Chapter 104

A chilling silence filled the office. The two women sitting on the sofa, facing each other, were enveloped in a tense atmosphere.

“Did you enjoy bathing with my pet, Princess?”

Lillian’s smile carried a blatant hostility. But Viviana, unfazed, quietly sipped her tea and replied.

“Yes, it was an unforgettable and delightful time.”

“I believe you promised to leave Tina’s training to me.”

“What I entrusted to you was not training but exorcising the devil.”

This time, a subtle hostility tinged Viviana’s voice. Her calm amethyst eyes sharply pierced Lillian.

“I wonder how feeding her by mouth or forcing her to urinate in front of you has anything to do with exorcising the devil.”

Lillian’s eyes twitched slightly.

“…I told you before. It’s a process to make her rely on me more than the devil.”

“Hmm, is that the only way?”

“Then, should I treat Tina like a pet? Beat her when she disobeys, starve her until she submits. That would work, wouldn’t it?”

“…You.”

“Princess, you’re gravely mistaken. Being kind and gently persuading Tina won’t have any effect.”

Viviana crossed her legs and looked down at Lillian with a gaze that seemed to say, “Keep talking.” Though displeased, Lillian clenched her teeth, thought of Tina, and spoke again.

“Tina is closer to being a villain than a saint. That alone shows how deeply she’s been influenced by the devil.”

“So?”

“If we don’t thoroughly train her, Tina will eventually choose the devil again. No matter what that devil did, Tina blindly believes in it, even to the point of throwing her life away.”

“I know.”

Viviana knew it well. The first night Lillian left, Tina tried to kill herself by biting her wrist without hesitation.

When she slit her wrist at Viviana’s mansion, it must have been the devil’s whispers that drove her to such extremes.

“Tina’s current state is far beyond persuasion. It might seem harsh, but we must make her rely on me so much that she doesn’t even think of that devil.”

“Is that something you have to do alone?”

Lillian blinked in confusion at the sudden question.

“Huh?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we did it together?”

Viviana looked at Lillian with a serious expression and continued.

“Well, I agree with you. What Tina needs now isn’t simple kindness but one-sided affection.”

“So, what are you trying to say?”

“I plan to join in Tina’s training. Of course, my methods will differ from yours.”

Her voice was firm, without a hint of hesitation. Lillian’s face showed both confusion and wariness.

Viviana had glimpsed a bit of Tina’s inner self during their bath.

Her confession of killing her mother, her cry that she could never believe in love. Her sorrowful voice was filled with regret and pain, and above all, a profound sense of loneliness.

Having heard such heartfelt anguish, Viviana couldn’t just stand by.

“Princess Viviana, you want to train Tina too?”

“Yes. And this isn’t a request but a notice.”

“…Hah.”

Lillian sighed deeply and looked at Viviana. Her resolve was firm, without a trace of wavering.

All Lillian could do was click her tongue in frustration. The tension between them grew even sharper.

※

[Artasha misses you.]

Viviana’s words kept swirling in my head.

Leaving the warm bathroom behind, I returned to the gloomy prison. Though physically more comfortable after washing, this place still weighed heavily on my mind.

“Does Artasha… really miss me…?”

I muttered absentmindedly.

It’s nonsense.

The idea that Artasha is worried about me is far less believable than the thought that she’s thoroughly preparing to kill me.

Yet, my weakened mind couldn’t stop a faint sprout of hope from blooming in my heart.

The thought that Artasha might truly miss me. That foolish possibility lingered stubbornly within me.

“…I’m lonely.”

I hugged myself and curled up.

In this place where not a single ray of sunlight reaches, all a fragile being like me can do is wait.

As I suffered under the endless waves of loneliness, the tightly shut door suddenly opened with a loud noise.

“My, what a pleasant smell.”

Lillian entered, a bright smile on her face.

As always, she approached leisurely, sat me on her lap, and began gently stroking my head.

“Did you enjoy your bath? I prepared it with care.”

“…Yes, it was wonderful.”

I quietly answered, recalling the moments with Viviana.

But for some reason, my answer seemed to displease Lillian, as a subtle shadow crossed her face.

“Ah, just a moment. Let me remove this.”

Lillian slowly undid the collar around my neck, a faint smile on her lips.

“By the way, Tina, are you feeling a bit hungry?”

“…A little.”

“Hehe, I thought so. I prepared some food. Today, it’s meat soup.”

On the tray Lillian offered, a steaming bowl of meat soup and clear water were placed. The savory aroma tickled my nose, and my empty stomach growled in response.

“It’s quite hot, so I’ll cool it for you. Is that okay?”

“…Yes.”

I nodded weakly.

Lillian pulled me onto her lap and gently turned my body.

We were now face-to-face. Lillian lightly tilted her head, signaling me to come closer.

Familiar with the gesture, I no longer felt any resistance. It was just a repeated routine, accepted like resignation.

Slowly closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms around her waist. As Lillian’s scent drew closer, I entrusted myself to her without hesitation.

Finally, my lips cautiously touched hers.

Lillian’s lips gently parted mine, and soon her hot tongue pushed in deeply.

Slurp— Slurp—

The savory taste of the soup spread through my mouth.

The warm soup was still quite hot, but not unbearably so. She must have held it in her mouth first, so it was likely much hotter then. Was she okay?

“You did well, Tina.”

Lillian’s voice whispered softly.

She took another mouthful of soup and looked at me. I silently raised my head and pressed my lips to hers again.

Lillian opened my mouth once more and slowly let the soup flow into it.

Slurp— Slurp—

Once, twice, three times.

As time passed, the soup in the bowl gradually diminished, and only the wet sounds mixed with saliva filled the silent space.

The air had become even more humid, filled only with Lillian’s and my shallow breaths.

“Haa… Huh…”

“Haa… I love you, Tina.”

Lillian carefully let the last bit of water from the glass flow into my lips, then tenderly kissed my forehead, her face slightly flushed.

Oddly enough, my waist began to tremble after Lillian’s kiss.

“Ah… Lillian, unnie…”

“Yes, I know, Tina.”

She reassured me, gently stroking my hair, and carefully put away the tray.

After tying my hands to the ceiling, she placed them on my thighs and slowly lifted my legs into the air.

“Don’t be shy, relax… Is this okay?”

Lillian quietly signaled me.

She kissed me deeply and sweetly, like old lovers. Pressing our stomachs close, she began to press firmly on my lower abdomen with one hand.

“Ah… Uh… Ugh…”

My trembling body, as my strength left my waist, slowly dampened both my underwear and Lillian’s clothes.

“Ah, uh… Unnie… Ha, uh…”

After trembling in Lillian’s embrace for a while, the throbbing sensation in my lower abdomen gradually subsided.

“You did well, Tina.”

Lillian, unfazed, deepened the kiss, staining my lips with her affection.

As if in response, shame seeped out between my legs, which were spread apart by Lillian’s hand, slowly wetting her and my legs.

After a while of strange sounds echoing in the air.

Lillian carefully lowered my legs and took out a handkerchief from her pocket.

Then, slowly and gently, she meticulously wiped away the traces of urine from my legs.

“Tina, did you know? Many people pray at the temple every day just to get a drop of this water.”

“P-Please don’t say such things.”

Lillian smiled softly and replied.

“Hehe, alright.”

Lillian, with a joke that didn’t seem like a joke, changed my underwear to a fresh white one and untied the restraints from the ceiling.

“You followed along well today. I’ll give you a reward.”

Lillian, with a satisfied smile, carefully placed the damp handkerchief in her pocket and took out a small piece of paper from another pocket.

Then, she stamped it with care.

“You’ve already collected twenty.”

One stamp each day. Collect a hundred, and I can leave this place.

When that day comes, I can finally go to hell to meet my mother. End everything here and go to the hell where my mother waits.

Then, no more.

I won’t have to face the people here anymore.

But why.

Why does my chest ache so much?

[Artasha misses you.]

That phrase, which usually wouldn’t have moved me, why does it linger in my mind in Viviana’s voice now?

That deeply embedded sentence keeps echoing in my heart.

A dull pain slowly washes over me.

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