Chapter 17

“Celiana! Welcome.”  

In the end, Celiana arrived at the Ephelmar ducal residence without meeting the old woman.  

She greeted Erta, who welcomed her at the entrance.  

“Erta. Thank you for inviting me.”  

“I have so much I want to talk about today. Shall we go in?”  

Celiana felt the same. Erta and Celiana sent all the servants away and were left alone together.  

Actually, most of the servants knew that Erta and Reytan did various things together.  

But for Celiana’s sake, Erta made sure it was just the two of them. Celiana might have secrets she wanted to share only with Erta.  

“Actually, besides the room I showed you last time, I have more tools in my own room.”  

“There are more?”  

Celiana’s eyes widened. The secret room in the hallway had been a new world, and now there was another? She felt a surge of anticipation.  

“Of course, let’s go quickly.”  

Erta’s voice rose as she led Celiana to her room.  

“It’s wonderful to have Reytan, but sharing tastes with another woman is something else, isn’t it?”  

Erta seemed delighted to share her preferences with Celiana. Of course, Celiana felt the same.  

If she hadn’t met Erta, she might not have been able to smile at all these days.  

Celiana’s eyes sparkled as she watched Erta take out various tools one by one in her room.  

“Celiana, do you know what this is?”  

“Oh my, this is…”  

From restraints that forced her thighs open—  

“You can hang while tied up?”  

—to body ropes that allowed her to be suspended from the ceiling.  

“Erta, how did you get clothes like these?”  

“I had them custom-made. Especially.”  

And even costumes for various kinds of play.  

There were all sorts of items.  

“Celiana, which do you like best? I prefer hospital play, or priestess concepts.”  

“I haven’t tried it, but…”  

As Celiana hesitated, Erta urged her to speak. Who else could she talk about this with?  

She was right. Celiana finally voiced the desires she’d never spoken aloud.  

“Something like a training school, or a military punishment theme.”  

“Oh, you like it hard.”  

Erta nodded enthusiastically.  

Celiana found it amazing that she could talk so freely.  

“Then, a prisoner and warden concept would be nice. Of course, we’d be the prisoners.”  

Erta even took it a step further.  

A prisoner? Just imagining herself pinned under Robert as the warden made Celiana blush.  

“Y-yes, that sounds good!”  

Once the conversation started, Celiana had no more reservations.  

As the two talked about their preferences for a while—  

“There’s another reason I invited you today.”  

Erta told her to wait, then took a small box out of a drawer.  

It was much smaller than the box with the cuffs and collar she’d received before.  

At this size, Robert probably wouldn’t catch her with it right away.  

“Open it, Celiana.”  

‘What could it be?’

Celiana opened the box with a look of curiosity.  

“This is…”  

Inside was a necklace.  

It was a lavish but common design, the kind one could easily buy at the jewelry shop just down the street.  

Why would she give this to her? Celiana looked puzzled.  

“Isn’t it just a necklace?”  

“How disappointing. Of course not.”  

Erta wore a confident expression.  

“Want to try it on? Ah, but first, let’s shake hands.”  

Erta tightly grasped Celiana’s hand and held it for about three seconds, then urged her to put on the necklace.  

Celiana hesitated, but in the end, the necklace was placed around her neck.  

‘What is this supposed to do?’  

And then, in the next moment—  

“Ah?”  

Celiana was startled by the sensation of someone touching her arm and quickly looked to the side.  

But there was no one there.  

With wide eyes, she met Erta’s gaze, who was beaming with satisfaction.  

“This is what it does. Isn’t it amazing?”  

“Did you do that just now, Erta?”  

“That’s right. My hand touched your arm.”  

It was an incredible item. Even from a distance, one could feel the sensation of being touched.  

“The condition for being able to touch is that the person wearing the necklace must have shaken hands for at least three seconds with someone recently.”  

If the owner of the necklace shakes hands with someone else, the target changes, Erta continued to explain about the necklace.  

“I never imagined something like this…”  

Celiana was amazed. That such an item existed in the world.  

Wearing this necklace opened up endless possibilities for play. It was an item with limitless applications.  

Since the person wearing the necklace was always the one being affected, it was safe because she could choose her partner herself.  

Just as Celiana was marveling at it—  

“It was brought in from the Periel Kingdom, and there’s only one on the entire continent. So take good care of it.”  

“What?”  

Celiana was startled. Take good care of it—didn’t that mean she was being given the necklace?  

“Erta, no. This is too precious to give…”  

Even if it was the only one in the Empire or Periel Kingdom, it would be amazing, but the only one on the continent?  

Regardless of its somewhat improper magical use, it was simply too valuable.  

“Take it as a keepsake.”  

“I can’t accept this.”  

Celiana tried to take off the necklace with a horrified look. Even with just what she’d heard, it was no ordinary item, and she herself wouldn’t even know how to use it properly.  

At most, she could shake hands with Robert and secretly enjoy his touch.  

‘…That actually sounds a little nice.’  

For a moment, a bit of greed poked up in Celiana’s heart. Thinking about it that way, she wanted the necklace just a little.  

Unlike Erta, who could share it with her husband, Celiana herself wasn’t in that position.  

If she could feel Robert’s touch even like this, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Such thoughts floated around in her mind.  

But soon, Celiana shook her head.  

She couldn’t accept it just to satisfy a small desire. She took off the necklace and handed it back to Erta.  

“Erta, I’ll just accept your feelings and decline.”  

But perhaps Erta saw a hint of hesitation in Celiana’s attitude? She didn’t take the necklace back, instead explaining why she was giving it as a gift.  

“Actually, there’s another reason I’m not keeping it myself.”  

“Another reason…?”  

“I got it because I wanted to use it as a pair.”  

“A pair?”  

Hadn’t she said there was only one on the continent? If it was a pair, there should be two.  

“Actually, it’s not just a necklace.”  

Erta began to explain.  

“There’s a ring that’s a set with the necklace. I heard the other one was coming into the Empire, so I got this one.”  

Erta grumbled, sounding disappointed.  

“Sorry to sound negative after saying it’s a gift, but to me, the necklace alone is only half an item.”  

From Celiana’s perspective, the necklace was already amazing as it was.  

But what effect did it have when used with the ring to make Erta react like this?  

“What’s different if you use them as a pair?”  

“The ring is the opposite. You can feel the sensation of touching the other person’s body.”  

But both the necklace and ring had one-way functions, so the partner wouldn’t know whether they were being touched or touching.  

“But do you know what happens if you use them as a pair?”  

“Oh, what happens?”  

Celiana swallowed in anticipation, waiting for Erta’s answer.  

“If you imprint the necklace and ring together, the three-second handshake doesn’t matter anymore. Only the owners of the necklace and ring can affect each other, and both can feel it.”  

Gasp. Celiana drew in her breath. It was an amazing feature.  

Erta sought agreement, saying it was a truly beautiful couple’s item.  

“How about it, isn’t it amazing?”  

“Yes, it really is.”  

Celiana nodded, a little dazed, but she meant it.  

If she and Robert each wore the necklace and ring, they could create all kinds of situations anytime, anywhere.  

Thinking about it, Erta was right—it was much more valuable as a pair.  

“Anyway. When I learned about this necklace, I thought the person who got the ring in the Empire was Reytan.”  

Erta grumbled, saying she’d naturally assumed so.  

“But when I found out it wasn’t Reytan, I lost interest.”  

She’d gotten it to use with her husband, so now it meant nothing to her, and she’d be happier if Celiana accepted it.  

“So please accept it, okay?”  

“…Thank you, Erta.”  

In the end, Celiana decided to accept the necklace. But suddenly, she became curious about the owner of the ring.