Chapter 94

The silent stillness tightens around my throat.

Every time I move, the clanking chains weigh heavily on my heart.

How much time has passed in this place where not a single ray of sunlight reaches? Without a clock, I couldn’t tell.

In the emptiness that feels like an eternity has passed, I’m left gnawing at my nails, consumed by a crushing loneliness.

“You said you’d come back… You said you’d come back…! You said you’d come, you said you’d come…”

Liar.

Lillian, do you even deserve to call yourself a saint?

You promised you’d come back, yet you leave me here to starve like this?

‘If this is how it’s going to be, just let me die…!’

In the midst of this unbearable loneliness, hunger and thirst surge.

Since Lillian left, I haven’t eaten a thing, and my body feels like it’s being scraped raw with every passing moment.

Yet, I couldn’t die.

The cursed power dwelling in this place heals my body, keeping me alive without food or water.

But it doesn’t heal the pain, leaving me tormented by a gnawing hunger.

Yet, the real reason I’m suffering so much isn’t hunger or thirst.

“I’m lonely…”

This unbearable loneliness.

For me, loneliness has always been the deadliest poison.

In my past life, my mother abused me daily, but at least she never left me alone.

That’s why I liked her. Even if every day was hell, at least I wasn’t alone.

But now, there’s no one.

Not even the mother I practically killed, nor the comforting voice of a friend who used to console me in times like this.

All I can do is helplessly curl up and endlessly wait for Lillian to return.

How much more time passed like this?

Just as I was biting my fingers in agony, consumed by anxiety—

*Clang—*

With a loud noise, the firmly shut door began to creak open.

And beyond the door, a pair of bright pink eyes, glowing with a radiance completely unlike the darkness here, smiled warmly at me.

“Have you been well, Tina?”

“Li, Lillian…!”

I tried to run to her, but the shackles around my feet held me firmly, causing me to fall flat on the ground.

Lillian approached with a pitying expression and helped me up.

“You should be careful, Tina. You mustn’t get hurt.”

I desperately wrapped my arms around Lillian’s waist and clung to her.

As I listened to the strong beating of her heart, the loneliness tormenting me began to melt away.

“Huhu, you’re being quite affectionate today, Tina.”

While I squirmed silently in her embrace, she smiled gently and stroked my head.

Lillian’s warm body heat seeped into me, slowly bringing me back to life.

As my senses gradually returned, I pushed Lillian away with both hands and glared at her sharply.

“Why… why did you take so long to come back…! You said you’d come back!”

“Hmm, do you remember what I said last time?”

“What…?”

“I said the next training session would be about table manners, didn’t I?”

Lillian looked at me with her sparkling pink eyes and continued.

“But it seemed like Tina wasn’t very hungry, so I waited two days to make the training more effective.”

I thought a week had passed, but it was only two days?

No, more importantly—

“You…! Are you treating me like an animal now?”

“I’ve already told you, Tina. You’re my pet. If you don’t accept that reality, you’ll only suffer more.”

“You… damn woman…”

“Huhu, you’re still so rough with your words.”

Lillian stood up gracefully, her serene smile unwavering.

For a moment, I was afraid she’d leave me again, but thankfully, she picked up the tray she’d left by the door and approached me once more.

“Today, I hope you’ll eat.”

The contents of the tray were no different from before.

Steaming soup and a glass of clear water.

Though it was the same meal as always, my body, starved from hunger, was filled with a desperate craving for food.

“How about it, Tina? Do you feel like eating?”

“…”

I swallowed hard.

Though the divine power kept my body intact, the hunger and thirst still gnawed at my mind.

I wanted to devour the food in front of me right away.

But I didn’t want to act as Lillian wanted.

Unlike my past life, where I flattered noble ladies for snacks, this felt like truly being reduced to a pet.

Eventually, Lillian stood up with a pitying look.

“…It seems it’s still too early. I’ll come back later, Tina.”

“W-wait…”

I quickly grabbed Lillian’s ankle. Avoiding her curious gaze, I muttered softly.

“I’ll eat… Let me eat on my own…”

“No. I have to feed you myself.”

Her reply was cold and firm.

“I-I’ll eat, so why are you being like this!”

“It’s the duty of the owner to personally feed their pet.”

Lillian’s eyes were unwavering, showing no room for compromise.

It seemed she truly intended to treat me as her pet.

In the end, I fell back into an endless internal conflict.

What should I do…?

Should I follow Lillian’s wishes?

But doing so would mean surrendering to her.

‘No, it’s not surrender.’

I comforted myself internally.

The reason I flattered those noble ladies in the past wasn’t for nothing.

It was because I could gain something from them.

Wealth, connections, power.

If they had none of these, I wouldn’t have even glanced at them.

Lillian was no different from those noble ladies.

In this suffocating, dark place, she was the only person I could rely on.

That meant she was the one I could extract the most from.

Basic necessities aside, she was the only key to escaping this gloomy, lightless place.

‘Think of her as a sponsor.’

This isn’t surrender.

Rather, Lillian is the one being used by me.

By playing along with her whims and gradually building trust, I’ll turn her into just another fool like those noble ladies.

And someday, when the time comes to escape this hellish place, I’ll cut her throat.

I’ll kill Lillian and go to hell.

With this resolution, the tangled thoughts in my mind cleared in an instant.

I calmed my heart with the newfound composure and stared at Lillian, who was looking at me with anticipation.

“…Fine. Feed me if you want.”

“My, what a wise choice, Tina.”

Lillian’s long eyelashes curved softly as a beautiful smile spread across her face.

“Before we eat, there’s something we need to do, right?”

She carefully placed the tray in front of her, knelt down, and extended her hand toward me.

“Now, Tina. Your hand.”

“…”

“Tina?”

This isn’t surrender. Lillian is the one being used by me.

I repeated this to myself as I reluctantly placed my trembling hands on hers.

“You did very well, Tina. I love you.”

“…”

“Thank you for listening to me. You’re truly precious to me, Tina.”

Lillian smiled brightly and gently stroked my hair. Then, she extended her palm again and whispered.

“Now, Tina. Your chin.”

“…What?”

“Just lift your chin for me.”

“…”

Suppressing the rising rebellion within, I quietly placed my chin on her palm.

Lillian’s fingers moved softly, gently tickling my chin.

“Eek… stop it…”

After tickling my chin for a while, she laughed brightly and hugged me tightly.

“You did well, Tina.”

“….”

Lillian sat cross-legged on the floor, patted her lap twice, and spread her arms.

“Now, sit here, Tina. I’ll feed you.”

“…Do I have to sit there?”

“Yes.”

Everything about this was unbearable.

But I steeled myself once more and carefully sat between Lillian’s legs, leaning into her embrace.

Lillian wrapped her arms around me in a back hug. Her breath brushed against my ear as her low voice seeped into my mind.

“Suddenly so obedient. Have you truly surrendered? Or is there another intention?”

“I’m just… hungry.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Lillian gently stroked my head.

She held a glass of water in one hand and offered it to me.

“Let’s start with water. Here.”

I tilted my head slightly and parted my lips.

My throat felt parched, having not had a drop of water for days.

My dry, cracked lips split, and the thirst turned into a sharp pain.

Finally, as Lillian tilted the glass, cool droplets of water touched my lips.

The cold, refreshing water spread through my mouth and flowed down my throat, momentarily quenching my thirst and easing my tension.

But frustratingly, it was all too brief.

Before my thirst was fully quenched, Lillian pulled the glass away.

Still thirsty, I instinctively stuck out my tongue and grabbed her hand.

“C-can’t you give me a little more…? I’m thirsty…”

For some reason, Lillian’s pink eyes trembled slightly as she looked at me.

She stared at my tongue, moistened by the water droplets, coughed a few times, and then tilted the glass again.

“…Here, drink.”

The cool water flowed down my throat once more.

As I gulped, my lifeless lips regained their moisture.

I wiped the droplets that had spilled down my chin and shyly turned my head away.

“…Thank you.”

“…”

I didn’t forget to thank Lillian. I needed to gain her favor to use her kindness to my advantage.

Lillian quietly watched me for a moment, then smiled faintly and offered another bowl.

“Would you like some soup?”

As my thirst was quenched, hunger began to rise.

This time, a warm soup with a sweet aroma and steaming vapor caught my attention.

When I nodded quietly, Lillian carefully offered me a spoonful.

Too hungry to think, I opened my mouth and swallowed the soup in one gulp.

“Yikes!”

The heat was far more intense than I expected, scalding my tongue and bringing tears to my eyes. I instinctively stuck out my tongue to cool the burning sensation.

“Haa… hick, it’s… it’s hot…”

“A-are you okay, Tina? I must’ve heated it too long. It’s still too hot.”

“Huu… hick…”

A faint moan escaped my lips.

Trying to calm the heat in my mouth, I glared at Lillian.

I wanted to curse her for serving such hot soup, but the thought of needing to gain her favor stopped me.

In the end, I couldn’t even get angry and just looked at her with pleading eyes.

“It’s… too hot… Can’t you cool it a bit… for me…?”

Sticking out my slightly burned tongue, I looked at her with a pitiful expression.

“…”

But Lillian just silently stared at my tongue.

Her deep, sunken eyes looked at me, then she frowned slightly and averted her gaze.

“Haa, that was a good attempt. But it won’t work on me.”

“…Huh? No…? It’s too hot… I can’t eat it like this…”

“….”

“Li, Lillian… if you cool it… I’ll eat it properly…”

Did my pitiful look work?

Lillian bit her lip a few times, hesitated, then nodded slightly with a deep gaze.

“…Fine, I’ll cool it for you.”

“Eek?!”

At that moment, Lillian’s hand gently but firmly grabbed my chin and forcefully turned my head to the side.

My eyes widened in shock as I met her bright pink eyes right in front of me.

And then—

“Eek?!”

Lillian’s lips pressed against mine, and the soup flowed into my mouth.

Instinctively, I wanted to push her away, but her legs and arms were already tightly wrapped around me.

“Slurp… huff… ugh…!”

As my eyelids trembled from the overwhelming sensation, the soup slowly flowed into my mouth through her lips.

Since the heat had already left Lillian’s tongue, the soup wasn’t as hot as before.

‘Is she… insane…?!’

While I cursed internally, Lillian looked at me with a blazing gaze and spoke softly.

“Haa… Tina, don’t spill it. Swallow it all.”

“Ugh…”

Lillian’s moist, low voice.

I wanted to spit out the soup, but with her completely blocking my mouth, I had no choice but to swallow.

*Gulp—*