When a certain person rested his head on her chest, the incredibly stiff Leone couldn't help but shiver, but just as she was continuously telling herself 'it's just going to hurt a little', she felt that the other party seemed to have stopped moving?
After trembling and opening her eyes, she saw that a certain person, who had his arms wrapped around her waist, was resting his head on her chest... and had fallen asleep?
She tried to move, but she happened to see that Lancer had opened his eyes at some point and was looking at her. She immediately showed a smile that was uglier than a cry. She only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Lancer close his eyes.
How should I put it? Her emotions at this time were extremely complex.
First, there was the relief of having temporarily escaped. Second, she couldn't understand the other party's actions. The most important thing was... her chest felt so itchy. The other party's hair was making her so itchy.
Since she had embarked on the path of swindling and cheating, it was impossible for Leone not to have thought about her 'future'. Maybe she would die on some unknown small path one day, or be hanged in a public execution ground, but being turned into a slave was the one thing she hadn't considered, or rather, she had deliberately avoided this possibility.
But she didn't expect this future that she had deliberately avoided to come so quickly and so abruptly.
Nervous, conflicted, and at a loss, coupled with the fact that she couldn't even tell the passage of time while lying on the bed, she had no idea if time was going fast or slow. Under the pressure of multiple factors, she finally succumbed to the Sandman and obediently closed her eyes...
She just didn't know that when she closed her eyes, a certain person who was leaning on her chest opened his eyes. He first looked at her with confusion, then his expression became incredibly conflicted, and finally, he let out a helpless sigh before rubbing his head against her and closing his eyes again.
A soft bed and blanket?
Leone rolled over, but she had no intention of getting up. After all, she felt that she hadn't woken up yet. You have to know that her 'home' only had a hard plank bed.
But she quickly realized that something was wrong. Logically, wouldn't a person wake up after knowing they were dreaming?
'Rustle~ rustle~'
And at this moment, a strange sound made her alert. She suddenly opened her eyes and saw a tall back facing her.
Instinctively jumping up, she tried to reach for the short knife she had hidden by her side. As a woman living in the slums, she would have been taken advantage of long ago if she hadn't had some preparations. But as soon as she reached out, she froze, because she noticed the 'anomaly'.
She was not in her 'home' in the slums, and she was not sleeping on the familiar hard plank bed. The strange feeling on her neck was also telling her that everything from yesterday was not a nightmare, but something that had truly happened to her.
"Are you already awake? Perfect. I was just thinking about whether I should wake you up later. I'm going to the palace right away. You can stay in the hotel and wait for me..."
As that voice, which was strange but destined to become familiar, spoke, Leone pupils slightly shrank.
Having lived in the slums, the uniform she was most familiar with was naturally the guardhouse uniform, but as a resident of the Imperial Capital, she was also not unfamiliar with the uniform of the 'Imperial Guards'. And at this time, Lancer was wearing the uniform that only generals of the Imperial Guards would wear.
At this point, she finally knew why the people from the guardhouse 'broke the rules' and sold her directly to this man. She also knew why she couldn't defeat this man.
The Imperial Guards, the most elite army in the entire Empire, were led by the Empire's strongest man, General Budo. According to rumors, every member of the Imperial Guards was handpicked. And Leone would even go to the annual celebrations to watch. Of course, it wasn't that she liked such events so much; it was simply because there were a lot of people at that time, and it was easier for her to get her hands on things.
But since she had been there many times, she still had a deep impression of the Imperial Guards' uniform.
It was only when the sound of the door closing rang out that she was suddenly startled awake.
"Bang~!"
Leone, who was lying on the bed, immediately curled up into a ball, hugging the blanket.
When her parents had just passed away as a child, she had also been 'naive'. She had also fantasized about marrying a noble or a certain officer one day, so she wouldn't have to 'risk her life' stealing every day. But as she got older, she knew that all of this was just a fantasy.
Living in the slums, not to mention those 'noble sirs', even the people living in the normal citizen area wouldn't look at her in the eye. There was even one time when she passed by a noble who had come to the slums for some unknown reason, and the other party had a ridiculously huge tantrum. It was at that time that she realized she and the other party were living in two completely different worlds.
If she weren't a slave today, and could be with the other party... even without a formal title, she might not have been so disappointed...
"Creak~!"
But at this moment, the door suddenly opened, and Leone, who was lying on the bed, immediately sat up straight.
But when she saw a woman in a maid's uniform, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, but then she became incredibly embarrassed.
Because at this time, her yukata was a bit loose because she had just woken up, giving the impression that she had just gotten out of bed... although that was the truth.
But the other party didn't say anything and just bowed slightly to her. Then, after simply cleaning the room, she left again and brought in a breakfast.
Looking at the breakfast the other party had placed on the table, Leone immediately felt incredibly strange. In her 17 years of life, she had never been waited on before, except for when she was a child. And having a person standing next to her while she ate made her feel incredibly awkward.
The atmosphere in the room became extremely awkward, and Leone had to speak up.
"Miss... Maid, is there something you need?"
"I need to clean up the dishes after you finish eating."
"..."
"..."
After the other party finished speaking, the atmosphere became silent again, and Leone felt even more awkward.
'You'?
She had never been addressed with a term of respect in her life.
"There's no need to be like this. After all, I'm just a..."
Leone, who had been about to say something, suddenly couldn't speak. Although what she wanted to say was the truth, it was still too cruel to say the fact that she was a slave out loud.
On the other side, the maid couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief after seeing Leone reaction.
It was true that Leone was a 'slave', but this didn't mean that her status was higher than the other party's. After all, even for a 'slave', it depended on who the master was. A slave who was favored by their master would not necessarily be looked down upon. What's more, the other party had seen Lancer leave the hotel in a military uniform.
Even Leone knew what Lancer military uniform represented, so there was no need to even mention the maid. After all, the most crucial thing for people who make a living in places with a lot of foot traffic like hotels and taverns is their eyesight.
She didn't want to cause any trouble for herself, but seeing Leone reaction, she knew that the other party was probably not the kind of person she had imagined. Seeing Leone somewhat lost expression at this time, she couldn't help but want to comfort her.
"Miss, you don't have to be so down. After all, that gentleman seems to be very good to you. You have to know that some people's treatment of their slaves is simply... simply obscene!"
This girl, who was about the same age as Leone, blushed, but after a long time of trying, she finally squeezed out a word that made Leone not know what to say.
And Leone was not unaware of what kind of life 'slaves' generally lived. In reality, she was already very surprised that her body hadn't been taken last night. You have to know that she had never heard of a female slave being spared by her male master. It could even be said that if they were spared, it would generally be worse. After all, how could any normal man spare a beautiful female slave? Unless the other party was impotent! And men who were generally impotent were more perverted psychologically.
Leone didn't believe that the other party was impotent. After all, when the other party was holding her to sleep last night, she had felt the other party's strong masculine scent and a certain hot area.
Leone, sitting at the dining table at this time, felt her mind turn into a confused mess.
Her rationality told her that she should do her best to please the other party, because the other party was the person who held her life and death in his hands, but her long-dormant fantasies were beginning to resurface because of a single sentence from the maid girl.
And after Leone finished her meal, the maid called out to her a few times in a low voice and, after confirming that there was no response, she took the dishes and left the guest room, leaving Leone alone at the table, not knowing what to think...