Chapter 153: I like Lillian too

How much time had passed?

“Ah, ah…! Huh…! Ah…!”

My vision flipped. It was even hard to keep my eyes open properly.

“Ti, Tina…”

Nia was looking at me with trembling eyes. The reflection of me in her eyes looked so helpless.

“Ah, ah…! Ni, Nia…”

It felt like I was sitting on a ball of fire. No matter how much time passed, the pain in my lower body didn’t lessen; instead, it only grew more intense.

Every time I involuntarily twitched my lower body in pain, it brushed against the tripod, sending deeper waves of pain throughout my body.

“Ah, uh…! Ah, pa…”

An excruciating pain that felt like I was about to lose consciousness.

And in the midst of that, a strange pleasure crept up, shaking my mind.

“Ah, this can’t go on!”

Nia widened her eyes and glared at Lillian.

“This is enough already! You’re going to let her go now.”

“There are still ten minutes left. This is the agreement Tina and I made.”

“Eek…! I didn’t agree to anything! I’m going to let her go!”

With a distorted face, Nia rushed towards me. Her hands tried to untie the rope binding my arms.

“Don’t be a nuisance.”

Lillian spoke in a firm voice, roughly grabbing the back of Nia’s neck.

And then she pushed Nia’s head right in front of my lips.

“Huh? W, wait!”

Nia’s short moan.

And then, her lips and mine collided.

“Ugh?!”

“Eek…!”

Nia’s and my breaths mingled. Normally, I would have pulled away immediately, but wanting to forget the pain surging from my lower body, I instinctively bit Nia’s lips harder.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Nia! I’m sorry…”

My breath, mixed with pain, flowed into her mouth. Thankfully, our tongues didn’t touch, but our hot breaths intertwined, making me feel dizzy.

Then, Lillian pulled Nia’s face away and quietly let her go.

“Eh, ow… Tina…”

Nia spun around and then collapsed to the floor.

“Heehee… I’ll protect Tina…”

Her usually pale skin was as red as her pupils.

Looking at her upturned eyes, it seemed she had already lost her rationality.

“Ah, eek…!”

As Nia’s lips, which I could rely on, disappeared, all that covered my body again was intense pain and faint pleasure.

“How is it, Tina? Can you hold on?”

“Ah, Li… Lillian… Lillian…”

“…I can’t resist when you look at me like that, Tina.”

In the midst of her seething gaze, I instinctively clenched my mouth shut.

“Princess Viviana, the coward, wouldn’t even dream of it. Your masochistic nature.”

“Ah, sob… I, I’m not a maso… Ah, eek?!”

As a sharp pain rose, my waist reflexively jerked up. But that reaction brought another wave of pain, turning my mind blank.

“I, I can’t take it anymore…”

As the pain gradually accumulated, my consciousness began to fade.

“That’s enough.”

Lillian quietly untied the restraints binding my legs. And without hesitation, she lifted me up.

“Haa… Huh… Ah…”

“You did well, Tina. Did you not like it? If not, I’ll put this horse away.”

Why is it like this?

I couldn’t bring myself to say that I hated it.

Is it because I didn’t want to hurt Lillian? Or is there some other reason that I don’t understand?

In the end, I just breathed heavily for a while while cradled in her arms.

“Hehe, I understand. It’s obvious.”

After untying the rope that was binding my arms, Lillian carefully lifted me into a princess carry.

“Ah, ugh… It hurts, Lillian…”

“Hehe, you should hurt for the punishment.”

Lillian stared gently at my face and then gave a mischievous smile.

“Hey, do you want to see something?”

I followed the direction of her finger.

There, in the place where I had been sitting just moments ago, was the tripod.

It was an uncomfortable wooden tripod, made of wood.

The center, where Lillian was pointing, seemed faded compared to the rest.

As if it had been soaked with something.

“Ugh! W-What’s going on!”

Nia suddenly jumped up and shouted. She hurriedly looked around, and her gaze quickly shifted to Lillian and me.

“T-Tina! Are you okay?”

“Uh? E-eh… and you…?”

“Me? Of course, I’m perfectly fine!”

Nia squinted her eyes and glared sharply at Lillian.

“Next time, don’t take punishment like this! You haven’t done anything wrong, Tina! It’s all my fault.”

“Eh…? O-okay…”

“But Tina, why is your face so red?”

“Uh? T-That… well…”

I couldn’t respond to Nia’s words.

I just desperately hoped that her gaze wouldn’t shift toward the tripod.

.

.

Goddess, listen.

I don’t think I’m very pure.

Lillian and Nia call me a pure soul, but… I wonder if my soul is truly pure.

If it were, I wouldn’t be causing harm to others.

You know, I really want to be like you, even just a little bit.

Then, I might be able to help someone, even if it’s just a bit.

But that’s probably not an easy thing to do.

Being able to help someone requires having the ability to do so.

That’s why I think of you as even more amazing.

I respect you so much. I always rely on you.

And, always… I like you.

Will you listen to my prayer today as well?

I hope you will.

One day, I wish I could speak directly with you, Goddess.

But since I’m not a saint like Lillian… I guess that’s not possible.

It’s too much of an ambition for me.

So, please just ignore this prayer.

I’m already happy enough just knowing that the goddess exists.

Thank you for listening to my story today, goddess.

[…….!!]

[…..!!…!!.!!]

…Huh?

I opened my eyes to the sound that suddenly came while I was praying.

It definitely… sounded like a woman’s voice?

I subtly turned my eyes to look at Lillian, who was sitting beside me.

Her posture of folding her hands in prayer made me realize again that she was indeed a saintess.

‘Come to think of it… from tomorrow, I’ll be going to Lady Viviana’s place.’

The Blanc family mansion was quite far from the temple, so I had decided to alternate between staying at Lillian’s and Viviana’s mansion every other week.

And today would be the last day at Lillian’s. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be moving to Viviana’s mansion with Nia.

“Today, Tina finished first.”

Before I knew it, Lillian had finished her prayer and was extending her hand to me.

“From tomorrow, you’ll be coming here with the princess.”

“Yes, I think so.”

Lillian looked at me silently.

It seemed like she had something she wanted to say, but she just fiddled with her innocent fingers.

“Tina.”

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up with difficulty.

It was an unusual sight for her.

Could it be something about bees?

If so, she could say it comfortably.

“Please, go ahead, Lillian.”

“Has Tina ever kissed someone of her own accord?”

“…What?”

“It’s a straightforward question.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the context. It was just such an unexpected question that I couldn’t help but be flustered.

“W-why do you ask?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t that I had never kissed anyone. But if she was asking if I had kissed someone because I wanted to, it was hard to answer immediately.

The kiss with Mardian had been forced, and the one with Lillian had been a punishment for my sins.

The only times I could say I wanted it would probably be with my mother and Viviana.

Although the one with Viviana wasn’t on the lips but on the forehead… still, it was something I initiated.

“Yes, I have.”

“It must have been Lady Viviana.”

Lillian immediately pointed to Viviana. Her voice was filled with certainty, and I just kept quiet, completely confused.

“After all, she treats you kindly. On the other hand, I… treated you harshly.”

Suddenly hearing Lillian criticize herself made me feel overwhelmed.

“Why… Why are you saying this, Lillian?”

“No, it’s just… I feel like I’ll never receive a kiss from you in my lifetime.”

Her voice was smaller than usual. Her eyes were downcast. Seeing that, my heart unknowingly softened.

“Oh, no… I’ve kissed you many times, Lillian.”

“That was all forced.”

Honestly, I couldn’t argue with that. It wasn’t wrong.

My silence seemed to have answered her, and Lillian gave a weak smile before quietly turning away.

“Let’s go now, Tina. It’s time to pack up and head to the princess’s mansion.”

“Well, usually, women don’t kiss each other on the lips—”

“You did it with the princess, didn’t you?”

“…Ah.”

Lillian walked out of the temple slowly.

The moment I looked at her back, a deep sadness surged from the bottom of my heart.

I didn’t want to see Lillian looking so sad.

She had always been a beautiful person with strong convictions in her actions, and her eyes sparkled with light.

Rather than seeing her looking so down, I would have preferred…

Yesterday, like…

“Lillian!”

I hurriedly chased after her and grabbed her.

Lillian turned to look at me with powerless eyes.

I raised my toes to match the height difference between us.

Kiss—

My lips briefly, but clearly, touched hers.

It wasn’t violent or coercive; instead, a soft, almost fragile sound, like baby birds sharing a kiss, leaked through our lips.

Lillian blankly touched her lips. Then, gradually, the pale color on her face began to regain a faint red glow.

“I… I like Viviana, but… I like you too, Lillian…!”

“……”

“I… I just don’t want you to feel down, Lillian.”

But she didn’t answer.

In the end, I continued speaking alone.

“I… I’d rather see you like yesterday… not looking so unsure of yourself…”

I clenched my fingers tightly. It was too embarrassing to say it out loud.

“Er, like yesterday… The forceful Lillian is much more beautiful and dignified!”

I carefully clasped my hands and looked up at her.

But Lillian still didn’t say anything. She only stood still with her eyes gently closed.

“…Lillian?”

“I’m holding it in.”

“Yes? What?”

“There’s something. So please stay quiet for a moment.”

“Yes? If you could tell me what’s going on—”

“Just quiet down, it’s obvious. I’m about to burst just from hearing your voice.”

Her firm, commanding tone made me unconsciously shrink back.

“Yes, yes…”

In the end, I kept my mouth shut, just fidgeting with my helpless fingers.

…Why was that?

Lillian’s authoritative voice seemed to make my heart beat a little faster than usual.

For a while, an odd silence passed between us.