Thinking back to how Eden had openly hugged her from behind while they were queuing for the amusement park, Lunelle couldn't help but wonder—was the wealthy Eden secretly pulling strings to arrange things so they'd end up together?
Not that being close to a rich beauty like Eden was something Lunelle minded at all.
So even if she sensed Eden might have just a little more than friendship in mind, Lunelle decided it was best to play the sweet, clueless cutie for now.
Taking the initiative? Absolutely not—not in this lifetime, anyway...
After all, that darn simulator never gave her a chance to turn things around.
As for Elysia, who should've protested the seating arrangement the most—since she was the one who suggested the carousel in the first place—she could only swallow her bitterness, unable to say a word.
Watching her good friend Eden ride the same "horse" with adorable little Seele, Elysia's heart soured with envy.
Unwilling to be left out, Elysia quietly asked a staff member how the seating order was decided before getting on.
The staff, already tipped off by Eden, smoothly explained that the order was simply based on their order in line.
After checking their positions, Elysia had to admit it seemed to match—so, outmaneuvered and with no ground to stand on, she reluctantly accepted this "coincidental" arrangement that felt tailor-made to exclude her.
With the meddlesome Elysia temporarily out of the way, a faint smile curved beneath Eden's mask. Just before the ride started, she took out a special key, slipped it into a hidden lock, and gave it a twist.
Click-clack!
In an instant, the annoying partition separating Eden from little Seele was temporarily removed!
"?!?!"
The gentle Lunelle was visibly startled—she never expected Eden to pull something like this!
With no barrier between them, Eden, already sharing the same horse with Lunelle, seamlessly closed the distance from behind once more.
"Hehe, enjoying this with Seele-sensei is just so much more comfortable this way, isn't it?"
Seizing this makeshift two-person world on the merry-go-round, Eden unceremoniously drew the little girl before her into her embrace.
"Huh!?!"
Lunelle let out a soft gasp, her slightly dazed mind only catching up after she was already securely held by the somewhat forceful Eden.
Then, her soft, fragrant little body began to squirm (fidget slightly) restlessly in Eden's arms.
Despite possessing Herrscher-level physical abilities, the girl now seemed as helpless and fragile as a kitten—how could she be so thoroughly restrained by Eden, whose strength was ordinary at best?
It was downright absurd!
Clearly, Lunelle was secretly holding back.
Deep down, she was thoroughly enjoying Eden's bold advances!
But bound by the simulator's rule against taking initiative, Lunelle still had to put on a token show of resistance.
However, she overestimated Eden's strength.
Even while consciously holding back—with her "intense struggling" amounting to nothing more than light wriggling in Eden's arms—the level of restraint she thought was mild was still a bit too much for Eden, whose strength was likely less than that of an average grown man.
Realizing this, Eden's eyes darkened slightly.
Lifting her mask just a little, she took advantage of their fleeting privacy to flip back the hood of the girl in her arms, then—before little Seele could react—nipped gently at her earlobe!
"Mmph…!!"
Caught completely off guard by Eden's boldness in broad daylight, Lunelle quickly covered her mouth, barely stifling the sound.
'What in the world? Isn't Eden afraid Elysia will find out she's making a move?'
After suppressing the gasp, Lunelle let out a relieved sigh.
That was close!
If not for the muffling effect of the mask and her own quick reflexes, she really would've cried out from the shock of that daring move!
"Seele-sensei, if you keep being this uncooperative, I might have to do something… less pleasant for both of us, you know?"
Yet Eden, the cause of Lunelle's panic, acted as if nothing had happened, pressing further by teasingly tasting Lunelle's now thoroughly reddened ear.
Lunelle, forced to focus on steadying herself again, was utterly baffled.
This… this wasn't right, was it?
In Lunelle's mind, wasn't Eden a world-class idol?
If someone like her were caught in a scandal—even with an incredibly cute girl like herself—wouldn't the consequences be severe?
But why has the situation so bizarrely evolved to where someone like me, a relatively ordinary nobody, is more afraid of exposure than the fabulously wealthy Eden herself?
It's a bit like that old saying, 'the emperor isn't worried, but his eunuch is.'
Yet, helplessly, the persona Lunelle maintains for the outside world is precisely that of a little simpleton, easily hoodwinked in matters of the heart by clever and beautiful wives.
Now that the wealthy Miss Eden has figured out this character trait of hers, it's really no surprise that she's turned the tables, using her status to emotionally strong-arm Lunelle into this...
Ah, well. After all, it's a top-tier beauty like Miss Eden.
So what if I'm being fooled? It's not like I'm losing out!
Having clearly reasoned that she wasn't just breaking even but actually scoring some intimate skin-ship with the wealthy Miss Eden, Lunelle suppressed the urge to flip the script again and threaten Eden right back.
Even if she could turn the tables and threaten Miss Eden... given the simulator's restrictions preventing her from taking any real initiative against the heiress, willingly letting herself be toyed with and 'threatened' like this didn't seem like such a bad deal after all!
With this in mind, Lunelle once again slipped into the role of an easily-manipulated, soft, and adorable maiden.
With the skill of a seasoned actress, she perfectly portrayed a stubborn little cutie who, forced to compromise under a villain's threat, still clung fiercely to her principles deep down, unwilling to submit completely.
Feeling the 'fierce resistance' from the little one in her arms visibly dwindle to almost nothing, realizing her threat had actually worked, the faintly 'domineering CEO'-esque Miss Eden couldn't help but let out a classic, utterly smug smirk!
After all, the feeling of a little darling who was putting up such a fierce fight mere moments ago being so thoroughly subdued by a few threatening words was truly... taxing, and immensely satisfying!
"Seele-sensei, I believe you're also aware that Elysia's horse, while not too close to ours... if Seele-sensei can't help but make any noise later, I'm afraid Elysia might still notice something amiss, right?"
But having so easily found little Seele's weakness, merely stopping at verbal threats was clearly not enough for Miss Eden, who was determined to make tangible progress in her 'date' with little Seele today!
So, pulling Lunelle's wonderfully slender waist even tighter, Miss Eden this time actually slid her hand right under the hem of Seele's top!
"Mmph...!!!!"
Suddenly feeling the cool touch of hands directly against her skin, Lunelle was once again stunned—for the second time—by Miss Eden's sheer audacity.
Logically, this should be their first meeting. Their acquaintance was barely more than sharing an expensive lunch a short while ago.
So why, after knowing her for such a brief time, was Miss Eden launching such a fierce physical assault?
Among all the 'wives' Lunelle currently knew, only her Number One Wife, Dark Seele, had ever unleashed a similar intensity of skinship in front of her!
But who was Dark Seele? She was publicly recognized as the 'World's Number One Seele Devotee'!
Could it be that Miss Eden, too, was that kind of exclusive devotee, just like her Number One Wife?
Feeling a pressure from Miss Eden that was only slightly less terrifying than Dark Seele's, Lunelle couldn't help but entertain the bizarre notion that a world-class superstar was exclusively devoted to her.
Unbeknownst to her at that moment, this seemingly outlandish idea actually hit the nail on the head.
The skinship assault was so fierce, and most crucially, it was happening in such a public place.
For someone with a slightly conservative mindset like Lunelle, this was simply too much to handle!!!
"Eden... Sis, p-please don't...!!!"
Feeling inexplicably and extremely stimulated, Lunelle pleaded pitifully for Miss Eden to show some mercy.
But to Miss Eden, whose possessiveness towards little Seele burned fiercely, these 'pleas' from a little cutie who seemed born to be teased sounded less like genuine protest and more like a coy invitation to do something even more outrageous!
So much so that this wave of 'pleading' inexplicably stoked a wicked flame in Miss Eden's heart, even making her briefly consider doing something truly improper to Seele-sensei right then and there!
Seele-sensei really is an incredible, havoc-wreaking beauty, isn't she?
"It's better if Seele-sensei doesn't speak, don't you think? After all, you wouldn't want Elysia ahead of us to discover just how... intimately close we are right now, would you?"
Sincerely acknowledging little Seele's terrifying allure, and aware that their time on the carousel was more limited than it seemed, a slightly breathless Miss Eden pressed closer to Lunelle's ear.
With an exceptionally intimate gesture and phrasing straight out of an Eastern drama, she issued another threat to the ever-so-tease-worthy little Seele.
Faced with Eden's domineering threat, Lunelle seemed to have her weakness struck and resigned herself to fate, soon settling down 'under duress' and becoming obediently quiet in Miss Eden's embrace.
In reality, though, if Lunelle had exerted even a tiny bit more strength, Miss Eden would have had no chance of holding the seemingly soft and helpless little Seele captive for all this 'bullying.'
Pretending to be at the wealthy lady's mercy was, admittedly, quite the acting challenge.
With the constant up-and-down motion of the carousel horse, Lunelle's poor little head was subjected to a relentless, rhythmic 'pummeling' from Miss Eden's voluptuous assets.
Confronted with such intense skinship, it wasn't long before Lunelle once again entered that adorable state of shyness, feeling like she might transform into a steam-powered teapot on the spot.
Unfortunately, from Miss Eden's position behind her, and with the terribly obstructive sunglasses and mask in the way, all the wealthy lady could see were Seele's adorably reddened ears.
Denied more delightful and interesting sights, and needing to vent some pent-up emotions, Miss Eden could only retaliate by venting her feelings on Lunelle's slender, soft waist.
It wasn't until the carousel ride was nearing its end that Miss Eden finally withdrew her wicked claws.
She properly returned to her own seat and promptly slid the partition back into place.
And poor little Seele was left with faint marks of 'assault' on her waist beneath her clothes, traces that couldn't be seen without lifting her garments.
Once the ride ended, Elysia, who had been deliberately separated, immediately rejoined the two maidens.
But looking at her perfectly composed best friend Eden, and at little Seele—who seemed a bit unsteady on her feet, claiming it was her first time on a carousel and she was feeling slightly 'horse-sick'—Elysia couldn't shake a strange, indescribable feeling.
It was as if her hood had suddenly sprouted a lot of extra grass, making the hat feel noticeably heavier…
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.