I had lost consciousness during my time with Ethan, and when I woke up, it was already nearing dawn.

The first thing I felt upon waking was the intense pressure weighing down on my body.

The familiar warmth I felt through my skin made it easy to guess that what was pressing down on me was none other than Ethan’s body.

Did Ethan really fall asleep like this… while still holding me?

It seemed that just as I lost consciousness, Ethan had also run out of energy and collapsed, falling asleep while tightly embracing me.

My upper body was draped over the bed, but from the waist down, Ethan and I were still connected. It took quite a bit of effort to carefully extract myself from this position.

“Ugh… haaa…!”

Because I had been stuck under Ethan for so long, my entire body ached from the pressure. But somehow, I managed to free myself and crawl out. Looking back at Ethan, who was lying there half-naked, still fast asleep, I couldn’t help but laugh.

He’s really just sleeping like that, huh.

Well, I guess it made sense for him to be tired. We’d only returned from the geology exploration class the day before.

Between the nonstop battles, the uncomfortable nights, and the long journey back to the academy from the dungeon city, it was no wonder he was exhausted.

Of course, I was just as tired, but under the circumstances, I guess I ended up doing more.

No, no, this was technically my ‘penalty play,’ wasn’t it? Unlike Ethan, I had to wear a collar and a tail, and I crawled around on the inn floor like a cat, which took a lot more out of me.

And yet, we both collapsed in exhaustion after it was over, and I woke up before Ethan?

In the end, I’d have to consider this a victory, even though I might have been the one to “go” more during our time together.

I guess it’s true—I’m not going to lose to Ethan in bed. When it comes to knowing what men like, I’ve got plenty of expertise from my previous life.

“Snore… huff… huff…”

“…Oh, for crying out loud.”

But really, what’s the point of feeling like I’ve won if I still have to clean everything up?

I couldn’t leave Ethan sprawled out in that ridiculous position, so I mustered up my strength and managed to pull him up onto the bed properly, covering his peacefully sleeping body with the blanket.

I couldn’t let him catch a cold lying there like that. He’d probably wake up with sore muscles anyway.

…Not that I’m in any position to be worrying about Ethan’s muscle aches.

After all, I’d spent hours passed out beneath him. Every muscle in my body ached, especially after crawling around the room on all fours during the cat play.

I’ll deal with the muscle pain later. First, I need to clean up.

There were a lot of things I needed to do, but the first was using Cleanse. I couldn’t afford any unexpected consequences, like an unplanned pregnancy, after all.

“Ugh… haaa… Cleanse…”

Next, I needed to get rid of all the accessories attached to my body.

The headband wasn’t as much of a priority, since it was just a headpiece. But the collar and tail were incredibly uncomfortable, and I wanted them off as soon as possible.

The key for the collar… Oh, there it is.

Of course, it was inside Ethan’s bag.

If he hadn’t packed the key, I would have had to walk all the way back to the academy wearing this ridiculous collar, but luckily, Ethan had thought ahead and brought everything.

I inserted the key into the small lock on the red collar around my neck and unfastened it.

Click.

“Haaaa…”

Finally, I could breathe a little easier after taking off the collar, which had been feeling tight around my throat the whole time.

Alright, time to take a bath and get some sleep…

My entire body was sticky with sweat and other fluids, and I just felt cold all over. I desperately wanted to soak in some hot water.

While Cleanse was convenient for things like contraception and enemas, this world didn’t have any magical way to actually clean your body without using water and soap. That’s just how it was in this game world.

Using acceleration magic and heat magic, I quickly filled the tub with hot water. I marveled at how useful money was as I slipped into the bath without a second thought.

Smack!

“…………!!!!!”

The moment my backside hit the bottom of the tub, I felt a sharp pain shoot up from my tailbone, causing me to twist and turn inside the water.

Oh, crap. I still had the tail on…

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The next morning after spending the night playing cat maid with Ethan, I woke up with a bright red mark on my neck from the collar.

When Ethan woke up and saw the mark, he immediately started apologizing profusely.

“Thank you so much, Ethan. Thanks to you, I now have a reason to wear a scarf in the middle of summer.”

“…I’m sorry, Lilith.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Ethan. If anything, thanks to the vibrant red mark you left, people will just assume it’s part of my fashion. From a distance, they might think I’m just wearing a red choker.”

“…….”

No matter how many times I checked in the mirror, the red mark from the leash was still there, looking like I’d been strangled or something.

Sigh, it didn’t seem like it was going to disappear for at least a week.

The only saving grace was that there weren’t any classes this week aside from magical swordsmanship.

Still, it wasn’t like I could walk around with this obvious mark on my neck, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain it to people like Mezzlen, Agnes, or Lizzie when they inevitably asked.

There was no way I could just tell them it was from playing with Ethan. That would be way too embarrassing.

“I’m really sorry, Lilith. How about we go buy you a necklace or something from the market district? At least that way you can cover it up.”

“…It’s fine, Ethan. I still have my maid uniform back at the dorm, so I’ll just wear the choker necktie with my uniform until the mark disappears.”

“Oh, right. That works.”

I’d always carried my maid uniform around, just in case, so it was good that it would come in handy.

If anyone like Mezzlen or Agnes asked about the strange neck accessory, I’d just have to use the excuse that I’m a maid and get through it that way.

It was the kind of play that left a lot of lingering consequences, so I decided to warn Ethan about it one last time.

“Let’s limit the collar play while we’re staying at the academy dorms. If you want to put a leash on me again, please wait until we’re back at the Blackwood estate, Ethan.”

“…Wait, you’re saying we can do it again?”

“I never said I disliked it, did I?”

I just wanted to clarify—I’m not doing this because I like the play.

It’s only because Ethan enjoys it, that’s all. Really.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

“Lilith, you seem a little different today…”

“…Do I?”

It was Mezzlen, the princess, whom I hadn’t seen since the geology exploration class.

I tried my best to ignore her sharp eyes and answered as nonchalantly as I could.

“Oh, now that I’m looking closer, I see a ribbon on your neck that I hadn’t noticed before…”

“Ah, yes. I’ve decided to recommit myself to my duties as a maid…”

“Lilith, you really have no sense of fashion, do you? A collar tie with the academy uniform? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse combination.”

“…….”

“The next time we meet, I’m going to have to give you some clothes. If people find out I’m associating with someone with your fashion sense, I might not be able to show my face in the academy again.”

“…Yes, thank you for your concern, Princess Mezzlen.”

Does she think just because she can talk, everything she says is appropriate? I swear, I want to slap her so hard.

All I did was wear a choker to hide the leash marks, and now she’s talking about me ruining her reputation or whatever.

Mezzlen could dish out the most absurd insults without even realizing it, and the only responses I could give were “thank you,” “yes,” and “I understand.” Saying anything harsher to royalty would only make my life harder.

Why did I ever think befriending Mezzlen was a good idea?

I had tried to approach her naturally to create a happy ending, but there was no one to set her up with. If she had just been engaged to Ethan, everything would have worked out perfectly.

After all, Mezzlen was the type to give her all once she fell in love, and Ethan needed someone who could handle his somewhat sadistic and perverted tendencies.

The more I thought about it, the more they seemed like a perfect match. It was a shame that it hadn’t worked out.

…It’s a shame, right?

Of course, maintaining this “temporary relationship” with Ethan since the start of the school term wasn’t the worst outcome either.

“Has anything special happened to you over the past week, Princess?”

“Oh, yes! There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you…!”

“Something special, Princess Mezzlen?”

I assumed it would just be some inflated story about her so-called achievements or a lecture on why she’s better than Seraphine, so I braced myself to tune her out.

But what she said was something I could not ignore.

“I think… I’m in love!”

“Wh-What?!”