After washing her hands, Luna returned to Chevreuse's bedroom.
Chevreuse was sitting up against the headboard, gazing at the moon outside the window. She hadn't turned on the lights, but the room was still brightly illuminated. The moon was exceptionally bright tonight.
Luna sat down beside her.
"Aren't you leaving?" Chevreuse asked.
"Do you want me to leave?"
Chevreuse was silent for a moment.
"No."
Her reply was simple.
"Then that's settled. I'll stay with you all night. If you want, I'll do this every night until your wound heals."
Luna conjured a pillow and placed it down.
"A pillow?" Chevreuse asked, slightly surprised. "You're staying here to sleep?"
"What else?"
"...Don't you live with Furina?"
Would Furina really be okay with this?
Luna smiled. "Furina said, 'Go take care of Chevreuse for a few nights! I won't be able to rest easy otherwise. I can handle a few lonely nights.'"
Though I'll definitely have to make it up to Furina later.
Chevreuse nodded.
So that's how it is... But if Furina hadn't agreed, would Luna still have stayed to sleep with me? Chevreuse thought, but didn't voice the question.
"Don't worry, I've already bathed. Want to take a sniff?"
Luna leaned closer to Chevreuse, pulling open her collar.
Chevreuse caught a glimpse of the pale skin beneath Luna's collar and averted her gaze. "My sense of smell isn't so dull that I can't tell you're clean from this distance."
"Fair enough."
Luna's gaze remained fixed on Chevreuse's side.
"You still haven't told me why you had to choose this method," she said.
There were safer options.
Chevreuse replied casually, "Because there could be no room for error. Instead of having you play the part of an injured me, it was better for me to be injured directly."
"I wouldn't have made a mistake, whether in acting or anything else. Don't you trust me?"
"..."
Chevreuse's silence only served to confirm one thing for Luna.
"You had another reason, didn't you?"
Luna wrapped her arm around Chevreuse's, her voice soft.
"...Yes."
"What was it?"
Chevreuse averted her gaze, not answering.
After a few seconds, her lips parted. "Did it feel bad?"
"What?"
"Stabbing me. You've never truly fought us, never hurt us before. Now that you have, how do you feel? Guilty? Remorseful?"
Luna lowered her eyes and sighed softly. "You already know the answer, Miss Captain. Of course, I feel both."
And more than anything, my heart aches for you.
Could it be that Chevreuse's other goal was to make me feel these emotions? Luna studied Chevreuse's face.
"Then that's perfect."
Chevreuse pulled Luna's hand, pressing their chests together.
She stared directly into Luna's eyes.
"This way, I can shackle you even tighter."
"I want you to feel guilty, remorseful, heartbroken, and to remember... Since I'm using myself to shackle you, it's only natural that I need you to feel more for me. After all, you're not a completely rational person; you're influenced by your emotions..."
Luna whispered, "Is that the truth?"
"It is."
"...I never thought Miss Captain would resort to such a cunning tactic. You didn't have to. Even without this, I would never break our agreement."
Luna said.
Chevreuse knew that.
Luna had already proven herself.
But there was something else Chevreuse left unsaid: this way, Luna's gaze would linger on her longer than on any other woman.
Luna would also have to leave the other women temporarily to care for her.
Yet this thought was just a small corner of her heart, not the primary reason driving her decision—merely a minor, secondary impulse.
The true, singular reason she had done this was...
"I know, Luna. You've proven yourself."
"So I will prove that I won't break our agreement either."
Luna's eyes widened slightly. "You..."
So this is why Chevreuse made this choice?
"I could have chosen a safer way," Chevreuse said, "but that wouldn't have been worthy of the determination and will you've shown for our deal."
"Of course, I don't think this single act is enough to match it. But I want to use it to declare my resolve—if you don't betray our oath, then I will do everything in my power to uphold our agreement."
"I will protect children like you and punish criminals like the Malo couple, who brought you such pain."
"Even if it costs me my own flesh and blood."
Chevreuse pressed her hand against Luna's chest, her voice earnest. "So trust me, White Cat... Trust me, Luna."
And we'll remain entangled like this.
Until the day we retire, as our agreement states, when everything finally ends.
Luna covered the back of Chevreuse's hand with her own, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
"How cunning. Who could possibly refuse when you put it like that? I've always trusted you, but I don't need you to pay any price. I don't want you to."
Luna's eyes shimmered as she gently caressed Chevreuse's face.
"Because it would hurt me."
"...Mm."
Luna gently embraced Chevreuse. She wanted to hold her tighter, but she couldn't risk hurting her Captain.
Chevreuse, however, returned the embrace without hesitation, pulling Luna as close as she possibly could. A hug wouldn't make her wounds ache, tear her stitches, or cause them to bleed.
And even if it did, feeling Luna's warmth would be a painkiller, suppressing any discomfort.
Besides, physical pain was nothing.
The pain in her heart was the one that was truly hard to heal.
"You said some awful things during your act," Chevreuse said in a low voice.
"Hmm? Did I?" Luna's tone was light and airy.
"Don't play dumb."
Chevreuse took a breath. She didn't want to recall those words, but letting them fester in her heart wouldn't do any good either.
"I don't like you at all, Miss Captain. I just find you amusing."
"And no matter how amusing you are, I'll eventually grow tired of you."
Chevreuse mimicked Luna's tone from that time, repeating the words verbatim.
She remembers it so clearly.
Luna whispered in her ear, "So? You know it was just an act. I'm right here in your arms, and you know how I feel about you. What more do you want?"
Chevreuse took a breath. This girl... she never changes. She knows exactly how to get under my skin.
What should I do?
There was only one answer.
"Say the opposite."
"Hmm?"
"Say those words to me again, but the opposite of what you said before."
Luna's eyes lit up with understanding. She grinned and began, "Amusing very you find I..."
A sharp pain shot through her neck as Chevreuse bit her without hesitation.
That's not the kind of "opposite" I meant.
"I know, I know," Luna chuckled, her voice soft. "Miss Captain, you're so impatient. I'll say it, and not just once. I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it, as long as you let me keep holding you."
Chevreuse released her bite, feeling no embarrassment at the teeth marks she'd left behind.
Luna continued to hold Chevreuse gently, her tone softening. "I love you, Miss Captain. Not because you're amusing—though teasing you is fun."
Chevreuse: "..."
"It's because you dazzle me. You're brilliant, radiant, shining."
"I'll never grow tired of you, no matter how long it is. If you don't believe me, then stay with me forever and see if I'm telling the truth, won't you?"
Chevreuse closed her eyes, a faint smile gracing her lips.
"...You couldn't escape even if you tried," she murmured, holding Luna tighter.