An Act of Submission
"Don't go... please..."
I tightened my arms around Athena even harder, holding her so she couldn't move.
"...."
She had always given me such a gentle smile. That was why the cold expression on her face now felt so terribly unfamiliar—and so frightening.
"You said you'd love me... so why are you trying to leave...?"
When I pleaded with her like that, Athena turned back and asked me in return.
"Hera. That was only when you were my slave."
She peeled my arms away from around her and took a single step back.
"I'll ask you again. Do you intend to serve me as your master?"
Master. Athena as my master.
Something deep inside me seemed to scream. Had I forgotten what she had done to me? The horrific pain I had endured. The farewell to the Lily and Dania I loved. All of it was her fault.
And yet—was I really going to follow her so purely, just like this?
But another part of me was urging me to accept her without delay. It whispered that if I stayed in her arms, I could be happy for the rest of my life, seducing the lonely hollow in my heart.
I don't know.
Even so, if I didn't give her an answer, it felt like she would leave this very second. So I hurried to reply.
"C-Could you just give me a little time...?"
"....."
"I-It's not that I dislike you... just a little..."
It was a selfish answer, putting the decision off. But I simply couldn't make a clear choice, so this was all I could manage.
Hoping Athena would understand my heart, I gently took one of her hands. When I looked up at her with that desperate plea in my eyes, her face twitched as though she were holding something back.
Then she let out a long sigh.
"Haa... Fine. I understand."
And just like that, she smiled at me again. The return of her gentle smile finally let my heart settle.
"Thank you..."
"You said it isn't that you dislike me, right?"
"Mm-hmm..."
My feelings toward Athena were complicated, but it seemed I didn't actually hate her. If I truly hated her, wouldn't I have pushed her away already?
I resented her and I was angry with her—and yet I still wanted her to love me. It was a feeling I couldn't put into words, but there didn't seem to be any genuine hatred for her in me.
That didn't mean I could say I liked her, either.
"Then let's take it slow, one step at a time."
"Huh...? Take what...?"
"Helping you accept me without resistance. Getting you used to it, little by little."
Athena gently stroked my cheek as she continued.
"If you start acting like a proper slave, your heart will change eventually. I'm sure of it."
"Acting... like a slave...?"
"Do you know what a slave is supposed to do?"
"...I don't really know..."
What did "acting like a slave" even mean? The only slaves I knew of were the kind who smiled when their master told them to smile and rolled over when ordered to roll—nothing more than faithful machines that obeyed commands.
Was that what Athena wanted from me?
But what she said next was a little different from what I'd imagined.
"There's only one thing you need to do. Make your Master happy."
"Make my Master happy..."
"You can fawn over me, act spoiled and cute. Showing me some sign of submission would be good too."
As she spoke, Athena suddenly grabbed a firm handful of my backside.
"Hyaah?!"
The marks she had left earlier still hadn't faded, so a sharp, tingling pain shot through me all over again. She pulled me against her and brought her lips right to my ear, whispering.
"For the record, your Master is very fond of affection."
Her blunt demand for affection made my face burn hot in an instant.
She really does love physical contact...
She was always touching my body the moment she got the chance. Lily had been the same way, and now Athena too—I was reminded once again how different the common sense of this world was.
Thanks to Lily's training I had gotten somewhat used to receiving it... but initiating it myself still felt completely foreign. I had almost always been on the receiving end.
And fawning? Acting spoiled and cute? With my courage, that was absolutely impossible.
As if she had read my thoughts, Athena drove the point home.
"A slave who can't even do that much... might not be necessary."
"Ngh..."
"Hera. I was being considerate of you. If you can't even manage this for me, then we're really in trouble."
"I-I know..."
I knew. She had taken a step back for my sake. When I said I couldn't accept her as my master right away, she had suggested we try slowly instead. That was her consideration.
If I rejected even this, I wouldn't be able to expect any more of her affection.
I couldn't let that happen.
Right now, she was the only one I had. As long as she would look at me, that was enough.
Affection. A sign of submission. If that was what Athena wanted...
Something came to mind just then.
...I can do this.
I steeled my resolve and clasped her palm tightly between both of my hands. Athena watched me in silence.
I gently placed her hand against my cheek.
"Hahp."
"Wha—!"
I took her index finger into my mouth.
"Chuuup— tsuup..."
And then, as carefully as if I were cleaning it, I began to suck on her finger with devoted care.
Embarrassment and shame flooded through me until my face felt like it was on fire. I was sure it must have been bright red by now. But I squeezed my eyes shut and poured every bit of sincerity I could muster into her finger.
Tsuup— choook—
Only after her finger was thoroughly coated in my saliva did I give the tip one last gentle nibble, then slowly drew it out of my mouth.
When I carefully opened my eyes, I saw her pupils trembling violently. Her face looked flushed as well.
D-Did she hate it...?
"You... you... Where did you learn something like this?"
The expression on her face as she said that was one of flustered shock I had never seen from her before.
"Don't tell me... that little brat taught you this too?"
"L-Little brat? You mean Lily...?"
"Tell me, Hera. Have you done this to her as well?"
The blazing look in her eyes seemed to order me to answer immediately. Cowed by her expression, I opened my mouth in a trembling voice.
"N-No... this is... the first time I've ever done it..."
"The first time...? And this is your first attempt...?"
She looked almost incredulous.
"W-Was it... n-not good...?"
"No... haah..."
She tugged at her clothes and fanned herself as if she were overheating. After staring at me in silence for a long moment, she finally said—
"....It felt good."
A positive response.
Thank goodness...
It had been an instinctive act toward someone who wanted affection, but deep down I had worried she might dislike it. Sucking on another person's finger carried the implication of accepting them, so I had thought it was a fitting sign of submission.
But that was only my own reasoning. From her perspective it might have been different. I hadn't known how far skinship between women was allowed, and I'd been afraid I might have crossed a line.
Judging by her answer, though, this much seemed to be fine.
Hearing her praise me for no real reason made me feel a little happier. A tiny smile bloomed on my face—and Athena stared blankly at me for a second before suddenly grabbing both of my shoulders hard.
"Hyeek?"
"Hera. Swear it. You only ever do this with me. Understood?"
She was telling me not to do it with anyone else. I had already planned on that. Who else would I ever do something like this with, if not Athena?
I had only tried it because I thought she might like it. There was no way I could do it with anyone else. If I did, I'd probably die of sheer embarrassment and shame.
When I failed to answer right away to her flustered demand, she started shaking my shoulders vigorously back and forth.
"Hweeeek?"
"Hera. Promise me right now. That you'll only do it for me."
"I-I got it... I promise."
Only then did she let me go.
"...That's enough for today. Go to sleep. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
With those words she hurried out of the room.
"Uh... uh?"
In the blink of an eye I was left alone. The strange atmosphere from moments ago settled back into quiet emptiness.
"I wish you'd stayed a little longer..."
The anxiety in my heart still hadn't completely disappeared. The loneliness and self-loathing that had tormented me during the days she was gone still lingered inside me.
It's okay... she said she'd come back tomorrow...
I climbed back into bed alone and forced my perfectly awake eyes shut, trying to fall asleep.
Hoping morning would come soon.
She hurried into her own room.
"Haa..."
Her body was still burning; she hadn't calmed down yet. When she looked at her hand, she could see her fingers still glistening with Hera's saliva.
"She said it was her first time..."
At first, when Hera had put her finger in her mouth, Athena had been completely caught off guard. She had been the one to demand affection, yes—but she had assumed that shy, timid girl would only manage something like holding hands, clinging tightly, or at most forcing herself into a kiss.
So she had planned to slowly tear down Hera's walls and guide her toward bolder acts.
But then came that sensual behavior that had startled her so thoroughly.
Every time her finger was sucked into that mouth, a lewd heat gathered low in her belly. Every time Hera's tongue licked along her finger, she wanted nothing more than to claim that mouth right then and there.
And when Hera had bitten down at the end—Athena had nearly lost her reason completely. If Hera hadn't stopped, she didn't know what she might have done.
The memory of that girl serving her with a flushed face made her body heat up all over again.
....That little fox...
Was Hera actually a fox spirit that had taken human form just to bewitch people? Nothing else could explain it.
She had claimed it was her first time doing something like that. Even those words, one after another, only stoked Athena's lust further—as if the girl had been born for the sole purpose of seducing others, like some bitch in heat.
If Athena's self-control hadn't been honed to its absolute limit, she would have pinned Hera down on the spot.
But the real problem was Hera's intent.
She hadn't been trying to seduce Athena at all. She had simply been offering a pure expression of affection. An unconscious act.
In a way, that made it the most dangerous thing of all.
Which was why Athena had stressed it so firmly.
That she was only ever allowed to do that with her.
If anyone else's fingers ever ended up coated in Hera's saliva, Athena would have no choice but to cut that hand off. Even if it belonged to the Emperor himself.
"...I can't calm down."
Time passed, yet her body showed no sign of cooling. If anything, it only seemed to grow more agitated.
When she felt the dampness between her legs, she finally had no choice but to quietly lock her door.
Imagining her slave gazing up at her with that yearning expression, she slowly sat down on the bed.
And so Athena spent a very long time alone with herself.