Become My Pet
A quiet stillness settled over everything around us.
My logic had left Viviana speechless for a time; she could not manage a single word. From her silence I felt a surge of victory.
Yes. She won’t be able to say anything.
How common could people with twisted sexual walls like Mardi-an’s possibly be? Someone with an innocent nature like Shari-one would never force herself on me, so Viviana’s worries were pointless.
The fact that I had won against Viviana filled me with quiet pride. Yet while I was still basking in the afterglow of that victory, Viviana looked at me with eyes that had gone cold.
“So you’re going to keep fawning over the young ladies like that?”
Her voice was ice, and I shrank back without meaning to. What on earth had upset her this time? She was truly impossible to read.
“I will. It may look like pretense to you, Lady Viviana, but for me this is how I make a living.”
“…How much can you even earn by selling smiles.”
“Do you have any idea how many gifts I’ve received from the young ladies? If you did, you wouldn’t say that.”
I tossed out a light joke to thaw the chill, but Viviana’s face only hardened further. Her mood was utterly beyond me, and I felt flustered.
Did she simply not understand my way of living? From her perspective—someone who had spent her entire life diligently inside a ducal house—a life like mine might be impossible to accept.
Desperate to warm the cooling air somehow, I put on a false smile without thinking and spoke.
“Of course living diligently the way you do is fine too, Lady Viviana, but my method is quite convenient. Just by smiling like this, people hand me expensive things.”
Viviana remained cold. Was the problem that I was being fake, or that she could not accept the way I survived? Her face grew colder still.
“Lady Viviana…?”
“Enough.”
The complete absence of feeling in her voice made my body tremble. In Viviana’s purple eyes there was no longer any affection.
“Do as you like. It seems it’s no longer something I need to care about.”
“What…?”
With those words Viviana turned her back on me without a shred of hesitation. The sight of her cold retreating figure dragged up memories of the past I had wanted to forget.
My heart plummeted. My breathing grew ragged. I forced a smile onto my face and stretched out a trembling hand.
“L-Lady Viviana…? Where are you going….”
“Back to the ducal house. I have a mountain of work waiting.”
“What…?”
“Tsk. Seems I just wasted my time.”
At Viviana’s icy words the mask of pretense on my face crumbled away. I hurriedly covered my face with both hands. Fortunately she did not look back. If she had seen my bare face she would have despised me.
Lifeless eyes.
A hunched body.
Lips that would not stop trembling.
I could not show Viviana that dead face—the one my former mother used to beat every day while saying she could not stand the sight of it.
“I-Is that so? If the young lady of the ducal house is busy, then it can’t be helped….”
“….”
An empty feeling swept through my entire body. A suffocating pressure made me feel as if I might collapse at any moment, yet I barely managed to squeeze the words out of my throat the way I always did.
“I hope we can meet again next time.”
“….”
I could not even remember what I had said. Viviana gave no answer. When I lowered my hands she was already walking away.
Left alone in the garden, I stared blankly at the spot where she had stood and muttered,
“…Why.”
Just as Lady Viviana said….
I had only taken off the pretense and treated her with sincerity….
Why are you leaving me.
“…I see.”
As expected, you too….
Felt disgust at my true self.
What, it was going to end like this anyway.
If it was going to be like this I should have stayed pretentious from the beginning. Then I wouldn’t have had to feel abandoned all over again.
In the end my mother from my previous life had been right.
As expected, a being like me—
“Ha, this is really driving me crazy.”
A youthful voice suddenly rang out, and my body was lifted high into the air.
“Hyaak?!”
My heart hammered at the suddenness of it. Looking down with trembling eyes, I met Viviana’s purple gaze as she held me in a princess carry.
“L-Lady Viviana…?”
What? Didn’t she just leave?
When did she come back?
“I’m not the type to flip-flop like this, really….”
Viviana muttered to herself, one eyebrow furrowed. I looked at her while trying to calm my racing heart.
“Why… why did you come back…? You said there was work at the mansion….”
“The young lady keeps getting on my nerves.”
“M-Me…?”
What did I do wrong this time.
Why does she keep blaming me?
“This won’t do. Being swayed like this doesn’t suit my personality.”
Viviana lifted me higher still. When our eyes were level, her breath tickled my cheek.
“Young Lady Tina, do you know? Until now I’ve gotten everything I ever wanted. The sharpest famous sword in the world. The most beautiful jewels.”
“Uh… yes, that’s impressive….”
Viviana furrowed one brow. My answer had clearly not pleased her. But soon she smiled and looked down at me.
“Yes. That’s the Merdelia way. A personality that isn’t satisfied until it has what it wants.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Congratulations. Just as the young lady wanted, you succeeded in seducing me.”
At Viviana’s sudden confession my eyes went wide. I seduced her? That couldn’t be. Unlike the other young ladies I had never even fawned over Viviana; I had only shown her my awkward self with the pretense stripped away… What on earth had captivated her?
“It’s unfortunate for the young lady. Now that I’ve decided to have you, you won’t be able to escape.”
“I-I don’t understand what you’re saying, Lady Viviana….”
“Tina Bland.”
Viviana spoke my name with solemn weight. Her attitude was so serious that I could not utter a word.
“From today onward, not as a toy of high society—become my pet.”
“…What?”
“If I hadn’t saved you, you would have been marinated in drugs and become Mardi-an’s slave, wouldn’t you? Better to be my pet than that.”
It was an utterly bewildering proposal. In truth, becoming someone’s pet did not matter to me. Already countless young ladies in high society treated me like a toy. If Viviana wanted that, I was perfectly willing to become her exclusive pet.
But I had no intention of simply accepting it without conditions.
“Then what will you do for me, Lady Viviana?”
“What?”
“Saying you’ll monopolize me means you’ll give me all the gifts and affection the other young ladies give me, doesn’t it?”
If she wanted me to abandon being the pet of other young ladies, she would have to offer compensation equal to what I was giving up. The gifts I obtained by fawning over them were worth a great deal when sold; I could not surrender that lightly.
“Ha. You’re honest, young lady. Quite greedy, aren’t you?”
“Because I decided to treat you without pretense, Lady Viviana.”
“Pfft… I like that.”
Viviana smiled faintly. Seeing her smile at me again after so long lifted my sunken mood a little.
“I’ll pay off all of House Bland’s debts.”
“…What?”
At the unexpected words I blinked blankly. Did she know how large the sum was and still speak of it so easily? Even after Mother’s desperate efforts had forgiven half the debt, the remaining half was no small amount.
“Do you know how much the debt is?”
“Young Lady Tina, have you forgotten who I am?”
I could find no rebuttal to her confident words. Viviana continued with an even freer smile.
“And if I judge that House Bland’s business has potential going forward, I’ll support it generously. Last time I saw her, your mother seemed quite capable.”
My mouth fell open of its own accord.
Support from Viviana. Whether viscount houses or count houses, there would be no end of families ready to leap at the chance the moment they could receive backing from the Merdelia Ducal House.
I was not so stupid that I failed to grasp how enormous a privilege this was. Yet the greater the privilege, the more I had to ask what the price would be.
“Then what do I have to give in return?”
“As I said—just become my pet young lady. I don’t care for relationships that exist only in words, so I’d like to draw up a contract.”
“A contract?”
“Yes. Tina Bland—a contract containing the oath that you, as my pet, will please your master.”
A contract… a faint unease stirred in me.
“Your answer?”
“….”
“Think carefully. I’m only asking once.”
But… this opportunity was far too great a temptation to let slip. The hand of salvation that could lift Mother free of her mountain of debt was right in front of me; how could I possibly refuse it?
Mother would no longer have to suffer. No matter how many jewels other young ladies might bring, a privilege of this magnitude would never come easily again. This was a chance I absolutely must not miss.
In the end, after long deliberation in Viviana’s arms, I made my decision and gave a short nod.
“…Alright. You must keep your promise.”
“Hehe… I promise.”
“I’ll read the contract carefully, and if there’s anything strange it’s void.”
“Yes. Do as you please.”
Viviana smiled beautifully and stroked my head. In a single moment I had gone from being high society’s pet to Viviana’s personal possession, yet I did not mind much. The knowledge that I could now clear all of Mother’s debts filled me with pure joy.
“Then let’s return to my mansion at once.”
But the joy lasted only a moment. At the unexpected words I blinked blankly.
“What? To Lady Viviana’s mansion?”
“You’ve become my pet, haven’t you?”
Viviana curved her lips into a mischievous yet alluring smile. It was a familiar smile. Having played the game countless times, I knew exactly what that smile meant.
“I can’t stand watching my pet flirt with other children.”
That smile of Viviana’s meant she was thoroughly pleased with the present situation.
“You’re confined to a room for a month, pet young lady.”
“…What?”
“I’ll take care of food, clothing, and shelter, so don’t worry.”
In contrast to her all-too-noble smile, I had no idea what expression my own face was wearing.
…Confinement?