Chapter 23: The little witch won’t let you look at the picture book

Luo Xiaosu, having lost her support, immediately fell toward the ground like a kite with a broken string.

Thud.

A dull thud sounded.

“Sis… Sister…”

It was only then that Avela seemed to wake from a dream.

She stumbled over in a small run and approached Luo Xiaosu.

She kept her head low, occasionally glancing at Luo Xiaosu and then quickly looking away.

She tapped her fingers together in front of her chest and spoke cautiously.

“Th…that… Sister, are you okay?”

Luo Xiaosu rubbed her sore butt and struggled to stand up.

Her legs trembled uncontrollably, as if she hadn’t yet recovered from the intense stimulation just moments ago.

“I’m okay? What makes you think I’m okay!”

Luo Xiaosu’s voice trembled with anger as she panted heavily.

‘Are you kidding me? I had just been toyed with by vines and nearly lost my first blood. How could I be fine!’

Hearing how angry Luo Xiaosu was, Avela immediately crouched down with her head in her hands, shrinking into a small ball and trembling.

Her voice was thick with tears.

“Wah… I’m sorry… I couldn’t control my magic power and hurt Sister… Please don’t be angry…”

Seeing Avela’s pitiful expression, Luo Xiaosu’s hand, which she had been about to swing down, froze in midair, and finally she slowly lowered it.

“Ah… fine. Don’t cry. Sister doesn’t blame you.”

She sighed helplessly, her heart softening.

In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to get angry at Avela.

‘Really, she’s crying so hard, but I’m the one who was toyed with so badly.’

Reaching out to pat Avela’s head, Luo Xiaosu gently pulled her up.

“Don’t do this again, okay?”

Luo Xiaosu looked into Avela’s big, teary eyes and spoke earnestly.

“Mhm… I understand. Then Sister, today’s lesson?”

Avela sniffled and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

At the word “lesson,” Luo Xiaosu’s body, which had just calmed down, stiffened violently again.

She stumbled and nearly fell.

She steadied herself, scratched her cheek awkwardly, and her gaze shifted.

“Uh… it’s already late today. Let’s go back and rest.”

‘No way! If I keep teaching, I might end up losing my first blood here today.’

Luo Xiaosu shifted slightly.

The earlier activity had left her body sticky and sweaty, and now she just wanted to take a comfortable hot bath.

“Learning magic is a long process. You can’t rush it.”

“Reeeeally… Okay then.”

Picking up her wand from the ground, Luo Xiaosu took Avela’s hand, and the two slowly walked toward the cabin.

On the way back, Avela didn’t chatter endlessly like she had on the way there.

As she followed Luo Xiaosu, she raised her hand and stared at her own palm with a distant gaze.

Earlier, when the vines had wrapped around Luo Xiaosu’s body and started tickling the soles of her feet, Avela felt as if her body could share empathy with the vines.

When the smooth vines pressed against Luo Xiaosu’s body and rubbed slowly—

At that moment, she felt as though those vines were her own hands.

As if… she was hugging Sister’s body.

Fragrant, soft, and carrying Sister’s unique warmth.

“By the way.”

Luo Xiaosu suddenly turned around and saw Avela looking down at her palm with an intoxicated expression, lost in thought.

“You next time… Huh? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Seeing Avela’s strange expression, Luo Xiaosu cut off the words she had been about to say, her tone laced with concern.

She leaned in and instinctively reached out to feel Avela’s forehead.

Abruptly interrupted by Luo Xiaosu’s voice, Avela seemed to snap out of a sweet dream.

She shook her head, her golden hair swaying.

“Mhm, nothing at all.”

She tilted her head with an innocent expression.

“What’s wrong with Sister? Is something the matter?”

Though a little confused, Luo Xiaosu didn’t dwell on it, assuming Avela was still caught up in the earlier fright and grievance.

“Sister wants to say, even if you learn magic, you can’t use it casually in front of ordinary people, and definitely not use vines to tie people up like you just did… ahem, use vines to suspend people. Got it?”

Luo Xiaosu cleared her throat, trying to cover up the “bondage play” she had almost blurted out.

“Mhm… But that’s how it’s drawn in the book?”

Avela tilted her head, her big eyes full of innocence and confusion.

“What book?”

Luo Xiaosu’s heart skipped a beat.

She found it strange—given Avela’s home environment, she shouldn’t have access to any books, let alone that kind of… strange picture book.

“It’s the ones on the bottom shelf of Sister’s bookshelf, covered with a black cloth.”

“Bottom shelf? Black cloth?”

Luo Xiaosu propped her chin on her hand, her brain racing as she searched her memory for those keywords.

Suddenly, she recalled that the original owner seemed to have a close witch friend, Beijina, if she remembered correctly.

That witch’s favorite hobbies were watching the fun and creating “yuri” works.

She had a few trial copies that the witch had forced her to keep at home.

The content was so explicit and varied that even Luo Xiaosu would blush and feel the urge to burn the books.

Could it be! Avela had seen those yuri picture books!

Luo Xiaosu’s heart skipped a beat.

She swallowed and tentatively asked, “That book… is the cover blue, with two girls… uh, hugging, with strange expressions on their faces?”

Avela blinked her big, sparkling eyes and nodded vigorously.

“Yes, yes! That’s the one! It even has a lily flower on it. But I can’t really understand the poses. Sister, can you teach me when we get back?”

“No!”

Luo Xiaosu almost screamed instinctively, like a cat that had its tail stepped on, her face flushing crimson.

‘Teach her? I don’t even know how! How can I teach her!’

After yelling, she saw Avela’s frightened, pitiful expression and realized she might have overreacted.

“Ah… haha… Sister means…”

She shifted her gaze awkwardly and stammered an explanation,

“That book… is only for adults to read. If kids read it, they’ll… wet the bed.”