Chapter 19: Rose (+18)

Consciousness returned like a distant echo, as if he had crossed an eternal tunnel and was now emerging without knowing whether he was alive or dreaming. William opened his eyes abruptly, gasping. The dim light of a golden chandelier shone from the vaulted ceiling, casting warm reflections on the red velvet curtains and the walls covered with silver-threaded tapestries.

He was lying in a massive bed, softer than any surface he had ever touched. The sheets were pure silk, cool and comforting. His body was wrapped in a black sleeping robe with blue details—elegant and subtly tailored. He sat up suddenly, heart pounding.

—"What… where…?"

The memory of the mask struck his mind like a spear. His eyes widened even more. The energy, the pressure, the pain, that cursed sound, and that figure cloaked in darkness. He screamed, as if doing so could expel the image from his mind.

—"Angel! What the hell is happening to me!?"

The feminine voice resonated immediately in his head—calm, lifeless, but offering a shred of comfort.

—"Analyzing the user's current state… No physical anomalies detected. Everything points to a panic attack caused by a nightmare."

He took his head in his hands.

—"The mask… I saw… something. I don't know. I felt like I was losing control. What the fuck happened?"

There was a brief silence before Angel responded.

—"The only abnormality was your behavior last night. You entered a trance for approximately thirty seconds. Then you started screaming as if you were being tortured. After that, you lost consciousness. Aurus called the maids and had you brought here to rest. Here's the recording."

The images began to replay in his mind. He saw himself, rigid, eyes open but empty. Then the screams—pure desperation. And finally, the collapse. What followed was even more disturbing.

William's unconscious body had been carried into this room. The maids began to undress him. One of them, the head maid named Rose—a middle-aged woman with red hair, green eyes, pearly white skin, and generous curves—paused, gazing at William's naked body while the others cleaned and dressed him in a new sleeping robe.

When they finished, Rose ordered the others to leave. Despite some reluctance, no one said anything. They knew Rose's temper and her inclinations toward handsome young men. Her position protected her, and no one dared contradict her.

Rose stared at him with a lustful smile as she slowly unfastened her bra, letting her large, round breasts—already erect with arousal—fall free. Her breath was ragged as she knelt between his legs, eyeing him like a prize.

—"You're beautiful…" she whispered, voice heavy with desire. "So young… so strong… I couldn't resist before… and now you're here."

Her tongue traced a wet line from his abdomen to the throbbing member standing erect with intensity.

—"Such a good boy… Are you enjoying this?"

She took him with both hands, stroking slowly, savoring every inch like a forbidden delicacy. Her tongue slid from the base to the tip, drawing slow, lustful circles. Rose's warm breath made William's skin erupt in goosebumps.

—"Mmm… so hard…" she moaned while rubbing herself with one hand, soft whimpers escaping her lips. "I just want a taste… just a little…"

Her clit peeked out from between her swollen folds like a red pearl, glistening and pulsing. Her lips glistened with desire, dripping sweet and wild.

She mounted him, legs spread, her back facing William, showing off her firm, round ass. Without wasting a second, she gripped his cock, guiding it to her wet entrance. Just as the tip began to slide between her folds…

Footsteps echoed. The firm sound of Aurus's shoes approaching down the hallway.

The maid froze. With surprising skill, she adjusted her posture, pretending she was just drying him, hoping Aurus wouldn't notice anything unusual.

William remained still. The sequence of images had left him in an emotional limbo—bewildered, aroused, and, in some sense, frustrated.

—"What kind of fucking hentai harem is this?" he muttered with dry irony.

He had read stories like this—always as escapism. But he never imagined living through a scene like that… without actually being there. Reality, undoubtedly, surpasses fiction.

He closed his eyes, trying to reorganize his thoughts. He took a deep breath.

—"Angel… check my thoughts. I just saw that damn mask. You should be able to analyze it, at least a residual image."

—"Scanning…" she responded. Seconds passed. "Nothing. Your thoughts are completely clean. No anomalies, no images related to masks or external entities. All normal."

William tensed. A cold void crawled up his spine. It didn't make sense. That image, that energy—it was real. Not just a hallucination. He knew it.

And suddenly… he understood.

Like a lightning bolt. Like something that had always been there, covered in dust, and now he had wiped it clean for the first time.

—"Since I arrived in this world… I haven't dreamed. Not even once," he murmured, voice trembling.

The silence that followed was absolute. Angel didn't respond.

—"I haven't dreamed at all. In my previous life, I always dreamed. Every night. Even when I was drugged. Even with a fever. Even on the verge of death. I always dreamed."

He sat up slowly, a shiver crawling from the base of his spine to his neck.

—"This isn't normal…" he whispered. "This isn't just magic or transmigration. There's something else. Something… is happening to me. Something… is blocking my dreams."

He placed a hand on his chest, trembling. His breathing quickened.

—"Angel… are you sure no one can access my mind?"

—"Absolutely sure… I hope," she replied, though this time her voice didn't sound as firm as usual.

William lowered his gaze, feeling that something very old, very dark, was at play. Something beyond his understanding… and perhaps even beyond this world's control.

The mask hadn't just marked him.

It had seen him.

And the fact that he couldn't dream…

Wasn't that the clearest sign?

—"What could it be…?" he whispered, feeling his mind spinning, trying to find answers that slipped through his fingers like sand. "Maybe… I'm just overthinking…"