Movira picked up the book again. She glanced at the number on the spine and asked, “This book… it shouldn’t be the only one, right? Did Dekalorin give you a whole set?”
Seraphina nodded. Her voice was low as she answered, “Yes… there are two more. They’re in the wooden box under the bed.”
“Go get them,” Movira instructed.
“All right.”
Seraphina climbed down from the bed slowly. She pulled the other two books—identical in cover style—from the wooden box beneath it.
Movira took them and gave them a quick look. Two of the three books had clearly been flipped through many times. The first one even had faint creases on some pages.
“You finished the first one… and you’re almost done with this one too.”
She paused, then looked up at Seraphina. Once she saw that the other woman had more or less recovered, a playful glint returned to her eyes. “Are they really that good?”
Seraphina nodded instinctively. Realizing how it looked, she immediately shook her head like a rattle drum. A fresh blush rose to her cheeks as she stammered, “I was just… curious! That’s all! It’s not… not that they’re good or anything, it’s just…”
Watching her adorable attempt to cover it up, Movira could not help laughing. She shook her head, set the three books on the small table beside them, and said in a light tone, “Dekalorin said these are beneficial knowledge for the body, didn’t she? You’ve been reading them for so long—what exactly have you learned? Tell me about it.”
The question nearly made Seraphina want to sink through the floor. The bold illustrations and explicit scenes from the books flooded her mind. She quickly covered her face again with both hands. Her voice came out muffled and mortified through her fingers. “Ah! H-how am I supposed to say that out loud!”
Seraphina’s expression—burning with embarrassment to the point she looked ready to steam—was too tempting. Movira’s mischievous side grew even stronger. She leaned closer on purpose, lowered her voice, and spoke in a coaxing tone. “If you can’t say it… then why don’t you show me? Let me see how well you’ve learned.”
“Sister!!” Seraphina dropped her hands at once. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Movira. She frantically tried to cover the other woman’s mouth. “What on earth are you saying?! Don’t say that!”
Movira smiled and gently moved her powerless hand away. She found the sight of Seraphina puffing up in anger yet utterly helpless extremely entertaining. “So… are you going to keep reading them or not?”
Caught off guard by the question, Seraphina froze. Her fingers unconsciously gripped the bedding. Her voice came out tiny and weak. “I… I…”
Deep down she definitely wanted to keep reading. Those images were embarrassing, yet they held a strange, magnetic pull that made her want to explore more. But admitting it out loud was too difficult.
Movira took in every bit of her hesitation. Although she understood perfectly, she deliberately put on a serious face and made a show of gathering the books to put them away.
“Oh? Looks like you don’t want to read them anymore. Fine then. These are rather improper books anyway. I’ll just take them.”
“Don’t!” Seraphina blurted out the moment she heard. Her hand shot out and pressed down on the books, stopping Movira.
The instant she realized how overeager she had been, she snatched her hand back as if burned. Her eyes darted around in panic. “I… I didn’t mean it like that!”
“Hmm? Then what did you mean?” Movira’s gaze settled on the other woman’s flushed cheek. “You want to read them but don’t dare admit it? What if… I give them to Saint Eustacia instead? I don’t really have a good way to handle them, but she should know how to deal with this sort of thing.”
Saint Eustacia’s strict, by-the-book demeanor flashed through Seraphina’s mind. If she gave the books to her… Seraphina would probably never see them again in this lifetime.
Her heart tightened. She shook her head frantically. “No! Don’t give them to her!”
“You don’t want me to give them away?” Movira shifted closer, closing the distance between them. Her breath brushed lightly across Seraphina’s burning ear. “But… if you want to read these ‘improper’ books, you have to pay a little ‘price,’ right? There’s no such thing as getting something for nothing! I wasn’t planning to punish you, but you still need to show the right ‘attitude,’ don’t you, my dear Seraphina?”
The deliberately lowered, slightly magnetic voice sent a shiver through Seraphina. She knew she had fallen into the other woman’s trap… yet she could not refuse.
“Then… then what do you want?”
Movira looked at her “prey” who was about to walk straight into the snare, feeling thoroughly pleased. She already had the condition in mind, but she pretended to think it over. Her fingertip tapped her chin as her eyes roamed over Seraphina’s pink cheeks and tightly pressed lips.
Every second of silence was torture for Seraphina. She knew Movira definitely did not have any innocent ideas!
Just when she could no longer stand the torment of the silence, Movira acted as if she had come up with a “brilliant” idea. She pointed at her own cheek. “How about this? It won’t be too hard on you. Just give me a kiss. Pretty fair, right?”
“K-kiss you?!” Seraphina’s eyes flew wide open, as if she had heard something utterly unbelievable. “H-how is that okay?! What kind of condition is that!”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Movira looked completely justified. “Isn’t showing affection between sisters a perfectly normal thing? Or… did you see something strange in those books that makes you think even kissing a cheek is off-limits?”
“I didn’t see anything like that!” Seraphina shot back immediately, but she could not find a proper excuse. Shame surged inside her like a tidal wave.
One of them pressed forward step by step while the other retreated. Under the constant back-and-forth, Seraphina’s defenses finally collapsed.
Thinking of the scenes in the books and Movira’s words about “affection,” she steeled herself. She closed her eyes and muttered, “J-just… just once, okay!”
With that, she leaned forward quickly toward where Movira’s finger had pointed, ready to peck like a little bird.
But the moment her lips were about to touch the skin, Movira suddenly turned her head!
“Mmph!”
Seraphina’s eyes were still closed. She had not noticed Movira’s movement at all. All she felt was something soft against her lips—not the cheek she had expected, but an even softer place…
Time seemed to stop.
When she sensed something was wrong, Seraphina’s eyes snapped open. At an extremely close distance, she met Movira’s smiling gaze, which sparkled with triumphant mischief.
She could even clearly see her own reflection in the other woman’s pupils.
One second… two seconds…
“Ah—!”
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