The soft mattress bounced her up and caught her again.
Before Lilia could react, a dark shadow pressed down on her.
The bed sank to one side as Lucia propped her hands up on either side of Lilia’s body, trapping her.
That cold fragrance, mixed with pressure, enveloped her once more.
“What… what do you think you’re doing? Meow?”
Lilia’s heart beat frighteningly fast, and her face was burning hot.
This posture, this scene—she remembered it all too clearly.
Every time, it meant a new “game” that made her want to die.
“Teaching you.”
Lucia leaned down, warm breath blowing into her ear and making her shudder.
“Teaching you the most basic duties of being my pet.”
The voice was low and raspy; Lilia’s mind went into a frenzy.
“I… I don’t want to learn! Meow!”
Lilia turned her head desperately, trying to avoid the breath that made her whole body go weak.
“I’m not your pet! I am—”
“What are you?”
Lucia’s hand slid from her waist to the top of her head, pinching those trembling cat ears.
Cool fingertips lightly scraped the most sensitive soft flesh inside her ears.
“MEOW-AH—!”
Lilia’s body arched, and the strength she had just gathered for resistance vanished instantly.
A deadly numbness exploded from the base of her ears and spread through her entire body.
“Speak, what are you?”
Lucia’s fingers didn’t stop, circling her earlobe.
“The avenger who wants to ‘counter-pounce’ me? Or… my possession, who has already begun to enjoy my touch?”
“I… am not… meow…”
Broken sounds leaked from Lilia’s teeth, carrying a sob.
She wanted to refute her, to be stubborn, but her body would not obey at all.
Every time those fingers brushed past, the feeling that made her legs weak deepened.
She could only writhe, unable to even utter a full sentence.
“Your body is more honest than your mouth,” Lucia gave a low chuckle.
She finally let go of those poor ears.
Lilia let out a sigh of relief, thinking this torture was over, only to find that Lucia did not get up.
She just changed her posture, lying on her side next to her.
An arm wrapped around Lilia’s waist, pulling her whole body into an embrace.
Her back pressed against a warm and firm chest.
It felt just like the last time she was forced to sleep while being held.
Lilia’s muscles tightened across her whole body.
“What… what are you trying to do now? Meow?”
“Warming the bed,” Lucia replied bluntly.
Her arm tightened even further.
Warm breath puffed against the top of Lilia’s head.
“My bed is too cold.”
Lilia’s mind could not wrap around it.
‘Warming the bed… was just… holding her to sleep? That’s it?’
She did not believe it for a second.
When did this pervert become so innocent? Behind this calm, there must be some even more terrifying scheme hidden.
“I don’t care! Let me go! Meow!”
She gathered her strength and began to struggle with both her hands and feet.
“Don’t move.”
Lucia’s voice turned cold.
In the next second, a surge of heat came from the Contract Ring around Lilia’s neck.
A weak electric current pulsed through her, making her body go numb and weak.
“If you keep moving, I don’t mind using Mana-Suppressing Shackles to tie you to the bed.”
The threat in those words made Lilia completely afraid to move.
She froze in that embrace, not daring to move an inch.
Time passed minute by minute.
The palace chamber was terrifyingly quiet, with only the sound of their intermingled breathing.
Lucia seemed to have actually fallen asleep, her breathing steady.
But the more she acted this way, the more Lilia’s skin crawled.
She mobilized her magic power, thinking of condensing the smallest ice spike behind her back to prick her.
However, as soon as the magic started flowing, it was forcibly suppressed by an invisible force.
It was Lucia’s Domain.
Here, she was just a mortal.
Lilia’s heart sank, and she completely gave up resistance.
‘Forget it, isn’t it just sleeping while being held? I’ll just treat it like sleep paralysis,’ she comforted herself.
But her tense body could not relax no matter what.
Unsure how much time had passed, just as Lilia’s consciousness began to blur and she was about to actually fall asleep, Lucia’s voice suddenly came from above.
“Can’t sleep?”
Lilia’s body shook, and she even forgot to breathe.
‘This pervert didn’t sleep at all! She’s faking it!’
“Since you can’t sleep,” Lucia’s voice carried a hint of playfulness, “then why don’t we play a… ‘bedtime game’ to help you sleep.”
Lilia’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Here it comes! I knew it!’
Before she could understand what kind of new, perverted trick this was, a cold hand reached into the hem of her gothic dress.
“MEOW-AH—!”
Lilia’s scream was blocked in her throat, her body arching.
The hand moved with force, slowly sliding up her inner thigh.
Everywhere it passed, it raised tiny goosebumps.
“No… don’t… meow…”
Lilia’s voice was no longer in tune.
She writhed her body, trying desperately to escape that mischievous hand.
But she was confined in that embrace, and all her attempts to dodge were useless.
The hand lit fires all over her body, precisely teasing the places that made her shudder.
“Look, your body has already started to miss this feeling,” Lucia’s voice sounded against her ear, carrying a hint of a smile.
“Your heart is beating so fast. Are you scared? Or… anticipating it?”
“I’m not! Meow…”
Lilia wanted to argue, but only intermittent whimpers could spill from her throat.
Her body had indeed betrayed her.
Under the other’s skilled teasing, the strange feeling that made her both afraid and ashamed surged once again from the depths of her lower abdomen.
“I can’t anymore… meow…” her voice was soft and waxy, with a heavy nasal tone.
“Please… stop it… meow…”
“Stop?”
Lucia’s hand halted.
Lilia breathed a massive sigh of relief.
Then—that hand suddenly changed direction.
It followed the groove of her spine, moving all the way up.
Finally, it stopped at the back of her neck.
Two fingers pinched that soft flesh with moderate pressure.
“How about this then?”
“MEOW-AHHH—!”
Lilia’s entire being bounced hard on the bed.
A numbing sensation ten times stronger than before exploded from the back of her neck, crushing her sanity.
Her tail swung wildly in the air, thud-thud slapping the bedsheets.
Tears finally burst through the dam, mixing with sweat to smear across her face.
“Master… let me go… meow…”
She was already incoherent, only able to beg for mercy by instinct.
“I was wrong… I was really wrong… meow…”
“Wrong about what?”
Lucia’s voice remained calm, but the movement of her hands did not stop for a second.
“I… I shouldn’t… shouldn’t have talked back to you… meow…” Lilia was sobbing uncontrollably.
“Shouldn’t have… called you… a bastard… meow…”
Just when she felt she was about to be tormented to death by this fatal sensation, Lucia’s hand finally let go.
The strength in her bones was drained away.
Lilia slumped limply in that embrace, panting heavily.
“Such a naughty thing.”
Lucia rolled over and pressed her down once again.
She looked at the little thing beneath her who had been toyed with into a mess.
Her cheeks were flushed, tears hung from the corners of her eyes, and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed rapidly.
That bullied appearance caused Lucia’s breath to pause for a moment.
She leaned down, bringing her lips close to Lilia’s, their breaths mingling once more.
“The game ends here…”
Lucia’s voice rang in her ear, raspy and dangerous.
“Now is the real… ‘bed-warming’ time.”