IPTCS 10

Chapter 10

“What is this strange creature?”

Despite the ill-tempered remark referring to her, the girl never took her eyes off him.

And there was no room for misunderstanding about whom she was looking at.

The girl was looking only at him.

For some reason, he found his gaze drawn to those black eyes staring at him.

It was a strange feeling.

Surely the slaves imprisoned here knew that the people entering the shop were choosing which one of them to buy.

Yet the girl’s unwavering gaze made it feel as though she had chosen him.

A mere slave choosing an imperial prince—it was absurd.

And yet, in that moment, there was no other way to describe it.

“Woof! Woof woof woof woof!”

And the moment his attention drifted away from her for an instant, she immediately started barking as if asking what he thought he was doing.

Quite…

Anyone who could read his thoughts might have called him insane.

But the first thing that crossed his mind was that she was…

Cute.

And it was the very first positive emotion he had ever felt toward another person.

If I just take her back and check on her from time to time…

Still more curious than attached, Michael looked at the girl who effortlessly captured his attention.

…It might not be so bad.

It hadn’t been his imagination after all.

As though she had recognized her owner—and no one else—she reacted to him with unmistakable enthusiasm.

Her round black eyes simply stared at him as if they intended to remain fixed on him forever.

The gaze was so direct it bordered on blind devotion.

Thump.

“…?”

Prince Michael instinctively pressed a hand against his chest as his heart suddenly tightened.

He had never experienced such a sensation before, so he didn’t understand it then.

But looking back later…

It had simply been the feeling of finding something far too adorable.

Right.

Prince Michael made his decision.

Dogs follow their masters unconditionally.

Whether their master was a beggar on the street or the emperor of the empire, a dog made no distinction.

If being a dog meant showering someone with affection and trust for no reason other than that they were its master…

Then perhaps one was worth raising.

He even came up with a perfectly reasonable explanation, as though trying to convince someone.

But in truth, the feeling had come first.

The justification merely followed afterward.

The simple fact was…

The moment he saw her, he thought she belonged to him.

Looking at me like that… wouldn’t it be pitiful to leave her behind?

As though he were someone who had always been capable of feeling compassion, Prince Michael quietly convinced himself.

That day, almost as if bewitched, he brought the girl back to the palace.

However, once he returned to the familiar atmosphere of his office and resumed processing paperwork as usual, his muddled thoughts gradually settled.

Prince Michael reflected once more on what had happened outside the palace.

…Strange.

It was strange.

Though his life had not been particularly long, he had never felt anything like that before.

That feeling whenever those eyes turned toward him.

Was she… waiting for me?

The girl had looked at him as though she had been waiting for him all along.

She couldn’t possibly have known who I was.

In truth, that misunderstanding stemmed from the information gap between Michael and Eugene.

Eugene had already known Prince Michael for a very long time.

Without even realizing it, the affection she already held for him naturally showed in her eyes.

More precisely, it was the affection she felt for one of her favorite game characters.

But Michael had no way of knowing any of that.

All he saw was the girl’s inexplicable trust in him.

And it left him with an unfamiliar sensation.

A faint tickling feeling somewhere deep inside his chest.

She’s strange after all.

That girl…

There was something strange about her.

She made Prince Michael experience emotions he had never known before.

Mistaking that unfamiliar feeling for discomfort, Michael reached a conclusion on his own.

Before this unfamiliar emotion grows beyond my control…

I’ll simply remove the cause of it from my sight.

That was certainly what he had intended.

Until he saw the girl happily rolling around on his bed.

“Master!”

She had entered without permission.

She was shamelessly rolling across the prince’s bed.

Yet her innocent eyes held not the slightest expectation of punishment or scolding.

Those eyes robbed him of his words.

“You…”

He needed to scold her.

No…

He needed to send her outside before she unsettled him even more.

But even after opening his mouth with great effort, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh to her.

“…?”

Those unwavering eyes looked at him in confusion.

They were the eyes of someone who believed without question that he would never harm her.

Even though she had absolutely no reason to believe such a thing.

Prince Michael silently closed his mouth again.

Those eyes made him feel… strange.

In the end, he never even mentioned his original intention of removing her from his sight.

Instead…

He ordered that a permanent place be prepared for her within his own palace.

The following morning.

As always, Prince Michael began work in his office before dawn.

Only one thing differed from his usual routine.

Throughout the morning…

His thoughts kept drifting back to that girl.

Looking out the still-dark window before sunrise, he thought,

She’s probably still asleep.

I wonder what she’s doing.

Is she still lying in that soft bed… like yesterday, when she happily rolled around on my blankets?

Ordinarily, once he began working, Prince Michael devoted himself entirely to his paperwork without wasting a single moment.

Yet today, even while reviewing documents, the image of the white-haired girl kept surfacing in his mind.

“Your Highness, breakfast is served.”

By the time an attendant entered carrying breakfast, the rising sun had already begun illuminating the sky outside.

As he watched the servants arrange the freshly prepared dishes on the table…

Prince Michael suddenly wondered who was making sure that girl had something to eat.

“…Head Butler.”

This is simply to confirm that the servants’ responsibilities have been properly assigned.

If someone fails to understand their duties, sooner or later something will inevitably be neglected.

Convincing himself with that reasoning, he proceeded to confirm everything—

From the room Eugene had been assigned the previous night…

To the attendants responsible for her daily life…

To the budget allocated for her care.

Only after verifying every detail did he finally begin eating.

The head butler, who had been ambushed with a barrage of unexpected questions first thing in the morning, felt completely drained.

Still, being the meticulous professional he was, he answered every single question without overlooking the smallest detail.

Finally, he brought up one last matter requiring the prince’s approval.

“And, Your Highness, yesterday we were occupied organizing the items delivered from the shop, so we did not prepare it. However, today the steward finished arranging the storeroom and brought the restraint collar. If you permit it, shall we put it on Your Highness’s puppy today?”

As he spoke, the head butler presented the restraint collar he had brought.

“…That is?”

“It is the restraint collar provided as part of the standard slave package from the shop. It takes the form of an ordinary collar, and although it is disposable, it has been enchanted with magic.”

Prince Michael held out his hand.

Receiving the collar from the head butler, he asked in an indifferent voice,

“What does it do?”

The restraint collar was a heavy metal ring, slightly larger than the circumference of a person’s neck.

Its rough surface was uneven and crudely made.

“If a slave attempts to flee or defy their master’s will, breaking this activation device will cause the restraint collar to explode as well.”

Crack.

The restraint collar shattered into pieces inside the prince’s hand.

“…It’s too fragile.”

That thing was supposed to be durable…

The head butler thought so but wisely chose not to say it aloud.

Instead, Prince Michael ordered that a proper restraint collar be made to replace the broken one.

He even gave detailed instructions regarding exactly how the finished product should look.

Not long afterward, the custom restraint collar was completed.

The head butler personally waited until the prince’s specially commissioned design had been finished.

The moment it was completed at the forge, he immediately brought it to the prince.

“Your Highness, the item you requested has been completed.”

The respectful servant placed the ring into the prince’s hand.

“Hm.”

Prince Michael carefully inspected it.

Though unmistakably made of metal, the custom-made circular band was as thin and delicate as a ribbon.

It looked so smooth that even against a child’s soft skin, it would cause no discomfort whatsoever.

After closely examining every seam and both the inner and outer surfaces for quite some time, the prince finally seemed satisfied.

He gently set the restraint collar on his desk.

“Bring her here.”

Though he hadn’t specified whom he meant, the quick-witted head butler immediately understood his master’s intention and headed toward Eugene’s room.

“Master?”

Before Eugene entered his office calling for him, Prince Michael sat at his desk with a stern expression, silently reminding himself,

I let it slide last time.

But this time, I won’t let those strange feelings make me indulge her again.

The truth was that entering the sleeping quarters of a prince of the great empire without permission was an enormous act of disrespect.

If he wished to punish someone for such an offense, even a noble could find themselves locked away in the empire’s most terrifying underground prison.

And she was only a slave!

If she behaved that way toward any other member of the imperial family, she would be executed on the spot.

The only reason he had overlooked it was because…

…it was him she had been adorably rolling around on the bed in.

It’s dangerous.

I should order her to remain inside my palace from now on.

Something might happen if she wanders outside.

I can’t send someone so innocent out without any protection.

Completely unaware that his thoughts had once again wandered in an increasingly strange direction, Prince Michael finally opened his mouth toward Eugene, who was simply staring blankly back at him.