"Are you not going to sleep? You must be tired." Hera commented, looking at the girl staring outside the window. "Hmm.. Don't feel like it. You go ahead." Julia fondled the kitty in her arms. The cat in her hands was the same one that was with them in the cave.
"Huu.." Hera had a hunch that there was something on her friend's mind. She questioned her a few times earlier that day but didn't get a clear response. It's better to wait for her to open up to her than to impose on her.
*Knock* "Are you there, Ms. Julia? Mrs. Mary is calling you to her room." There was a maid on the door. The blonde was confused by such a request at this time. Regardless, she handed over the sleeping kitten to Hera before opening the door and following the maid downstairs.
"You can go right in." Nodding her head in response, she pushed the door and walked inside. There was a large bed in the center of the room with two occupants. The mature lady had her bare chest on display, while beside her she found the boy peacefully sleeping.
"Come, sit here." Mary didn't look at her, seemingly busy rubbing the boy's head. Julia can sense some tension in the air and she didn't refuse her invitation. "How are you feeling?"
The girl took some time to respond, but her answer ended in a positive connotation. "Then, why don't you spill the beans? Where exactly did you end up losing your virginity?" The blonde took a glance at the sleeping boy before sighing heavily. It was futile to hide anything from this lady.
Not many people knew about her, but with the help of the vast network of the family how can her identity remain hidden from her? She had always known that the woman was a hidden expert, who just chose to live her life in seclusion, away from the bustling cities.
"Things happened. It's a long story." Just from her initial glace, Mary can discern who the 'culprit' was. "Things happened? Little girl, I hope this answer can convince your family. Had you belonged to some nameless clan, virginity would not have been that big of a deal. But yours is different case altogether, I am not sure if they will take this as complacently. Afterall, big clans have to worry about their foot-long noses."
"I know that. It wasn't my choice." "Hmm? Haha.. yeah, good luck telling everyone that a slave forced himself upon you. Now can I have the full story? Maybe I can help your case." Having been cornered, Julia opened up to the woman. As her story progressed Mary's face took on a serious expression.
"A cloud poison panther?" She was familiar with the beast. Most of the young kids of the nobility are given a poison treatment, such that they develop a resistance to many different poisons. Even then, a cloud poison was too potent to be neutralized by the body itself. Without specific medicine, people can certainly die.
Mary's expression had turned sympathetic as she got up and pulled the girl in a warm hug. "Go on. What happened next?" Julia appreciated the hug, she truly wanted to share her plight with someone. Mary became the outlet to relieve some of her spite.
"What?" Julia nodded her head firmly. "I don't know how he did it, but somehow the sex we had allowed him to transfer most of the poison in my system onto himself. I might as well say that he sucked out all of it. That must have been the reason how my body returned to normal in only a day."
"Are you sure?" Mary can't see any hesitation in the girl's clear eyes. She was telling the truth. "How is he even alive then? There is practically no cultivation in his body that could have safeguarded his life." That was the biggest mystery that had puzzled Julia, all this time. Wasn't he just a weak slave boy?
"No idea. But.. I am sure there was a third person in the cave with us that day." "Third person?" Mary exclaimed, not expecting a new variable to appear. "Yes, a woman. I can hear her faint voice, however, I can't see anything because my body was paralyzed. She was the one who had been directing him. In all possibility she must have been the one who instructed him to have sex with me."
Julia let the matter sink in for a while, directing her gaze to wander to the boy sleeping beside Mary. A hint of emotion glimmered in her eyes. "What confuses me is, if she was such a knowledgeable person, why not heal me directly? Why go through all that, just to endanger both our lives." Despite aware of the futility of her arguments, Julia can't keep quiet about it.
Mary was puzzled by this slew of strange descriptions. "Anything on this woman?" The blonde shook her head. "I only saw her hands, that's it. Another thing was her voice.. ahem.. it was extremely seductive."
The older woman mulled over the matter for a while, but alas, she can't come up with any person like that. "She might have been a wandering expert, who just chanced upon you two poor souls and decided to help out. As for not healing you directly, I am not sure about that. There can be any number of reasons for that."
"Yes. I guess, only he can tell us more about who she was." Her eyes pointed to the boy tucked under the blanket. Mary smiled bitterly. "I think that won't be possible for him." Julia didn't get her meaning at all and thus waited for the lady to explain herself.
"Actually, there was another reason why I called you here. You see, I was providing some much-needed relief to the boy." Julia's face reddened. She had a hunch what was transpiring between these two, but listening to it from the horse's mouth made her blush in shame.
"I guess he never told any of you, but he didn't escape your death-inducing potion as 'unharmed' as you had assumed. The side effects activated his body in such a way that he needs a release much more frequently than normally required by a man." This was all news to Julia. She would have been skeptical, had there been someone else telling her that. People at Mary's level are rarely wrong in their deductions.
"If I had to guess, this side effect must have been the reason your teacher disqualified your results." This new revelation left Julia in shock. "You mean to say, our potion caused him to have much more frequent erections?"
"Pretty much. I had discerned the problem the same day you guys came here. That's why I gave him a hand. Coming to our previous discussion, everything was going fine when suddenly he began throwing fits like he was tortured by some traumatic memory. Now that you are telling me this, this must have been a consequence of taking in the poison."
Aron's tragic face flashed in her mind. Her skin shivered from just being reminded of the sufferings the boy must have gone through. The screams she previously had thought to be in her dreams, might have been real. Her heart pained. The question in her mind was, will she do the same for him?
It was pointless, with roles reversed she would have certainly deserted the boy, choosing her virginity over his life. The realization made her feel pathetic. Even with a lack of cultivation, he was valiant enough to put his life on the line.
Mary had figured out her thoughts. Kissing her forehead, she held onto her arms. "It's okay, kid. Like you told me earlier, you saved his life. That must have been the reason he did everything he could to save yours."
"How bad is his situation?" Mary's expression stiffened. "Huu.. he might take some time to recover. I checked him, there are no leftover physical injuries. He is perfectly healthy in that regard. The traumatic experience had affected him mentally. And regretfully, there is no remedy for that."
She didn't want to sound pessimistic, but this was the truth. Somehow the boy survived.. but at what cost? Mary can only sigh at the downcast expression on the girl. "You mean to say that every time he will try to have sex, his bad memories can get triggered?"
Mary chose not to answer that question, her lack of response being the answer in itself. She held the boy in her arm and pulled his head in her lap, fiddling his forehead. "You know, something tells me that this brat is very special."
Realizing that she had Julia's attention, she continued. "Which other kid can claim to have survived a cloud poison? Not only did he survive, but he also recovered so quickly. While I was inspecting him, I found that the tissues of his body had been broken down and regenerated hundreds of times in a small duration."
"That was certainly the work of the poison, but it also meant that his body healed back up just as fast as the poison destroyed him." Julia had been in a depressed mood, but these new claims left her matters to ponder. "Can it be that woman, who healed him up?"
"It makes sense for it to be her. It will be too horrifying if his body did that without any external support. From all this, I can guess that whoever that woman was, she must have wanted to leverage the poison in your body to temper the boy physically. It's just that why would a stranger go to such lengths?"
All this was only Mary's conjectures, however, it could lessen the guilt in Julia's heart. As expected, her gaze became clearer. The lady's words made sense.
"Then why didn't she do something to help him with the pain? If she was so resourceful, I am sure she might have a way to make the process less traumatic."
The mature lady had no answer to that question. "Don't know." "But if his sexuality has increased as a side effect, won't this hurt him worse?" Once again she lacked a proper explanation.
"Ahem.. let's believe in the expert. She might have had a reason for all this. No one likes to see someone suffer unnecessarily. Also, on some days you can try skimming some details about this mysterious lady from him. We will see if we can establish contact with her. She might be the best one to consult on his situation."
Having been given a role, Julia nodded with conviction. "I will do that." "And regarding your lost virginity, refrain from informing your family for now. I will try contacting some of my friends, they might be able to speak a few words on your behalf. Maybe, your esteemed clan will give them some face."
Just the fact that she can call on some friends who even her family needs to give face, spoke volumes about her extraordinary background. "Thank you, aunt!" This was a big favor. Julia pressed her head in her bosom, hugging her tightly.
"Haha... I am just concerned that those idiots will direct their fits of anger towards this poor soul. They can't undo what already happened, but they can certainly try silencing the witnesses. Knowing how ruthless your mother can be, it's best if you keep this a secret."
Julia looked down at the pale-faced boy. Mary told the truth, who else can be more aware of her mother's methods than herself? Killing off a slave boy to save her face, she will do that in a drop of a hat.
"Don't worry too much. Though your family is strong, the world doesn't revolve around them. Now go and have a good sleep. You can rely on your aunt more." Mary caressed her face before letting go of her. Taking a last look at Aron, Julia left the room.