The Rose Room's crimson silk sheets clung to Takuya Kazama's skin, their softness a maddening contrast to the velvet-lined chains binding his wrists to the bedposts.
Stained glass windows cast ruby and gold across the plush rugs, the light dancing like a lover's tease.
The air was heavy with aged perfume—violets and amber, thick as a whispered secret—mingling with the faint musk of his own arousal.
His thin robe, barely tied, tented over his persistent erection, the Lustbound Code's warmth pulsing in his core, sharpening every sensation until the chains' soft clinks felt like caresses.
Make her moan, or I'm screwed—literally and figuratively.
Lady Seraphina Grellhart stepped closer, her midnight silk gown rustling like a forbidden promise.
Her ice-blue eyes, sharp as winter frost, locked onto him, but her gloved fingers flexed once—slowly, purposefully—as if savoring the dark velvet's embrace.
The gloves' sheen caught the light, a stark contrast against her pale wrists, drawing Takuya's gaze like a moth to flame.
He stayed still, head tilted, eyes lowered—not out of fear, but strategy.
Let her think she's in charge.
Let her underestimate me.
"You claim to serve a goddess," she said, stepping to the foot of the bed. "And yet your only talent appears to be breaking into private bathing chambers."
Takuya smiled lazily. "I'm excellent at getting wet, my Lady. Ask your bath."
Her brow twitched, a flicker of amusement she quickly smothered.
The system pinged softly in his vision:
Target Reaction: Smirk Concealment – Partial
Arousal Tick: +4% (Total: 38%)
Restraint: 79%
Seraphina circled him, her gown whispering against the rug, her scent—violet and amber, soft yet intoxicating—flooding his senses like a perfumed library at dusk.
He let his gaze wander, not to her face, but to the pulse at her throat, where a blue vein throbbed faintly.
To the neckline of her gown, where a sliver of pale skin teased.
To the velvet glove, its fabric snapping softly as she adjusted it with a practiced flick.
"You speak like a courtesan," she murmured, now behind the bed, out of sight. "But your posture is too relaxed. Too… bold."
"I read a lot of visual novels," Takuya said. "Well. Mostly the ones with the steamy routes."
She exhaled sharply through her nose, a sound halfway between disdain and stifled laughter.
Then—fuck—something pressed to his temple.
Velvet.
Her gloved fingers brushed his hair aside, not gently, but with the precision of a collector examining a rare artifact.
The touch was cool, firm, yet electric, sending a jolt through his nerves.
His cock twitched, the robe's fabric brushing it like a cruel tease.
Contact Established: Gloved Touch – Phase I Complete
Hidden Weakness Confirmed: Gloved Touch
Desire Rate: 38%
"So tell me," she said softly, her voice a silken blade, "how would a peasant from nowhere make a noblewoman moan?"
Takuya turned his head just enough to catch her silhouette in his peripheral vision—her curves framed by the stained glass's glow, her gloved hand hovering near his face.
He smiled—not with confidence, but with suggestion.
"Simple," he said. "I'd figure out what she's never allowed herself to want…"
Her breath hitched, barely audible.
"…and I'd make her ask for it."
Silence stretched, thick and heavy, the air thrumming with unspoken tension.
Seraphina's fingers froze, the velvet grazing his temple like a lingering promise. Then, without a word, she stepped back, her hand lifting from his skin.
The absence of her touch was a physical ache, his body straining against the chains.
Her heels clicked as she moved toward the door.
She paused, her silhouette sharp against the ruby light.
"You have until sunset," she said, not turning, her voice calm but laced with a tremor, like a crack in porcelain.
Click.
The door closed.
The system chimed:
Timer: 6 hours, 02 minutes
System Alert: Noble Curiosity Triggered
Sub-Mission Generated: Provoke second gloved touch within the hour.
Reward: Aura Tuner Calibration
Takuya exhaled slowly, the chains cool against his wrists.
So that was her game?
He was more than happy to play.