9. Do Not Look Inside the Moth Trap

Author: Kiki
Raw: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2498fn/9/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

The moment in which a person feels greatest happiness is not when they help someone, nor when someone expresses gratitude to them.
It is when they violate a taboo that they attain the summit of happiness.

Chigusa opened the door, and at last I stepped into the room.
Last night and the night before, I had only been permitted to listen from outside—to hear their voices as a bystander stranded upon an outer rim beyond all reach.
Now I was standing at their source.
That alone brought me such joy that I trembled, and yet I was about to become one of the participants as well.

“Haaaaah …”

I drew a long, deep breath, filling my chest with the sweet, tart fragrance that permeated the room.
It was a honeyed, elusive perfume in which the scents of Chigusa and Ellis mingled.
If merely breathing had this effect upon me, what would become of me if I buried my face in the bed?
I stopped in the middle of the room and stared fixedly at it. Chigusa, who had linked her arm through mine, whispered in my ear.

“Does the bed interest you that much?”
“Yes … When I think that I am about to take the stage there …”
“You look ready to lose your mind. Nunnally, you’re such a pervert.”
“But an honest Nunnally is much more endearing than one who forces herself to hold back.”
“Mm-hm. I think I like you better this way too.”
“Thank you.”

It was rather strange to thank them for such a thing, but I was too delighted not to.
There was nothing in this world I cherished more than praise from these two.
Yet now that I had actually entered the room, I found myself at a loss. I possessed no experience in such matters.
When I looked anxiously toward Chigusa, she spoke in a beguiling voice.

“To begin with, you may do whatever you please.”

She might say so, but …
I looked at Chigusa because I truly had no idea what to do, but she offered no further instruction.
When I looked at Ellis, I found her smiling mischievously.
Perhaps it had already begun.
After a moment’s hesitation, I took one step forward of my own volition, then a second and a third, drawn toward the bed.
When I reached it, I put my knees upon the covers, got down on all fours, and lowered my face toward them.
At last, I buried my nose—

“Hah, hah … nn, hmmm … nngh …”

I somehow took the reins of my ragged breathing, steeled myself, and inhaled with all my might.
The scents of Chigusa and Ellis soaked into the covers flooded my body at once and reached all the way to my brain. I went numb, and lights danced before my eyes.
It ravaged my mind like a narcotic, erasing even the last faint trace of shame.

“Hah, haaah … nn … The covers are saturated with your scents. This—this is what I wanted!”
“My, did you want to smell us that badly, Nunnally?”
“Yes! Whenever you embraced me, you smelled so sweet. I truly wanted to bury my face in your breasts, your stomachs, your legs, and breathe you in! Ahh, nn, hmmm … Such a rich scent. It is exquisite—truly exquisite.”
“Ahaha! Nunnally, sniffing so desperately makes you look just like a dog.”
“Then a dog is what I shall be! I shall become your dog, so please—give me more. Give me more of you, Chigusa and Ellis!”

Even as I panted with my nose buried in the covers and wagged my rear in a disgraceful display, neither of them laughed at me.
On the contrary, the more indecently I behaved, the more pleased they seemed. Surely it was only natural that I should wish to go further.
I rolled onto my back, thrust out my tongue, spread my legs, and displayed myself to them in the pose of a submissive dog.
Naturally, I did not neglect to pant, “Hah, hah,” like a beast.

“My, you truly have become a dog. In that case, I must play with my pet as her owner.”

Chigusa sat on the bed and touched my knee with the tips of her fingers.
They traveled from there along my inner thigh, my side, my underarm, my neck, and beneath my jaw. Only the line traced by her fingers grew hot, as though it had been branded into me.

“Hah, hah, hah.”

So consumed was I by the sensation that I truly began to breathe in short, shallow pants like a dog.
At last, Chigusa’s fingertips reached my mouth.
She rested her index and middle fingers against the surface of my tongue, then gazed steadily at me with red eyes, prompting me to act.
She expected something of me. What ought I to do in this situation?
In that moment, I belonged to them utterly, body and soul, as their pet. I was afflicted with the madness of wishing—fervently, desperately, from the bottom of my heart—to serve her.

“Hah … llh … hff … nn, lick …”

When I began to lick Chigusa’s fingers, she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and stroked my head.
Her fingers tasted faintly salty. The thought that this was Chigusa’s taste made my body crave it like an addict.
In truth, I wished to close my lips around them and suck, but she held them at an exquisitely calculated distance. I could not take them into my mouth without moving my neck.
Yet I was a pet now. I could hardly presume to suck them without my owner’s permission.
Ah, but if this agonizing frustration continued, I feared I might eventually reach the limit of my endurance.
Wet licking sounds filled the room as I looked pleadingly at Chigusa.

“If there is something you want, you must tell me. Otherwise, I cannot know what it is.”
“Chigusa … you are cruel.”
“She is, isn’t she? Sister can be a little mean. But that’s one of the things that makes her …”
“Yes. Wonderful.”

It was not that she lacked love.
It was precisely because she loved me that she teased and toyed with me.
Because I could feel that love, I was able to expose my shamelessness without fear.

“Chigusa, might you permit me to take your fingers deep into my mouth—to lick and suck them?”

Once I had clearly put my desire into words, the fingers she had kept just beyond my lips slowly slid into my mouth.

“Hah … haaah … nn, hmmm … mmph, nngh …”

I desperately wound my tongue around her fingers as though determined to melt the very flesh from them.
I coated them lavishly in saliva. Watching Chigusa’s fingers grow glossy with my fluids made it seem as if part of my body were entering hers, and unsurpassable bliss enveloped me from head to toe.
Before I knew it, Ellis had seated herself upon the bed as well. From beside us, she watched my ungainly tongue coil like a tentacle around skin as white as silk.
Knowing that someone was watching me in a state I had never shown another soul only heightened my excitement.
Enraptured by the gaze pouring down upon me, I continued savoring Chigusa’s fingers until she chose to withdraw them.
She raised her fingertips, coated in clear, viscous fluid, before her face and licked them clean herself.
The instant I saw it, a shudder ran through me and I could not help moaning, “Nn, haaah …”
How could I have reacted otherwise? Of her own volition, Chigusa had taken a part of me into her body.

“Were Sister’s fingers really that good?”
“More intoxicating than the finest wine … Ahh, I am quite drunk.”
“I’m jealous. Maybe I’ll have you share a little with me.”

With that, Ellis leaned over me and pressed her lips to mine.
I was startled for an instant, but soon closed my eyes and entwined my tongue with the one she thrust into my mouth.
Perhaps because I had grown somewhat accustomed to kissing, I now had enough composure to follow her movements, and in doing so I came to understand.
Her kisses only seemed rough. In truth, she searched carefully for my most sensitive places and lavished affection upon them.
Feeling her love in the warm fluid that flowed into me, I serenely accepted her ravaging.
Perhaps Ellis had kissed me in search of the traces of Chigusa left in my mouth, but somewhere along the way she must have ceased to care.
We forgot even that Chigusa was watching and continued our deep kiss for some time.
When our lips finally parted with a gasp, Ellis and I remained close enough to feel each other’s breath. We held one another’s gaze like lovers.

“Even I become lonely when you leave me out for so long.”

At Chigusa’s wry remark, Ellis and I started and drew apart.
There were three of us, after all. Allowing ourselves to become too engrossed presented difficulties of its own.

“With you hidden beneath such a veil, there are so few places I can touch. It is only natural that my hands should be left idle.”

As she spoke, Chigusa untied the sash fastened around my waist.
At last, the time had come for bare skin to meet bare skin.
Chigusa and Ellis reached almost simultaneously for the hem of my habit’s skirt. Slowly, they ran their hands up my legs as they lifted it.
When my plain white undergarments were exposed, shame swelled within me all at once.
It was not the fact that they were looking at me that proved so mortifying, but that I had worn such drab undergarments, chosen with no thought that anyone else might see them.

“They suit you, Nunnally. Pure white and innocent.”
“Ah … I—I am sorry … I shall take greater care next time …”
“Then we ought to go shopping together soon. We can each choose the undergarments we would like to see the others wear. I am sure it will be delightful.”

That would … Ah, yes. Chigusa was surely right.
It would be like an outing between lovers, a delightful time indeed.
But at present, their hands were gently caressing my thighs. My head was so full of the thrilling sensation that I could scarcely think.
How frustrating. I wanted them to strip away my undergarments and touch me directly.
Yet my wish went unanswered. Their hands traveled farther up my body, passing over my stomach and reaching my chest as they removed my habit, occasionally kissing the skin they bared.

“Raise your arms.”

Obeying Chigusa’s command, I sat up and raised both hands. At last, I was left wearing nothing but my undergarments.
Then the two of them removed their habits as well, and all three of us lay upon the bed with our bare skin pressed close together.
Exposed skin was so sensitive that the mere touch of it bore no comparison to being caressed through clothing.
When smooth fingertips did no more than stroke near my navel, my abdominal muscles spasmed and small moans escaped me.
If that alone could deliver such searing pleasure, it was clear that I would be entirely incapable of resisting whatever torments the two of them visited upon me afterward.
And yet I awaited that moment eagerly.

“Ahh! Ah, aaah … Hih, hnnn …”

Chigusa and Ellis were licking my ears from either side.
The wet sounds struck my eardrums directly. Each time their slick, damp tongues slid across my ears, now sharpened to exquisite sensitivity, my hips lifted from the bed.

“Does that feel good?”
“Y-yesh … It ish … wonderful …”
“Your ears too … No, your whole body is sensitive, isn’t it, Nunnally?”
“Because Chigusa … and Ellis … are the ones I—ahh! The ones I love …”

They continued whispering their love and caressing my ears as Chigusa’s hand reached between my breasts—
With a click, she undid the front clasp.

“Entrust everything to us.”
“Ah … yes … Do with me … as you please.”

Her hand slowly removed the garment.
At last, it was about to begin.
I surrendered myself entirely to their will, offering up everything without the slightest reservation.
I felt no regret. On the contrary, I was proud to have been able to give myself to them.
In the brief intervals between the ceaseless affection they bestowed upon me, a thought occurred to me.
Perhaps the reason I had become a sister—
Perhaps the reason I had met that man and eloped with him—was so that I might one day meet these two.

◇◇◇

Our lovemaking continued deep into the night, and it was not until the following morning that I next returned to my senses.
I had fallen asleep as though fainting from exhaustion, so I could not clearly remember when I had lost consciousness.
All I knew was that the hour was already approaching noon.
That—and that Chigusa and Ellis lay in the same bed as I did, without a stitch of clothing upon them.

“I have … become yours.”

Even after my lust had cooled, love remained within my breast.
Only with the coming of dawn did I know for certain that the night had not been some fleeting dream born of my having been swept along, but the expression of a powerful will rooted deep within my heart.
I loved Chigusa and Ellis more than anyone, more than anything.
The church and the people of the city no longer mattered to me in the least.
So long as I had the two of them, I needed nothing else. I would gladly leave the church closed forever if only we could remain here, touching one another.

“Nn … Nunnally …”

At some point, Chigusa had begun addressing me without an honorific.
It made me feel as though the distance between us had narrowed, and my heart fluttered each time she spoke my name.

“Good morning, Chigusa.”
“Good morning … You are awake early.”
“It is nearly noon.”
“Mm … But we were up late last night.”

My memories were too hazy to recall much, but if Chigusa said so, then our activities must have continued well into the night.
Indeed, my whole body felt heavy and languid. I doubted I could even stand properly.

“Ellis, are you awake?”

At Chigusa’s call, Ellis groaned and rubbed her eyes with a pained expression before waking.

“Morning … What is it, Sister?”
“Look at Nunnally’s chest.”
“Hmm?”

What could possibly be upon my chest? I lowered my eyes to look and found a tattoo-like design I had never seen before.
It was red and shaped like a heart, with wings resembling those of a demon.
I had no memory of receiving it whatsoever, yet rather than confusion, the sight inexplicably filled me with excitement.

“Oh. So the preparations are finally complete.”
“Indeed. Now, whenever we wish … we may draw Nunnally over to our side.”

I did not understand what they meant and could only stare in bewilderment.
Chigusa reached out and touched my breast, then caressed the tattoo as tenderly as though it were precious to her.
It was plainly more than the touch of skin upon skin. A prickling heat raced through my body.

“Nn, haaah! Ahhh! Wh-what is this …?”
“This is the Mark proving that you have submitted to me, Nunnally. All that remains is to drink your blood, and you will become a half-vampire like us.”
“A vampire …? Surely you and Ellis cannot both be … inhuman …”
“Mm-hm. We’re vampires. We came to the church so we could make you one of us.”

They were not human. They were inhuman beings—monsters—vampires.
The revelation inspired neither shock nor anger in me. Instead, it made perfect sense.
From the very beginning, I had suspected as much.
They were creatures of bewitching, unearthly allure.

“You do not seem terribly surprised.”
“I already knew there was nothing ordinary about you.”

It was far too late for my feelings to disappear.
As the tattoo itself proved, I had already offered the two of them my body and soul.
No—if anything …

“And … I can become a half-vampire like you, can I not? You will go on loving me forever and ever?”
“Naturally. We shall be able to spend a far longer time loving one another than humans ever could.”
“Then there is no purpose in remaining human! Take my humanity from me. Turn me into a vampire!”

At my declaration, they grinned, wearing the first truly vampiric expressions I had ever seen upon them.
Red eyes, white skin, and sharp fangs.
Ah … Soon I too would be transformed into the same form.
Quickly, quickly—sink those fangs into my neck and finish it.
Do something to me that can never be undone!

“Are you quite certain?”

Chigusa asked the question as she brought her face close to my neck.

“I do not mind.”
“This is a church, and you are a woman of the cloth. People trust the clergy unconditionally. You would betray that trust?”
“I do not mind. They chose to trust me without cause.”
“To betray them means helping us increase our numbers. The city may be plunged into chaos.”
“That does not matter. Please, just hurry!”
“At times, you may even have to kill. Child or elder, you would show no mercy. Is that the manner of creature you wish to become?”
“Yes! If it means I can remain with you, Chigusa—if it means we can love one another—I care nothing for the lives of strangers!”
“… Very good. You have done well.”

It appeared I had passed the final examination.

“Hngh!?”

There came a tiny tearing sensation as my skin split.

“Ah … aaah … agh …”

On the left side of my neck, nearer my heart, Chigusa’s fangs bored into me. On the right, Ellis’s did the same. They drank the blood that streamed from the wounds.
At the same time, something else—something inhuman—poured into me.
Cold spread outward from the points of loss, while that which flowed in to replace it was colder by far than any human body.
I was being exchanged, remade—becoming something other than human while remaining myself.

“Ah … ah … ah …”

All strength had long since left my body.
Having lost so much blood, I was steadily approaching my death as a human.
But I felt no fear. The fragments of Chigusa and Ellis dwelling within me filled me with peace.
The vampiric essence filling my emptied vessel began little by little to alter the shape of my body.
This, surely, was the sensation of my organs being remade.
This was the sensation of my toes becoming something else.
This was the sensation of my skin being replaced.
This was the sensation of my eyes being dyed red.
This was the sensation of love being planted in my brain.
Parts of my two beloveds entered every corner of my body and filled me utterly.
Woven into me this deeply, they could surely never be lost again.

Before I knew it, my consciousness had faded as gently as though I had fallen asleep—and when next I opened my eyes,
my flesh, my heart, and my soul had all been transformed into something no longer human.

The world before me seemed somehow clearer. Perhaps my eyesight had improved.
I ran my tongue across my teeth and found two that were unusually sharp. These, then, were my fangs.
Power suffused my body. I had never been especially athletic, but now I felt capable of anything.
Then I looked at my progenitor, smiling beside me, and a word I had never before used rose unbidden into my mind.

“Mistress.”

The moment I looked upon Chigusa, the title came naturally to my lips.

“Ah, my Mistress. Thank you for bestowing such a magnificent body upon me.”

I had only ever been a false sister, and I had never possessed any particular faith in a god.
Yet I could state with certainty that what I now felt for my Mistress was faith. It was worship.
For her sake, I felt capable of anything, be it massacre or torture.

“I have awaited this moment ever since we first met. I knew that being a vampire would suit you, Nunnally.”
“I am honored that you chose me.”
“Nunnally, don’t look only at Sister. Pay attention to me too. I drank your blood as well, you know.”
“Forgive me. Naturally, I am grateful to you as well, Lady Ellis. You are my other mother, after all.”
“Nfufu, that’s all right, then. Hey, Sister, hearing Nunnally call me ‘Lady Ellis’ makes me want to do it again.”
“We intended to devote the entire day to her welcoming celebration in any event. Shall we begin at once?”
“I knew you’d understand, Sister!”

Lady Ellis abruptly claimed my lips.
We had surely kissed more times than I could count the previous night, yet now it felt entirely different.
We were joined more deeply than before, and the pleasure was beyond comparison.
When Ellis and I ended our kiss, our tongues having twined fiercely together, my Mistress stirred through the inside of my mouth next.
Once we had each exchanged kisses, our union proceeded to its next stage.
The church did not open that day. The feast of three vampires continued until late into the night.

◇◇◇

And so the monsters successfully stole into the peaceful city.
In the clergy, they obtained the perfect shelter beneath which to hide. Wearing the faces of good women, they began to violate the people’s peace.
Even today, another unsuspecting human comes to the church to confide their troubles.
They do not know that we who stand before them are vampires, ready to drag them down into the blissful depths of the abyss—