In the city of Bulya, famous for its slogan of selling anything except things that could harm mermaids, a certain story began circulating among the people one day.

“It’s said that in Bulya, where you can buy anything, you can’t buy the lily that blooms in the shop that sells spring, no matter how much money you offer.”

The people who first heard the story were puzzled.

If it’s a shop that sells spring, isn’t it just a brothel?

If so, the protagonist of the story must be just a prostitute, so why is everyone making such a fuss over a mere prostitute?

However, among them, there were a few who couldn’t resist their curiosity and went to the brothel where the protagonist of the story was said to be.

“Welcome. Is there a specific lady you are looking for?”

“Uh… uh……”

And those who visited the brothel were left speechless at the sight of the one who greeted them.

For there, more beautiful than anything they had ever seen, was a flower.

Those who were instantly captivated by her beauty all asked her the same question.

“I… I want to buy you. How much do I have to pay to buy you?”

“Hehe, I’m sorry. Even if you offered ten million gold coins, you couldn’t buy me.”

Only after being rejected did they realize.

That the person standing before them was the protagonist of the famous story.

And they also understood why everyone was so excited about her story.

Thus, an additional line was added to the rumor circulating in the city.

“They say that the lily, which no one can touch, is the most beautiful flower in the world.”

The story of the most beautiful woman in the world spread like wildfire.

*

“Whoa, how…”

“This is not human beauty……”

In front of a certain brothel in the city of Bulya, there was a huge crowd today as well.

The reason they gathered there was singular.

Since the owner of the brothel had declared a ban on sales, they had gathered just to catch a glimpse of Lily, who had taken on the role of a receptionist in front of the brothel.

Although she was just a figurehead, Lily loved the role she had taken on.

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It was because sitting there made her realize how special she was.

For example, if she just slightly smiled at the group of men staring at her from afar.

“Did… did she just smile at me?”

“What? Nonsense. It was clearly at me.”

“Oh… she’s so beautiful…”

The men would look at her with eyes full of deep desire and utter exclamations.

“……Tsk, she’s acting like she owns the world. Is being pretty such a big deal?”

“……I’m so jealous. Here I am, working myself to death taking endless customers today.”

And following that, she could clearly hear the jealous voices of the women, which made her enjoy it even more.

It wasn’t just that the men lusted after her, or that the women were jealous, that made Lily happy.

What she enjoyed was the regret and resignation that seeped out from the men when they realized they couldn’t buy her, even though they were so filled with desire.

And the mix of jealousy and reluctant acknowledgment from the women who, deep down, thought she was worth being envied.

Lily felt that the emotions that people exuded because of her overwhelming beauty made her realize how special she was, and this brought her joy.

Lily realized that the words of the woman who raised her were not wrong.

Beauty was, indeed, special.

Lily’s beauty, originally stunning, had matured even further over time.

Rumors circulated, some true and others possibly fabricated, such as a wealthy merchant offering ten million gold coins to buy Lily after falling in love with her at first sight, only to be rejected, or the tale of a dancer, known as the most beautiful among mermaids, who drowned herself out of jealousy after seeing Lily’s beauty.

Regardless of whether these rumors were true, people believed them without a doubt, which made it clear that Lily had become a woman whose beauty was said to be the greatest in the world.

And no one knew this better than Lily herself.

I am beautiful.

But no one can touch me.

I am special.

The confidence born from such thoughts made Lily even more beautiful.

The lily was a flower that bloomed in the summer.

And the lily that greeted summer without selling the spring bloomed fully, flaunting its beauty atop a cliff, where no one could reach.

“Lily, Lily! Are you there?”

“Oh, sister! Is there something good happening?”

“Of course, something good happened! Listen to this!”

But the flower that everyone thought would remain beautiful forever on that cliff…

“A prince from a certain country has bought you! You might become a queen, isn’t that wonderful news?”

“…What?”

…was plucked by the hand of the person she trusted the most.

*

The owner of the brothel who raised Lily.

The woman whom Lily called “sister” was the only family Lily had.

Lily completely trusted this woman.

“I won’t sell you.”

This was the person who ensured that Lily didn’t have to sell her body.

“Of course! Our Lily is special.”

This was the person who made Lily special.

This was the person who told her that she was special.

That was why Lily believed the woman’s words without a shadow of a doubt.

“…She sold me? What do you mean?”

“Oh, right. You must be curious about your buyer. Well, recently─”

And that was why Lily felt such a profound sense of betrayal when she heard she had been sold.

You said so yourself.

That I am special, that you wouldn’t sell me even for ten million gold coins.

So how can you say so brightly that I’ve been sold?

Lily shouted, her voice filled with betrayal and anger.

“That’s not it! You said you wouldn’t sell me even for ten million gold coins! Then why─!”

“I said I wouldn’t sell you for ten million gold coins, so he paid a hundred million. Hmm, it seems he wasn’t stingy with his money.”

And the one who answered her cry was a man who appeared out of nowhere.

As his eyes scanned her up and down, appraising her, Lily trembled under his gaze, and the woman spoke as if everything was going well.

“Ah, you’re here! Lily, this is the prince who bought you! He was so taken with you that he paid an enormous amount of money! From now on, you should get along well with him!”

The woman spoke, but Lily could barely hear her.

The words the man had spoken earlier were too shocking.

Not ten million, but a hundred million?

So, she was sold simply because he offered a lot of money?

With tears welling up, Lily looked at the woman, but the woman, either unaware or indifferent to Lily’s feelings, continued speaking with a bright expression.

“Why are you making that face? Don’t worry. Since he paid that much money for you, he’ll treat you well. Instead of selling your body to some lousy guys, it’s better to go to a wealthy household and live a good life!”

“I would never sell our precious Lily to those lowlifes! Even if they offered ten million gold coins, I wouldn’t sell her!”

At the woman’s words, Lily recalled something the woman had said to her a long time ago and thought that perhaps she did this for her own good.

Maybe she did this, thinking about me, wanting me to be happy.

Surely, that must be it.

Lily forced herself to think that way.

*

Even though she had been sold, she didn’t immediately leave the city.

The man, said to be a prince from some country, had come to this city as a tourist, and while he was here, she just had to go to him whenever he called.

And that night, Lily was summoned to the man’s room.

Even though she knew she was about to be embraced by the man, Lily wasn’t entirely hopeless.

The fact that he had paid so much money to buy her meant that he was likely to have affection for her.

The story of a prince falling in love with a commoner at first sight and becoming captivated by love—it was rather romantic, wasn’t it?

If he truly loved and cherished her, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

She could maintain her dignity to some extent.

With these hopeful thoughts, Lily went to the man’s room.

“You’re here? If you’re here, hurry up and undress.”

But what awaited Lily was the man’s hands, filled with nothing but desire.

In his domineering grasp, where she felt not even a speck of love, Lily was forced to lay bare her body before his leering eyes.

“What are you doing! Hurry up and serve me! I paid an enormous sum for you, so you’d better be worth the money!”

Lily quickly realized.

That the man saw her as nothing more than a plaything.

As she felt her towering self-esteem crumbling, Lily began to serve the man.

But with her self-esteem shattered, her movements were mechanical, and the man, unsatisfied, pressed Lily down beneath him as he shouted.

“Tsk, you’re not moving properly. Fine, I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Gah… Ah, it hurts…”

The man’s movements were rough.

Movements that were only for satisfying his own desires, without a thought for his partner.

It hurts, I hate this, it hurts.

Having just lost her virginity moments ago, Lily was in immense pain from the man’s actions. She tried to push him away as she began to cry.

“You’re resisting… Well, no matter. I anticipated this and brought something good.”

And then, as Lily cried out, the man injected something into her arm.

Lily felt something flowing into her body through the injection.

It was as if something foreign was crawling under her skin, like bugs entering her body.

The sensation was unbearably disgusting and unpleasant.

“Hah… Heeek…?”

But from her mouth came a moan filled with pleasure.

“Ahaha! Now you’re making a decent expression. I’ve prepared a special, potent, and expensive drug. Don’t worry, it’s worth the price and has almost no side effects, so just enjoy yourself!”

It feels disgusting, it hurts, but why, why?

It was strange.

Everything—the man’s touch, being crushed under him, the drug flowing into her—it all felt as repulsive and painful as could be, but somehow, it was turning into pleasure.

The intense repulsion she was feeling was forcibly converted into pleasure, making her body rejoice against her will.

As she heaved with overwhelming pleasure, feeling utterly sickened, she saw the man laughing at her.

“Ha! To see a girl who once acted all high and mighty end up like this, there’s nothing more amusing. There’s nothing funnier than watching someone flaunt their pretty face and then end up like this.”

The man laughed as he violated Lily all night long.

Strangling her, groping her.

It was maddeningly repulsive, yet it felt so good.

Lily cried and laughed, and then lost consciousness.