I Became A Slave To The Mastermind

"Don't go… please…"

I held Athena even tighter, making sure she couldn't move.

"....."

She had always given me a gentle smile.

But now, her cold expression felt so unfamiliar and terrifying.

"You said you loved me… why are you trying to leave…"

As I pleaded with Athena, she turned back to me and questioned.

"Hera. That was only when you were my slave."

She freed herself from my arms and stepped back.

"Let me ask you again. Do you intend to serve me as your master?"

Master. Athena as my master.

It felt like something was screaming deep within me.

Asking if I had forgotten what she did to me.

The terrible pain I went through.

The farewell to my beloved Lily and Dania.

It was all because of her.

And yet, it asked if I would still follow her so blindly.

But from somewhere else, a voice urged me to accept her as soon as possible.

Saying I could be happy forever in her embrace, tempting my lonely heart.

'I don't know.'

But if I didn't answer, it felt like she would leave immediately.

So I hurriedly replied.

"Could you… just give me a little more time?"

"...…."

"It's not that I hate you… just, a little longer…"

I was postponing my answer. In a way, my words were selfish.

But I had no choice, as I couldn't make a clear decision.

Hoping she would understand my feelings, I gently took one of Athena's hands.

With a desperate heart, I looked at her.

Her face twitched slightly, as if she was holding something back.

Then, she let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh… fine. I understand."

And she smiled at me once again.

As her gentle smile returned, my heart began to calm down.

"Thank you…"

"You did say you don't hate me, right?"

"Yeah…"

My feelings toward Athena were complex, but it seemed I didn't hate her.

If I had hated her, I would've pushed her away.

I resented and despised her, but I wanted her to love me.

It was an indescribable feeling, but it didn't seem like I truly hated her.

Though I couldn't exactly say I liked her either.

"Then let's take it slowly, one step at a time."

"Huh..? Take what slowly…?"

"We'll work on making it so that you can accept me without any resistance, slowly getting used to it."

Athena softly caressed my cheek as she spoke.

"If you behave like a proper slave, your heart will definitely change one day."

"Behave like a slave…?"

"Do you know what your duty is as a slave?"

"…I'm not sure…"

What does it mean to behave like a slave?

The slaves I knew were supposed to laugh when their master told them to, or roll when commanded.

They were just obedient machines, following orders.

Is that what Athena expected from me?

But it was a little different from what I had imagined.

"There's only one thing you need to do. Make your master happy."

"Make my master happy…"

"You can show me some aegyo or act cute, or you can show me signs of submission."

Athena said that and then firmly grabbed my butt.

"Hyaaah?!"

The sharp, tingling pain surged again since the marks she left hadn't faded yet.

She pulled me toward her, brought her mouth close to my ear, and whispered.

"For the record, your mistress loves affectionate displays."

Her straightforward demand for affection made my face flush.

'She really does seem to like skinship a lot…'

Whenever she got the chance, she would touch me.

Lily was like that, and now Athena too, reminding me once again that the norms of this world were quite different.

Of course, thanks to Lily's guidance, I've gotten somewhat used to it…

But initiating anything myself still felt awkward.

I was usually the one receiving, not the one giving.

And now, she's asking for cute acts or aegyo? No way could I do that with my level of courage.

But as if reading my mind, she drove the nail in further.

"A slave who can't even do that… might not be needed."

"Ugh…"

"Hera, I'm being considerate of you. If you can't even manage this, it'll be a real problem."

"I… I understand…"

I knew.

That she had taken a step back for me.

When I couldn't immediately accept her as my mistress, she had shown me patience, telling me to take it slow.

If I refused her kindness now, I couldn't expect her affection anymore.

I couldn't let that happen.

Right now, she was the only one I had.

As long as she kept her eyes on me, that would be enough.

She wanted affection. She wanted signs of submission.

If that was what Athena desired…

An idea popped into my head.

'…I can do this.'

Resolving myself, I grabbed her hand tightly with both of mine.

Athena silently watched me.

I slowly lifted her hand and placed it gently on my cheek.

"Haa."

"Wha…!"

I slipped her index finger into my mouth.

'Sluurrp- slurp…'

Then, as if I were cleaning it, I began to tenderly suck on her finger.

Embarrassment and shame overwhelmed me, and I could feel my face burning up.

I was sure my face was bright red by now.

But I squeezed my eyes shut and gave her finger all the care I could muster.

'Sluurrp- mwah-'

Only after her finger was completely soaked in my saliva, I gently bit the tip and slowly pulled it out of my mouth.

When I opened my eyes, I saw her wide eyes shaking furiously.

Her face, too, seemed to have flushed red.

'Does she… hate it?'

"Where… where did you learn this?"

She spoke, her face wearing an expression of surprise I had never seen before.

"Don't tell me… that brat made you do this too?"

"B-Brat? Are you talking about Lily?"

"Tell me, Hera. Did you do this with her too?"

Her blazing gaze felt like it was demanding an immediate answer.

Shrinking under her gaze, I responded in a trembling voice.

"N-No… This is… my first time."

"First time…? You're telling me this is your first time doing this?"

She looked at me with a somewhat incredulous expression.

"Was… was it bad…?"

"No… Ha…"

She fanned herself, as if feeling hot.

After staring at me in silence for a while—

'…It felt good.'

She gave a positive response.

'Thank goodness…'

Although it was an instinctual act to show affection, I had worried that she might not like it.

Sucking on someone else's finger… as much as it symbolized accepting that person, it was also a sign of submission, so I thought it was appropriate.

But that was just my opinion. Her feelings could be different.

Not knowing how far skinship between women was acceptable, I had worried I might have crossed a line.

But from her answer, it seemed this much was okay.

Hearing her praise made me feel slightly good inside.

As a small smile crept onto my face, Athena stared at me in a daze for a moment before grabbing my shoulders firmly with both hands.

"Eeek?"

"Hera, swear to me. You'll only ever do this kind of thing with me. Understood?"

Her words, telling me not to do this with anyone else.I was going to do that anyway.

If not Athena, to whom would I even do such a thing?

I tried it because I thought she might like it, but I couldn't possibly do it to anyone else. If I did, I might just die from embarrassment and shame.

When I couldn't respond immediately to her flustered words, she shook my shoulders vigorously back and forth.

"Huh?"

"Hera. Promise me right now. That you'll only do it to me."

"Ah… alright… I promise."

Only then did she let go of me.

"…Go to bed for now. I'll come find you again tomorrow."

Leaving those words behind, she quickly left the room.

"Huh… huh?"

In an instant, I was left alone in the room.

The strange atmosphere that had lingered just moments ago had suddenly dissipated, leaving the room eerily quiet once more.

"Couldn't you have stayed just a bit longer…?"

The unease in my heart hadn't fully disappeared yet.

The loneliness and self-loathing that tormented me while she was gone for the past few days were still lingering within me.

'It's okay… she said she'd come back tomorrow…'

I returned to my bed, forcing my still wide-open eyes to close, trying hard to fall asleep.

Hoping that morning would come quickly.

She hurried into her own room.

"Hah…"

She still hadn't calmed down, her body still burning.

Looking down at her hands, she saw that her fingers were slick with Hera's saliva.

"It was… my first time."

At first, she had been taken aback when Hera put her fingers in her mouth.

Even though she had been the one asking for affection.

She thought that, as shy and reserved as Hera was, all she could manage was holding hands, hugging tightly, or, if she pushed herself, maybe a kiss.

That's why she had intended to break down Hera's walls slowly, guiding her toward more daring actions.

But Hera's sudden sensual behavior surprised her.

Every time her fingers were sucked into Hera's mouth, a strange sensation pooled in her lower belly.

Each time Hera's tongue licked her fingers, she felt an overwhelming urge to take Hera's mouth for her own.

And when Hera bit her fingers at the end, she nearly lost her sanity completely.

If Hera hadn't stopped, she didn't know what might have happened.

Her face flushed as memories of Hera, servicing her with a desperate expression, replayed in her mind, heating her up once again.

'…A sly fox.'

Maybe Hera was actually a fox spirit disguised as a human, out to seduce people.

Otherwise, there was no explanation.

She said this was her first time.

Every word she uttered was innocent, yet it all stirred lust inside her. It was as if Hera had been born solely to tempt people like a vixen.

Had it not been for her steely self-control, she might have taken Hera right then and there.

But the real problem was Hera's intent.

Hera hadn't meant to seduce her at all; it was purely an expression of affection.

Unintentional.

Which, in a way, was the most dangerous thing of all.

That's why she emphasized it to Hera.

This kind of thing should only be done with her.

If Hera's saliva ever ended up on someone else's fingers, she might have to cut those fingers off. Even if they belonged to the Emperor himself.

"…I still can't calm down."

Her body showed no sign of cooling off, no matter how much time passed.

If anything, it seemed to be stimulating her even more.

Feeling the dampness below, she had no choice but to quietly lock her door.

Imagining a slave gazing up at her with desperate eyes, she slowly sat down on the bed.

And so, Athena spent a very long time in solitude.