To soothe her throbbing headache, Tilia deliberately found a restroom away from the exam room. The first floor of the main building was filled with faculty offices, and with the exam coming up in just a few hours, Gregory Myers had no reason to hang around the women's restroom except her.
Tilia's mind began to piece together the situation, analyzing the connections between her highly sensitive state and Gregory's expectant expression. And, above all, the fact that he was standing by the toilet in this disgusting state.
At that moment, her old conversation with Judy came back to her:
“Well, holy water was originally meant for knights, right? So for ordinary people like us, if you don't follow the prescribed dosage, the body's functions can become overactive."
“Is that bad? Isn't that good?
"No! When your feelings become too strong..."
“You will turn into an animal driven only by instincts. They say you can't control yourself until you... you know... do it to someone. It takes another person’s energy to get back to normal.”
At the same time, Gregory’s desperate words, heard at the entrance to the library, resurfaced:
“Is that all you heard? Did you just get this part wrong?”
Tilia brushed it off then, not wanting to delve too deeply into it. But now she clearly remembered the worried look on Gregory's face, as if he was worried that she might have overheard something important.
“No way. This can't be..."
Tilia stopped in her tracks and shook her head, laughing bitterly.
Even Gregory wouldn't do something like that, right? Besides, today she only drank the water she brought from the dorm.
“You're paranoid. This is impossible".
Tilia forced herself to laugh at her worry and quickly walked towards the exit of the toilet. However, her steps began to slow as she approached the sunlit door.
No... something is wrong.
Her already hesitant steps became increasingly heavier until, eventually, she could no longer move forward.
This can't be...
Tilia clenched her fists tightly, her arms trembled and then went limp.
But just in case...
Letting out a deep sigh from deep within her chest, Tilia turned and opened the stall door, locking the lock behind her. With pale hands she undid the button.
Her slightly trembling fingers moved several times before she managed to lift her skirt.
And then she saw it.
- You must be joking.
Tilia finally cursed loudly, although she had been holding back all day.
Her underwear was wet.
It was not the kind of humidity that could be confused with anything else. She wasn't interested in men, but she wasn't so naive that she didn't understand what her current condition meant.
She thought that her heightened senses were just a side effect, but now that the evidence was indisputable, she had no choice but to accept the truth.
He must have gotten her drunk.
Her legs gave way and she collapsed, trembling, onto the clean floor of the toilet.
In her mind she heard Judy's voice:
“So don’t drink water mindlessly. My brother says things have been really bad lately. You know that social life is filled with rich, low class types, right? You never know what they might put in your drink. Just in case, don’t drink anything.”
When could this happen? No matter how hard she tried to remember, she only remembered that she drank water that she had brought herself.
Could Gregory have switched the bottle when she wasn't looking? But how? And when?
Her thoughts became more chaotic and her head became hotter, making it harder for her to think clearly. Instead of reason, her emotions began to take over.
She felt angry. Sadness. No, more precisely, she felt complete devastation.
It was so terrible, humiliating and hopeless that she almost suffocated.
“I'm telling you, she's the one. You can take her away and just do whatever you want with her without any consequences.”
Gregory Myers' words, spoken so arrogantly in front of the toilet, echoed in her head, making her feel more victimized than ever.
If she was born into a respected noble family, would Gregory Myers dare to do something like that?
If she was Cecilia or someone else from the academy, would he still do this to her?
The tears that had burned my cheeks now seemed warm as they ran down my face.
Sitting on the pristine toilet floor, Tilia buried her face in her knees.
- I'll kill him.
But the time spent in tears was short-lived. With strong determination, Tilia raised her head.
- How dare he... do this to me?
Her emerald green eyes, now filled with tears, burned with furious anger.
“Does he really think I’ll give up because of this?”
Roughly wiping her face, Tilia forced herself to her feet. Her thighs, still weak and trembling, could barely support her, but she dug her nails into the skin, forcing herself to stand.
- Just wait. In the end I will laugh.
Clap!
Tilia slapped her cheek hard, trying to clear her head. There will be revenge, of course. But now is not the time to let your emotions overwhelm you. She had a more pressing problem to solve.
"Think."
Tilia bit her lip, desperately trying to think of a solution.
Given the circumstances, it was safe to say that Gregory Myers had given her a large dose of that damned holy water.
Although she had no idea why he would do something like that before the exam, the thought of his lewd grin and the bulge in his pants left no room for doubt.
“If I don’t do this with someone, I won’t be able to pass the exam.”
There were about three and a half hours left before the exam.
Tilia took a deep breath and quickly came up with three possible solutions.
First: inform the professor about your condition, visit the academy's infirmary for treatment, and request an individual examination.
But there was a problem. Exams taken after sick leave were worth only 80% of the original mark. Even if her condition was considered unavoidable, there was no guarantee that they would make an exception. And since Tilia needed to graduate this year, this option was too risky.
“Then the second option.”
Forcing herself to remain calm, Tilia thought of her next plan.
Inform Judy of the situation and ask her to find the priest.
Judy, as the youngest daughter of the Wells family, will most likely pull all her strings to bring a high-ranking priest to the academy. However, this plan also had its drawbacks. Even with Judy's connections, there was no guarantee that she would be able to find a suitable priest in time. Moreover, Judy, in her fears, could warn the professors, which would lead to the same problem as in the first option.
“So the second option could also lead to repeat testing.”
There was a third option left.
Tilia bit her nails anxiously, muttering her last possible plan.
Find someone to sleep with within the next three and a half hours.
According to Judy, the only way to counteract an overdose of holy water is to mix your energy with someone else's. In other words, if she sleeps with someone, she will be back in a state where she can pass the exam.
"But..."
Like other options, this one had its problems.
The first problem: she had no experience.
Second: can she find a man who is safe enough to sleep with him once?
“But if I succeed, I can pass the exam.”
Biting her lip, Tilia reminded herself that this option, unlike the others, allowed for a backup plan. If she can't find a suitable partner, she can always go back to the first or second option.
Having narrowed her mind to a decision, Tilia closed her eyes and once again considered the disadvantages of the third option.
The first problem was not serious. She could always fake the experience if necessary. Even if her partner realized she was inexperienced, he probably wouldn't mind. Most would find it more attractive than repulsive.
Smiling bitterly, Tilia turned her attention to the second problem.
“A man I could sleep with and who wouldn’t cause any problems...”
If it's not Gregory Myers, then everything should be fine. She would rather die than sleep with him.
Suppressing an inappropriate chuckle, Tilia listed the necessary conditions.
It had to be a man willing to agree to her outrageous request, someone surrounded by women who wouldn't make a big deal about it.
And, if possible, someone with a better face than Gregory.
Although the second requirement - finding a man who had been with many women - seemed unpleasant, the remaining requirements seemed feasible.
Three and a half hours.
Tilia exhaled slowly, reminding herself how little time she had.
My head was spinning, as if logic was slipping away, my breath was getting hotter, and the feeling of wet underwear sticking to my skin only made the situation worse.
To be honest, Tilia wasn't entirely sure she wasn't going crazy. Was she simply rationalizing her primal instincts?
Despite this, her plan was in place and she was determined to carry it out.
Tilia swallowed through her dry throat and unlocked the toilet stall door.