The Hazy Full Moon
When the Full Moon's Curse flares up, if the afflicted is restrained in a way that prevents them from satisfying their urges—or locked in an airtight space from which escape is utterly impossible—the inevitable end is self-mutilation.
And furthermore... when the full moon is obscured by clouds, reason briefly coexists with the curse. Exploiting this, one can intentionally block the moonlight, yielding the same result as the former method.
Then, in summer, as the rainy season draws near with a vengeance... would the people of the Genova countess family have welcomed it?
The answer was no.
Because enduring the Full Moon's Curse with one's reason intact was extraordinarily dangerous in itself.
Of course, if one's mental fortitude transcended the human realm...
They could hold out until dawn broke.
But it was like a starving man staring at food just out of reach—or being teased to the brink of climax without release, exposed endlessly to sexual stimulation.
Unlike when only the unconscious drove them, reason made their actions far more calculated and cruel.
And beyond that...
In fulfilling the Full Moon's Curse's desires during its throes, the Genova countess family's members tasted heavenly ecstasy.
Experiencing that pleasure with full awareness...
Most suffered frigidity as a side effect.
Thus, those of Genova blood were mostly stoic and unresponsive.
'I... should tell him.'
At 5 p.m., as her workday ended, Laura pondered briefly while bathing.
She wasn't without curiosity about how Ferzen acted when her curse struck.
But hiding it might prove more poisonous, so she shook her head, sank into the warm tub, and closed her eyes.
Summer. The days stretched long.
Arriving by 7 p.m. at the latest would suffice.
* * * * *
With permission for an overnight stay granted, Laura unfurled her umbrella and strolled the capital's streets.
For an albino like her, the rainy season was welcome—but the endless overcast still stirred a longing for sunlight.
Soon, in the outskirts.
Standing before a shabby, rundown house, Laura cautiously grasped the doorknob and pushed.
Creeeak.
The familiar creak of rusty hinges.
Beyond it sat Ferzen quietly in a chair.
"Ah, h-hello... s-sir."
Offering a tentative greeting, Laura folded her umbrella and stepped inside.
"You've come."
"Y-yes..."
Ferzen closed his eyes calmly.
Knowing what that meant, Laura turned her back, stripped off her clothes, and fetched fresh attire and undergarments from her subspatial pocket, changing into them.
Squeak!
She handed over her rosario—serving as an altar—climbed onto the musty-smelling bed, bound a rope around her own waist, and gazed at Ferzen.
"P-professor..."
"Why haven't you gagged yourself?"
"I-I have... s-something to... s-say."
"Speak. I shall listen."
"Th-the full m-moon..."
Laura explained the Full Moon's Curse in detail, then hesitated, clasping her hands tightly.
She wondered if it seemed contradictory for her—who hadn't endured it mid-cycle—to know this, but she preempted questions by adding that she'd experienced it during her first outbreak.
"I see."
Ferzen, having heard her out, furrowed his brow slightly.
His innate air of dominance made even that subtle shift darken his expression, startling Laura into hurriedly stuffing the gag into her mouth.
In the ensuing silence, time slipped by.
Thick clouds veiled stars and moon alike...
But the changes overtaking Laura's body let Ferzen sense nightfall's arrival without effort.
"Hng... uh."
Perhaps thanks to her lingering reason, Laura merely twitched demurely before him, clutching the bedsheet in her slender hands.
'Is approaching her the right choice...?'
With reason intact...
When it could no longer suppress the curse's instincts—or when suppression became futile...
Would throttling her neck alone satisfy her?
The jugular lay deep.
He could withdraw before a fatal wound, but...
Thud.
Rising, Ferzen approached the bed.
Hearing his footsteps, Laura stared blankly at him.
Drool already dripped steadily from her gag.
Her sheet-clutching hands stretched toward him like a begging infant's.
Her trembling fingertips suggested she was enduring as best she could.
"Hng, prf...!"
Halting at the bed's edge, Ferzen watched as Laura shuffled closer on trembling knees.
He spoke evenly.
"Charles."
Triggering the command etched into her body.
Laura flipped onto her stomach...
Clap clap!
And clapped unwittingly.
With reason present, bewilderment crossed her face.
But her conditioned flesh—knowing reward followed obedience—already drowned in unimaginable pleasure, anticipating it.
Squeak!
Her frail waist bucked.
Her hiked skirt revealed a stark-white panty, stained at the center.
The mingle of fresh bodily scent and feminine musk...
Utterly lascivious.
As Ferzen perched on the bed's edge, Laura crawled to him on all fours, extended a quivering hand—then withdrew it.
The sheer willpower in that retraction drenched her in sweat within minutes.
"Hng, hng... ub!"
Gagged, she could only plead through muffled moans.
Ferzen reached out, seized her hands, and guided them gently to his throat.
From the outside, it might throttle him—but it would anchor her reason a while longer.
An average adult's focus lasted sixty minutes.
For Laura, curse-ridden, perhaps half that.
Squeeze!
"Hnggh!"
The act of strangling—killing—flooded her with immense pleasure; she shuddered repeatedly.
"Kh..."
With reason coexisting, unlike before, she cunningly pressed both thumbs mercilessly into his jugular.
The unexpected discomfort furrowed Ferzen's brow.
"Hit... hnggh..."
Far from heeding it, Laura smirked in ecstasy, leaned closer to scrutinize his pained face—then buried her chin against his jaw, inhaling his scent, gazing lovingly at his bobbing Adam's apple, gnawing her gag like she yearned to bite.
Already tiring of mere throttling, she craved to tear into his flesh.
"Charles."
Merely ten minutes in.
Her reason fraying like a worn leash, Ferzen murmured her conditioned name—but she merely loosened her grip briefly, ignoring true control.
As she twisted to remove her gag...
Squeak!
Ferzen seized her wrists, yanked them back, flipped her onto the bed, and pinned her firmly.
Yet Laura didn't resist violently—instead, she held her breath.
"...You've grown cunning."
Fatigue laced Ferzen's words.
Had he mistaken a wolf for a pup?
With reason amid the curse...
Prolonging restraint risked her truly suffocating herself.
Reluctantly, he released her hands.
Laura promptly spat out the gag, crept to him with ecstatic crimson eyes, and caressed his firm body with both hands.
Drip.
Drip.
Like a junkie in withdrawal.
"Hak... hng, hnggh..."
Her trembling fingers fumbled his shirt buttons open, buried her face against his bare chest, attuned to his pounding heart—then unsheathed her nails like a feral cat.
"..."
Ferzen gently restrained her.
Pinioned, Laura stared languidly.
Sweat-slick nape and collarbone clung with white strands; her dilated pupils exuded raw eroticism.
"A-anyway... y-you'll... l-let go... wh-when I... s-stop breathing..."
"..."
"P-professor... h-has no... l-learning... a-ability..."
Her stammered words carried mocking giggles.
But rather than anger, Ferzen felt pity.
Reason dragged by instinct...
He knew that torment well.
"..."
Laura's face paled to ashen as she held her breath.
A silent protest to release her hands.
With a sigh, Ferzen granted it.
Gasping raggedly, she stroked near his heart.
"P-professor... w-wanna... j-join... m-me?"
"..."
"Cl-clawing flesh... g-grabbing... e-each other's... h-hearts... and..."
Scratch!
Finishing, her nails raked his chest.
Beyond throttling, drawing blood soaked the sheets as if she'd lost control below.
"Hng, hnggh... I-I..."
"..."
"P-professor... w-will you... a-accept... m-my... s-seed?"
"..."
"Y-you'll die... b-but your... ch-child... I-I'll... b-bear it. Wh-when you... c-climax... I'll... b-burst your... h-heart..."
"Finish what you started."
Not even twitching at the growing chest gashes, Ferzen let her words slide past.
"You won't kill me with those hands. So..."
It was 7:40 p.m.
"See you at 5 a.m., nine hours and twenty minutes hence."
His impassive face.
Laura pouted, curling her lips in impish scorn—like a smirking little devil.
"...Hilarious."
Her tinkling giggles echoed in his ears.
Then she savagely bit his forearm.