A Sweet, Bitter Poison
I sat in my room, staring down at a potion bottle filled to the brim with a milky white liquid.
A thick, pearlescent white elixir that hums with a strange, sweet warmth.
Effect:Temporarily enlarges the drinker's breasts (10% per sip) and induces active lactation as a side effect.
Duration:30 Minutes
My reason for spending a small fortune to acquire this was, of course, already decided. It was to use on Carmel. I had suckled on Carmel's breasts several times before. Each time, I had fantasized about how wonderful it would be if real milk actually flowed from them. Now, the time had finally come to make that fantasy a reality.
When I had milked Juliana, the truth was, a small part of me had wanted to taste it. If I had wanted to, I could have taken a sip before handing it over to Iscarade, or simply ordered her to produce a little more. The only reason I had held back was because of Carmel. I didn't want to ruin my palate with someone else's milk before tasting Carmel's.
What would Carmel's milk taste like? Just imagining myself suckling her milk directly from the source sent a delicious, tingling shiver running through my entire body. Since Carmel had never given birth, I would be the very first person to ever taste her milk. Furthermore, as her official stepdaughter, I practically held a legitimate claim to it. A daughter wishing to drink her mother's breast milk was a sacred, natural bond of humanity that no one could dare criticize.
Besides, Carmel still owed me. Last time, even though it was just an act, I had to play the submissive part and pretend to be overwhelmed by her. Just thinking about it still irritated me a little. I would make her pay dearly for making that smug, arrogant face. As always, I would do it by utterly crushing her pride. If the Curse of Mystillia was currently flaring up, all the better. The more fiercely she resisted, the greater my pleasure would be.
"Fufu, fuhaha..." Letting out a delighted chuckle, I slipped the Breast Enhancement Potion into my robes and made my way toward Carmel's chambers.
"My, I didn't expect you to show your face here again so soon, Princess Sera. After you fled so pathetically last time, did a few nights of sleep suddenly make you brave?" Carmel welcomed me with an easy, provocative smile. Her minor victory from our last encounter was written all over her face like a trophy.
I intentionally lowered my voice, speaking with grave solemnity. "Let's go with that. Even I cannot simply sit idly by and watch a crisis unfold."
"So it's a desperate struggle for survival. How pitiful for a princess. Did you manage to find out anything? Or perhaps you went to see Luna Lorencia?"
She was riding high. But that would only last for a moment. As always when Carmel and I conversed, black tea was prepared on the table. Usually, it was served plain, but today, it had been prepared as milk tea from the start. I had specifically ordered it that way. Slipping something into clear black tea would be far too conspicuous. But milk tea was naturally opaque. Adding a little something to it wouldn't make any noticeable difference in color.
"...No, nothing."
"Is that so? Well, of course." Hearing my slightly cowed voice, Carmel's mood soared even higher. She was so swept up in her triumph that she didn't even spare a thought as to why the tea before her was milk tea today, unlike usual.
"Then why did you come to see me today? Have you come to admit defeat and beg me to spare you from what I threatened last time? Fufu, depending on how sincere you are, I might be willing to consider it."
"Do not get ahead of yourself, Mother. It hasn't been decided that you've won yet. I still hold many cards that you know nothing about."
"Oh? But today, you look as if you're desperately squeezing out every last drop of courage. Is it just my imagination?"
I clenched my fists on my lap, letting them tremble as if in sheer frustration. Seeing this, Carmel let out a delighted, mocking laugh and leaned in closer to me.
"If you truly have a chance of winning, why don't you tell me, Sera? What exactly is this card you claim to hold? You came to me empty-handed like a beggar precisely because you have nothing, didn't you?"
I could endure any amount of Carmel's provocation. Knowing that she would soon be groaning in the depths of ultimate humiliation only served to maximize the sweet catharsis of the impending reversal. The real problem, however, was that I needed to distract her. Carmel was having so much fun mocking me that she refused to take her eyes off me for even a second. There was absolutely no opening to slip anything into her teacup. Well, it can't be helped. Even if it feels a bit unnatural, I'll just have to force an opportunity.
"Fine, I will show you. Would you mind looking out the window, Mother?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden? Look out the window?"
"Yes. Because my most powerful weapon is out there."
"Ha, what nonsense..."
"Surely you aren't afraid?"
Carmel's eyebrow twitched. After a swift glance at the table and then at me, she stood up from her seat.
"Fine. Out the window, you say? I certainly hope this isn't some ridiculous bluff." Carmel walked over to the window. She flung it open and peered outside, but there was nothing to see except the quiet night landscape of the royal palace.
"...What is supposed to be out here?"
"Do you not see it? Everything within your sight—in other words, the entire Luistie Kingdom is my ally. The people who follow me as their princess, and the royal duty I bear, will never yield to you, Mother."
Hearing my words, Carmel looked utterly dumbfounded. Well, of course she did; I had just spouted the first random nonsense that came to mind.
"...Sigh..." Carmel returned to her seat with a look of deep annoyance. In the brief moments she was away, I had already slipped the potion from my breast pocket and poured it into her tea. As she sat down, I naturally reached for my own teacup. Watching me, Carmel spoke in a cold, sharp tone.
"Hold on a moment, Sera." Carmel snatched my hand just as it was about to touch the cup. With a faint, knowing smirk playing on her lips, she spoke.
"So you've finally been backed into a corner tight enough to resort to this? Well, I suppose since you poisoned your own father, there's nothing you wouldn't do."
"...What are you talking about?"
"Stop playing innocent. What did you put in my tea? Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice? After putting on such an awkward performance and ordering milk tea, which you rarely ever drink?"
Carmel swapped her teacup with mine. Then, with an exaggerated, theatrical gesture, she offered it to me.
"Go on, drink it, Sera. If you truly didn't do anything, you should have no problem drinking it, right? What did you put in here? Poison? An aphrodisiac? Or perhaps you managed to get your hands on a truth serum? Why don't you show me with your own body?"
"...And what if I really didn't do anything?"
"Then I'll apologize. Fufu, would you like me to get down on my knees?"
"Make sure you don't regret those words."
Carmel was practically glowing with triumph, utterly convinced she had backed me into a corner. With a trembling hand, I lifted the teacup and poured the hot tea into my mouth. It was hot, but not unbearable. The taste, however, was incredibly bitter.
Seeing me actually swallow the entire cup, the smug smile began to fade slightly from Carmel's face. I spoke, my pronunciation slightly muffled by the liquid still lingering in my throat. "Are you satisfied now?"
No poison, no aphrodisiac, nor any other reaction manifested in my body. Though she should have felt embarrassed by her mistake, Carmel remained defiant.
"...I see. Hmph, did you change your mind at the very last second? Clever girl."
"And your apology?"
"Are you insane? That doesn't count. After all, there's still no way to prove what was actually in the tea you just swallowed, is there?"
How shameless. But she had hit the nail on the head. I had indeed spiked her tea. Yet, the moment she believed her absolute certainty had been proven wrong, Carmel let her guard down completely. Seizing that split second of vulnerability, I lunged forward and pressed my lips against hers.
"Mgh, mmph...!" I forced the milk tea I had been holding in my mouth directly down her throat. Carmel immediately shoved me away, but she had already swallowed more than a mouthful.
"...What... what did you just do?!"
"My, you look surprised, Mother. Fufu, I suppose my acting really was a bit too dramatic, wasn't it?"
Carmel kept her mouth open as if she had swallowed something scalding hot, clutching her throat with both hands. She looked to be in considerable pain. "It hurts, ah... my throat, my mouth, everything...! It's burning hot...! What... what did you make me drink?!"
"Why, poison, of course. A poison that will tear your lungs apart as you die a slow, agonizing death. But don't worry too much. It will take at least an hour before you actually die. You will simply wither away in excruciating pain until then."
"P-poison...? Poison?... You... you're... you're really trying to kill me?"
A single mouthful had brought a burning, stabbing pain to her throat, as if she were being pierced by knives—a sensation intense enough to make anyone believe they had ingested a deadly toxin. Carmel's eyes held not only pain and terror, but also a profound disbelief that I was actually trying to murder her. Beneath the tears welling in her eyes, a flicker of betrayal shone through.
"Ugh... How... how are you perfectly fine?! You drank it too, and far more than I did...!"
"Fufu, are you curious? It is because I took the antidote beforehand. This very bottle, in fact." I smiled, pulling another small vial from my robes. It was a tiny potion bottle, filled halfway with a thick, milky white liquid.