“Customer, was the food to your taste?”

“Ah, yeah. It was really good. Thank you for the meal.”

Even so, he couldn’t take out his frustrations on the kind landlady who spoke to him with a gentle smile. Forcing a good-natured smile, he tried to soothe his heavy heart. When her warm, orange eyes looked at him as if she were seeing someone she missed, Damien tilted his head.

“Ah, I’m sorry. You reminded me of my daughter, and I couldn’t help it.”

“Is your daughter far away?”

“…Yes. She’s gone very far.”

Damien, replying nonchalantly, suddenly felt guilty seeing the landlady’s eyes fill with tears. Though he had a talent for sarcasm, he was hopeless at comforting others, so he flailed awkwardly.

“Uh, I’m sure she’s in a good place. Oh, I used to be a Holy Knight. I didn’t make it past candidate, but… I could say a prayer for your daughter?”

“Goodness. So you were a Holy Knight.”

“Not anymore. I’m still a knight, but I changed nationality.”

For Damien, who didn’t usually like to talk about being a Holy Knight, this was a great act of kindness.

Feeling a bit awkward as the landlady’s eyes sparkled, he scratched his cheek and said, “I’m from Ciel.”

“Oh my. My daughter’s in Ciel right now.”

“…Excuse me?”

“She works at the castle. She writes often, but it’s been a long time since I saw her. You’re about the same age, and your hair and eye color are so similar… I showed an unbecoming side of myself.”

“…Ah.”

Damien’s cheeks flushed. Since it usually took more than ten days to travel between Evan and Ciel, calling it a faraway place wasn’t wrong.

As Damien fretted, wondering if he’d made another mistake, the landlady spoke with a laugh in her voice.

“Sir Knight, this must be fate. If you don’t have a place to stay tonight, would you rest here?”

“This is an inn too?”

“We have guest rooms available. Of course, no charge. It’s rare for someone to come from so far away, and I’d just like to chat a bit. If that’s all right with you, would you stay?”

“Well, sure. As long as there’s dinner and breakfast. I’ll pay for the food separately.”

Originally, he had planned to leave that evening, but feeling guilty for having assumed her daughter was dead, Damien readily nodded.

Watching her delight, Damien looked around the neat shop. At some point, the quiet-looking owner had begun humming, and seeing that made Damien smile unconsciously. Having grown up without family, he truly liked this kind of atmosphere.

“What’s your daughter’s name?” Damien asked in a much softer tone.

“Lily. Oh, that’s her nickname. Her full name is Lilith. Isn’t it pretty?”

“Do you know where she works? I’ll pass along your regards when I return to the castle.”

“Hmm, I haven’t asked specifically, but she talks about books a lot, so I think she might be working in the library or somewhere like that.”

It wasn’t a name he’d heard before, but just knowing she was from the Kingdom of Evan would make finding her easy enough. Seeing how happy the landlady looked made him feel proud to have done something kind for once. Still, a question arose.

“Then why did your daughter go all the way to Ciel? Wasn’t there work here?”

“Ah, originally, we weren’t from Evan, we lived in Spiruna, but we sought asylum here.”

“Ah…”

“We were separated during the war, and later I found out she was in Ciel.”

Though her voice held no malice or resentment, Damien couldn’t help but feel awkward.

Spiruna was one of the many kingdoms destroyed by the conquest war declared by Ciel. Some people, like them, had sought asylum, but many others had perished.

Normally, things like that didn’t bother him, but today, it weighed on his mind for some reason.

“Don’t worry about it, Sir Knight. Anyway, you have quite a bit of luggage. Let me show you to your room first.”

The landlady spoke as if she truly meant it, but Damien couldn’t stop thinking he shouldn’t have said anything.

The room he was shown to was more spacious and cleaner than expected. He had originally planned to look around since he had come so far and had some spare time, but instead, Damien sat silently in the empty room and muttered, “Actually, it’s been quite a while since I’ve gone back myself.”

***

The inside of my petticoat, raised up to my thighs, was damp. When I placed my fingers over the soaked underwear, I could feel the split folds pulsing open. My head felt dazed from the heat and scent that filled the room.

I bit the blanket to keep myself from making noise and slipped my fingers between my underwear. They were sucked in instantly by the smooth inner walls. I pulled my skirt higher and pressed on my lower abdomen, causing a hot fluid to gush from inside. Gasping desperately, I inserted another finger.

“Mmm… Ah, ngh…”

The sticky, hot hole swallowed three fingers. When I thrust them slowly and spread them wide, the pooled arousal inside spilled out in a stream. As I kneaded my swollen breasts and tugged on the hardened nipples, an overwhelming pleasure washed over me.

I repeated pulling all my fingers out, then thrusting them in forcefully. My hips trembled with the unbearable sensation. Rubbing my clitoris with the hand that had been on my chest, I climaxed quickly. Even after climaxing several times, it wasn’t enough. I turned my body, buried my face in the pillow, and lifted my hips.

From my inverted view, I could see cloudy fluid dripping between my thighs. Overstimulated, my protruding tail stroked down my back sensually before thickening like a penis and beginning to thrust into the part my fingers could no longer satisfy.

“Hah! Aang, ah…! Ah!”

The weak aphrodisiac released from the tail’s tip made my insides tremble with heat. My vision blurred. Pressing hard on my clit with my thumb and forefinger, a hot stream gushed out as if I had urinated, soaking my thighs and the blanket.

“Haa… haah, ha…”

My entire body felt languid. It was already bright outside. It had been nearly a week since I had gone to see anyone, frightened by Odile’s shocked eyes and that voice which sounded as though she had figured something out.

Because of the charm, no one would ever associate my appearance as a maid with Lilith. Even so, no matter how much I tried to reason with myself, I couldn’t shake the unease that I might make the same mistake again, just like that time when Lilith, intoxicated by pleasure, carelessly spoke to Odile.

“…Still not enough.”

I licked my fingers, drenched in my own fluids, and held back tears.

Unlike when I was young, soothing my body alone no longer embarrassed me. On the contrary, losing my rationality from failing to absorb energy in time was far more humiliating and frightening.

Even so, I couldn’t go to the commanders because I was worried. If something went wrong and I was truly found out, I had no idea how I would ever face them again. Just the thought of it made me tear up, and it felt like I’d die of shame. I blinked away the tears. It was still fine. For now.

‘It’s not fine!’

Even with a cloth placed over my underwear, it was thoroughly soaked. Every step made me painfully aware of arousal dripping down my thighs.

“Hello, Miss Lily.”

I let out a sigh, trying hard to press my legs together, when Endymion suddenly spoke from behind. I turned my head, catching my breath, and saw him looking at me with a furrowed brow, looking somewhat haggard.

“…Hello, Commander Lucen.”

Just hearing his voice made my body flush. My entrance twitched incessantly at the thought of absorbing the essence of the man I had been intimate with.

Since Endymion liked me, the Lilith he remembered must have had the same face as mine. I didn’t know if Odile had said anything yet, but I had to be careful.

I lowered my head and flinched, and Endymion gently grasped my wrist.

“Miss Lily, you don’t look well… Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m… fine.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve lost about three kilograms in the past few days, and while your upper body seems a bit swollen, your waist has gotten thinner. You’ve also been skipping meals lately. Sudden weight loss and lack of appetite suggest there’s something wrong with your health.”

Endymion didn’t look well himself, but what baffled me more was how he knew something even I hadn’t noticed. In truth, I’d barely been eating once a day, and my breasts were indeed swollen from constant arousal. Endymion blushed slightly, perhaps embarrassed by his own words, while I gave a reluctant nod.

“I guess I’ve just lost my appetite and haven’t been sleeping well. But Commander, you don’t look too well either.”

“Ah. Me? Well, there’s just been a lot going on lately.”

It was a polite exchange, but my chest stirred uneasily. For some reason, I felt anxious. I hoped he was just dodging the question because it was an internal issue, something completely unrelated to me.

Though I wasn’t ill, I could feel heat radiating from my wrist where Endymion held it, so I pulled my hand away.

“Thank you for your concern. But I think you should get some rest more than I do.”

Just being in the same space was enough to make me restless and unbearable.

Endymion smiled faintly. “Yes. Please don’t overdo it, Miss Lily.”

“Yes, yes… Ack! I mean, um… that…”

Relieved that he seemed ready to leave, I let out a breath—just as Endymion closed the distance in an instant, lowering his head as if to kiss me.