Why Do My Eyes Keep Going There?
"Why do my eyes keep going there?"
"Hngh…."
Marian's thunder orb unleashed a bolt of lightning. Struck dead-on, Chloe spat out a charred black breath and tumbled to the ground.
But.
"Gotcha."
Since she'd been aiming for a joint lock from the front all along, Marian easily caught Chloe in her arms.
"See? If you'd just surrendered earlier, you wouldn't have taken a direct lightning hit like this."
Marian gave a wry smile, affixing a pain-relief patch to Chloe's body to ease the agony. Cradling her, she began pulling out various recovery artifacts one by one and applying them in sequence. As the mana orb's owner, Marian hadn't taken any real damage herself—but Chloe had.
I'll make sure she doesn't suffer. No scars, either. Gotta take good care of her.
"Milady! Teacher!"
"Ah, Viola."
"Yes, milady. Your orders?"
"Pick those up and gather them."
"Those?"
"Yeah, the black fragments over there."
To Viola, who had rushed over as if to help support Chloe, Marian assigned the task of collecting the obsidian dagger shards scattered on the floor. They might wager against each other like this again in the future, and that obsidian material—which had completely neutralized one of Marian's signature weapons, the thunder orb—felt a bit unsettling. She planned to research countermeasures thoroughly.
"Mother-in-law!"
Marian addressed Rosetta in the same familial way Chloe did. Rosetta eyed her with a somewhat sour look in return.
"I won."
"I can see that much with my own eyes. As expected, assassins aren't much use outside of ambushes. No surprise there."
"You have to acknowledge this victory."
"Acknowledge?"
"So Chloe can't claim later that she didn't lose. You'll vouch for my win, Mother-in-law."
Marian demanded that Rosetta certify her victory.
Chloe's karma runs deep. For Marian—that girl who won't even talk to me—to go this far and ask… I get it now.
Rosetta concluded anew that Chloe would never retire from the Grand Ducal household.
"Fine, I'll vouch for it. Chloe looks out cold—want someone to help carry her?"
"No. I'll take her myself."
"Do as you like."
With Rosetta's firm confirmation, Marian carried the unconscious Chloe off to the bathroom.
Now it was time to savor her spoils of war.
#
"Hehe, hehehe…."
Hugging the still-unconscious Chloe tight, Marian felt utterly delighted. Chloe would wake up soon enough anyway, and those cherry lips of hers were about to become Marian's.
"Family, hehe…."
It was a line from one of the fairy tales Marian often read. Lips were the gateway to the soul, eyes the mirror to the heart. A kiss—pressing soul-gate to soul-gate while baring the heart's mirror—was something only family should share.
"But what's a kiss, then?"
The same fairy tale book also described a kiss as a token of affection, a communion on the level of souls, something done in relationships beyond mere family.
"Beyond family… like between husband and wife?"
But Marian didn't know the difference between a kiss and a peck. Children's books lumped them together anyway: They pressed their lips together, and a miracle happened.
It was only natural that Marian didn't know the distinction.
"Fairy tales never explained that…."
Yet our pure-hearted Marian would never dream of seeking out lewd books just to learn about kissing.
"Guess I'll check Viola's sketchbook later."
Of course, the alternative she planned to consult was Viola's sketchbook—a rather dangerous item whose contents were best left unknown.
"Ugh…."
"Chloe, it's okay. Sleep more if you're hurting. I'll wash you today."
"Ugh…."
With Chloe too zapped by Marian's thunder orb to warn her otherwise, it was only a matter of time before Marian laid eyes on Viola's sketchbook. Destiny, it seemed.
"All prepared, milady!"
"Come in!"
Arona and Perona, having finished preparing the bath, stepped out and exchanged glances while checking Marian's expression.
But is this okay? Teacher's totally out of it….
W-We just have to pretend we didn't see, honestly.
H-Haha, true….
Arona and Perona were educated nobles until adolescence—intelligent women. They couldn't possibly miss how off it was for Marian to insist on washing her unconscious home tutor, blood relation or not.
And that woman bathed with milady whenever she got the chance anyway.
She probably doesn't even think it's bad.
R-Yeah? They're close, after all….
Chloe had always been unnecessarily close to Marian, after all. Maybe she'd been angling for this from the start, Arona and Perona thought.
"Then… may we go now?"
"We'll return in an hour as usual."
"Yeah, come back in an hour."
"Yes!"
"See you shortly."
They slipped away quietly to avoid stirring trouble.
And so Marian was finally alone with the unconscious Chloe.
"L-Let's wash up quick, Chloe."
Supporting the still-unconscious Chloe, she entered the bathroom and sat her down.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment."
Marian always received Chloe's help with her clothes. Normally Arona and Perona assisted, but when bathing together, Chloe was Marian's personal maid.
But.
"I've only ever received… feels unfair."
Now it was time for Marian to return the favor.
Chloe had always refused with, Milady, mind your dignity. Dignity.
This was the perfect chance to repay all that consideration.
"No ulterior motives or anything…."
Swallowing dryly, Marian began unbuttoning Chloe's white shirt. The lightning mana had shredded it, creating an oddly erotic atmosphere, and the teenage girl felt instincts stirring instinctively.
And for good reason….
"Slut…. What the hell are you doing walking around like this…."
Beneath the sheer white shirt was a pitch-black lace bra. Viola's taste? Or Chloe's choice? Up close, Marian's face burned, her heart pounding.
Marian's views on sexual value weren't fully formed yet. She didn't grasp terms like sexy, lewd, slutty, or hot.
But as someone well-versed in scriptures, she knew the definition of lewdness crystal clear.
"Never let anyone else see you like this."
Chloe was the lewdest of all, and a lewd woman became a target for every man. The unconscious Chloe must never fall into another's hands.
And among that category of "others,"
Marian never realized she herself might be the most dangerous.
Anyway.
"Harder than I thought. How does Chloe always strip me so fast?"
Marian felt no real guilt as she peeled off Chloe's clothes layer by layer. Soon, the fabrics concealing her bare skin fell away, and Chloe's pale flesh gleamed white under the bathroom lights.
"Hehe…."
Unconscious but as beautiful as ever. Marian gazed at her, smiling faintly in satisfaction, then gently lowered her into the tub—arms draped over the edges so she wouldn't drown.
"Ngh…."
The warm bathwater? Chloe's brow furrowed faintly, her body shivering small.
"So pretty…."
Marian adored her like that. Wanting to be close sooner, she hastily shed her own clothes and hopped into the tub, pressing her body against Chloe's.
Arms around Chloe's waist, she floated atop the petal-strewn water, eyes locking with Chloe's breasts.
"Huh…."
And Chloe's breasts….
That central protrusion….
"Were they always this big…?"
Somehow, they seemed a bit larger than usual. Because she was unconscious? Metabolism ramps up unconsciously sometimes, and sleep burns plenty of energy. Nothing too weird.
Not weird at all, yet….
"Hmm…."
For some reason, Marian couldn't tear her eyes from that pair of peaks on Chloe's chest.
"Ugh…."
And rightly so….
"Hmmm…."
She'd never even nursed from her birth mother—just formula. It wasn't so strange to crave milk from Chloe, whom she saw as her protector….
"Why do my eyes keep going there?"
But Marian wasn't bold enough to suckle Chloe's milk yet.
Yes.
Not yet.