"Maybe I should just leave and let you two have some alone time?"
Herta's slightly sarcastic voice clearly reached the ears of Lumina and Castorice.
But even so, even if Herta felt very dissatisfied with the current situation, her little hand still tightly held Lumina's small hand.
"Ah..."
"S-sorry, sorry, I... I didn't, Sister Herta, I... I didn't mean it like that."
Startled by Herta's voice, Castorice also snapped back to her senses from her "sweet" world.
Sister Lumina and Sister Herta were a couple, so weren't her actions just now making her a "third wheel"?
Thinking of this, Castorice's rosy little face instantly turned pale in a matter of seconds.
She hurriedly pulled her little hand out of Lumina's hand, simultaneously taking a few steps back and waving her palm frantically to indicate that she did not have that kind of idea towards Sister Lumina.
At the same time, she kept apologizing, hoping that Herta would not blame her.
Castorice had read many novels, which naturally included some incredibly melodramatic ones.
For example, stories about a mistress trying to take the main wife's place, only to be constantly humiliated and beaten by her, and finally stripped naked and thrown onto the street to fend for herself...
As soon as this image came to mind, Castorice's fragile body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Castorice had witnessed Sister Lumina's strength, which was exceptionally, exceptionally formidable, powerful to the point of being completely unaffected by her own Curse.
As for Big Sister Herta... although Castorice wasn't very clear about her strength, she understood a certain truth very well.
That was, the strong are attracted to one another.
And Big Sister Herta, who could walk alongside Sister Lumina, must have strength that was completely beyond her imagination.
If she really offended her... then... would the things in those novels really happen?
"Big... Big Sister Herta, I'm... I'm sorry."
"I promise... I promise I'll never... never approach Sister Lumina again!"
"I really... really don't have any thoughts... any thoughts about Sister Lumina!"
Did Castorice have any thoughts about Lumina in her heart?
Actually, she did have a little bit.
After all, Sister Lumina had entered her world in such a warm, such a special way. For this Sister Lumina who was like an angel, a holy maiden, a god, it would definitely be a lie if Castorice said she had no thoughts about her.
If there were no other factors, even if the difference in strength and status between them was somewhat large, Castorice would still give it a try.
Castorice didn't want to leave any regrets.
But... but Sister Lumina already had a partner.
Castorice pressed her lips together and then felt a wave of resignation.
Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta were a match made in heaven. She... she couldn't come between them.
And she absolutely could not come between them.
She couldn't be a "third party," and she absolutely could not... offend Big Sister Herta.
"Uh..." Witnessing Castorice's changes from beginning to end, Herta suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
"Did... did I say something too harsh?"
Herta muttered under her breath, recalling her words from a moment ago, starting to doubt herself a little.
Her tone just now, she thought, shouldn't have been especially harsh, right?
And it was directed at Lumina, so why was it Castorice who was hurt?
What on earth was this little girl thinking?
Herta found it utterly incomprehensible, and impossible to understand.
Herta held no malice toward any beautiful girl that Lumina set her sights on.
She even harbored a hint of pity and sympathy.
After all, the things they would experience from Lumina in the future would be extremely painful, distressing, and heartbreaking...
Regarding Lumina's habit of falling for every beautiful girl she saw, Herta would only place all the "blame" on Lumina, never blaming the girls she targeted.
So from the very beginning, Herta had shown no malice toward Castorice at all.
Yet in the end, things still ended up looking like this, leaving Herta somewhat bewildered.
"Hmph, Little Herta, look at what you've done!" Feeling the emptiness of her own right hand and seeing Castorice's pale face, Lumina let out a light snort, seeming extremely displeased.
Lumina's thoughts were almost identical to Herta's, wondering why Castorice had become like this.
Herta's sarcastic words were clearly directed at her, so why was it Castorice who was hurt?
Lumina pondered this with great confusion, her thoughts and conclusions matching Herta's exactly.
But although the process was the same, the result was completely different.
Herta pondered for a long time, still in a state of confusion, but Lumina had already reached a definitive conclusion.
Lumina knew Castorice better than Herta did. After thinking for a moment, she understood why Castorice had become like this.
Without a doubt, Castorice was overthinking things again.
She had completely misinterpreted Herta's words, thinking that Herta was warning her, warning her not to be so intimate with Lumina, warning her to keep a certain distance from her... and so on.
After understanding what was on Castorice's mind, Lumina shot Herta a look.
"..."
Although Lumina said nothing, Herta understood what Castorice was thinking just from that one look.
So she was just overthinking things.
Herta sighed silently in her heart, feeling somewhat speechless.
After Herta understood the reason, Lumina raised an eyebrow at her, as if gesturing: "Go, go comfort her quickly. You caused this, so you solve it yourself."
"..." When she understood the meaning, Herta rolled her eyes at her in annoyance.
She let go of the small hand she was holding with Lumina and walked over to stand before Castorice.
Looking at the pitiable sight before her, Herta had to admit that although Lumina was a bit of a scoundrel, her taste was definitely impeccable.
The kind of beautiful girl ordinary people would recognize as such probably wouldn't even come close to what Lumina considered a beautiful girl.
She shook her head, refusing to dwell on the thought any further.
Herta stared at Castorice in front of her, unable to stop herself from falling into deep thought.
Herta didn't know how to comfort people, so when Lumina asked her to do just that for Castorice, her mind went completely blank.
She had no idea what to say.
"..." Lumina watched as Herta stared at Castorice in silent contemplation, her lip twitching involuntarily.
Although Herta appeared to be thinking deeply in Lumina's eyes and to anyone else, it probably didn't seem that way to Castorice.
"Bi... Big Sister Herta, I... I'm really sorry."
Watching Big Sister Herta walk up to her and stare at her with an "interrogating" gaze, Castorice's already pale face now lacked even a hint of color.
All sorts of tragic endings were already playing out in Castorice's mind.
Castorice did not want such an ending to happen, so she endured the "pressure" Herta exerted on her and tremblingly apologized once more.
"I... promise... promise..."
"Sigh, what on earth is going through your head?" Hearing Castorice's first apologetic words, Herta temporarily emerged from her state of contemplation.
Upon hearing Castorice's second line before she even finished speaking, Herta pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed in frustration.
Her eyes, more dazzlingly brilliant than amethysts, turned, and a few glints of light shone from within them.
Herta seemed to have found a strategy for comfort.
She reached out her hand and gently placed it on Castorice's small head, while Castorice watched her with a somewhat frightened gaze.
Although Herta had never comforted a beautiful girl, had she not watched Lumina comfort beautiful girls?
Herta's solution at this moment was to learn and imitate Lumina's methods.
Whatever methods Lumina used to comfort beautiful girls in her daily life, Herta would use those same methods to comfort this beautiful girl.
Lumina was a beautiful girl, and she herself was also a beautiful girl; the methods Lumina could use, she could naturally use as well.
Herta thought to herself just like this.
At the exact same moment Herta placed her hand on Castorice's head, Castorice's body suddenly shuddered.
"Big Sister Herta... is she... is she going to execute me?"
Even at this moment, Castorice's mind was still filled with all sorts of wild thoughts.
This wasn't because Castorice enjoyed letting her imagination run wild regardless of the situation.
It was simply because Castorice knew that resisting was a futile effort.
Big Sister Herta had touched her, but just like Sister Lumina, she showed no adverse reactions.
To be able to forcibly ignore the "flaw" of [Death] through sheer strength, this was simply not an enemy Castorice could face.
Next, she could only hope, hope that Sister Lumina would save her.
But... but why, why is Sister Lumina still doing nothing?
As expected... I am just a passing guest in Sister Lumina's life.
And Big Sister Herta is Sister Lumina's unquestionable "true love."
Goodbye, Sister Lumina...
Castorice closed her eyes, prepared to face the punishment this "third wheel" deserved.
Herta: ...
Lumina: ...
Seeing Castorice's face looking almost as if she were heading to her death, Lumina and Herta exchanged glances, both feeling a bit exasperated.
For this Castorice, not becoming a cosmic screenwriter was truly a waste of talent.
Without thinking further, after being speechless for a moment, Herta started acting, gently stroking Castorice's small head.
Then, mimicking Lumina's previous tone toward the beautiful girl, she said softly and gently, "Don't think too much. I... um, I don't mind your behavior. You don't need to be so nervous or worried."
"Lumina doesn't eat people, and I won't either."
"I... won't mind your actions just now."
Although she was trying to comfort her by mimicking Lumina's methods, because of Herta's own habits, this comfort... sounded a bit strange.
"Mm..."
Herta's comforting voice reached Castorice's ears, and she felt it was a bit odd.
But fortunately, words were not the most important means of comfort. Actions were.
Under Herta's sincere and earnest comfort, Castorice's tightly closed eyes gradually narrowed.
Feeling Herta's hand continuously stroking the top of her head, feeling the warmth constantly transmitted from Herta's palm, and feeling Herta's sincerity, Castorice understood all at once.
Big Sister Herta is also a good person.
I misunderstood Big Sister Herta before!
Although Castorice loved to overthink, she wasn't a fool.
Big Sister Herta had already done this much, so it definitely wasn't what she had thought in her mind.
"Um... yeah."
"Big Sister Herta, I... I understand."
Castorice's pale face gradually returned to normal.
And then, under Herta's repeated stroking, a few blushes appeared.
Castorice's lips, also unconsciously, began to turn upward, revealing a happy smile.
"..."
"Uh..."
Watching the scene of Herta and Castorice interacting, why did Lumina feel like... something wasn't quite right?
Hmm...
Staring at Herta and Castorice for a while, Lumina fell into a state of contemplation.
That's not right!
A moment later, Lumina reached a conclusion.
Why did it feel like my two "good besties" were getting to be so close?
Thinking of this, Lumina hesitated no longer, hurriedly strode forward, pressed one hand on Castorice's shoulder, and grabbed Herta's collar with her other hand, forcibly separating the two of them.
"Ahem." Feeling the confused gazes of the two, Lumina coughed a few times and said with a deliberately serious expression, "Alright, since the misunderstanding is resolved, let's get moving."
"Don't just keep standing there."
"Mm-hmm, Sister Lumina is right." After clearing up a small misunderstanding with Herta, Castorice's mood had improved a lot.
She nodded, agreeing with Sister Lumina's suggestion.
"Oh?"
Although Lumina didn't reveal any flaws on the surface, Herta still noticed a hint of it.
She was a little flustered?
Why was she a little flustered? What was she flustered about?
Could it be...
Was she interpreting her and Castorice's actions just now as what is so-called "internal digestion"?
Herta made a guess in her mind.
Regarding this, Herta could only say that Lumina was overthinking it.
She only liked Lumina and would only ever like Lumina.
Herta had not the slightest bit of interest in other beautiful girls.
The so-called comfort to Castorice was also just following Lumina's instructions.
As for Castorice, she was probably just more simple, more cherishing of friends, and more cherishing of people who could touch her.
She definitely didn't have any thoughts toward her.
But she seemed to have a little bit of something for Lumina?
Herta could feel it.
But it didn't matter because, no matter what, Castorice could not pose any threat to her at all.
Therefore, Herta would treat her as a friend, not a rival.
Herta's rival had always been only one person.
That was Lumina herself.