Realizing what Kara intended to do with the two noblemen’s sons and their four guards, Ophelia was relieved that they hadn’t decided to attack sooner, giving her time to digest all the food she had eaten at lunch before witnessing an extremely bloody scene, which was expected to be the final stage of their execution when they would most likely be reduced to a bloody mass of flesh. Since she wasn’t used to seeing people die, even in a quick manner, she thought she would probably feel nauseous seeing the six men meet such a gruesome death.

Although she didn’t expect to enjoy what was about to happen, Ophelia had no intention of looking away, pretending nothing unusual was happening in the shop. Being fully aware that, being together with Kara, she would witness many such scenes from then on, she believed she needed to get used to both seeing people in agony and remaining indifferent to the terrified and pleading looks of those in pain. Wanting to be considered by Kara not only as a lover but also as a partner, she knew she couldn’t stand by Kara’s side only in peaceful moments, or rather, relatively peaceful moments, those in which Kara wasn’t killing anyone, as she didn’t seem capable of staying too long without getting into a conflict.

Ophelia also thought it wouldn’t be fair to Kara if she ran away every time Kara manifested her extremely violent side, as it would feel like she only appreciated the positive parts of Kara and not her as a whole. Besides, she didn’t find this side of Kara hard to accept, on the contrary, she was genuinely fascinated every time she saw Kara unleashed, as Kara would gain the aura of a goddess whose will could shape reality as she pleases, and who, like a natural disaster, could not be stopped by anyone.

In a world where the more you kill, the stronger you become, it was expected that Kara, being extremely powerful, would have a tendency toward violence. So, Ophelia had no plans to try and tame her, as taming Kara would be like buying a sword with a perfect edge and then dulling it by rubbing it against a stone.

In other words, Ophelia had no problem with Kara’s actions, just with the so-called "waste" resulting from those actions, as she hadn’t witnessed many bloody scenes before meeting Kara. Thus, Ophelia was determined to build her tolerance for seeing people in agony. So when Kara suggested they go together to try on the clothes they had selected, Ophelia refused, explaining that she wanted to see those who intended to harm them pay for it.

"Alright, but only as long as you're not too uncomfortable...", Kara said, wrapping her arms around Ophelia from behind, feeling her heartbeat slightly quicken. Kara was aware that Ophelia, being the daughter of a marquis, had been raised in a rather sheltered environment, so she expected that Ophelia would find the sight of people dying in agony horrifying, even if she was in no danger herself.

Although Kara wouldn’t have had an issue if Ophelia chose not to witness the cruelty she was about to commit, knowing that not everyone could be as unforgiving as she was with enemies, she was pleased to see that Ophelia was willing to adapt to the darker side of her lifestyle. Moreover, it gave her a warm feeling inside, similar to the one she felt when her father taught her how to skin a deer or take the life of a boar caught in a trap. Despite the bloody nature of the act, it felt like a family activity.

"Want to bet on who’ll die first? The winner can make the loser do whatever they want for an hour...", Kara suggested, wanting to make the situation more entertaining. What was happening to the six men was terrifying, but it was also a bit monotonous since they couldn’t even struggle or scream in pain, as Kara hadn't the intention of staying to follow them when she decided on this method of execution.

"Don’t you control the force with which they’re being crushed? How would that be a fair bet?", Ophelia wasn’t inclined to accept a wager that was clearly stacked against her. Maybe the stakes were symbolic, as Kara didn’t seem intent on always dominating when they made love, after all, she had easily offered her two hours to do whatever she wanted with her, but Ophelia didn’t want to experience the feeling of losing unfairly.

Stolen story; please report.

"I promise I’ll apply the same pressure on all of them. Plus, you can pick first. To ensure there’s a winner, the bet can go like this: you’ll choose three of them, and the remaining three will be mine. Whoever has the one who dies first among the three is the winner. So, what do you say, do you accept?", Kara tried to convince Ophelia to accept the bet, offering extremely favorable conditions.

"Alright. But I don’t know why you’re so eager to make this bet. It’s not like I didn’t let you do whatever you wanted last night...", Ophelia finally agreed, having no more reason to refuse Kara’s offer, though she found it a bit odd that Kara had given her such favorable conditions. She suspected Kara might have a hidden advantage.

"…Wait a second!… Maybe your goal is to lose so you have an excuse to be dominated by me for longer!", Ophelia suddenly found a different perspective to explain why Kara was so eager to make a bet with her, one that justified why Kara didn’t mind giving her such a big advantage.

Kara, who had merely wanted to lighten the mood, was left speechless at Ophelia's assumption. It was difficult to refute, as by apparently handing Ophelia the victory, it indeed seemed like she was also ready to offer herself.

"…Well, I used an hour of dominance in bed as the stake simply because I noticed the topic excites you. Besides, even though I’m stronger than you, I don’t find it shameful to let myself be dominated by you in bed, so I wouldn’t need an excuse for that to happen. I think it’s normal to want to feel possessed by the person you love…", Kara contradicted Ophelia after taking a few moments to carefully choose her words, wanting to express her feelings as clearly as possible on the topic of dominance in their intimate relationship. She didn’t want Ophelia to form the wrong impression, that she was the type of person embarrassed to make her desires known to her lover.

"I see…", Ophelia responded, without a hint of disappointment in her voice at having been wrong. How could she be upset when Kara's words revealed that she was excited at the thought of being dominated by her? Didn’t that imply that such moments would be quite frequent in the future?

However, the cracking sound of one of the guards' ribs snapped Ophelia out of her thoughts before she could ask Kara for more details, reminding her that she had to choose the three people she thought were most likely to die first. Even though Kara was willing to let her take the initiative when they made love if she asked, there was a different satisfaction in winning Kara’s submission through her own efforts, as it made her feel more in control.

Unable to estimate the condition of the six men just by looking at them from one side, Ophelia asked Kara to rotate the globe they formed a few times, allowing her to analyze each of them.

The first to catch Ophelia’s attention was the duke’s son, who, whether by coincidence or because Kara wanted it that way, had ended up with his face buried against Theodore’s ass. With only his ears visible, Ophelia suspected it wouldn’t be long before he found himself at the bottom of the canyon, and even if his nose did end up in a cave, he wouldn’t have access to breathable air, and soon he would suffocate.

The second person Ophelia thought would die soon was the guard whose ribs she had just heard cracking, primarily because his chest was being crushed by the knee of another guard. As the two were destined to be pressed even closer together, Ophelia was certain his ribs would eventually puncture his lungs, that being a fatal injury.

As for the rest, although none looked particularly great, each having a broken arm or leg, none of them seemed to be in a critical condition. So, Ophelia gave the third spot to Theodore, who was considerably weaker than the three remaining guards.

"So, the one with the crushed chest and the two noble sons...", Ophelia confirmed her choices to Kara, feeling fairly confident that victory was hers. Since she had begun to view the six men as mere pieces in a game, she was much less affected by their suffering, the tone in which she listed them off being similar to that of someone purchasing birds from a market with the intent to cook them later in the day, already no longer seeing them as living creatures but as food.

But not even two minutes after the bet was placed, a loud crack echoed through the room, made by the head of one of the guards Ophelia had ignored, which was now resting in an unnatural position. As the terror-filled expression on his face began to fade, replaced by one of calm and peace, it was clear he had just passed on to a better place.

"Looks like I’ve won. Be ready for an hour of mid-air sex tomorrow morning as we head toward the Great Dungeon....", Kara proclaimed her victory, her calm demeanor suggesting she wasn’t at all surprised by this outcome.