"It's been so long already. Why haven't any of them woken up from their dreams yet?"
At The Reverie Hotel, sensing the continued stillness of the deeply entranced figures immersed in their Sweet Dreams, Herta was growing increasingly impatient.
Acheron being silent is one thing, but why has Lumina become so quiet too?
Herta stole a glance at Lumina, noticing her vacant gaze, head bowed low as if lost in thought. Her small hands gripped the hem of her skirt, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. Her ears, hidden beneath strands of hair, offered no clues, but these subtle cues suggested Lumina was pondering something deeply personal—something she found hard to admit.
Whatever it was, it must have happened recently.
But what recent event could have made Lumina so shy, so reluctant to speak?
Nothing comes to mind... Herta thought. I've been with Lumina for so long, and I've never seen her wear this expression... Unless...
Herta: (灬oωo灬)
A sudden realization struck Herta, her face instantly flushing crimson.
Recalling Lumina's somewhat unnatural behavior earlier when they left, and considering Lumina's true strength, Herta quickly pulled down her pointed Witch Hat, hoping to conceal her flushed, apple-red cheeks.
At that moment, Herta finally remembered.
As an Emanator, Lumina—even while sleeping on Herta's lap, even without consciously sensing her surroundings—couldn't possibly have been unaware of Herta's actions.
In other words... Lumina had seen everything Herta had done in the room, from beginning to end!
"..."
Madam Herta desperately wished she could find a crack to bury her head in... anything to escape this overwhelming embarrassment.
"No... it's not necessarily true. Maybe Lumina was just thinking about something else."
Herta desperately clung to this possibility, reluctant to believe Lumina had witnessed her every action. After all, if Lumina had truly seen everything, why hadn't she stopped Herta's actions? Why had she let her do as she pleased?
Even if Lumina knew Acheron would interrupt at the crucial moment, what about everything that came before? The head pats, cheek pinches, and the lingering touches on her lips—how could Lumina's personality allow her to remain silent?
Therefore, Lumina must have been completely unaware of what Herta had been doing!
Despite all the evidence pointing to the fact that she had clearly witnessed everything he had done to her in the room, Herta stubbornly refused to believe it, clinging to rationalizations...
"Lu... Lumina, what did you write on the note you gave to Stelle?" Herta took a deep breath, deciding to observe Lumina's reaction once more.
But this pretense of observation was merely a desperate attempt to find a ready-made excuse to reassure herself.
"Ah? Oh, that..." Hearing Herta's words and feeling her direct gaze, Lumina suddenly recalled everything Herta had done to her in the room earlier. The tips of her ears, hidden beneath her hair, flushed crimson instantly.
"[Sweet dreams lull us to sleep, despair traps us in endless reincarnation. With each blink, time begins to reverse... May we meet again in the clear-eyed reality.~] Those were my exact words," Lumina replied.
Her heart already in turmoil, Lumina, facing Herta's question, had no inclination to play coy or tease. She blurted it out directly.
Herta: ...
"Aha ha ha... Aha ha ha... I see... that's... that's so like you... Aha ha ha..." Hearing Lumina's answer, Herta, who knew Lumina's character well, froze, her stunningly beautiful face instantly stiffening.
Given Lumina's notoriously prickly nature, she would never have revealed something like this so easily under normal circumstances.
So... Lumina must be thinking about something else entirely.
Herta, stubbornly refusing to back down, pressed her lips together, mustered her courage, and moved her cheek within centimeters of Lumina's. Her gaze locked intensely with Lumina's eyes, determined to see through to the thoughts hidden within.
"Um... Herta, is there something you want?" Lumina's heart fluttered with sudden panic under Herta's intense stare. Her gaze involuntarily shifted away.
Has Herta noticed? That I wasn't really asleep just now...
No!
Lumina's heart had never pounded so frantically, the anxiety gripping her chest like the fear of being discovered hiding under the bed during a secret rendezvous, watching the feet of her lover and her partner pace back and forth outside.
But her anxiety quickly subsided. Herta's gaze shifted, she took a few steps back, and turned her back to Lumina.
Twirling a strand of hair over her shoulder, she murmured, "Nothing to worry about. I just thought you seemed a bit... off earlier. Don't mind it."
"Mmm..." Lumina breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as she didn't notice, as long as she didn't notice... If Herta had discovered I was faking sleep the whole time, I'd die of embarrassment...
After all, lying on someone's lap pretending to be asleep, letting them do whatever they wanted to her face... Even when their lips were just centimeters away, Lumina hadn't felt the slightest urge to resist.
This sort of thing... it's best kept hidden in one's heart. How could anyone else possibly find out?
Lumina thought to herself, feeling incredibly fortunate that Herta hadn't realized she was faking sleep.
Unbeknownst to Lumina, Madam Herta's face—specifically her cheeks—had already flushed crimson.
She... she definitely knows about everything I did to her earlier...
Herta's originally delicate pink lips were now stained red, trembling uncontrollably. Steam began to rise from her head, concealed beneath her pointed witch hat.
Because Herta had acted so secretly earlier, her first reaction upon realizing that Lumina had been fully aware of her actions—every detail, from beginning to end—wasn't to wonder why Lumina hadn't stopped her.
Instead, she panicked about how she could ever face Lumina again. What kind of image have I become in her eyes...?
She must be a pervert, a degenerate, surely...
In the past, such behavior would have been unthinkable. Madam Herta had never shown the slightest interest in such matters.
But now... after spending time with Lumina, Herta had good reason to suspect she was ill. As for the nature of her illness, Herta didn't know.
But Herta knew this illness was undoubtedly connected to Lumina...
Meanwhile, Lumina rejoiced that her actions had gone unnoticed by Herta. Herta, lost in thought, pondered how to apologize to Lumina and salvage her image in Lumina's eyes.
However, Herta was overthinking things. In Lumina's current state, what she needed most might not be an apology at all, but a more direct approach...
Acheron: ?
As a third party, Acheron watched the silent interplay between Lumina and Herta, scratching her head once more.