"Si... Sister Lumina, are you alright?!"
"Sister Lumina, quickly... let go!"
Castorice hurriedly pulled back, trying to withdraw her hand, but with Lumina gripping it tightly, Castorice was completely unable to do so.
"Quickly... let go!"
Seeing Lumina still refusing to let go, Castorice was so anxious she was almost in tears.
Although Castorice had only known Lumina for a few days, and although she had barely spoken a few words to her, in her heart, she had already considered Lumina a friend.
But now... now her friend was holding her hand... this hand that symbolized [Death], and anything that touched this hand would eventually meet a fate of withering...
Castorice couldn't bear to lose Lumina, and she didn't want her to die because of her.
A long, long time ago, Castorice also had a friend who died before her eyes, sent away by her own hands... But that friend had already reached her twilight years.
After being heartbroken for a while, Castorice eventually moved past the incident.
But Lumina was different. Lumina was still so young. If she were to suffer [Death] because of these hands... then, then Castorice could never forgive herself.
Castorice clenched her teeth and summoned all her strength, trying to pull her hands back from Lumina's grasp.
But her hands felt as if they were stuck, and no matter how hard Castorice pulled, they wouldn't budge an inch.
"Sister Lumina, quickly... quickly let go!"
"Cas's hands... you can't touch them!"
Because this all happened in the blink of an eye, the people around them didn't react immediately.
After they did, Stelle and Calypso both remained completely still.
Neither of them believed that a mere Chrysos Heir Curse could harm Lumina.
Trianne, however, was just like Castorice, her hands covering her mouth, clearly terrified.
She urgently shouted for Lumina to quickly let go of Castorice's hands.
"Don't worry, it's fine."
Castorice and Trianne's words were clearly heard by Lumina, but she didn't pay them any mind at all.
Instead, she went even further, and pulled hard at the hands she was cradling.
Lumina's pull wasn't very strong, but it wasn't weak either. With Castorice completely filled with anxiety at this moment, she succeeded in one go.
Under the influence of Lumina's force, Castorice's body instantly lost its balance, tilted forward, and fell into Lumina's embrace.
By completing this, the final result also achieved Lumina's expectations.
Therefore, without any hesitation, Lumina wrapped one arm around Castorice's waist and pressed her against her own body, while her other hand held both of Castorice's small hands in her palm, gently stroking them and feeling the sensation of the two small hands being grasped by the same hand.
Herta: ...
Lumina and Castorice's actions at this moment appeared extremely intimate.
No... it couldn't be said that they just appeared extremely intimate, it could only be said that they were exceptionally intimate. Their behavior, their bodies pressed completely against each other as if they were about to merge together, if seen by an outsider, would probably make them think this was an old married couple.
So, even though Herta was usually indifferent, seeing Lumina and Castorice embracing in such a way caused her to clench her fist around the hem of her clothes, grinding her silver teeth as if she would rush forward the next second and beat Lumina, that big scumbag woman, into a pulp.
Herta knew that Lumina wanted to provoke her, forcing her to expose a weakness, then use that revealed weakness to "deal" with her.
But even knowing this, what could she do?
First, Lumina was provoking her. Second, she was taking advantage of another beautiful young woman. The other party gained something even if she lost something, but what about herself? What kind of position was she in under Lumina's actions?
Losing everything and gaining nothing... it was a complete and utter loss.
Not only that, Herta also had to endure the scene of Lumina cuddling with another beautiful young woman while she could only watch coldly from the side... just like now.
Should she go over and separate them?
Definitely not.
If they ever did something like that, she would become Lumina's prey at that very moment... Herta would never do something so stupid.
So what now? Just watch like this?
Because there's no other way, she can only watch as Lumina cuddles to her heart's content with another beautiful young woman?
What kind of... incompetent husband script is this?
Herta complained silently in her mind.
But she really did have no other choice...
Still, it was okay, just a simple hug, Herta wouldn't say anything.
Herta could bear it, just a hug, there's nothing to it... Yeah, nothing to it...
Herta lowered her gaze, forcing herself to not look at Lumina and Castorice, whose bodies were now pressed together.
Looking down at her own toes, Herta kicked the dirt on the ground to vent her frustration, suppressing the "itch" in her heart and waiting for the hug and their conversation to end.
Just a simple hug, Herta wouldn't "go berserk" over something like this.
But if they took their actions a step further, if they did something even more intimate than hugging or holding hands right in front of Herta, Herta would find it a bit hard to bear...
Fortunately, such a thing wouldn't happen, because that guy Little Lumina didn't have any thoughts in that direction.
And even if she did, she was a coward, a little brat who would only talk big but never actually take any action...
On this point, Herta was still quite reassured.
As for whether she was truly reassured or just pretending, only Herta herself knew...
"Castorice, look, I don't have anything on me."
Not noticing Herta's situation, Lumina's entire attention was now completely focused on Castorice.
Of course, even if Lumina had noticed Herta's situation, she wouldn't have cared or offered any explanation.
Because this was exactly the effect Lumina wanted, the effect of torturing Herta's heart.
However, this behavior of hers was still a bit risky, for example, it could drive her into a blackened state. Normal people are advised not to imitate it.
But Lumina was no ordinary person. If Herta wanted to go "blackened," so be it~ Even if Herta became a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand times stronger in her blackened state, she would never be Lumina's match.
Herta's "blackening," for Lumina, was nothing more than a bit of extra amusement.
Without thinking further, Lumina felt Castorice's soft body and breathed in the floral scent wafting from her. It was as if she were in Paradise, feeling exceptionally comfortable and warm.
However, Lumina wasn't particularly pleased with Castorice's constant struggling.
Although struggling added to Lumina's enjoyment, Castorice's flustered and anxious attempt to get away still left Lumina feeling a bit bitter.
Lumina knew Castorice was afraid her "Curse" would harm her and send her rushing toward [Death]. She knew Castorice meant well, but Lumina still felt saddened by her actions.
After all, wasn't this just a disguised form of rejection?
"Eh?" Hearing Lumina's words, Castorice, who had been struggling violently in her arms, stopped.
"It seems... you're right."
Hearing Lumina say it, Castorice seemed to have realized it as well.
How could so much time have passed, and Sister Lumina still be completely unharmed?
Castorice looked down her arm in confusion, staring at her own two hands being held tightly in Lumina's palm.
Seeing that Sister Lumina's slender, fair-skinned hand hadn't changed at all from the Chrysos Heir Curse, Castorice froze completely.
She stared blankly at Sister Lumina holding both her small hands in one of hers, feeling the warmth from Sister Lumina's palm, feeling... the tactile sensation of hand touching hand.
As a wave of heat welled up in her eyes, Castorice's vision suddenly became a little blurry.
"Is this... a dream?"
Having her hand held tightly like this was the second... second time Castorice had ever felt this sensation.
But being held in someone's arms... this was the first time Castorice had ever experienced this.
Sister Lumina... took away her first... first hug.
So warm, so happy, so... comfortable.
But... it was precisely because it felt so comfortable that Castorice felt an unreal sensation in her heart.
Was everything happening right now truly something someone like her, with hands stained with blood, could enjoy?
"This is real, you know. Not some kind of Dream Realm."
Castorice had only muttered those words in her heart and hadn't said them out loud.
But Lumina, as if she possessed Mind Reading, saw through everything Castorice was thinking.
After a gentle, soothing word, she began to slowly, tenderly, and lightly rub Castorice's small hand.
"This... is real," Castorice murmured after hearing Lumina's words.
A crystalline tear immediately welled up in her eyes, rolled down her cheek... and finally wet the clothes on Lumina's chest.
The two of them were now in a position where Castorice was nestled against Lumina.
At such close range, the tears dripping down Castorice's cheeks naturally fell onto Lumina, soaking her clothes.
"Don't worry, little sister Castorice. It's just a minor symptom. I can cure it."
"Mm... mm." Lumina's words made Castorice feel incredibly reassured and happy, and she replied softly.
Castorice didn't doubt Sister Lumina's words in the slightest.
After all... Sister Lumina was the first person who could touch and hug her without any problems... Since she wasn't affected by [Death].
Then... solving [Death] would be an easy task for her, right?
Castorice thought to herself, and in just a few short minutes, she had completely forgotten about just now, about what had happened before being "ambushed" by Lumina.
Under Lumina's charm, Castorice had now completely forgotten about Stelle's matter.
After all, that's how people are. After experiencing something better, they will subconsciously ignore the inferior side... Compared to Sister Lumina's act of holding hands and hugging, Stelle's action seemed... a bit easy to ignore.
"Um... Sister Lumina..." As she thought, Castorice's face suddenly turned bright red, as if she had been stimulated by something from the outside.
"Si... Sister Lumina, your hand..."
Castorice's voice was very quiet, but the attentive Lumina still heard it.
Her voice was filled with endless shyness, and her words were only half-finished, not fully spoken, as if she had encountered something too embarrassing to describe.
As for the hand... Lumina was holding Castorice's two small hands with one of her own, which was what Castorice had been paying attention to, so the problem definitely wasn't here.
Since the problem wasn't with this hand, then without a doubt, it was on the other hand...
The hand that Lumina had wrapped around Castorice's waist, pressing her into her own embrace.
During that time just now, Lumina's small hand had uncontrollably started to wander...
There was no way around it, the feeling of Castorice's slender waist was just too good, Lumina really couldn't resist.
This wasn't Lumina's fault, and of course, it certainly wasn't Castorice's fault.
Whose fault was it then?
Of course it was the slender waist's fault!
A slender waist that felt this good, even if it wasn't Lumina touching it, even if someone else touched it, they would definitely uncontrollably start to wander.
"Ahem, Castorice, sorry." Lumina reluctantly withdrew her small hand that had been wandering all over Castorice's slender waist and offered a full of apology.
Although Lumina was confident, confident that even if she continued this action, Castorice would say nothing else besides her face turning even redder.
But Lumina still understood the principle of knowing when to stop.
If she left Castorice with too bad an impression this time, it would be a bit difficult to want to do this next time.
Lumina naturally also understood the principle of "Satiate once, satiate every time."
Hmm... But then again, showing her most special side in front of Castorice should have nothing to do with "satiate once," right?
Her figure, her posture, the warmth she gave her, surely they had all deeply entered her heart and become an inseparable part of her memory, right?
Under these circumstances, even after Lumina "satiated once," she could still "satiate every time," right?
"Wow! Sister Lumina, you're actually unaffected by Cas's influence."
Just as Lumina was thinking this, Trianne's startled and surprised voice suddenly reached her ears.
Trianne flapped the two small wings on her back and came to Lumina's side, sizing her up and giving her a thorough examination.
After discovering that she truly had no problems, her small eyes immediately lit up.
Sister Lumina's hand was still held together with Cas's hand.
So, this was neither a coincidence nor a stroke of luck. Sister Lumina truly would not be affected by the flaw of Cas being a Chrysos Heir!
This was a good thing for Cas, for Trianne, for us, and for everyone!
Although Cas looked no different from a normal person and could communicate and socialize normally.
But only Trianne, only we, and everyone among the Chrysos Heirs knew that Cas's heart was very lonely.
And now, seeing that someone could actually ignore the Curse of [Death] and step into Cas's heart, Trianne felt truly happy.
Because this meant that Cas would no longer feel lonely!