A sudden, eerie silence swallowed the cssroom. Even the levitating globes and magical apparatuses seemed to freeze mid-motion. The smile on Bovina’s face didn't vanish, but its nature underwent a subtle, chilling shift. Her eyes, once gentle, fred with a strange light, and the cow tail behind her whipped sharply against the floor.

  Bovina didn't move as she processed Neko’s bold, almost insolent words. For a long moment, the only sound was the rhythmic ticking of the magical clocks on the walls. Slowly, she raised a hand, pressing a finger to her chin in a gesture of deep contemption, the bell on her colr letting out a soft chime.

  “Not bad at all, sweetie,” she finally said, a genuine, almost proud smile blooming on her face. “It might not describe me one hundred percent, but you know what? Nothing you said was actually a lie.”

  Neko’s eyes widened further, his cat ears twitching violently. He had expected anything - a wave of fury, a painful smack that would leave a stinging mark on his skin, even a formal punishment. But this calm acceptance was something his mind couldn't quite process.

  “Don’t you feel... don’t you feel ashamed?” he choked out, nervously tugging at the hem of his scandalously short skirt that left his thighs bare.

  Bovina looked at him oddly, her eyes narrowing as if she’d heard a question in a nguage she didn't speak.

  “Ashamed?” she repeated, her cow tail flicking zily behind her. “Why would I feel that way?”

  Neko, hit by a sudden surge of desperation and his own lingering humiliation, began to pour out everything eating at him from the inside. To him, masochism was a weakness, and submission was the absolute forfeiture of dignity.

  He spoke about how being treated like an animal - like a cow - stripped a being of their humanity, turning them into a mindless tool of pleasure. His voice echoed with the pain he felt when Elene had stripped him of his towel, leaving him naked and defenseless, and the way Lilith treated him in their nighttime games, ignoring his feelings to use and humiliate him in a dozen different ways.

  Bovina listened in absolute silence. She didn't interrupt, didn't deny, and didn't mock his emotions. When Neko finally went quiet, panting heavily with his face burning from the outburst, the woman sighed softly. Her gaze became mature, unexpectedly deep.

  “You see, Neko, the fw in your thinking is that you equate submission with a ck of value,” she began calmly, her voice taking on a velvety depth. “Sadism and masochism, dominance and surrender... these aren't instruments of torture; they are a nguage of needs. Being submissive isn't shameful."

  She took a step closer, the bells at her breasts and nipples swaying rhythmically.

  "In a world that constantly demands something from us - where we must be strong and responsible - surrendering control to someone else is the highest form of trust. It’s casting off the burden of being ‘someone’ in favor of pure existence. Humiliating and being humiliated in the sphere of desire is merely a theater where we explore the boundaries of our psyche."

  She locked eyes with him.

  "If that is your nature, if your instinct tells you to seek comfort in obedience, there is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, the worst harm you can do to yourself is to fight that side of your soul. True maturity is about consciously caring for your desires. I chose to be a ‘cow’ because it allows me to celebrate my abundance, my utility, and my submission to Lady Lilith without guilt. It is not animality that defines me, but my will to give myself over in this way.”

  As Neko listened, his hatred for his own [Masochist] talent began to fracture. He felt that strange instinct for obedience, which had previously terrified him, seem less "dirty" under the weight of her words.

  “You aren't worth less because you kneel, Neko,” Bovina concluded, pcing a hand on his shoulder. Her touch felt clean, filled with respect. “You are simply brave enough to feel what others are afraid to name.”

  Neko stared at her, his head buzzing with these new definitions. He felt as if Bovina had just demolished the wall he’d built around his masculinity, leaving him with a truth he could no longer ignore. He fixed his gaze on the top of the massive desk, his cat ears drooping so low they nearly vanished into his pink hair.

  “So I’m just supposed to accept it?” he asked in a breaking voice, his fingers nervously kneading the hem of his skirt. “I don't even... I don't even know if these are my own feelings. Between this css and the system, the only thing I feel is constant desire, covering my mind like a thick fog. I’m afraid that underneath it all, the old me is gone.”

  Bovina gave him a gentle smile. Her powerful breasts rippled slightly beneath the tight cow-print material, and the bell on her colr emitted a soothing, clear chime.

  “Easy, sweetie. You have plenty of time to discover who you really are,” she said in a comforting tone, stroking his hand with the tip of her tail. “It took me quite a while to understand my own nature and come to terms with what I felt. I just want you to keep an open mind. Not just for learning things that contradict everything you thought you knew about the world, but for your own feelings. Your perception of yourself has the right to change based on what you’ve experienced. It’s a process, not a sentence.”

  Noticing the atmosphere had become a bit too heavy and philosophical for a young kitten, Bovina suddenly cpped her hands, breaking the silence with a cheerful sound.

  “I almost forgot!” she cried, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “If we’re to look after your education, you must know the two most important pces in this castle - the ones that will allow you to survive any ‘lesson’ with our Mistress.”

  She gestured toward the magical projector, and two new, intricate symbols fred to life on the gargantuan board.

  The first consisted of flowing violet lines swirling around a central point that resembled a beating heart. The whole thing pulsed with a soft, soothing light that seemed to calm the viewer’s very soul.

  The second symbol was far more technical and geometric. It was made of overpping gold rhombs and circles, with intense emerald energy pulsing inside. It looked solid and monumental, almost like a seal on the entrance to an invioble vault.

  Bovina raised a hand, her long, well-manicured finger pointing at the first pulsing symbol. Her cow tail moved rhythmically, and the bells at her breasts let out a quiet, almost hypnotic sound.

  “This, sweetie, is the symbol of the Soul Soothers,” she began, her voice turning more professional. “As you’ve surely noticed by now, some residents of our castle have a tendency to... overindulge in their strength. Sadistic impulses are common here, and the fallout hits the sves hardest. The Soul Soothers handle their psyches. They literally ‘mend’ damaged minds that would otherwise simply shatter without such intervention. This institution is vital; without it, the castle would descend into absolute madness within weeks.”

  Neko stared at the violet lines of the sigil, feeling the tight colr of his student outfit chafe slightly. The talk of "mending minds" sounded simultaneously comforting and terrifyingly mechanical.

  “It shows that our system operates with cold logic,” Bovina continued. “We know that psychic damage is a daily reality, so instead of ignoring it, we created a structure to fix it. Of course, you don't only have to go there for drastic cases. They help with everyday problems too, allowing you to calm your mind when you feel you're carrying too much on your shoulders.”

  Next, her finger moved to the second sign, the one emanating emerald energy.

  “And these are the Regeneration Chambers. They, in turn, heal the body. They can knit broken bones and repair almost any physical damage in moments. We have a dozen types, tailored to specific ranks. Even I used them yesterday to help my body bounce back after... an intensive meeting with Elizabeth. If they help someone with Rank A, imagine how effective they are for sves, who are sometimes used physically to the very brink of their endurance. It allows them to survive what would otherwise kill them.”

  Neko frowned, his cat ears twitching in consternation. He looked at Bovina skeptically, adjusting the cuff of his white glove.

  “It seems... like these pces were built specifically for sves,” he said quietly. “But I don't get why. If they’re ‘just’ sves, wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just repce a damaged one with a new one?”

  Bovina nodded, the smile on her face turning slightly more cynical, though it remained gentle.

  “You’re right, sweetie. The primary reason these organizations were founded was the sves and, let’s be honest, it’s about pure money. A sve in our world is a luxury item that is incredibly expensive to purchase and transport. To prevent the castle's finances from crumbling due to high ‘resource’ mortality, we, the Great Matrons of Sin, came up with the idea for these centers. It’s an investment that allows us to maintain the physical and mental state of sves at a level where they can function and serve for many years.”

  Neko looked at the pulsing symbols, not knowing exactly how to feel. On one hand, he felt a certain relief knowing the castle "cared" for its subjects in some twisted way, but on the other, this clinical concern for "merchandise" was revolting. He felt like a rare animal in a golden cage, cared for only because his repcement would be too costly.

  “So it’s not mercy... it’s just equipment maintenance,” Neko muttered under his breath, a shiver running through him as the bell on his tail chimed softly. Even though he felt slightly safer now, he wouldn't want to find himself in a situation requiring a visit to the “mind-menders” for all the world.