The Fragile Web of Obsession
As I continued to stimulate the spots that seemed to make her feel the most, Winnie’s body suddenly went limp, collapsing like a house of cards. Fearing her neck might snap if I left her like that, I adjusted her posture.
"How anticlimactic..."
It seemed she had reached her peak so thoroughly that she’d actually fainted. I was putting in all this effort to teach her, but her attitude as a student was lacking. Realizing she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, I went in search of a bed.
'Where could it be...'
I had come to the Melbourne estate after receiving Winnie’s summons, but the reception room I was led to didn't have a bed. I began opening doors to check the rooms inside. A few were unlocked, but most were firmly shut. There didn't seem to be any servants around; there wasn't even the sound of footsteps, nor many signs that people had been through here at all. It seemed there were many places in this mansion that even its owner, Winnie, rarely visited. If the rooms that were unlocked were like this, I could only imagine how dusty the locked ones were.
Thud—
"Hm?"
As I was rummaging through the rooms, I felt something catch against the door of one of them. It wasn't very heavy, so I pushed with some force, and the door swung open with the sound of several things toppling over.
"...What is this?"
The things that had been standing there as if to block the door were bundles of straw. They didn't look like they’d just been tossed together; it seemed like someone had tried to give them a specific shape... but what was it? Regardless, that mysterious, straw-like mass filled the floor of the room. There were candles lit here and there, and things like hair scattered about, suggesting they were placed according to some rule rather than at random. But to my eyes, a layman in such things, the pattern was invisible.
'It’s the fault of whoever blocked the door.'
Still, my conscience pricked at leaving them all toppled over, so I stood them back up as best I could and closed the door.
Afterward, I found a bed in the next room and laid Winnie down. When I held her, I felt that despite her meager chest, her body was soft. It was just because she always wore baggy clothes; her figure itself, aside from her breasts, wasn't bad. A bit slender, perhaps?
I intended to leave her as she was, but her damp panties bothered me. She was wearing wet clothes, after all, and if I left her like that, she might catch a cold. I lifted her hips slightly and pulled them off. Unlike Vera’s mature and erotic lingerie, these were fresh and youthful, even possessing a touch of innocence.
'...This is a trophy.'
The soft sensation when I held her, the innocent panties. And the tightly closed place that was revealed bit by bit as I peeled them away. It felt more stimulating now than when I was directly touching her earlier. Was it because a woman who had been acting so annoying toward me was now lying there in total surrender? Or was it because I’d been so focused on teasing Vera yesterday that I’d forgotten to satisfy myself?
Still, this wasn't right. I didn't have a hobby of forcibly taking a woman who wasn't responding, and I had Vera. I’d teased her to my heart's content yesterday without penetrating her, so today I should go and ask Vera to play with me. She’d love it if I did plenty to make up for yesterday.
"Whew..."
Standing in front of Monica’s office, Winnie was steeling her nerves.
'There isn't much time left. I have to make it happen today.'
Throughout the day yesterday, Winnie hadn't been able to shake off the lingering effects of the tremendous shock that had overcome her.
'No matter how much I try, I can't figure out how he did it.'
After learning how to achieve pleasure by asking Edward, Winnie had tried desperately to replicate it on her own. But even after practicing with self-stimulation all day, that intense pleasure she had felt back then didn't return. Even when she tried to recall the memories that had been blurred and painted white by the pleasure, and stimulated the same spots Edward had touched, all she felt was the sensation of being pressed and scratched.
The two protrusions that had developed into erogenous zones felt somewhat similar, but conversely, that meant she felt almost no pleasure anywhere else.
'Is it because I'm doing it to myself?'
In Winnie's mind, the only difference between her actions and Edward's was the person performing them. Why, even when tickling, you can touch the spots that make you writhe when someone else touches them without any problem at all. Winnie thought she hadn't felt the pleasure for a similar reason. And because of that, she could have confidence.
'Monica will feel pleasure if I do it for her.'
Although she had only been able to practice for one day, this was enough. Today, she would awaken Monica and prevent her from falling into that man's clutches. He didn't seem like such a bad man, but Winnie couldn't stand by and watch Monica get intimate with a man.
Knock, knock—
"Who is it?"
"It is Viscountess Winnie Melbourne."
"Please, come in."
The maid opened the office door. Through the gap, Winnie squeezed herself inside.
"Greetings, Countess."
"It’s been a while, Viscountess Melbourne."
At a signal from Winnie, Monica, understanding the meaning, sent all the servants away. Once they were alone in the office, Winnie spoke comfortably.
"Why is it so hard to see your face? Are you that busy?"
"Hehe, there are some things I need to process in advance because of the wedding. I’ll finish this quickly."
Watching her friend, who couldn't take her eyes off the documents even though she had arrived, Winnie hugged Monica from behind.
"You said you’d finish quickly."
"Hehehe."
Up to this point, it was fine. Monica had grown accustomed to natural skinship, even back hugs. But Winnie was too cowardly to demand anything more than this.
'Even just this much...'
What if even this relationship were to break? The reason she had come to see Monica today was to break that relationship and move toward a deeper one, but the desire to settle for the current relationship kept popping up. However, without hesitation, she slid her hand inside Monica’s clothes. Just as she had felt yesterday, she started by touching Monica’s large breasts.
"Hut, wh-what are you doing..."
"You seem to have a lot of fatigue built up. I wanted to make you feel good."
As her hand soon slid inside her skirt, Monica curled her body like a small animal. But perhaps unable to avoid the pleasure she felt, she twitched her legs and trembled. Every time Monica’s thighs, which were tightly gripping Winnie’s hand, shuddered, the pressure applied to Monica’s spot only intensified. Soon, Monica was letting out rough breaths, her body trembling from Winnie’s caresses. Accepting that flushed gaze with composure, Winnie said,
"Monica, I love you."
"I, I love you as a friend, too..."
"No, I love only you. Don't get married. You have me."
"Th-that’s so sudden..."
She tried to refute her words, but her eyes were already wavering. As if to hold onto that wavering heart, she gripped Monica’s breasts tightly.
"Don't get married. Let's live together."
"Winnie... actually, I also..."
"Winnie! I can't breathe!"
"Ah, hehe, sorry."
"What are you thinking?"
That was Winnie’s scenario. It would be more appropriate to call it a delusion than a scenario, but regardless, that was her plan. She had used a spell formation with a thousand dolls to make her prefer women over men, and now all that remained was her own execution.
"Just, since you’re getting married tomorrow, I felt a bit strange."
"It’s not like I’m being sold off to another family, and I’ll still be here, so what’s the problem?"
In the end, what came out of Winnie’s mouth was a statement so roundabout, having turned and turned her feelings, that it felt as if the intent had been diluted and blown away.
"Still, it means there will be one more person closer to you than me."
"Hey, it’s not like I’m in a romance, so why would I have any reason to cherish Sir Edward more than you?"
But everyone changes like that once they get married. Winnie swallowed those words. There was no need to say anything ominous. Because Monica was different. She was a cool woman, different from the roots up from those loose women who were crazy about that man.
"Have you gotten a bit closer to him?"
"We’d have to have a reason to meet. I’m so busy right now, and wouldn't we get closer once we have time as a married couple after the wedding?"
"Last time you said something about taming him, so I guess you haven't even seen his face."
"The last time was when I called him to give him that reward I told you about. I’m just glad it seems he’s gotten closer to my mother instead of me. Taming him is something I can do gradually."
'Not just closer, they’re practically sleeping together!'
The impulse to reveal everything was strong, but it was certain that her friend would suffer a tremendous emotional wound if she did. Besides, didn't it seem like she wasn't even as close to Edward as she was to her? This was clearly a favorable factor.
"Oh, right, come to think of it, I saw an interesting story in a book."
Struggling inwardly, she brought up the topic she wanted to discuss in a roundabout way—one that anyone could see wasn't a sudden "Oh, right" thought.
"In the old days, there were cases where men married men and women married women."
"Ugh, that’s a bit..."
Just like that, the plan collapsed.