Chapter 60: A Dog
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60: A Dog
"I imagine if it were you, Master, you would have made them submit completely—body and soul."
"…Hehe."
Facing Eluka’s look of worshipful praise, An couldn't help but feel her lips twitch.
It was a good thing she hadn't mentioned she was only here because her beloved had run away. Otherwise, her dignity as a Master would have been utterly dragged through the mud.
It was all the Young Master’s fault.
Why did he have to run?
It seemed her methods really did need to become a bit more severe.
Just look at Eluka. It had only been two days, and it felt like her lover had already surrendered himself entirely, heart and soul.
"Come, shake."
"Woof."
"Now, lie down."
"Woof."
"Now, wag your tail."
"Woof?"
"Ah, I forgot you can't do that. Wag your behind instead."
"Woof."
"Good boy, good boy. Ade is such a good boy. I'll give you some meat in a bit, okay?"
"Woof! Woof!"
He really was just like a dog.
An looked away.
Could she really bring the Young Master to this point?
"Ah, right! Tea!"
After showing off her results to An, Eluka suddenly slapped her forehead, remembering she still had water boiling on the stove.
She hurried out of the room.
"I'll go brew the tea, Master. Feel free to look around."
Halfway out, Eluka suddenly poked her head back through the door, giving a mock-serious warning:
"Don't do anything naughty while I'm away~"
"As if. I already have someone I love."
"Heehee, just kidding! How could I ever doubt you, Master?"
With a playful grin, Eluka disappeared past the door.
Without Eluka, the room suddenly fell silent. The man on the floor slowly crawled into a corner, curling up in the "dog kennel" Eluka had meticulously built for him. He seemed not to care at all about how much dignity he had lost in the eyes of an outsider, moving exactly like a dog.
"Has she really broken him to this extent? Eluka seems even more formidable than I imagined," An murmured to herself, then turned her gaze elsewhere.
This room appeared to have been a master bedroom once. Faint marks remained on the floor where a bed had sat for years. It had been modified slightly; the large bed was gone, leaving only a vanity and a wardrobe, making the space feel incredibly empty.
"This is..."
An gently picked up a picture frame from the vanity.
Inside was a painting.
It depicted a family of three.
In this world, ordinary families could rarely afford expensive "Magic Portraits," so most people who wanted to preserve a memory would hire a cheap wandering artist from the roadside. Then, like a photograph, they would have it framed.
The painting wasn't particularly refined, but An could tell at a glance that the cute little girl held by the middle-aged man and woman was a young Eluka.
"Are these Eluka's parents? She looks just like them."
"Come to think of it, the portraits hanging on the living room wall were of her parents too. That means this house must belong to them. But where did they go?"
"Strange. Why am I thinking about this?"
If they weren't home, they were obviously out on business. There was nothing suspicious about it.
It seemed that chasing the Young Master for two days straight had left her mentally exhausted.
An gave a self-deprecating smile and put the frame back. Her eyes flickered to a small statue next to the frame.
It was a decorative piece—a young girl hugging a heart, looking as if she wanted to crush it into her chest.
An didn't pay it much mind.
Then, out of habit... she pulled open the vanity drawer.
The slight smile on her face instantly froze.
"This... this is..."
An’s mouth hung open as she stared at the assortment of "toys" in the drawer—things she had only read about in certain books but had never actually used.
The Rich Lady's Pleasure Ball...
The Rich Lady's Pleasure Whip...
The Rich Lady's Pleasure... in short, it was the entire Rich Lady's Pleasure series. There was a staggering variety, everything one could imagine.
"Can... can these things really be used on a human body without causing permanent damage?"
Even An, who had specifically studied human anatomy just to ensure she wouldn't accidentally stab Muen to death, felt a chill down her spine.
She felt that while these were called "toys," they were more like "instruments of torture."
If she used these things on the Young Master...
Oh no. I'm getting excited.
An slammed the drawer shut.
She rubbed her face, trying hard to suppress the faint flush that had leaked out.
As a maid, this was far too unseemly.
She should at least wait until she actually caught the Young Master before getting excited.
...
After circling the room, she eventually ended up back in front of the man.
"You—"
An crouched down, looking at the man, wanting to ask him something.
But before the words could leave her mouth, she froze.
The man before her was clean-shaven, and his face had clearly been well-groomed.
However.
His eyes were hollow, his expression numb.
His gaze seemed fixed on something, yet there was nothing where he looked. Not even An’s reflection seemed to register in his pupils.
When An placed her hand under his chin, he lifted his head as a reflex.
And then—
"Woof."
Despite the fact that his eyes held only a despair and agony that seemed capable of drowning everything...
His bark was incredibly cheerful.
Like an automaton.
Press a button, and it moves.
It dances a pre-set routine with a smile on its face, but the soul inside has long since died.
"Are... are you alright?"
An’s voice suddenly trembled.
A thought struck her.
If her beloved Young Master Muen became like this, would she still be happy?
She had resolved that it wouldn't matter if she only possessed his body, but would she truly be happy?
Would she?
"Woof..."
A flicker of confusion passed through the man's eyes.
He seemed to only just realize that the person in front of him wasn't the devil who had been tormenting him.
"Gurgle... kkh..."
He suddenly grabbed An’s arm, making strange, unintelligible noises in his throat. He seemed to want to say something but struggled to get the words out, like a savage who had lived on a deserted island for twenty years and lost the ability to speak.
But by her count, he had only been "trained" for two days at most.
Finally, after a massive effort, An managed to make out the words the man was desperately trying to say.
"Don't... don't go near that room..."
"Room?"
An followed the man's gaze and saw he was pointing at a tightly closed door at the end of the hallway.
"Why can't I go near it? Is there something inside?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he began to shake violently, as if facing a monumental terror. His large palms gripped An so hard it hurt.
An knew this man had once been a powerhouse capable of facing an Overlord-class magical beast, yet now he was as fragile as a newborn babe.
"Don't... don't go in there... sob... in there..."
"What's in there? Why are you crying?"
An was bewildered. She wanted to comfort the man to get more accurate information, but he suddenly shoved her hand away and curled back into his kennel.
"Woof."
He lowered his head, becoming a dog once more.