Blackmail
Threat
"Mmph mph!"
Trauma, should I call it trauma?
No, that wasn't it.
Psychologically, I didn't feel fear or repulsion.
However, both my hands were bound above my head. And because he was on top of my pelvis, I couldn't move my legs either.
Unable to move an inch, all I could do was glare with wide eyes.
Even so, I didn't feel any repulsion.
It was just that the posture and the situation were so similar to when Mark forcibly took my virginity. That thought lingered in my mind.
Still, there was no repulsion.
It was clearly a situation where I should have been angry, disgusted, and wanted to kill him, but in reality, that wasn't the case.
In other words, there was no repulsion.
To put it differently, 'I' was getting aroused.
"I'll free your mouth, but don't scream."
Jerad slowly removed the hand that was covering my mouth.
"Ugh, h-how did you get in here...?"
The rooftop door, which should have made a sound when the handle was lowered, was slightly ajar.
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't recall hearing the creak of the hinges when the door opened.
"You come to the Academy, yet you're late every day. It was too suspicious, so I've been following you for a few days."
".....What?"
Following me? I hadn't noticed at all.
"Unlike always going to the restroom, today you went up to the rooftop? Just in case, I used Sound-proofing Magic to silence the sound and opened the door—and what do you know! Lunia was masturbating! Kekeke."
"Ugh."
I really should have set up some kind of trap.
As soon as I arrived on the rooftop, I got so desperate that I completely engrossed myself in masturbation, not even imagining something like this would happen.
If I had paid just a little attention to the door, I would have felt the flow of Mana...!
It was too late for regrets.
Filled with humiliation, I sharply turned my head away.
"A-anyway, your goal is my body, isn't it...? Just do it once and get it over with..."
Is this how it's going to end up?
To have to give my body to the guy who sexually harassed me constantly. And I couldn't even scream that it was unfair.
After all, it was because I wasn't careful, and this was happening due to my own mistake.
If it had been an undeniable threat, it would be one thing, but the fact that the main cause lay with me was incredibly embarrassing and shameful.
And anyway, what Jerad wanted was to sleep with me.
Honestly, I didn't think Jerad would be satisfied with just this one time.
He'd probably want it five or six times.
Nevertheless, I had to resist as much as I possibly could.
Because if five or six times could be reduced to just one or two, it would be a gain.
I proposed a 'deal'.
"F-fine, I'll let you h-have me once... but keep quiet about me m-masturbating."
"A deal, you say? Hahaha! Do you really think you're in a position to propose a deal to me, you bitch?"
The Magic Academy outwardly pursued equality, that much was clear.
That's why there must have been a Book of Oaths created to prepare for trouble between nobles and commoners.
It was similar to a Mana Contract, which would never be established if one party had the intention to refuse.
Therefore, it was a contract of the sort where, if one lost a duel, they would repay a certain amount or offer a sincere apology.
But strictly speaking, a Book of Oaths was still a contract.
If one party held the other's weakness—
"C-could it be...?"
Jerad placed a round orb on his hand.
Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be a Magic Tool.
A M-Magic Tool?
At the same time as that 'no way' thought, a hologram appeared in the air like a beam projector, and a video began to play.
-Haah?! Hngh! Hngh-ugh?!
The scene was the rooftop. In the middle of it, a woman was squatting, completely engrossed in masturbation, oblivious to everything.
And without knowing that a video was being recorded from behind her, she was desperately trying to suppress her utterly lewd moans.
That silhouette was probably—
'...Me?'
Jerad, who had turned off the Magic Tool, grabbed my chin firmly and forcibly turned my face towards him.
"...Ugh!"
My body instinctively recoiled under Jerad's intense glare.
And then, a chilling voice, as if judging a crime and pronouncing a sentence, began to pierce my ears.
"Listen, Lunia. I am currently 'blackmailing' you."
Blackmail.
That's right, I was being blackmailed right now.
A simple, if simple, threat: my masturbating self had been filmed at some point, and if I didn't want this video to be released, I should cooperate obediently.
Every year, I saw articles about people falling victim to things like cam sex scams, even though they knew it was a fraud.
At first, I didn't understand why anyone would fall for such things, but somehow, I was currently experiencing that kind of pathetic situation.
A one-sided relationship where only one party held the absolute upper hand, incomparable to any deal.
That's why.
That's why he had given me a sneering laugh and ignored me when I proposed a deal.
"Alright, since you want to make a deal, I'll make one with you."
Jerad pulled out the Book of Oaths from his pocket.
There were only two lines written in the Book of Oaths.
-Party A (Jerad Reinhardt) shall become Party B (Lunia)'s boyfriend.
-The term shall be designated until graduation from the Magic Academy.
"............What?"
Unlike a Mana Contract, the Book of Oaths had a slightly lower hurdle and more restrictions. A Mana Contract was an agreement that demanded compulsion from both parties.
For example, if a contract was made to keep each other's secrets, the Mana residing in each body would restrict them from speaking the secret aloud. The term was indefinite. It meant it would last forever unless both parties released it, even if one died.
Perhaps it was similar to a slave contract.
However, the Book of Oaths, designed to be less coercive than that, was known to have been first created by the first head of the Reinhardt family.
While an undeniable oath could be placed on each other, if one party felt it was unfair, the Book of Oaths would not be formed.
The criteria for feeling something was unfair were still unknown.
Some speculated it was a standard set by the first family head, while others guessed it followed the most fundamental moral codes of this world.
The phrase written in such a Book of Oaths merely stated that Jerad would act as my boyfriend.
If one party truly felt it was unfair, it wouldn't have been an oath that could be formed—
-Whoosh!
The moment I touched it, as if the contract had been established, the Book of Oaths turned into light and vanished.
"W-what in the world...?"
It wasn't an oath to date each other, and the condition 'shall become boyfriend' was a bit strange.
And even if it was a forced romantic relationship, could it be designated as Party A and Party B?
However, it seemed that the second sentence, which set a time limit, was the condition that lowered the hurdle to allow for such compulsion.
"With this, the Book of Oaths is established. I look forward to our time together. Kekekek."
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like a contract written simply because he wanted to date me.
What on earth was his ulterior motive, to insert such content so confidently?
Even if someone were a girlfriend, there were extremely conservative people who would try their best to avoid premarital sex, sexual acts, or kissing.
So, at the moment I thought, 'Then I just have to refuse, right?'—
"Hngh?!"
Suddenly, Jerad's hand brushed my inner thigh.
An unfamiliar sensation made a faint moan escape me unconsciously, and as I hastily closed my mouth and looked up, Jerad was wearing a lecherous smile.
"Pfft, it hasn't been long since you came, so you seem to still be very sensitive."
"G-get your hand off me!"
I desperately twisted my body, but since both my hands were still tied, my body's position didn't change much.
"More importantly, 'my' girlfriend seems to have very unique tastes in underwear, so you can look forward to it in the future."
".....Kuh!"
Ah. He saw.
In the end, that man had witnessed everything, from my secret deviant behavior to my preferences.
My heart went thump! and I felt dizzy as if it had dropped, but the feeling itself was somehow strange.
Was it because the underwear I wore, just in case someone saw it in my secret fantasies, was finally truly seen?
Perhaps it was because a situation that had only stimulated me in my imagination had become a reality.
Jerad descended from the rooftop, wearing such a delighted smile.
Was he not planning to do anything on the first day?
'Rather—'
".....I'd rather just get fucked once and be done with it..."
The thought of paying the price with my body was something I would never have considered in the past.
Perhaps I had adapted to living as a woman.
No. Let's think positively.
Certainly, the past me would have knelt and begged to avoid sexual acts, no matter what.
Just like with Kalle.
Back then, I had definitely forced myself to keep a poker face and suppress any moans. But that had only served as a more stimulating and exciting factor for Kalle.
It's not for nothing that lines like the female knight's "Kuh, just kill me" to the orc are famous.
So, if I wanted to act in a way that wouldn't provoke Jerad as much as possible, the fact that I could act like a woman was important.
".....For now, let's try to hide it from everyone around me as much as possible..."
My Master-nim had hidden my identity and sent me to the Academy, so if she found out I wasn't studying but instead fooling around in a relationship, she would definitely be disappointed.
Of course, it wasn't a relationship born of genuine mutual affection, nor was it formally approved by either family.
This was simply me complying with Jerad's blackmail to keep my secret hidden.
If Jerad were to impose conditions that were realistically impossible, I would have no choice but to forcibly break the Book of Oaths, even if my secret spread to those around me.
Even as I tried my best to calm my mind, the mental exhaustion was unavoidable.
"Haaah..."