Chapter 77: A Gentle Trap! This is even more painful than being hit!

Lilia was woken up by the sound of a heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump…

It wasn’t her own heartbeat.

Her whole body was confined within a warm embrace.

Lucia’s arm was wrapped around her waist, and she couldn’t break free.

Her face was pressed right against the source of that sound.

Lilia’s muscles tensed instantly, and she even forgot to breathe.

In the pitch-black room, she could feel that the person behind her was awake.

“Awake?”

Lucia’s voice came from above her head.

It carried a hint of raspiness from just having woken up, vibrating until Lilia’s eardrums felt numb.

Lilia’s body gave a tiny shudder.

“You… let me go, meow…”

Her voice was light and soft, carrying a sob.

“Why should I let go?”

Instead, Lucia’s arm tightened its hold even more.

Warm breath puffed against the crown of her head.

“Didn’t you sleep quite soundly last night?”

Heat rushed to Lilia’s cheeks in an instant.

She couldn’t refute it.

Last night was indeed the deepest sleep she had since arriving in this hellish place.

There were no nightmares, and her body hadn’t jolted awake from pain.

It had even been… very peaceful.

This realization made a surge of panic rise from the bottom of her heart.

Her body was shamefully becoming accustomed to this embrace.

“I don’t care! Let me go right now, meow!”

She finally gathered her strength and began to struggle, using both her hands and feet.

To Lucia, that bit of strength made no difference at all.

“Don’t move.”

Lucia flipped over and pinned her directly beneath her body, causing the soft mattress to sink deeply.

In the darkness, Lilia could only see those blood-red eyes scrutinizing her with amusement.

The distance between their noses was so close they could almost touch.

“Since you’re already awake and can’t sleep,” Lucia spoke, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness.

“Then why don’t we do some… morning exercise.”

Lilia’s heart skipped a beat.

Morning… exercise?

Before she could figure out what kind of perverted new trick this was, a kiss descended.

There was no tentative probing like last time, only pure aggression and possession.

Lilia’s mind went completely blank.

She tried to push her away, but her hands were easily pinned by a single hand and pressed into the pillow above her head.

She tried to turn her head away, but her chin was held in a firm grip.

That cold fragrance forced its way into her mouth overbearingly, making her head spin with dizziness.

Just as the air in her lungs was about to be squeezed dry, Lucia finally pulled away slightly.

Lilia gasped for air greedily, salty tears sliding from the corners of her eyes into her hairline.

“You… bastard… meow…”

She sobbed, every word sounding as if it were squeezed out of her throat.

“Mm.”

Lucia’s response was nonchalant as her thumb brushed across Lilia’s moist cheek.

“There is something even more interesting.”

The blanket was tossed aside, and a chill set in.

A cold hand reached under the hem of the “Robe of Serenity” she was wearing.

“Meow—!”

Lilia’s scream was blocked back into her throat, and her body arched uncontrollably.

That hand moved with a force that brook no refusal, slowly moving upward along her abdomen.

Everywhere it passed, it stirred up a patch of tiny goosebumps.

“No… don’t… meow…”

Lilia’s voice was already broken and out of tune.

She twisted her body, desperately trying to dodge that wicked hand.

But she was pinned down firmly; all her dodging was in vain.

This humiliation left her unable to move.

She could only allow those cold fingers to measure and wander over her body.

Just as this humiliation was about to swallow her whole, a set of extremely light footsteps sounded outside the door.

It was Lilith.

She delivered toiletries at this exact time every day.

Lilia’s heart was gripped by an invisible hand.

Lilith was right outside the door! If… if she heard the commotion inside…

This thought made her so ashamed she felt she might evaporate.

She bit her lower lip hard, not daring to make another sound.

She even forcibly suppressed the trembling of her body.

Lucia seemed to sense her change.

The movements of her hand became even more unrestrained.

That hand set fires all over her body, precisely teasing the places that made her shiver.

Lilia’s body was stretched taut like a fully drawn bow.

Intermittent whimpers escaped her throat.

She could only bury her face in the soft pillow, her fingernails digging hard into the sheets as she clung to her last shred of sanity.

Time had never been so long.

After an unknown amount of time, the footsteps outside finally receded.

Lilia’s tense nerves relaxed, and her whole body went limp.

But in the next second, an even stronger sense of shame overwhelmed her.

Just now… she had actually been praying for Lilith to leave quickly.

She actually didn’t want anyone to discover she was being bullied by this pervert.

What exactly… was wrong with her?

“It seems my little pet has already begun to learn how to enjoy it.”

Lucia’s voice sounded against her ear, carrying a hint of a satisfied smile.

The wicked hand finally withdrew.

The darkness in the room also faded as the light from outside shone back in.

Lilia grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself up tightly from head to toe.

She only exposed a pair of bloodshot eyes, staring fixedly at the person beside the bed.

“I’m not finished with you! Meow!”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Lucia smiled dismissively and got up from the bed.

She slowly and methodically tidied her slightly messy silk nightgown.

She walked to the door and pulled it open.

Lilith was holding a water basin and a towel, standing outside the door expressionless.

Her posture was professional and cold as always.

However, the fingertips holding the tray were trembling slightly, unnoticed by anyone.

She had heard everything just now while standing outside.

Her lady’s forcibly suppressed crying, and… the Empress’s whispers filled with pleasure.

Lilith’s mind was a complete blank.

She didn’t understand.

What exactly was the Empress doing? This behavior, which bordered on toy-like play, had already exceeded the scope of “training” a pet.

This was more like… the intimacy between lovers.

As soon as this thought emerged, she cut it off with powerful willpower.

Impossible.

The Empress was a god, the Eternal Order.

She would not possess such lowly, chaotic emotions as mortals did.

All of this was just a game.

Right, a game… that the Empress found interesting.

Lilith repeatedly cautioned herself in her heart as she walked into the room.

“Miss, please wash up.”

Lilia poked her head out from the blanket.

Looking at Lilith’s unmoving face, her heart felt incredibly guilty.

She must have… heard it all, right? She definitely heard it all.

Lilia wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it immediately.

“We are going to the Hot Spring today.”

Lucia’s voice broke the eerie silence in the room.

Lilia’s body stiffened again.

Hot Spring? That hellish place again?! The scene of being shocked nearly to death last time was still clearly imprinted in her mind.

“I’m not going! Meow!”

She refused without a second thought.

“That’s fine.”

Lucia looked at the messy, large bed in the room.

“Then right here, I will help you wash.”

The color instantly drained from Lilia’s face.

Wash here?

Lying naked on the bed while being wiped down inch by inch by this pervert?

That image was a hundred times more terrifying than going to the Hot Spring!

“…I’ll go… meow…”

The words were squeezed out from between her teeth.

“Very good.”

The corners of Lucia’s mouth curled into a satisfied arc.

“Lilith, go prepare.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lilith bowed and withdrew, closing the door.