“Haah!”

Lunaria jolted awake, her entire body seized by the sickening sensation of falling. Cold sweat poured from her, leaving her shivering under the sheets.

As her mind slowly cleared, a fierce heat ignited within her, spreading through her veins like wildfire. The moment she realized her heat had begun, a fractured moan escaped her lips. Acting on instinct rather than thought, she reached out desperately for the one person she needed most.

“Ah… Ca—Cassion…”

“So you finally call my name.”

With a soft click, a low voice sounded near her. She struggled to lift her heavy eyelids. The blue eyes that met hers were darker than usual.

“Cas… sion?”

“Why? Did you think I was someone else?”

“What are you—”

He clearly remembered the name she had whispered to him just moments earlier. How many times had she called out to Lukan in such a desperate way?

It felt as though a fire had been lit in his stomach. The heat blazing beneath his ribs stripped away his restraint in an instant.

Without hesitating, he tore the negligée from her body, positioning himself between her pale, damp thighs. Even as she struggled to wake up, she continued to murmur another man’s name.

The shock of it—

— an emotion he had never experienced before — rose like a violent tide and consumed him completely.

Determined to force her to fully awaken, he lifted her limp body and settled her on his thigh. His fingers were already buried deep within her, moving with an experienced familiarity and pressing insistently. He pushed harder, as though trying to uncover every hidden depth within her warmth.

The sensation against his fingertips was achingly familiar, yet it always felt new. How could any part of the human body be so smooth and soft?

Nevertheless, he could not conceal the sharp edge in his voice when he leaned close and whispered.

“I thought I was the only male allowed inside you. Was I wrong?”

“No—!”

“Wrong?”

“That’s not— ah! Cassion!”

Holding her chin as it tipped back, Cassion pressed firmly against the place that made her tremble.

“Mm—!”

“Luna.”

The deep pressure in her abdomen caused her vision to blur. Her focus wavered and she could only vaguely register how close his face was.

Lunaria parted her lips, managing only a faint reply.

“Y-yes…”

“Who is Lukan?”

“…What?”

Startled that Cassion knew a name that should have existed only in her thoughts, her body tightened around him involuntarily.

He let out a short breath.

“Did you just clench because you’re nervous?”

“N-no…”

“Then why did you get so tight? It feels like you’re about to snap my fingers.”

Even as he spoke, his hand moved with deliberate force. The wet sound of movement echoed faintly in the room.

“Ah—there… Cassion…”

“There? Me? What about me?”

Unlike usual, he kept interrupting her, asking her to explain things. Something about it felt strange, but as her senses gradually returned, she managed to steady herself enough to respond.

“It’s because you’re… touching me down there…”

Saying it out loud made her face burn. Despite having already shared a great deal of intimacy, this moment still felt unfamiliar.

“Down there? Be specific.”

It was only then that she realized that he was in a bad mood. She suspected it was because she had murmured Lukan’s name in her sleep. However, rather than feeling uneasy, she felt a strange warmth flicker in her chest.

It almost felt like jealousy.

“Here…”

Instead of saying anything, she took his wrist in her hand and guided it closer. Her slender fingers looked tiny next to his long, solid knuckles.

“‘Here’ and ‘down there’ aren’t very helpful. What do the beastkin call it?”

At his question, Lunaria’s body went rigid.

Among her own kind, she had never considered the word to be improper. However, after receiving an education here, she had learned that certain terms were considered crude. Since then, she had tried to use the language preferred by humans.

“….”

She couldn’t lie, nor could she bring herself to say it outright.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

Cassion watched her golden eyes flicker restlessly before him. He moved his hand impatiently, urging her to answer.

“My fingers are inside you. What do the beastkin call it, Luna?”

“Cassion…”

Unable to answer, she merely clung to his broad shoulders and called his name. They stood so close that their noses nearly brushed. She looked into his eyes, clearly embarrassed.

“I already taught you the beastkin greeting.”

Before she could finish, he pressed the tip of his nose lightly against hers and rubbed it gently until the bridge of her nose dipped slightly under the pressure.

“Now tell me what you call it. I want to know the language of your kind.”

There was a faint hint of something darker in his voice — something almost sullen. Lunaria caught it at once. Though her throat felt dry with humiliation, she forced herself to speak.

“…Vo… ji.”

“That’s what you call the female organ?”

Cassion’s smile returned almost instantly. He traced her folds with his fingertips, studying her reaction as he murmured.

“So this is what you call voji?”

She nodded slowly.

Her face and the skin along her collarbone turned a deep shade of red. The sight eased the fire raging inside him, if only slightly.

However, despite his improved mood, he made a careless remark.

“So that’s what the beastkin call it… Then that Lukan fellow must have called this place voji too, didn’t he?”

Lunaria blinked slowly, certain she had misheard.

“H-huh?”

The words sounded so unlike him that she could not respond properly. At that moment, his fingers withdrew.

“Ah—!”

The sudden emptiness made her cheeks burn even more. It was mortifying on every level. Yet Cassion’s expression remained unchanged as he gently touched the sensitive skin around her entrance with his wet fingers.

“Why won’t you answer? Did he call it that? Did he call this your voji?”

“….”

Lunaria’s head spun even more at Cassion’s unfamiliar demeanor. Already dizzy from the heat, she felt completely overwhelmed.

Her wide eyes betrayed her confusion, but Cassion — who was no less unsettled — tilted his head and kissed her again.

“Answer me, Luna.”

“…N-no…”

She shook her head, unable to form a proper sentence.

Only then did he exhale quietly.

“Truly not?”

“…He’s just a childhood friend.”

“You met him again? Where? When?”

Under the relentless questioning, Lunaria fell silent once more.

Could she even encounter another of her kind within the Lumentis Empire?

“I—I don’t understand why you’re acting like this today, but that’s not what matters right now…”

Her voice trembled.

“Ah… Cassion…”

The heat below was unbearable; she felt as though she might melt. Ever since her first heat, he had always relieved her immediately. It had been a long time since she had experienced such intense pleasure, and her whole body felt as though it were dissolving in it.

“Mm… please… put it in.”

Although she urged him impatiently, she still watched his expression carefully. He had often scolded her for moving her hips too wantonly at times like this. Yet she could no longer endure it. Brushing her nose lightly against his cheek, she pleaded.

“It itches down there, Cassion…”

He had been staring at her intensely, almost accusingly. At her words, something in his expression cracked. His lips twisted; his brows furrowed.

“…Ha.”

He exhaled sharply, then drew in a long breath, steadying himself. Her words alone had nearly driven him past restraint.

“You have to say it properly, Luna.”

His voice carried a trace of deliberate cruelty as he urged her on.

“Cassion’s… c*ck… please put it… inside my… voji…”

The moment the words left her lips, Cassion tightened his grip and moved forward without hesitation.

In one swift motion, he thrust himself into her completely.