensitive walls with every shift.

  The wet heat between her legs was unbearable, her panties soaked, her thighs quivering from the effort to hold it together.

  What is this window? Some trick from that wizard? Iris thought, her heart pounding so hard she felt it in her temples.

  But the answer it offered… it was good. A chance to shut her sister up, and she couldn’t let it slip by.

  Lirien stood a few steps away, commanding the room with her presence. Her deep red dress hugged her slender frame, and her jet-bck hair cascaded in perfect waves over her shoulders. Her lips, painted a subtle scarlet, curled into a cold smile that never reached her green eyes, which glinted with contempt.

  Lirien, the second daughter of the Valderia family, was everything Iris wasn’t. Her magic was fwless: she could summon protective shields, fire precise lightning bolts, and track monsters with a flick of her wrist.

  But her real talent y in humiliation, especially when it came to Iris, the youngest sister, who’d given up trying to compete after years of failing at magic.

  Lirien prowled the castle, always hunting for an excuse to tear Iris down, and today, bursting into her private bathroom, she’d found the perfect opening.

  If she could force Iris to give up on the academy, she’d bury her sister in obscurity forever.

  “Come on, little sis,” Lirien drawled, her voice slow and sharp as a bde, tilting her head until a lock of hair brushed her cheek. “Say something. Or are you just gonna stand there, whimpering and scratching like some filthy maid?”

  Iris swallowed hard, feeling Kai shift again inside her, a deep friction that sent a shiver up her spine.

  Her hands clenched—one gripping the edge of her pale blue dress, the other braced against the tub, where water still dripped from Kai’s earlier spsh.

  'Damn it… stay still, please,' Iris thought, her cheeks burning as the heat between her thighs intensified, soaking her panties to the point she feared Lirien might notice the stain.

  But the floating window was still there, and its answer was too good to ignore.

  Iris straightened, lifted her chin, and with a voice that quivered but held steady, read aloud:

  “If this were a barnyard, Lirien, you’d be the first to roll in the mud, lugging that ego around like a cartload of manure.”

  …

  The silence that followed was deafening.

  Lirien blinked, her mouth slightly agape, then let out a shrill ugh that bounced off the stone walls.

  What kind of insult was that?

  She pressed a hand to her chest, as if the shock was too much to contain, her bck hair swaying as she threw her head back.

  “What did you just say?” Lirien excimed, her eyes sparkling with disbelief and amusement. “Seriously, Iris? The family failure, who can’t even heat bathwater with magic, is talking back?”

  Her ughter cut off abruptly, and she took a step forward, the heels of her boots hitting the floor with a sharp cck! that made Iris flinch.

  Lirien’s smile twisted into a sneer, her fingers pausing their idle tapping on her crossed arm to jab toward Iris.

  “You, who’s good for nothing, dare speak to me like that? Who gave you permission to open your mouth?”

  Iris’s stomach knotted, but Kai’s movement inside her, brushing against her sensitive walls, sparked a strange courage.

  Another message appeared in the window, even sharper than the st.

  Each rub sent a jolt of pleasure that mingled with her fear, igniting a fury she didn’t know she had.

  Gritting her teeth, ignoring the wet heat trickling down her thighs, Iris met Lirien’s gaze.

  “What’s wrong, Lirien? Picking on me just because I passed the exam you flunked?” Iris said, her voice starting soft but gaining strength, each word ced with a defiance that shocked even her.

  Her hands rexed, releasing her dress, and she crossed her arms, mimicking her sister’s stance with a raised eyebrow.

  “Because, yeah, I know. You failed the first time, didn’t you? You only got into the academy because Dad pulled strings with the headmaster, not because you earned it.”

  Lirien froze, her eyes narrowing, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her hands trembled slightly, and her face hardened, all traces of amusement gone.

  The air seemed to hum with her rage, and for a moment, Iris thought she’d gone too far.

  “How dare you…?” Lirien hissed, taking another step forward with a cck! of her heels. Her voice was low, dangerous, each word sliced with precision. “Don’t get cocky, you useless brat. You passed one exam—so what? You’ve got no power, no talent. You’re a disgrace to this family, and you know it.”

  Her fingers curled into a fist, her green eyes fshing with a promise of trouble.

  Fear gripped Iris’s chest, but Kai’s movement, grazing a sensitive spot inside her, gave her an inexplicable surge.

  The pleasure was intense, a heat that clouded her mind but also made her feel alive, like she could finally stand up to her sister.

  “Disgrace? Sounds like you’re the one who cares, Lirien…” Iris shot back, her sarcastic tone trembling but unbroken.

  She squared her shoulders, tilting her head with a smirk she didn’t know she could muster.

  “Enough to barge into my private bathroom and threaten me like I’m your servant. Are you that insecure you need to stomp on me to feel better?”

  Lirien’s eyes widened, her face twisting with a mix of fury and shock.

  “Insolent!” she shrieked, raising her right hand in a swift motion.

  Smack!

  The sound of the sp echoed through the bathroom, and Iris’s cheek burned instantly, forcing her back a step.

  Tears welled in her eyes, not from pain, but from rage.

  Lirien pointed at her with a trembling finger, her voice shaking with indignation.

  “Respect me, Iris! I’m your older sister, and you’re nobody to talk to me like that!”

  Iris touched her stinging cheek, the heat of the sp searing her skin, but something inside her snapped.

  Kai’s friction, the pain, years of Lirien’s mockery—it all fused into an impulse she couldn’t contain.

  Without thinking, Iris raised her left hand and…

  Smack!

  She returned the sp with such force that Lirien’s head snapped slightly to the side!

  The silence was absolute, broken only by the drip of water in the tub.

  Iris panted, eyes wide, unable to believe what she’d done.

  'Shit! What did I do? What the hell did I do?!' she thought, her heart pounding so hard her chest ached.

  Lirien touched her cheek, where a red mark was forming. Her eyes widened, her mouth twisting into a snarl of pure fury.

  “How dare you…?” she roared, stepping toward Iris with clenched fists. “You, the most useless member of this family, hit me? You’re dead for this, Iris!”

  Her voice was a scream, her hands glowing with a green shimmer, as if she were about to cast a spell.

  Iris stumbled back, tripping against the tub, fear squeezing her chest.

  'Damn it, she’s really going to kill me,' she thought, Kai’s movement sending another ill-timed shiver through her.

  Just then, a firm voice cut through the air.

  “Iris!”

  The bathroom door, left ajar by Lirien, smmed open, and a woman strode in with quick steps.

  Her deep blue dress, with a fitted bodice and a floor-skimming skirt, was adorned with silver threads that gleamed in the light.

  Her blonde hair, swept into a high bun, and her piercing blue eyes radiated authority.

  There was no mistaking her: the queen, their mother.

  Her lips were pressed into a tight line, her hands pnted on her hips in a stance that demanded respect.

  “What is going on here?” she said, her tone leaving no room for excuses, her gaze flicking from Lirien to Iris with a raised eyebrow.