I stared at Elene with wide, disbelieving eyes.

  “P-punishment?!” I choked out, feeling my legs turn to jelly all over again. “But... I told you the truth! Lady Lilith was the one who... ”

  “And that is why you aren't being punished for lying,” she interrupted brutally, taking a predatory step toward me. “But you are still a dirty, slovenly little slut who soiled the panties I gave you and wasted my precious time with an interrogation.”

  Tears pricked my eyes at her words. I wanted to just sink onto the rug and sob from the sheer weight of my helplessness. Nothing that had happened was my fault, yet I was still the one being punished. It was so goddamn unfair it made my throat ache.

  I had no idea, however, that my despair was acting like a high-grade aphrodisiac on Elene. Seeing my trembling lower lip and gssed-over eyes, the succubus tensed. I could have sworn the aura in the room became stifling as her suppressed lust spiked. Elene had to use every ounce of her superhuman willpower not to lung at me and rip what was left of my pink outfit to shreds - my vulnerability was simply too tempting.

  Suddenly, right in front of my nose, a golden notification appeared with a soft ping.

  [Congratutions!]

  [New Talent Unlocked: Delicate Prey]

  [Delicate Prey - Your soul emits an aura of defenseless fragility that instinctively triggers conflicting impulses in stronger beings: a sadistic desire for dominance and a protective instinct for possession.Effect: Charisma +10]

  Startled, I blinked a few times, but I didn't even get to finish reading the description before Elene’s strong hands cmped onto my ribs. She hoisted me up by my armpits as easily as if she were picking up a plush toy.

  “E-eee!” I squeaked as my feet lost contact with the floor.

  Without any panties to hold things in pce, I felt terrifyingly exposed. Under that short skirt, my "little friend" swung freely with every one of Elene’s abrupt movements. I desperately tried to use one hand to hold the hem of the dress down, at least pretending to maintain a shred of modesty.

  The succubus ignored my struggle entirely. She took two quick strides and sat me back down on the edge of the bed, looming over me with an expression that drained the color from my cheeks.

  “We were going to wait until the end of the week and slowly increase the size so you could adjust,” she said in a low, almost purring voice, locking her eyes onto mine. “But pns have changed.”

  I stared at Elene’s hand in mounting horror as a pair of shoes materialized in the glow of her ring. They looked like instruments of torture plucked straight from a high-end sadist’s boutique.

  They were snow-white stilettos, the heels reached at least three inches. Compared to my previous fts, which had barely half an inch of lift, they looked lethal.

  They were made of gleaming patent leather that reflected the light like a mirror. The thin, metal heel resembled a sharpened spike, and intricate leather straps with tiny gold buckles ran around the ankles.

  “These should suffice for now,” Elene said with a predatory, satisfied grin.

  In her mind, she was already plotting something worse. She’d have preferred to put him in five-inchers to keep his calves permanently tensed and every step a battle for bance, but she knew the sweetling would likely break his ankles within two yards.

  “M-Mistress Elene...” I started, my voice trembling dangerously. “Is this really necessary? No one can walk normally in those, and I have so much work to do...”

  I tried to negotiate, looking for any way out, but Elene simply arched an eyebrow and sent me a look so icy I cmped my mouth shut instantly. There was no room for discussion in those eyes - only pure dominance. Under the weight of her gaze and my cursed [Submissive] trait, my resistance simply shattered.

  “Yes, Mistress...” I whispered, hanging my head.

  With trembling hands, I removed my old shoes and accepted the white monsters from her. As I slid my feet in, I felt my anatomy being brutally forced into a new shape. My heels were thrust unnaturally high, shifting my entire weight onto my toes. I fumbled clumsily with the straps, trying to figure out how to fasten them under her watchful eye.

  Once I finally got them on, I let out a breath and prepared to stand to see if I could even keep myself upright. But Elene stepped in. Before I could react, her powerful demonic tail shot forward and pinned me to the bed, pressing ft against my stomach.

  “Wait just a moment, my little pet,” she murmured, leaning over me.

  She pulled two tiny gold padlocks, intricately engraved with runes, from her pocket. With cold precision, she snapped them onto special loops on the buckles of my new shoes. Two distinct, metallic clicks rang in my ears like a death sentence. These shoes were designed so that removing them without a key was absolutely impossible.

  “Now you can be certain they’ll stay in pce all day,” she said, straightening up and releasing my stomach. “Now... stand. I want to see my little maid in her full glory.”

  I grit my teeth and pressed my hands into the mattress, trying to slowly straighten my legs. The moment I felt the hard marble beneath my feet, my entire world wobbled. My center of gravity had shifted forward, and I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice with nothing but two thin metal spikes under my heels.

  “Easy now, don't be such a klutz,” Elene muttered, stepping closer. Instead of supporting me, she began to bark instructions in her cool, businesslike tone. “Back straight, shoulders back. Don't try to pnt your whole foot at once, or you'll eat floor. Heel first, then a fluid transition to the toe. And watch your hips, kitten; in these shoes, you have to sway if you don't want to lose your bance.”

  I tried to follow her lead, feeling my calf muscles begin to quiver from the strain. Every step was a fight for survival, the bell on my tail jingling rhythmically to accent my struggle with gravity. After several minutes of this humiliating training, I finally started to find a rhythm, though the ache in my arches was almost unbearable.

  “Well, at least you don't look like a paralytic anymore,” Elene appraised. Without another word, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. “Come. You have more rooms to clean today, and we're already te thanks to your morning 'festivities'.”

  Seeing the succubus leave, I suddenly froze. A cold draft of air under my short skirt reminded me of something I’d forgotten in the heat of the battle with the shoes.

  “M-Mistress Elene!” I called out. She stopped in the doorway and let out a heavy sigh, turning her head back.

  “What now, sweetling?”

  “W... what about my panties?” I managed to choke out, my cheeks burning.

  A malicious, almost perverted smile bloomed on Elene’s face. She leaned against the doorframe, eyeing me from head to toe.

  “Oh, that’s simple,” she began in a silky voice. “You only had that one pair, which you so beautifully ruined st night. Since you aren't the type of person who deserves a wardrobe full of lingerie after just one day, you’ll have to work without them today.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. Work? All day? In this short skirt, in high heels, and without underwear...?

  “Unless you’d prefer I give the old ones back,” she added with an even wider grin, reaching toward her ring. “I can still return them if you miss walking around in panties full of your own dried mess that much. Your choice.”

  I shook my head violently, a wave of disgust hitting me at the thought of the sticky fabric touching my skin. It was a choice between the pgue and the pox, but the vision of "cleanliness" - even an exposed one - won out over the filth.

  “I thought so,” Elene nodded, making a commanding gesture with her finger for me to follow. “Move it. We don't have all day.”