The auction hall buzzed with activity for the next several minutes. Down below, the succubus continued to present the various “lots” with unwavering enthusiasm. I watched it all with a mixture of morbid fascination and a growing chill in my heart.

  The women appearing on stage differed in almost every way. There was a tall elf with skin so pale it was almost translucent, auctioned off as a “mana reservoir” due to her natural proficiency in maniputing magical energy. She was followed by a powerfully built orc woman, her muscles straining against heavy chains - marketed as an ideal guardian or “durable material for hard bor.” Men were put under the hammer as well, ranging from young, terrified boys with delicate features to bitter, scarred war veterans whose combat talents fetched astronomical prices.

  Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Sitting on Lilith’s p, feeling her hand zily toy with my leash, I found the courage to ask.

  “Mistress... why aren't you buying anything? I thought we came here so you could acquire some new sves for the castle.”

  Lilith stirred slightly, tearing her gaze away from the stage to look at me in a way that made me feel exceptionally stupid.

  “Darling, even if I wanted to buy new sves, I’d likely commission someone else to do it rather than waste my time on such boring and primitive games,” she replied coldly, stroking my cheek.

  I blinked in surprise. “Then why are we even here?” I blurted out before I could bite my tongue.

  Lilith smiled and drew closer, pulling me into a tighter embrace. Her scent hit my nostrils again, enveloping my senses. “Isn’t it obvious? I simply wanted to spend more time with you.”

  For a split second, I felt a strange warmth in my chest.

  Spend time with me? I thought it was a bizarre, almost macabre way to spend time - taking someone to a sve auction just to enjoy their company - but I took it as a form of care nonetheless.

  Maybe I’m not just a piece of meat to her after all?

  Those pleasant thoughts shattered like a gss ornament, however, when Lilith leaned in and whispered directly into my ear. “After all, house pets need a bit of fresh air from time to time so they don’t go feral in confinement.”

  I take it all back, I thought angrily, my tail stiffening with irritation. I take back every good thing I thought about her. She’s still the same damn Demon King who only knows how to selfishly use others and treat them like toys.

  Seeing my pouting face, Lilith ughed softly. She clearly loved teasing me. After a moment, however, she let out a heavy sigh, her gaze lingering on a broad-shouldered demon currently being bid on.

  “Besides...” she added with a hint of resignation, “it’s not like I have an endless supply of money to go around buying every sve that catches my eye.”

  I looked at her as if she’d suddenly grown a second head. “Mistress... but you’re a Demon King! One of the rulers of this entire continent! How is it possible that you don’t have money?”

  Lilith’s eye twitched slightly, and a grimace appeared on her face that I hadn’t seen before. “Darling... I am by far the poorest Demon King,” she confessed, sounding almost pained. “Nearly all my resources and funds go toward my women.”

  I nearly choked on my own spit. Only now did the reality of something I hadn’t considered hit me with full force. This gargantuan castle, which was actually her private harem filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful women... maintaining all of that, feeding them, dressing them in luxury attire, and ensuring their safety must cost an absolute fortune.

  I stared at her in disbelief, almost pityingly. Seeing my expression, Lilith merely snorted and turned her head back toward the window.

  “Don’t look at me like that!” she hissed, though I detected a note of embarrassment in her voice. “I simply can’t help but spoil my sweet girls. They deserve nothing but the best.”

  Right... I thought, feeling the pinch of the pink cage beneath my dress. She spoils them so much that I have to parade around in heels and a leash with a cage on my penis under my skirt...

  For the next several dozen minutes, I sat on Lilith’s p in a strange state of numbness. Her hands constantly wandered through my hair, her fingertips gently teasing my cat ears, sending conflicting signals through me - reflexive purring mixed with mounting anxiety. Down below, more beings were auctioned off, but my gaze remained hollow.

  Suddenly, the succubus’s voice on the stage became even more grandiose, almost fanatical.

  “And now, my dears... it is time for the grand finale. The final, exceptional specimen of the evening!” she cried out as the lights in the hall dimmed, focusing on a single point. “We present a rarity among rarities. A young individual of the cat-person race, possessing an unprecedented pink pigment in both fur and hair. A creature with an extremely high potential for submissiveness, perfectly suited as the most personal toy for someone who prizes pure sweetness combined with absolute obedience...”

  With every word she spoke, I felt my heart hammer harder, thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird. My hair and tail literally stood on end. Pink hair? Cat-person? Extreme submissiveness? The description fit me so perfectly that pure panic exploded in my brain.

  Then Lilith stood up, holding me firmly in her arms, and gave the leash a light tug. “Come, kitten. It’s time for us to go,” she said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

  This was the end.

  My worst nightmares were becoming reality. I was so terrified that I lost every shred of my remaining dignity. I began to cling to her with all my might, clutching her robes with trembling hands, my tail desperately wrapping around her waist as if trying to fuse with her permanently.

  “Mistress! I beg of you! I’m sorry for everything!” I began to sob, tears streaming down my cheeks and wetting her cleavage. “I’m sorry for being naughty, I’m sorry about the vampire, for pying in her bed instead of cleaning, for... for pying with myself, for everything! I’ll do whatever you want, I’ll be the best sve, just don’t sell me! Please, don’t give me to those monsters!”

  Lilith didn't answer. Her face was the icy, impenetrable mask of a Demon King. She walked relentlessly through the dark corridor of the lodge, and I heard only the cck of her heels and my own ragged breath. I promised her everything - that I’d never breathe another word of compint about the cage, that I’d lick her boots, that I’d endure any humiliation, so long as I didn't have to stand on that stage.

  I squeezed my eyes shut so hard it hurt, not wanting to see the moment we stepped out into the spotlight. I felt her carrying me further, felt a gust of cool air, and then suddenly, everything went quiet. I could no longer hear the voices of the crowd, only the soothing rustle of the wind.

  “You can open your eyes now, you silly little cat.”

  Trembling all over, I slowly pried my eyelids open, expecting the blinding lights of the auction and hundreds of hands reaching for my leash. Instead, I saw the familiar, luxurious interior of our carriage. The soft upholstery, the scent of Lilith’s perfume, and total privacy.

  I was still sitting in her arms, and she was looking down at me with that slightly mocking, yet strangely satisfied smile.

  Lilith wiped a tear from my cheek with her thumb, her smile softening a fraction, though it remained dominant.

  “Did you really think I’d give my favorite toy to someone else?” she asked quietly. “You are far too precious for any other demon to touch. But your promises...” She leaned in and nipped my earlobe. “I liked your promises very much. I shall remember every single one of them.”

  As the carriage door shut with a dull click and the vehicle lurched forward, the reality of what had just happened slowly began to sink in. The adrenaline and pure panic started to recede, leaving room for a mounting irritation, but also a deep, stifling dread. I looked at Lilith, who sat across from me with that enigmatic smile.

  She was teasing me... I thought, a spark of anger blooming in my chest. She’d done all of it just to see me break. To hear me beg.

  At the same time, I felt a shiver of terror at the memory of how real that threat had felt. Lilith must have been much angrier with me than I’d assumed if she went to such cruel lengths just to hammer my position into my head.

  And then... then I remembered all those things I’d promised her. My face erupted into a living fire.

  “M-Mistress... those promises... I was in shock, I didn’t mean...” I started nervously, trying to backtrack on my decrations of boot-licking and absolute submission.

  Lilith didn't let me finish. With a fluid motion, she pressed a finger to my lips, silencing me instantly. Her eyes shimmered in the carriage’s gloom. Suddenly, in her hand, as if by magic, appeared a bottle filled with warm, white milk.

  “Feeding time, my little, overstimuted kitten,” she murmured.

  I didn't have the strength to protest. I felt so emotionally drained that when she began to settle me into a feeding position - my head resting on her soft thighs - I simply gave in. When she pressed the nipple to my lips, I obediently accepted it. The taste of the sweet, thick milk began to slowly calm me, and the rhythmic sucking made the world outside the carriage cease to exist.

  Lilith watched me from above, gently stroking my pink ears.

  Good kitten, she thought, her gaze resting on my eyeshes, still wet with tears. This trip had been a total success. The sight of Neko in a state of such extreme defenselessness sent a sudden surge of heat through her, and her own lingerie became unpleasantly wet in the blink of an eye.

  She let out a soft sigh, battling her rising desire. What happened at the auction was just the beginning. She hadn't punished him enough yet for letting another woman drink his blood and touch his body without her permission.

  “I’m still very angry with you, Neko,” she whispered, leaning over my face while I continued to drink. “Tonight will not be easy for you. Prepare yourself for some minor ‘troubles’... though I have a feeling you’ll eventually start to enjoy them, too.”

  Hearing this, I felt a slight knot of anxiety in my stomach, but I was far too tired and dazed by her proximity to worry about it now. I drank the milk from her hands, feeling her fingers massage my ears, and slowly sank into a state of blissful numbness, unaware that this was only the prologue to my “punishment.”