Iluse was led back to the bedroom, almost half-supported and half-guided. The door closed softly behind them, cutting off the outside world and casting them into a tiny, independent, and tense world of their own.
At this moment, Iluse’s feelings were extremely complex — so complex that her usual nervousness about being alone with Eliana had lessened slightly.
There was a stinging pain on her face, a sensation quite foreign to her. One had to realize that even before —
“Come, Miss, please sit back down here.”
Eliana’s words interrupted Iluse’s thoughts and pulled her back to reality. Looking up, she saw the other woman patting the seat in front of the vanity, signaling for her to sit down.
Seeing Eliana’s smile, Iluse suddenly became much more alert. That was right; her main mission now was to stay alive. She shouldn’t worry about anything else for the moment.
She sat before the mirror and looked at the girl reflected in it. She truly looked pathetic right now.
A clear handprint rose on her left cheek, and her eyes were slightly red. Meanwhile, the lips that had once been traced with lipstick on the right side still held a vibrant trace of color, creating a jarring contrast with her current misery.
The person behind her, however, remained perfectly composed. She gently unscrewed the lid of the Herb Ointment, and a cool herbal scent immediately filled the air.
“Miss, please tilt your face up a little.”
Eliana’s voice was soft, sounding almost right against Iluse’s ear. She didn’t use an authoritative tone, yet it carried an undeniable sense of command.
Iluse stiffly complied. As Eliana’s fingertips approached, she instinctively closed her eyes, also avoiding eye contact.
However, closing her eyes only amplified her other senses. She felt Eliana’s warm breath brush against her injured cheek, and when the pads of her fingers touched her face, they felt cold and itchy.
“Oh my… Madam really hit you hard～”
Eliana spoke with a sigh. After applying the ointment across her face once, she unconsciously followed the curve of the cheek, slowly wandering to the earlobe and giving it a gentle pinch.
“Miss, it’s red here too. Don’t move哦～”
Iluse shuddered violently. Just now… her mother’s slap hadn’t hit there, had it? Was this devil telling the truth, or…?
‘No, that’s not right. When do devils ever tell the truth? She… she must be trying to…’
Scenes of Eliana helping her change clothes earlier couldn’t help but resurface in Iluse’s mind. The girl’s face instantly flushed, and her body temperature seemed to rise several degrees.
‘No, I can’t let her get her way!’
Iluse tried to turn her head away, but Eliana’s other hand quietly steadied her chin. The grip was gentle but exceptionally firm.
“Don’t move… I’m helping you apply the medicine, Miss～”
Eliana’s thumb rubbed against her jawline in a possessive gesture. Her fingertips continued downward, grazing the pulsing artery at the side of her neck. When she felt the rapid thumping there, the smile at the corners of her mouth deepened.
‘Acting loyal on the surface, but treating her master like this when they’re alone?’ Iluse desperately wanted to complain out loud, but she was truly afraid of the consequences such words might bring. After all, this wasn’t a game; this was reality!
The coolness of the Herb Ointment seemed to stay only on the surface. Wherever this devil maid’s touch landed, it seemed to ignite a deeper tremor.
Iluse kept her eyes tightly shut, her eyelashes trembling incessantly. Her breathing became short as she tried to suppress her reactions. She could feel Eliana’s gaze like something physical, lingering on her face and neck.
Particularly at the side of her neck, that gaze was so intense it felt as if she were about to be bitten.
“Miss, do you really have no grievances after Madam Vanessa treated you like this?”
Eliana suddenly let out this sentence, and it was precisely those words that made Iluse’s brain stall.
‘Is she crazy? How dare she say that? Isn’t she afraid I’ll tell Mother?’
“I…”
Iluse was about to speak when she suddenly felt something wrong. At the same time, she couldn’t help but curse the damned devil in her heart.
This woman had said those words to distract her! Now, while one hand was applying medicine, the other was “accidentally” sliding slowly across the outside of her thigh!
That was the area most exposed when her skirt had slid up earlier.
“Eliana!”
Iluse finally couldn’t help but cry out in a low voice, her protest filled with shame, anger, and weakness.
“I am here, Miss.”
The maid responded smoothly. Her fingers did not withdraw; instead, they followed the folds of the skirt, seemingly unintentionally yet purposefully sliding up another inch, nearing the hidden, sensitive area of the inner thigh.
If any other maid had dared to touch her like this, Iluse would have lost her temper long ago. Even if she had once been a boy, she didn’t enjoy being groped every day.
But when it came to Eliana, that was a different story. It wasn’t that Iluse didn’t hate the touch, but rather because she could feel that Eliana wasn’t doing these things out of lust. She simply found it interesting.
That’s right — it was like owning a cute little pet. You always want to poke it, touch it, and observe its reactions from time to time.
But if the pet dared to resist, the consequences went without saying.
Therefore, even though Eliana had pushed her boundaries this far, Iluse only dared to voice a small protest.
She was truly afraid the devil would get upset and turn her into a feast ahead of schedule.
The two women were pressed extremely close together. Iluse could clearly feel the staggering softness behind her, yet there wasn’t the slightest bit of romantic tension in her heart.
Because the other’s actions made her body tense up involuntarily.
Eliana admired her reaction, seemingly satisfied. She dipped her fingers into the Herb Ointment once more. This time, her fingertips lightly tapped Iluse’s slightly parted, swollen lips.
“Miss, I suggest we apply some here as well. You wouldn’t want your lips to swell up like sausages, would you～”
‘This bastard always finds an excuse!’
The pad of her thumb slowly rubbed across Iluse’s lower lip, spreading the ointment. The movement was so gentle it was almost provocative.
“To be treated like that… and then to be hit. Oh, my lady has truly suffered today.”
The minty scent of the ointment entered her nose, mixing with Eliana’s unique fragrance to create a dizzying allure.
Iluse felt as if she were being wrapped and tightened by invisible threads. The person manipulating those threads was using the excuse of healing to indulge in caresses, taking in all her shame, fear, and involuntary reactions.
“That’s enough, Eliana. I need to go find Mother.”
Iluse was truly afraid that if this continued, the woman would devour her. Fortunately, she had a legitimate reason to escape.
“Of course, Miss. I hope… you and Madam can get along harmoniously.”
Unexpectedly, Eliana nodded and stood up quite obediently.
‘She’s just letting me go?’
Iluse was stunned for a moment, then stood up and quickly walked out the door.
‘No, no matter what, I have to convince Mother to kick her out. I’ll just repeat the words she used to sow discord between us just now!’
With that thought, Iluse quickened her pace…