"Why isn't it coming out?"
Lancel sat on the edge of the chair as his hand moved awkwardly along his member.
Despite the bizarre circumstances, some part of him had responded. Of course it had, but it wasn't enough. His fingers, his own damn hand, felt inadequate after everything.
Angelica had never allowed direct contact. Her gloves were always on with tools around her.
But the concoctions, the enchantments, the constant stimulation for her research... they had rewired something in him.
Now, after a year of being brought to the edge by means other than his own touch, self-pleasure felt like trying to start a fire with wet wood.
The pressure was there, but his own hand couldn't provide the specific stimuli his body had been conditioned to require.
"Is something wrong?"
Sweat beaded on his brow. He tried to adjust his grip, to recall the specific movement that sometimes worked in the dead of night in his cell, but it was useless.
His little brother simply refused to cooperate with his own owner.
"It's not working."
Faust tilted her head. "Why?"
"Not enough stimulation."
"Then stroke it faster?"
"It doesn't work like that."
A small frown touched her mouth. "This is disappointing."
"Then help me out here!"
"Help you how?"
He met her eyes. "Use your hand."
Faust blinked once. She glanced down at her own fingers, then back at him.
For a moment, he thought she would refuse outright, citing the same rules Angelica lived by.
But contrary to his expectations, Faust stood from her seat and stepped closer.
"I've never done this before…"
Her voice was noticeably quieter than before.
For the first time since they met, Faust did not look like a confident witch analyzing a subject.
Seeing that same composed witch, suddenly unsure of herself, felt a bit disarming. With her silver hair, her face, and those pale gray eyes, avoiding his gaze for a moment, the sight was… unexpectedly cute.
It completely shattered the stereotype he held for witches that he had built in his mind.
Until now, witches had always meant people like Angelica to him.
Faust, however, was different.
Much to his surprise, she seemed far more conservative than he had imagined.
"Like this…"
He reached out and held her wrist before she could reconsider. Slowly, he guided her bare hand to his cock.
"Ah…!"
As expected of a witch who specialized in ice, her fingers were cold to the touch. The contrast made him twitch hard in her grasp the moment she closed around him.
Her skin felt smooth, and every point of contact pulled the heat away from him.
He kept his hand over hers at first to show her the rhythm.
"Not too tight… Slide up slowly. Then let your fingers drag along the underside on the way."
"...Okay."
She followed without question. Her palm moved upward in a long, even stroke. When she reached the head, her fingers loosened then tightened again on the descent, mimicking the motion he had demonstrated earlier.
Every ridge of her knuckles registered against his oversensitive skin. He exhaled roughly through his nose as she completed the first full pass.
"Twist your wrist a little at the top," he told her.
Her wrist turned with the same control she used when channeling a spell.
The motion dragged the pad of her thumb over the flared edge in a slow circle that sent goosebumps over his arm.
His hips lifted off the chair. She noticed the reaction and repeated it exactly.
"Harder on the upstroke," he said. "Squeeze right under the head when your thumb passes it. There. Fuck. Like that."
[Bond Progress: +5%]
Faust adjusted the pressure. Her fingers tightened in the perfect spot, milking him in a slow upward pull that made his balls draw up tight.
The chill amplified every sensation, amplifying every slide of skin against skin until the familiar friction felt nearly painful in its raw intensity.
[Bond Progress: +5%]
Before he could catch his breath, the head of his cock had grown slick with his own fluid under the pressure of her thumb.
While this was clearly her first time, Faust was undeniably skilled with her hands.
[Bond Progress: +5%]
[Bond Progress: +5%]
.
.
.
By now, Faust had mastered the rhythm he taught her. Her pace built up gradually, her eyes remaining fixed on his face most of the time to check his reactions.
A faint blush was visible on her cheeks. The color made her look less detached than before, and that small gap in her composure hit Lancel harder than he expected.
But it still was not enough.
He knew the reason immediately. It was that pointed brim hat on top of her head that brought back every memory of Angelica's laboratory.
Talking to Faust earlier, he had forced himself to stay calm, pushed the thoughts down deep, and gathered what little courage he had just to ask for this.
Yet the hat kept pulling him back. Every time he looked at her, yesterday somehow overlapped with today.
"Close your eyes."
"What—"
Before he could finish responding, Faust stood without releasing his cock and covered his eyes gently with her free hand.
"I understand you hate witches," she whispered.
Her mouth was close enough that her warm breath brushed the shell of his ear.
"I've probably asked too much of you. I'm sorry. But bear with me. Just close your eyes and focus on the sensation."
The warmth of her breath tickled his ear, sending a shiver down the side of his neck that had nothing to do with the cold.
"Breathe in slowly," she continued. "Feel my hand moving. That is all there is right now. Nothing else."
Her fingers resumed their hypnotizing rhythm, enough to make his hips twitch. She kept talking in that same quiet tone.
"You do not have to look at anything. Just feel the pressure here."
Her thumb pressed against the underside of the next upstroke, dragging slowly along the thick vein.
"And here."
She tightened her grip just below the head on the descent. Her breath washed over his ear again with every word. Nothing she said was crude or filthy.
[Bond Progress: +5%]
Yet the closeness of her mouth, the faint heat of her exhales against his skin, turned every sentence into something that felt dirty all the same.
The contrast between her calm voice and the obscene wet sound of her hand working him open made his pulse pound in his ears.
The intimacy.
Something Angelica had never offered him.
"Shit…"
And it was enough.
[Bond Progress: +5%]
The pressure that had been building since her palm first closed around him finally exploded. His whole body locked tight as the first thick pulse erupted.
Faust moved her hand and cupped her palm firmly over the head just as the second spurt hit.
Her cool fingers sealed around the sensitive crown, catching most of the release in the cradle of her hand. The heat of it contrasted with her skin, pooling against her palm in thick spurts that kept coming.
Despite her efforts, some still leaked between her fingers and slid down the back of her hand, dripping in slow white trails along her wrist.
She had not expected it to explode like a volcano. Her eyes widened as another powerful jet pushed against her palm. It shot harder than she anticipated, splashing against her fingers and sliding across her knuckles.
"Ah!"
Faust gasped in surprise before she could catch it. Her cheeks flushed deeper. She had never done this before. Yet it strangely reminded her of the cows she tended to in her father's farm when she was younger.
"Haa…"
Lancel opened his eyes slowly. His chest rose and fell while he watched her regard the mess in her hand.
The only way to describe her current expression was genuine astonishment. While it seemed like it was her first time, Lancel could not deny it.
The next moment, Faust finally lowered her hand. She stared at the evidence for another second before snapping her fingers.
Every drop of semen was separated from her skin and floated toward a small glass vial she had prepared earlier.
Of course, the wetness lingered on her hand. Faust lifted her fingers close to her nose and sniffed.
"Don't—" Lancel tried to stop her.
"It smells like… laundry soap?"
"...You don't have to describe it."
At that moment, Lancel noticed an update on the interface.
────────────
▶ Faust Lieber
[Bond Level : 2]
∎ Bond Progress : 15% / 100%
────────────
"…Oh."
Her bond level had increased.
That meant…
────────────
Category
────────────
▶ Faust Lieber
[Unlocked Spells:]
∎ Frostnova
────────────
He had unlocked one of Faust's personal spells.
"...."
So the system didn't just track relationships.
It let him use the magic of the witches he formed contracts with.