The Ring of Bondage - Chapter 3.14

III.

What woke Leticia wasn’t a touch urging her arousal on, but a very slight tickle. At the persistent sensation, she finally lifted her heavy eyelids. In her vision, adjusted to the bright sunlight, she saw Mikhail waving a red feather.

“You’re finally awake.”

“…Did you pluck that?”

My wing feather? Seeing her so dumbfounded she couldn’t even continue, Mikhail laughed loudly enough to be irritating. She wasn’t unable to fly just because a few feathers were plucked, but that didn’t mean it was fine to pluck someone else’s feathers as he pleased. Easily avoiding the hand she stretched out to take the feather back, Mikhail answered.

“It fell out. I didn’t pluck it.”

“Are you sure?”

Leticia glanced sidelong at Mikhail with suspicious eyes. After the first time, Mikhail had begged to see her wings every time he f****d her. By now, it felt strange to keep her wings put away. She didn’t know why, but considering how obsessed he was with her wings, it wouldn’t have been strange even if he had plucked them all out.

“I’m serious. One fell out yesterday too, right before you passed out.”

Leticia narrowed her eyes and glared at Mikhail, then eventually accepted it. At that time, it wouldn’t have been strange for a few wing feathers to fall out. They had spent almost a fortnight indulging in sweet s*x as if playing lovers. Then, it was yesterday that she had started longing for rough acts again.

Leticia pressed down on her throbbing head. The excessive pleasure had even left her memories patchy. She remembered what they did in that large bathtub well enough. Even when she had flapped her wings without realizing it during a fierce o****m and splashed water everywhere, Mikhail had continued rocking his hips without hesitation.

“I. Passed out.”

“I was surprised too. I thought, so demons can pass out during s*x.”

Since their bodies themselves were not that different, there was nothing strange about it, but it was also true that thinking of herself as a demon who had passed out while dealing with a human made her seem rather pathetic. Of course, if she were to be precise, it wasn’t that she was weak, but that Mikhail had been excessive.

Leticia was about to argue that, but closed her mouth. If she continued the conversation, she felt she would be dragged into his tongue, cunning enough to be almost inhuman.

“Anyway, throw away the feather.”

“Why? I like it.”

“In human terms, it’s like picking up and collecting fallen hair.”

“Humans are beings who put their lovers’ hair in lockets and carry it around.”

What a completely incomprehensible hobby. Why would they carry something like that around? As Leticia slapped away Mikhail’s hand when he tried to tickle her body with the feather again, she turned her head at the sudden sound of a bell.

It wasn’t a large, majestic sound like a bell hanging in a church, but a frivolous and cheerful sound like something one might hang around an animal’s neck.

“What’s that sound?”

“I hung it on the door, so I suppose a visitor came. Don’t mind it.”

“Even if I don’t, shouldn’t you mind it?”

“No?”

If you don’t mind your own guest, who will? Leticia was about to ask back in disbelief, but the visitor’s voice echoing through the mansion came a step faster.

“Mikhail Becker! I know you’re in here! Please come out!”

Listening to the desperate voice of an unfamiliar woman, Leticia looked at Mikhail. It was difficult to read any emotion from his face, which seemed lost in thought.

“Why don’t you go out? She’s noisy.”

“If we leave her alone, she’ll get tired on her own and leave.”

“She’ll keep being noisy until she gets tired.”

Leticia answered with an unpleasant feeling. She was also curious about who the other person was. If she was looking for him so desperately, it seemed to be something quite serious.

After looking at Mikhail’s face, which seemed both annoyed and completely unmoved, Leticia eventually pushed him.

“Just hurry up and go.”

“If you promise you won’t run away while I’m gone.”

“Why would I?”

At the absurd demand, Leticia asked in disbelief. If one were to choose which of them, herself or Mikhail, should be running away, of course it was him. Because Mikhail had played word games with his wish, the contract had been dragging on without progress, but strictly speaking, he was the one taking the risk in this relationship.

Besides, Leticia couldn’t run away anyway. Hiding herself from Mikhail would be easy, but the problem was Hell. For now, she could smooth things over with, ‘His wish is difficult, so it’s taking some time!’

But if Leticia withdrew here, what excuse was she supposed to give Hell? ‘I got his signature, but it was too hard, so I’m just going to cancel the contract!’?

If that happened, it wouldn’t merely be a figure of speech. Hell really would take her soul instead. Humans said that life at the bottom was miserable, but it couldn’t compare to being rolled around as a slave in Hell.

“Does the reason matter? Just promise.”

“Fine, I won’t run away. Happy?”