Yongye leaned back against the sofa, his gaze sliding over her face, etched with restraint, then down to the fingertips slowly pushing her clothes lower, and finally to the skin above her shoulder blades, gilded warm by the light.
The smile at his lips deepened from satisfaction into amusement.
He said nothing.
He merely tipped his chin toward her.
That superior air, as though he were appraising prey he had just caught, made Himiko clench her jaw even harder, but her fingers did not stop.
Tamamo-no-Mae retreated to the Liquor Cabinet and picked up her cup of sake again. Her pale purple eyes drifted from Himiko's back to Kikyo's face as she knelt quietly, and the faintest smile curved her lips.
She leaned toward Kikyo's ear and lowered her voice until only the two of them could hear.
"See? Your big sister's pretty decent, isn't she?"
"At least I spared her all the roundabout nonsense that would've come later."
Kikyo turned her head and gave her a calm look with her light brown eyes. Her voice was clear and low, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
"You just want to make sure she can never turn back."
Tamamo-no-Mae took a sip of sake, her nine tails slowly unfurling and curling behind her.
"You're right."
She did not deny it.
She wanted this pure queen to become an even bigger slut than she was!
"But that doesn't matter. What matters is-"
Tamamo-no-Mae paused and tipped her chin toward the sofa.
"Making Lord Yongye happy."
Kikyo's eyelashes fluttered.
She said nothing, merely withdrawing her gaze from Tamamo-no-Mae's face and returning it to Himiko's back as she knelt before the sofa.
Of her own accord, she raised her hands and pulled down Tamamo-no-Mae's sash.
She knew Lord Yongye liked this sort of atmosphere...