Chapter 94: It’s so hot, I can’t eat it in one bite…

Clink—

The silent stillness tightens around my neck.

With every movement of my body, the clinking of chains presses down on my heart.

How much time has passed in this place, where not a single ray of sunlight enters? I couldn’t tell, for there was no clock.

Only in the emptiness, as though an eternity had passed, was I left to gnaw at my own nails, consumed by the relentless solitude.

“You said you’d come back… You said you’d come back…! You’ll come back, You’ll come back… You’ll come back…”

Liar.

Lillian, do you deserve to be called a saint?

You said you’d return, yet you left me here to rot and starve. Is that acceptable?

“If this is how it’s going to be, then why didn’t you just let me die…!”

The gnawing hunger and thirst surged in the midst of my painful loneliness.

Since Lillian left, I hadn’t eaten anything, and every moment felt like my insides were being scraped out in excruciating pain.

Still, I couldn’t die.

The cursed power here healed my body, allowing me to survive even without nourishment or water.

But it couldn’t heal the pain. The hunger that gnawed at my insides relentlessly tormented me.

Yet, the true reason I was suffering so terribly now wasn’t hunger or thirst.

“I’m lonely…”

A crushing loneliness.

The deadliest poison to me has always been solitude.

In my past life, my mother abused me every day, but at least she never left me alone.

That’s why I liked my mother. Even though every day felt like hell, I wasn’t alone.

But now, there was no one.

Not my mother, who I had killed, nor the voice of a friend who always comforted me in times like these.

In the end, all I could do was helplessly curl up and wait, endlessly hoping that Lillian would return.

How much longer had time passed, I wondered.

Then, in the moment when I was once again biting my finger in anxiety, suffering from the wait.

Clank—

With a loud sound, the door that had been tightly shut began to slowly open.

And through the open door, a bright, pink-eyed gaze, filled with warmth unlike the darkness here, smiled brightly at me.

“How have you been, Tina?”

“L-Lillian…!”

I tried to run toward her, but the heavy shackles around my feet held me back, and I fell to the ground.

Lillian approached with a sympathetic look and helped me up.

“You have to be careful, Tina. You can’t get hurt.”

In a panic, I placed my hands around her waist and clung to her.

As I heard the strong, rhythmic beating of Lillian’s heart, the loneliness that had tormented me slowly began to melt away.

“Hehe, acting cute like this, Tina.”

As I shifted slightly in Lillian’s arms without a word, she smiled gently and stroked my head.

Lillian’s warmth seeped into me, and life slowly began to return.

As my mind cleared, I suddenly pushed her away with both hands, glaring at her sharply.

“Why, why are you so late…! You said you’d be back for sure!”

“Hmm, do you remember what I said last time?”

“What…?”

“I said the next training would be about dining etiquette, didn’t I?”

“……”

Lillian continued, looking at me with her sparkling pink eyes.

“But Tina doesn’t seem that hungry, so I intentionally waited for two days to increase the effectiveness of the training.”

I thought it had been about a week, but it had only been two days?

No, more than that…

“You…! Are you trying to treat me like an animal?”

“I’ve already said it, Tina. You’re my pet. If you don’t accept that reality, it will only cause you pain.”

“Y-You damn b*tch…”

“Heh, you’re still speaking harshly.”

Lillian smiled calmly as she straightened her legs and stood up.

For a moment, I was afraid she’d leave me again, but luckily, Lillian picked up the tray she had placed by the door and came back towards me.

“I hope you eat today.”

What was on the tray was no different from before.

A steaming bowl of soup and a clear glass of water.

It was the same meal as before, but my starving body was filled with a craving for food.

“How about it, Tina? Are you going to eat?”

My dry throat swallowed.

The divine energy kept my body intact, making it seem fine on the outside, but the hunger and thirst were still gnawing at my mind.

I wanted to devour the food right in front of me.

Even so, I didn’t want to act according to Lillian’s wishes.

It was different from the days when I lived as a pampered pet, flirting with the other noble ladies and accepting the snacks they gave me.

Back then, I had a clear purpose, using the backs of those noble ladies, but now… it felt like I was truly descending into a pet.

In the end, as I hesitated, Lillian stood up with a look of disappointment in her eyes.

“…I guess it’s still too early. I’ll come again next time, Tina.”

“Wa-wait…”

I hurriedly grabbed Lillian’s ankle. Avoiding her curious gaze, I muttered quietly.

“I’ll eat… Let me feed myself…”

“No.”

The response was cold and firm.

“You can’t. I need to feed you myself.”

Lillian’s gaze was unwavering, and there was no room for compromise.

It seemed she really was trying to treat me like a pet.

In the end, I fell back into an endless internal conflict.

What should I do…?

Should I follow Lillian’s wishes?

But if I did that, it would be no different from submitting to her.

‘…No, it’s not submission.’

I comforted myself with those words.

The reason I had acted all sweet and affectionate like a pet with the other noble ladies wasn’t for no reason.

It was because there was value to be gained from them.

Wealth, connections, power.

If any of them lacked one of these, I would have ignored them without a second glance.

Lillian, too, was ultimately no different from the other noble ladies.

Now, trapped in this suffocating and gloomy place, the only person I could rely on was Lillian.

Which meant that Lillian was the one from whom I could extract the most.

Basic food, shelter, and the only key to escape this dark, lightless place… it all depended on Lillian.

…I should think of her as my water-bearer.’

Here is the translation:

It’s not about submitting.

Rather, Lillian is the one who will be used by my hands.

I will gradually build trust by appropriately aligning with her desires, and in time, turn Lillian into nothing more than a fool, just like the other young ladies.

And one day, when the time comes for me to escape this hellish place, that will be the moment I end Lillian’s life.

I’ll kill Lillian, then head straight to hell.

As this resolution formed, my previously tangled thoughts cleared up in an instant.

I calmed my heart with the newfound peace and gazed at Lillian, who looked at me expectantly.

“…Fine. You feed me, then.”

“Oh, what a wise choice, Tina.”

Lillian’s long eyelashes curled softly as a beautiful smile lit up her face.

“Before we eat, we should do what we need to do, right?”

She carefully set the tray before her, lowered her knees, and extended her hand toward me.

“Here, Tina. Hand.”

I didn’t surrender. Lillian was the one being used.

I repeatedly reminded myself as I forced my trembling hands to rest on top of hers.

“You did really well, Tina. I love you.”

“Thank you for listening to me. You’re truly precious, Tina.”

Lillian smiled brightly as she gently stroked my hair. She extended her palm toward me again, whispering.

“Now, Tina. Chin.”

“…What?”

“Just lift your chin.”

Suppressing the rebellion rising within, I quietly placed my chin in her palm.

Lillian’s fingers moved gently, lightly tickling my chin.

“Ugh… Stop…”

After a while, she stopped tickling me, beaming brightly as she pulled me into her embrace.

“Good job, Tina.”

Lillian sat on the floor cross-legged, then slapped her knees twice with her palms and spread her arms.

“Now, sit here, Tina. I’ll feed you.”

“…Do I have to sit there?”

“Yes.”

None of this felt right from the start.

But once again, I steeled myself and carefully sat between her legs, leaning into her embrace.

Lillian wrapped her arms around me in a back hug. Her breath brushed against my ear, and her low voice seeped into my ear.

“You’ve become so obedient all of a sudden. Have you really submitted? Or is there something else behind it?”

“I’m just… hungry.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Lillian stroked my hair with a gentle touch.

She held out a glass of water in one hand and offered it to me.

“I’ll give you some water first. Here..”

I lifted my head slightly and parted my lips.

My throat felt parched, as I hadn’t had a drop of water for days.

My dry, cracked lips stung as my thirst grew sharper, turning into pain.

Finally, when Lillian tilted the glass, clear drops of water slowly trickled down to my lips.

The cold, refreshing water spread through my mouth, flowing down my throat, and for a moment, my thirst was eased, and my body relaxed, trembling slightly.

But it was frustratingly brief.

Before my thirst was fully quenched, Lillian immediately took the glass away.

Still thirsty, I unconsciously stuck out my tongue and grabbed Lillian’s hand.

“Could you… give me a little more…? I’m so thirsty…”

Why?

Lillian’s pink eyes, which had been gazing at me, fluttered slightly.

She looked at my tongue, wet with water, coughed a few times, and then tilted the glass again.

“Here, drink.”

The cool water slid down my throat again.

With a gulp, my dry lips became moist once more.

I wiped the drops of water that trickled down from my lips, blushing shyly, and turned my face away.

“…Thank you.”

I didn’t forget to thank Lillian. I had to gain her favor to use her kindness to my advantage.

Lillian quietly gazed at me, then, after a moment, flashed a faint smile and handed me another bowl.

“Would you like some soup?”

As my thirst was quenched, hunger slowly began to resurface.

This time, it was the warm soup, emitting a sweet aroma and thick steam, that caught my attention.

I nodded quietly, and Lillian cautiously offered me a spoonful of soup.

I was so hungry that I didn’t think about the hot steam, and without a second thought, I opened my mouth and swallowed the soup in one bite.

“Ugh!”

The warmth was far hotter than I expected, and the heat overwhelmed my tongue, causing tears to form in my eyes as the burning sensation spread in my mouth. I instinctively stuck out my tongue, trying to cool down the searing heat.

“Hah, hah… Ugh, it’s… so hot…”

“Are… are you alright, Tina? I think it’s because it was heated for a long time. Maybe it’s still too hot.”

“Ugh… ugh…”

A faint groan escaped my lips.

I struggled to calm the heat in my mouth and, almost without thinking, glared at Lillian.

I wanted to yell at her for handing me such hot soup without letting it cool down, but the thought that I needed to win her favor stopped me from doing so.

In the end, I couldn’t get angry and, instead, lowered my gaze with a pitiful look, my voice desperate.

“Is… is it too hot? Could you let it cool a little…?”

I stuck out my slightly burned tongue and looked at her with pleading eyes.

But again, Lillian silently stared at my tongue.

Somewhere deep inside, her eyes met mine, and after a brief furrowing of her brows, she turned her gaze away.

“Hah, it was a good try. But it won’t work on me.”

…Huh? No…?

It’s too hot… I can’t take it in one bite…

“If… if Lillian cools it down… I’ll eat it properly…”

Maybe my pitiful look worked.

Lillian bit her lip a few times and hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly, her eyes filled with a deep gaze.

“…Alright, I’ll cool it down for you.”

“Ugh?!”

In that moment, Lillian’s hand gently but firmly grasped my chin, turning my head to the side.

My eyes widened in surprise at the sudden movement, and I found myself gazing directly into Lillian’s bright pink eyes.

And then—

“Ugh?!”

Lillian’s lips touched my mouth without hesitation.

Instinctively, I wanted to push her away, but Lillian’s legs and arms had already wrapped tightly around me.

“Ugh… Hah… Hmph…!”

In the midst of this overwhelming sensation, tears formed at the corners of my eyes as the soup slowly trickled into my mouth through her lips.

Since the soup had already lost its heat from Lillian’s tongue, it wasn’t as hot as before.

‘Is… is she crazy…?!’

As I cursed inwardly, Lillian looked at me with fiery eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“Hah… Tina, don’t spill it. Swallow it all.”

“Ugh…”

Lillian’s voice was soft and low.

I wanted to spit the soup out, but since she had completely sealed my mouth, I had no choice but to swallow the soup.

Gulp