The administrative hall was deathly silent.
After Lilia finished her shout, the entire world seemed to go still.
Behind her, the sound of Lilith’s painful twitching stopped.
In the vast hall, only her own heavy, ragged breathing remained.
‘I’m finished.’
‘I didn’t just call her by her name.’
‘I even called her a bastard.’
‘I’m dead for sure.’
Lilia closed her eyes and stiffened her neck.
Her entire body tensed as she waited for the attack that would erase her from existence.
‘If I die, I die.’
‘Anyway, ever since I transmigrated to this hellhole, I’ve been tortured in various ways every day by this pervert. It’s no different from being dead.’
‘Being able to die before Sister Lilith is worth it.’
One second.
Two seconds.
Ten seconds.
The expected attack did not come.
The overwhelming pressure that had made her lungs ache actually vanished.
Air rushed back into her chest.
The sudden sense of relief made her head swim.
Lilia cautiously opened her eyes just a crack.
Lucia was still standing in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling window, her back turned to her.
Yet, Lilia could feel that something had changed.
“Heh…”
A very soft laugh echoed through the empty hall.
There was no mockery in that voice, nor was it playful.
Instead, it carried a hint of genuine pleasure.
Lilia’s brain completely stalled.
‘She’s laughing?’
‘I pointed at her nose and cursed her, yet she isn’t angry—she’s laughing? Just how is this pervert’s brain wired?!’
“Target you?”
Lucia finally turned around.
In the dim light, those two blood-red points of light glowed.
Her face wore an expression Lilia had never seen before—one that was almost fanatical.
“Are you sure?”
“Of… Of course! Meow!”
Lilia’s scalp felt numb under that gaze, but since she had already spoken the words, she could only steel herself and push through.
“I was the one who did it! I’m the one who caused this mess! It has nothing to do with Sister Lilith! If you want to punish someone, punish me!”
“Fine.”
Lucia actually nodded bluntly.
This response caused both Lilia and Lilith, who had just caught her breath behind her, to freeze at the same time.
‘She agreed? She agreed just like that?’
“Since you’re so responsible and want to protect her so much…”
Lucia began to walk down the steps of the throne, one step at a time.
Her bare feet stepped onto the cold obsidian floor without making a single sound.
She stopped right in front of Lilia, her shadow completely enveloping the girl’s small body.
“Then I shall grant your wish.”
Lucia leaned down, her icy fingers pinching Lilia’s chin.
She forced that small, startled, and suspicious face upward.
“From now on, this game has leveled up.”
Lilia’s heart gave a violent throb.
‘Again… Leveled up again?’
“Lilith’s ‘punishment’ will be recorded for now,” Lucia’s voice was very low as it slithered into Lilia’s ear.
“As for you…”
Her thumb gently brushed over Lilia’s trembling lips.
“…You will take her place and receive a special ‘reward’.”
‘Reward?’
When Lilia heard those words, the fur all over her body nearly stood on end.
A “reward” from this pervert’s mouth was more terrifying than any execution!
“No… No need, Master! Meow!”
Lilia’s survival instincts made her shake her head frantically.
“I made a mistake, so I should be punished! Please, just punish me! Use a whip! Use magic to shock me! Anything is fine! Meow!”
She would rather be hung up and beaten than play some nonsensical “game” or receive a “reward.”
“No.”
Lucia shook her head, the curve of her lips deepening.
“That would be too boring.”
She released Lilia’s chin and suddenly swept her up into a princess carry.
“Meow—!”
Lilia let out a short cry of surprise as her body went airborne.
She instinctively reached out and grabbed Lucia’s neck.
A familiar, cold fragrance wrapped around her.
“Put… Put me down! Meow!”
Lilia struggled in that embrace in vain, her arms and legs flailing.
To Lucia, that tiny bit of strength was no different from a kitten acting spoiled.
“Don’t move.”
Lucia held her and turned toward the depths of the bedchamber.
Her destination was that massive black bed.
“Haven’t you always wanted to know what ‘warming the bed’ actually feels like?”
Her voice carried a hint of anticipation that made Lilia’s skin crawl.
“Tonight, I will teach you personally.”
‘Warming the bed.’
Those three words were like ice picks stabbing into Lilia’s brain.
She watched the black bed get closer and closer, staring at the silk bedding that looked soft enough to swallow everything.
A chill rushed from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
‘It’s over. This time, I’m really going to be eaten whole by this pervert!’
She instinctively looked back, her eyes pleading for help from Lilith, who was still kneeling on the floor.
However, Lilith only kept her head lowered, motionless.
Her silver hair fell forward, obscuring her face and making it impossible to see her expression.
But Lilia “saw” it.
In her “Mana Vision,” the stable [Mana Field] belonging to a Rank 5 Monarch was currently trembling violently, as if it could collapse at any moment.
That wasn’t fear.
That was… rage and resentment.
Lilia’s heart sank to the very bottom. She understood now.
Lucia had carried her away right in front of Lilith specifically to tell her:
Look, this is the person you want to protect.
Now, she belongs to me.
And you can’t do a single thing about it.