"Lady Furina, your dark circles are quite pronounced today."
The next day, inside the Troupe's headquarters, Furina's dark circles drew the attention of Lauwick and the others.
Paimon asked curiously, "Yeah, yeah! Didn't sleep well?"
"More or less..." Furina replied, her tone tinged with resentment, and her pointed glare landed squarely on Luna.
They had agreed to sleep, but as soon as they were in bed, Luna had given her another three-minute goodnight kiss. Her mind kept replaying the memory of almost being devoured, each replay adding more exaggerated details...
While Furina tossed and turned, unable to sleep, she glanced over to see Luna sleeping soundly beside her.
This is infuriating! she thought.
In a fit of pique, Furina resolved to... get a little angry.
What else could she do? After all, she liked this woman... possibly even in a romantic sense.
Luna smiled gently. "Furina, why don't you take a break later? I can cover for you on the acting instruction. Lack of sleep is a formidable enemy, you know."
You're the reason I'm not getting enough sleep! Furina silently jabbed Luna with a pointed finger.
"Fine, I'll take a nap later, and you can cover for me."
"Shall I help you fall asleep?" Luna asked.
"...No need."
It'll just be some sneaky kissing again, right?
Furina felt Luna's desires were becoming a bit overwhelming, though she didn't exactly dislike it.
"Hmm? The necklaces you two are wearing..." Dulphy noticed their necklaces.
"Is there a problem?" Furina asked nonchalantly.
Luna was right about one thing: staying calm was key. Flustered explanations or denials would only make things worse.
"No, no, I just think they're very pretty," Dulphy said hastily.
Luna touched her necklace. "Right? Furina gave it to me."
Who asked you?
Wow, brazenly showing off... the rest of the Troupe thought. But given Luna's status, she's definitely worthy of Furina, right?
Paimon shook her head. "Ugh, the smugness. Ugh, the necklace. Ugh, women."
"What's that little thing jabbering about?" Furina asked, exasperated.
The musical was coming together quickly. Connections and funding were no problem; the only question was the actors' skill.
Determined to leave no room for regret, Lauwick and the others were working themselves to the bone—perhaps even a little too hard.
But this was exactly what Furina wanted.
Face the stage with your whole heart, and it will respond in kind!—The world beneath the stage might be chaotic and messy, but on stage, everything was pure and absolute.
"Cursed Clio, you've stolen all the life-giving water! You are a liar, a sinner!"
"Flee far away and never return, The Little Oceanid!"
Furina narrowed her eyes, watching the scene unfold.
Luna tugged at a strand of Furina's hair. "Now that you've accepted your past memories, what do you think of the stage now?"
"You really know how to ask the tricky questions. Well... I still don't think I'll continue playing any roles, but—"
Furina grinned. "The stage is still wonderful, after all!"
Another day drew to a close.
That night, the two returned home together.
The feeling of working together and coming home like this was surprisingly pleasant—at least there was no more tedious waiting.
Furina thought to herself, "Maybe I could do some behind-the-scenes work in theater later on? Since Luna's an actress, there will definitely be opportunities for us to work together..."
That way, we could always be together.
"Furina."
"Hmm? Mmm—"
The moment the door closed, Luna cupped Furina's face and leaned in close.
"Wait..."
Furina turned her face away, exhaling a warm breath.
Ever since Luna realized she liked girls, she had indeed stopped crossing certain boundaries with Furina. But her other actions had only intensified.
Especially kissing. She kept it restrained in public, but the moment they were home, her true nature emerged.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Luna gently stroked Furina's hair.
"...Let's rest for a bit first?"
"That's true. Furina, you've worked hard today too."
Luna's smile softened.
"Yeah, I've worked hard."
After a moment of silence, Furina tugged on Luna's sleeve.
"So... can you do it again?"
Luna loved to kiss, and so did Furina. Sweets were delightful, but what truly filled her heart and brought her immense satisfaction was Luna's warmth and breath.
Furina couldn't help but wonder if her own influence had contributed to Luna's increasingly brazen behavior...
Their breaths mingled once more.
"I'll go make dinner," Luna said, wiping a stray drop of moisture from Furina's lips.
"Mmm," Furina murmured.
Returning to her bedroom, Furina lay down on the bed.
A troupe, huh...
If I wanted to work behind the scenes, should I join Luna's troupe? Hmm... Furina suddenly had an idea.
"Luna."
She approached Luna, who was cooking, and poked her gently.
Luna, wearing an apron, didn't turn around. "I'm working on it."
"I'm not rushing you about dinner. I wanted to ask if you've ever considered starting your own troupe."
"Start my own? I've never considered that before." After all, the troupe she was currently with was practically hers already.
Luna flipped the wok while asking, "But if you want me to, I could give it a try. There are plenty of benefits to running your own troupe."
Management, member selection, commercial partnerships, even turning original works into IPs... Since they already had a reputation, they could do whatever they wanted.
"There's no rush. It's just an idea."
"I think it's a great idea," Luna said. "That way, Furina and I can always be together, right?"
She sees right through me!
Furina cleared her throat, her face flushed. "W-well, maybe!"
"But I have one condition."
"I only asked you to consider it, not accept it outright! Why are you already making demands?" Furina crossed her arms, a look of exasperation on her face.
"Then let's call it a request?" Luna suggested.
"What's the difference? You just want to do something, right? Just spit it out."
Of course, nothing too sapphic!
I mean, things like pinning her to the bed and... you know...
Luna poured the cooked dish from the pan onto a plate, pausing thoughtfully.
"You'll find out soon enough," she finally said.
"Mysterious as ever."
After dinner and showers, it was time for their pre-bedtime entertainment.
Furina was about to grab a novel when Luna spoke up.
"Fufu."
Here it comes! Furina tensed up. "W-what? By the way, calling me that makes me feel really embarrassed. Be normal!"
"Riri?"
"Call me by my full name," Furina insisted.
"Furina de Fontaine?"
Furina muttered, "That's too formal."
"You're so picky."
"It's all your fault... sigh What do you want to do?"
Furina sighed.
Luna, lying in bed, took Furina's hand and placed it on her pajamas—a set Furina had bought for her, so cute it could almost be considered childish.
"Unbutton them," Luna murmured.
"...I want to sleep," Furina mumbled, her cheeks flushing crimson, her gaze darting nervously.
"Then, after you fall asleep, I'll do something to you that you won't even notice."
And wake up with hickeys and bite marks all over my neck again? Furina hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. As patches of snowy-white skin came into view, she struggled even more to find a place to fix her gaze.
"All right," she whispered.
What's next?
Luna purred, "Now... touch me."
"Touch you?"
"Mmm. You know me well now, you know everything about me. But I bet you haven't learned every inch of my skin, every degree of warmth..."
Seeing Furina's face growing redder, Luna leaned closer.
"Furina, I still want to do that with you."
"...I figured," Furina murmured.
She wasn't surprised. Once Luna had an idea, she would keep trying until she succeeded.
"But... but I said we can't right now," Furina whispered.
"I know."
"Then..."
Luna smiled gently. "This is just a chance for you to get familiar with me."
Once Furina grew accustomed to her body, the resistance should diminish considerably.
She drew Furina closer, wrapping her arms around her neck, and whispered softly, "You can do whatever you want."
"Of course, I want to devour Furina, but I wouldn't mind being devoured either."
Advance is retreat, retreat is advance.
"So, if Furina could devour me, I'd be very happy, you know?"
Whether she was the one doing or being done to, she always came out on top.
"I just want to do this kind of thing with Furina," Luna murmured softly.
Furina pursed her lips, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. As expected, Luna would resort to this tactic. She's always loved the "you advance, I retreat; you retreat, I advance" approach.
Once you fall into her trap, it's over.
But... Furina still reached out and touched Luna's skin.
Just touching should be okay, right?