"Did you not ask me to eat it?"
"Since the distinguished Miss Lumina herself said so, how could I possibly ignore it?"
Inside the room, while everyone else's attention was fixed on Stelle, Lumina and Herta accomplished a deed momentous enough to be carved into the deepest recesses of their hearts.
Herta had nibbled on Lumina's little hand, savoring it thoroughly before offering a glowing review.
Afterwards, in response to Lumina's indignant scolding, Herta gave the most natural reply.
Her face was crimson, yet she felt immense joy that Lumina had been bested, and even more so that she had been bested by Herta's own hand.
On her flushed little face, there was three parts bashfulness, three parts smugness, three parts delight, and the final one part desire.
Herta didn't want to stop at just nibbling hands. She craved something more.
Now that she had already nibbled the hand, how far off could the lips be?
If she managed to nibble the lips, then the day she could strip Lumina bare would surely be close at hand, wouldn't it?
Madam Herta's heart brimmed with anticipation for the beautiful future.
She seemed to already see it: Lumina stripped bare by her, her spring-like beauty fully revealed before her eyes.
Pinned beneath her, Lumina would be breathlessly pleading, "Big Sister Herta, please... please don't!"
At the thought of these scenes, a heart shape formed from a soft pink glow gradually materialized within Herta's beautiful purple eyes.
"Stop fantasizing, it's impossible." Having read Herta's expression perfectly, Lumina's little face immediately fell.
Lumina didn't even need to think to know what Herta was imagining right now.
Precisely because of this, Lumina told her it was impossible, absolutely impossible.
This was the first time, and the last time, the only time!
In the future, such a thing would absolutely never happen!
Lumina declared firmly and resolutely in her heart!
Wanting to take things even further? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
"Hmm..."
The very next second after her firm resolve, Lumina slightly raised her hand, looking at the little finger now covered in Herta's saliva. Feeling the lingering warmth upon it, ripples stirred across the surface of her otherwise calm heart.
Truth be told, this feeling... was very, very strange.
Herta's little mouth was very warm.
The way it wrapped around her little finger gave Lumina a certain... feeling.
"Do you want to do it again?"
Lumina's emotions didn't show on her face, but Herta could still guess a thing or two from the way she kept staring at her finger.
Herta gazed longingly at Lumina's little finger, and as long as Lumina gave the word, she would charge forward and repeat what she had done to it before.
"Are you a simp? You love licking other people's fingers so much." Hearing Herta's words, Lumina instantly snapped back to her senses and gave her a somewhat disgusted look.
Though she looked disgusted, there was no hint of true aversion toward Herta in either her words or her actions.
At the same time, it was very obvious that the disgust on Lumina's face was merely an act.
She didn't hate Herta's behavior at all...
Of course, this was Lumina's inner thought, a thought she would keep buried in her heart for a lifetime.
A thought that could absolutely never be spoken aloud!
"I said, as long as you agree, I'll do it."
"It's not like I did it without your permission."
"You agreed, you let me do it, and in the end, I did it. How could I possibly be a simp?"
Although there wasn't much difference between this act and the so-called simping, that was only because the action was similar.
The essence was completely different.
A simp, a simp, a simp who ends up with nothing in the end. Madam Herta was clearly not like that.
She was truly able to lick, to eat Lumina...
At least she could eat her little finger.
"Isn't that still a simp?" Lumina glared at Herta crossly and hid the hand containing the finger Herta had "eaten" behind her back.
But... but she still did not wipe away the saliva left on that finger...
"Then if I admit I'm a simp, will you let me 'eat'?" Herta didn't notice Lumina's small gesture.
Hearing Lumina's words, Herta asked her with a very calm expression, although her face was flushed red.
If one were to ignore her flushed face, they might think this was a very ordinary question, wouldn't they?
A question as ordinary as "Have you eaten yet?"
"You're already a simp, why do I even need to acknowledge it?" Lumina wasn't about to foolishly play along with Herta's words.
Just by Herta's recent action alone, Lumina had already stripped away the label that Herta was "all talk."
From now on, Lumina knew she had to be careful when getting along with Herta, no matter what.
Because this person was truly capable of doing anything...
She had even done something like "eating" a finger, so was there anything she wasn't brave enough to do?
"Because you are the one I'm simping for."
Herta's face was flushed red, and the tips of her ears hidden beneath her hair were also slightly red, but she still spoke this sentence with a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"Without your acknowledgment, without the acknowledgment of the main person herself, how could I possibly be considered a simp?"
This kind of language was something the old Herta would never have even dared to imagine... No, it wasn't that she wouldn't have dared to imagine it, but rather that she simply didn't know what these words even meant...
It was only because Herta had been online recently and watched some short videos that she learned this "professional terminology."
Initially, Herta had sneered at this "professional terminology," viewing it with utter contempt.
When both parties are on equal footing, why humiliate yourself and act so subservient?
If a girlfriend is a person, then isn't a boyfriend a person too?
Unexpectedly, the boomerang she had thrown back then was now coming back to strike her own head with full force...
But it didn't matter; as long as she could "eat" Lumina, whatever she had to do was absolutely worth it!
"Uh..." Lumina, unaware of Herta's inner thoughts, watched her somewhat shameless posture now, her lips twitching slightly in speechlessness.
My dear Madam Herta, where did my genius Herta, the Herta who controlled everything, go?
Why has she suddenly become a "big pervert" Herta?
Lumina was utterly bewildered.
What kind of stimulation did she receive this time? Lumina had clearly done nothing to her recently.
Hmm... Probably.
Lumina muttered to herself, but the more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.
Because she realized that Herta's personality change seemed to have something to do with her...
She had been the one teasing Herta, playing with her all along, which ultimately drove her to this state... But, but putting all the facts aside, I, Lumina, did absolutely nothing wrong!
The one at fault was Herta.
If she had been stronger, if she had just had a better mindset, how could she have ended up like this?
In the end, Lumina blamed everything on Herta again.
With that, Lumina finished her train of thought.
Recalling Herta's words from earlier and after a brief moment of reflection, Lumina's lips curved slightly into a smile, and she waved her hand, gesturing. "What's the point of me admitting it alone?"
"You know, Little Herta." Lumina turned on her inner actress, speaking with a profound and earnest tone, just like an old professor. "To gain true recognition, the majority of people must know about it."
"Only when they form a lasting impression of this matter can you truly be recognized."
"So?" Herta was no fool. With a little thought, she knew exactly what Lumina wanted her to do.
But Herta still went through the motions of asking.
"So, I want you to use your [Madam Herta] account on social media, on the forum, to publish a thread titled: [I, Herta, am Lumina's simp]."
Lumina smiled as she laid out what she wanted Herta to do.
How's that? This is enough to make her give up, right?
Regardless of Herta's choice, Lumina stood to gain.
If Herta agreed, the post would send shockwaves through the entire Cosmos.
Lumina would just need to buy a bag of chips, lie on her sofa, and enjoy the drama.
She wouldn't even need to reply, letting the netizens' imaginations run wild.
When the fallout eventually reached her, Lumina would simply play dumb.
By then, under the pressure of public opinion, wouldn't Herta come running to kneel before her, surrendering to Lumina's pomegranate skirt?
This was the outcome if Herta agreed.
But if Herta refused, that was fine too.
A refusal would simply put an end to this whole topic.
After finishing, Lumina wore a faint smile, quietly waiting for Herta's answer.
Agree! Agree! Agree!
Lumina shouted internally, hoping Herta would agree, allowing her to be easily manipulated for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately, Herta was no fool.
Feeling Lumina's gentle and expectant gaze, Herta rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I refuse." Crossing her arms, Herta decisively rejected Lumina's proposal.
"Or..." After her refusal, before Lumina could say a word, Herta's tone shifted.
"If we do something more... something more than just 'eating' a finger, I'll agree to your request."
Herta wanted to strike a deal with Lumina.
The terms were exactly what they sounded like.
You want me to announce on my social media account that I'm your lapdog?
Sure, why not?
But just 'eating' a finger is absolutely not an equal trade.
So, I'm going to need a higher price.
"In that case, it's better if you don't agree," Lumina said, shaking her head as she directly declined.
"Since neither of us is willing to compromise, let's just end this topic right here."
Regardless of Herta's choice, Lumina wouldn't lose out.
It was just a matter of how much she stood to gain.
"Hmph." Herta snorted coldly, without lingering on the subject any further.
She tacitly accepted that the conversation had reached its end.
"Alright, don't just stand there. Let's go say hello."
Lumina tapped Herta, signaling her to stop staring blankly and join her in properly checking on Stelle.
"She's fine, so why bother greeting her?" Herta wasn't prepared to waste any time on Stelle.
"Hey, do you know what formalism is?" Lumina asked.
"Formalism?" Hearing this, Herta muttered, then nodded. "Focusing on superficial appearances while completely ignoring the crucial parts."
"It looks glossy and bright, but it's actually riddled with holes."
"Mm-hmm, not bad, not bad. As expected of Madam Herta, your knowledge is truly extensive." Lumina nodded in extreme satisfaction at Herta's answer.
It was like a teacher treating a student, feeling gratified and satisfied by the student's diligence.
"...So, does this have anything to do with what's happening right now?" After a moment of speechless silence, Herta asked in confusion.
Formalism... what does that have to do with the current situation?
"Of course it does," Lumina huffed softly. "Although nothing's wrong with Stelle, we still need to go through the motions. Isn't this exactly what so-called formalism is?"
"Whether we say something or just give a wave, we just need to go over and say hello."
Herta: ...
Herta was suddenly at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.
Why did Lumina seem so silly and naive?
Will her and my child turn out to be a fool in the future?
Herta thought to herself.
But soon, she shook the thought away.
How could two women have a child by normal means?
And for a child born by abnormal means, being a little silly would be considered normal.
Um... Herta, who had only tasted Lumina's "little hand," was already starting to fantasize about a life of "raising a child"...
"Go on, you go and say something first, I'll just watch from here."
While Herta was fantasizing, Lumina pushed Herta's back, pushing her forward, gesturing for her to go and speak.
"?" Being snapped back to reality by Lumina's push, Herta looked at Lumina in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"I'm watching," Lumina said matter-of-factly.
"...Fine." After giving Lumina a suspicious glance, Herta didn't pay it much mind.
Taking a step forward, she came in front of Stelle and began a simple conversation with her...