"So, what brings you to my place these past two days?"
Luna was changing Chevreuse's clothes. To distract herself, Chevreuse casually asked a harmless question.
But the rustling sounds only irritated her further.
If it were Luna, she could have changed Chevreuse's clothes with minimal noise and gentle movements. But Luna was clearly making the sounds deliberately, to ensure Chevreuse was acutely aware of her current predicament.
How brazen.
"Can't I visit my dear Miss Captain even without a reason?" Luna chuckled.
"To be frank, I hope I can't."
"But we're married, aren't we?"
Chevreuse murmured, "As I've said before, it was a transaction."
Even if she repeated it a hundred times, Luna would likely turn a deaf ear.
So Chevreuse chose to give up wasting her breath and let Luna say whatever she wanted.
"Many believe marriage is simply a life-altering transaction," Luna said with a gentle smile.
Her fingertips brushed across the fabric, causing more material to gather at Chevreuse's feet.
Chevreuse remained impassive, or at least tried to appear so. Though this wouldn't deter Luna from amusing herself, it was better than provoking her playful side.
Luna seized Chevreuse's hand, biting her fingertip as she spoke. "I've simply missed you lately, Miss Chevreuse."
Not a friend.
Not a partner.
Rather, we are lifelong rivals, a hunter and hunted, locked in an eternal chase.
Yet here we were, pressed together like lovers, indistinguishable from any couple in the world.
How absurd, Chevreuse thought absently.
"Is that so?"
"Don't you miss me, Miss Chevreuse?"
"Either way, you'd come looking for me, wouldn't you?"
Chevreuse withdrew her hand, a sharp pain piercing her shoulder, sending a shiver through her.
Luna chuckled softly. "That hardly counts as an answer. And remember to use the proper title."
Tch. Chevreuse suppressed the urge to click her tongue.
"Darling," she said flatly.
"Wow, so much affection!"
"Our relationship speaks for itself. No matter what you make me call you, it won't change the truth. So if you're dreaming of taming me, keep dreaming."
Chevreuse turned, her expression serious. "I will defeat you, then capture you."
Otherwise, we'll both retire together.
Taming? Luna hadn't considered that. She simply found it amusing to make Chevreuse follow her lead. The more reluctant Chevreuse was, the more Luna wanted to see.
The next moment, Chevreuse felt a slight sting on her lips again.
But there was no taste of blood.
Instead, she tasted the sweetness she had already experienced moments before... She stared directly into Luna's eyes.
Even though their agreement prevented her from resisting, Chevreuse refused to be swept away by this sensory assault, to be easily captured and taken away by Luna. Yet she couldn't deny that kissing Luna like this somehow relaxed her body and mind, the fatigue melting away.
"Even after witnessing my full power, Miss Captain still insists on persevering without hesitation."
"What matters is whether you act or not. Strength has little to do with it," Chevreuse retorted. "As for you, what did you do that day?"
"Hmm~ Just adding a little challenge for myself?"
Pushing your limits? What a joke.
"...Only I can capture you, don't forget. Until then, don't disappear on me again."
Chevreuse frowned.
One moment of carelessness, and Luna will do something shocking again.
She didn't know how tightly these handcuffs could restrain Luna, but even if they drew blood, she had to immobilize the Phantom Thief White Cat.
"And no killing," she added.
"What if it's the murderer of my own parents? I still can't kill them?"
"...What?" Chevreuse didn't react immediately.
Ice Threads crisscrossed, entwining her wrists and pulling her arms behind her back, binding her tightly.
"What are you doing—" Chevreuse protested, trying to break free, but before she could exert any force, Luna pulled her onto the bed. With a firm press of her hands, she found herself sitting on the edge, her brow furrowed slightly.
"What's the point of restraining me like this? I won't resist. Or are you planning to violate our agreement and disregard its terms?"
"I know you won't resist, Miss Captain," Luna replied, sitting face-to-face on Chevreuse's lap, her fingertips lightly tugging at the threads around Chevreuse's wrists.
Smiling faintly, she added, "I just wanted to see Miss Chevreuse in this state."
"...You perverted Phantom Thief."
"A nickname," Luna said.
Chevreuse took a deep breath, enunciating each word: "Dear, beloved—perverted Phantom Thief."
Luna exclaimed in surprise, "You're actually using it as a prefix!"
"And then?"
"What?"
Chevreuse sighed, her tone indifferent. "What do you plan to do to me?"
"Devour you completely, Miss Captain?"
"Do you have that kind of orientation?"
"I do."
Chevreuse was momentarily speechless. She really does?
Though she wasn't entirely surprised, Luna had always vehemently denied being a lesbian before, yet now she was admitting it?
A sudden realization struck her: "Who else have you done this to?"
Shouldn't I be the only one you do these things to?
Luna tilted Chevreuse's chin upward, her cheeks flushed—a blush of excitement.
"Jealous?"
"...No."
"I have quite a few people I like, Miss Captain. You shouldn't get too jealous."
Chevreuse averted her gaze. "...So, you want to do that with me?"
Even though we're not partners?
"I do."
"...I see."
"But there's no rush. I know Miss Chevreuse's affection for me isn't quite strong enough yet."
Luna's breath ghosted across Chevreuse's face, caressing her skin. "You merely see the brilliance in my heart, its dazzling radiance. You feel it's a pity, resent my past, and feel helpless. You pity me... You like me, but it's not the kind of liking that leads to those kinds of things, is it?"
Even if they did, Chevreuse wouldn't resist, as long as Luna strictly adhered to the terms of their deal.
"Of course, turning 'uncooked rice' into 'cooked rice' wouldn't be so bad either," Luna mused, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Chevreuse sighed, indifferent to this prospect. Resistance was futile anyway.
Besides, this was a lifelong bargain. If not now, Luna would likely develop such desires later. It was only a matter of time.
More pressing was what Luna had just said.
"What about the murderer who killed your biological parents?" she asked.
"As expected, you're more interested in that. That's exactly what I adore about you, Miss Captain."
Luna kissed her lightly.
Afterward, she told Chevreuse everything she had learned from Arlecchino.
Chevreuse murmured, "A descendant of the Knights of Favonius?"
"Not very funny, is it?"
"Indeed."
Luna gently stroked Chevreuse's face. "A sinner like me, a descendant of knights."
"Suits you perfectly."
"...Miss Chevreuse is making jokes now too?" Luna laughed dismissively.
Chevreuse's expression turned serious. "I mean it. As your opponent, I'm confident I understand you better than anyone else—you're perfectly suited to be a knight."
Luna lowered her head, pressing her lips against Chevreuse's chest. "But even more suited for the Special Task Force?"
"Exactly. Knights are still too rigid."
Chevreuse chewed over the information.
"Indeed, according to Arlecchino, your biological parents might have been... Actually, around the time you were sent to the Orphanage, gang activity in Fontaine was rampant."
"Gangs?" Luna asked, puzzled.
"You know, besides the Spina di Rosula, many other gangs operate in Fontaine. The Spina di Rosula stands out and earns public support largely because they never harm innocent civilians."
"But the others... that's not guaranteed."
Loan sharks are among the milder offenders. Even without Sinthe, they'd find other illicit goods to peddle, or resort to kidnapping victims and executing them in the wilderness—such cases aren't unheard of.
Back then, the Court of Justice and the Marechaussee Phantom collaborated to bring many violent gangs to justice.
But as everyone knows, the Court of Justice's legal net always has a few holes.
Perhaps a few fish slipped through the cracks, surviving in the shadows, unknown to others.
"I see..." Luna murmured.
"...If your biological parents were truly murdered," Chevreuse asked, seeking confirmation, "what would you do?"
Luna snapped back to attention, lightly pressing her hand against Chevreuse's chest, feeling her racing heartbeat.
So fast...
She must be nervous. Is she afraid I'll break our agreement? Luna wondered.
She's always hated it when I resorted to killing.
But if I was abandoned not because my parents despised me, but because they had no choice, or worse, were murdered themselves...
"I don't know," Luna admitted.
"Maybe I'd lose my temper. I've never really seen myself when I'm truly angry."
Luna wrapped her arms around Chevreuse's neck and breathed softly, "But Miss Captain, do you still not want me to kill?"
"...That's right."
"Why? What's more important than revenge?"
Luna's tone turned colder.
"...If you value breaking our agreement more than anything else, then don't touch me."
Luna: "..."
Chevreuse: "..."
Seeing Luna fall silent, Chevreuse hesitated for a moment.
If the truth was as Luna claimed, then she knew her request was utterly unreasonable. Suppressing another's rage, depriving them of the right to full revenge—even if it was the "correct" thing to do.
Despite this, Chevreuse leaned in and kissed Luna.
Since her hands were bound, her lips were the only weapon she had left.
Their breaths mingled as Chevreuse whispered, "...Since you stole my very existence, see it through to the end."
"If the truth is as you say, then let me steal your right to complete vengeance, and send your enemy to where they belong."
"What right do you have, Miss Captain, to steal this choice that belongs to me?" Luna asked.
I knew she'd ask that question.
Chevreuse met Luna's gaze directly, ignoring the silver flash at the corner of her mouth that glinted briefly in the moonlight.
"Because we're 'married.' Even without these handcuffs, I'd chain you to me. Our lives are intertwined now—don't think you can easily tear them apart."
Luna closed her eyes. "Miss Captain is surprisingly assertive, isn't she?"
"I can't answer you right now."
She removed her mask, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"But I'll remember your words. If the truth truly is as you say, when the moment of choice comes... I'll still follow my own heart in deciding whether to pull the trigger."
Chevreuse nodded. "...That's all I ask."
Chevreuse knew Luna wouldn't simply accept her demand.
Even if she restrained the Phantom Thief White Cat, a cat remained a cat. It was her nature. All Chevreuse could do was hope the truth wouldn't be so merciless.
"Chevreuse."
"What—"
Chevreuse's thoughts were interrupted as Luna pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Since we have plenty of time left, why not try seducing me first? If my dearest Miss Chevreuse shows me enough affection, it might influence my decision."
Would it really?
Chevreuse doubted it. She couldn't shake the feeling that Luna was just teasing her.
A Phantom Thief flirting with the Captain of the Special Task Force...?
The thought sent a strange shiver down her spine.
"What do you want me to do?" Chevreuse asked casually.
"Tell me you love me?"
Chevreuse paused for a moment, then leaned in close to Luna's ear. "I love you—is that enough?"
"Mmm~"
Luna's tone seemed lighter, but she still seemed unsatisfied.
"Now it's my turn," she purred, her tone gleeful.
Chevreuse felt a sudden sense of foreboding, as if she had just flipped a switch within Luna...