"Master, I want one too!"
It turned out Nanako, who had been left out in the cold, had watched Lai Yi finish his act. She immediately trotted over, her expression miserably aggrieved, and her voice sounded like a little beast that's been wronged and looking for its mother.
"So obedient—nothing like that ugly slave," Lai Yi said. "Where do you want me to carve it?"
"Master, carve it wherever you want," Nanako replied, wagging the tail behind her. Her voice was seductive, yet her face wore an innocent look—such a contradictory mix.
She's already playing the "female competition" game at such a young age, Lai Yi thought, his eyes lighting up. No wonder she's worth 80 gold coins—true hard currency.
In the Kingdom of Catisia, currency was equivalent to food: one copper coin bought a loaf of black bread; one silver coin, worth 100 copper coins, could buy a loaf of white bread; and each gold coin, equal to 100 silver coins, was enough to cover a common family's annual expenses. In fact, ordinary elven slaves at Louis' place only cost 20 gold coins.
Buying this fox-eared slave for 80 gold coins was like spending 8 million yuan in his previous life to buy a Maybach.
"Then I'll carve it on your lower abdomen," Lai Yi said.
This time, he didn't carve as hard—his movements were so gentle that Nanako even let out soft, contented moans.
He wanted Ophelia, who was watching nearby, to understand: Only by obeying me will you get my tenderness.
He was no man ruled by his base desires.
Ever since he'd gotten that amethyst intelligence report—[Ophelia, the exiled princess of Eldora, is disguised as an ugly slave among the captives, preparing to escape]
his goal had not been achieved.
Now, all he had to do was take Princess Ophelia home, and he could enjoy the pleasure of having the princess for free.
Yet he had no interest in that at all.
His only goal was one thing: to make Ophelia completely submit to him—obey him from the bottom of her heart, even if he told her to masturbate on the spot in front of strange men, she would show no sign of resistance.
He wanted to use her power to take revenge on the kingdom and his family that treated him like a dog.
His goal has always been just one: to use Princess Ophelia to take revenge on the kingdom and his family that treat him like a dog.
Admittedly, the ugly disguise on her face was annoying, but it didn't matter. Attitude is the mask of the heart, he thought. Someday, I'll make her take off this mask herself—make her kneel before me like a dog, begging for mercy.
"The sun shines bright in the sky, birds chirp at me with glee..."
Lai Yi sang a lopsided children's rhyme, but just then, an unexpected visitor appeared ahead. It was his older brother, Ray Greystone. Ray's face was as cold as ice, and the sight of Lai Yi's frivolous behavior filled him with disgust.
Name Ray Greystone
Level 40
Class Berserker
Vitality 100/100
Sanity 80/80
Talents None
Ray was in a terrible mood. He'd been the first to storm the elven capital, yet he hadn't captured Ophelia—the princess he'd been longing for.
Seeing his useless younger brother, who usually wallowed in the beds of women, he couldn't help but sneer, his words as filthy as if he'd stuffed a privy in his mouth.
"Looks like my worthless brother isn't just frequenting the succubus brothels today—he's also bringing dirty slaves home. Your taste is truly unique," Ray mocked.
He glanced at the ugly slave (Ophelia), not for a second guessing she was the Ophelia he'd been obsessing over.
His words dripped with venom as he continued to taunt Lai Yi. As for Nanako, who was fairly attractive, Ray felt no desire at all—he was such a strange man; no other woman could stir any interest in him.
In his world, there were only two types of people: Ophelia, and everyone else. Or maybe three, if he reluctantly added his "worthless brother."
It was true—though Lai Yi was 16, he had no magic at all. He was a total loser, probably even unable to defeat the weakest slime in this world. But that didn't stop him from provoking Ray, dancing dangerously on the edge of death.
"Is that so, brother?" Lai Yi said, not hiding anything. "This is the Ophelia you've been pining for."
Has he known something all along, and is just pretending now? Ophelia, who had been silent like a caged dog, felt her previously calm heart spiral into chaos.
"Look at this face—it's as perfect as a work of art. Even the moon in the sky would blush in shame," Lai Yi continued.
This only made Ray—whose mind was filled with nothing but Ophelia and muscles—burst into laughter.
"Do you really think I'd believe that, brother? You're saying that face is 'as perfect as a work of art'? That's hilarious!"
Ray's teammate, Bams, joined in the mockery without mercy:
"Ray, your brother's taste is really something. Even dogs would shake their heads at that face."
"This face isn't ugly," Lai Yi said, his voice suddenly serious. His unexpected solemnity only made Ray and Bams laugh louder.
Ophelia knew perfectly well how ugly she looked—she'd cast the disguise spell herself. It wasn't quite "make people vomit at a glance," but it was close.
Why is Lai Yi insisting she's not ugly?
And that comment about her being Ophelia—
was he addled by drugs, or does he actually know something? Her once-calm heart grew more and more confused.
Then, the young man suddenly kissed her.
The shock left her frozen in shock. He thinks I'm an ugly freak, yet he still kissed me—why? Her first kiss was gone.
"Kiss me deeply, on your own,"
Lai Yi ordered, his voice like a devil's. The brand on her lower abdomen flared with a burning heat.
Ophelia had wanted to clamp her lips shut.
For a low-level slave brand like this, she could hold onto her willpower if she stayed firm.
But then she remembered her mother's words: Endure. Persist. What if this incident exposed her identity?
Slaves couldn't resist slave contracts. And ahead of them stood a Level 40 Berserker (Ray)—
if she resisted the brand, he would definitely notice.
Her mind hesitated for a moment, then she let her body move on its own.
Hmm—soft and warm, like running water,
Lai Yi thought. Even though she's disguised as ugly, if I close my eyes and imagine the most beautiful woman in the Western Continent,
it's not bad. Especially kissing the Ophelia he adores right in front of my brother—it makes me ecstatic!
"My brother's just a drug-addled fool,"
Ray said, chuckling lightly, not taking any of this seriously.
In fact, he only scolded his brother to assert his dignity as the elder.
"Let's go, Bams. We still need to find the missing elven princess Ophelia."
"So what if he's the fiancé of Princess Satila? In reality, he's just her dog, "
Lai Yi thought.
During the military campaign against Eldora, he'd predicted the enemy's moves several times and provided key intelligence—but their father, Duke Zoe, had taken all the credit for himself.
Lai Yi was a political hostage of the Greystone family, betrothed to Satila, the Kingdom of Catisia's second princess.
He was nothing but a spy for the royal family to monitor the Greystones. With the high-dose drugs Satila forced him to take, his body would probably break down in a few years.
Only after Ray had walked far away did Lai Yi slowly let go of Ophelia.
Her face was already flushed crimson, and a thin, glistening thread of saliva stretched between their lips before finally breaking.
"You… you actually had the nerve to kiss me?" Ophelia stared wide-eyed, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"It's fine—I've kissed worse,"
Lai Yi replied. Inside this shabby disguise is the most perfect elf.
My mouth still tingles with her taste. But being the sharp-tongued man he was, he'd never admit that.
"Master,"
Ophelia said—after calling him that a few times, she'd surprisingly grown used to it, feeling nothing at all now. "I want to know… if I'm this ugly, why did you say I'm Princess Ophelia?"
Lai Yi had no intention of telling the truth. He put on an act of being locked in a bitter feud with his brother.
"I just wanted to annoy that bastard brother of mine.
I wanted him to feel what it's like to see the woman he loves kissing someone else. I wanted him to realize the elf he adores is actually ugly—and since you're an elf, I just used you. Think of it as me kissing a sow. No need to care."
If anyone else had said this, Ophelia would have been wary.
But coming from Lai Yi—with his Sanity at 49—it seemed completely normal to her.
Foolish brother, Lai Yi thought. The more stupid and dissipated I act, the less wary you'll be of me.
So that's it. I haven't been exposed,
Ophelia let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The pain of losing her first kiss also faded a little.
She was only a Level 30 Lightbearer, but with the blessing of the Goddess of Light, she could wash off the magic runes on her body and wait for an opportunity to act.
But Duke Zoe of the Greystone family was a Level 70 Limitless Swordsman.
Just thinking about that made a shadow fall over Ophelia's eyes. Will my disguise hold up against him? No matter how talented she was, her level was only 50 due to her age.
Because the runes were carved on her abdomen, even she would need a full day and night to wash them off. During that time, the runes would bind her—
if she resisted, the holy magic she released would definitely attract Duke Zoe's attention. She couldn't defy any of Lai Yi's requests.
I thought he'd never have the nerve to kiss me, looking like this. But Lai Yi was impossible to reason with—he was a little madman.
A twinge of regret suddenly welled up in her heart. What if he makes some perverted requests? What will I do?
Meanwhile, Nanako pouted, looking unhappy. She wore an expression that clearly said, I want a kiss too.
"Master," she said in a babyish voice, like a little beast that had latched onto someone and wouldn't let go. "Nanako wants one too."
Lai Yi had no choice but to kiss her—and at Nanako's insistence, this kiss was unusually long.
Ophelia, however, was still in a daze, her gaze fixed on nothing, lost in thought.
It seems I'm still a long way from completely winning over this elven princess, Lai Yi thought.