IBTPCS 10

Chapter 10

“What’s this odd thing?”

Despite the spiteful words referring to her, the girl did not look away from him. And without any room for misunderstanding, the target she was looking at was clear.

The girl was looking only at him.

For some reason, his gaze was drawn to the black eyes staring at him. He felt a strange sensation.

Surely the slaves imprisoned here knew that the people entering this shop would be the ones to choose them.

The way the girl fixed her gaze on him felt as if she had chosen him herself.

For a slave to dare ‘choose’ him, a Crown Prince—it was absurd, but at that moment, there was no other way to express it.

“Woof woof woof woof woof!”

Moreover, when his gaze briefly strayed, she barked as if asking what he was doing.

‘Quite…….’

If someone had looked into his head, they might have thought he was crazy, but the thought that came first was that she was cute.

And that was the first positive emotion he had ever felt toward any subject.

‘If I take her and occasionally look at her.’

Michael gazed at the girl who captured his attention, with interest still somewhat predominant in his feelings.

‘……It might not be bad.’

It wasn’t a mistake after all. As if recognizing her master—and no one else—she responded to him with fervor.

Those round black eyes stared at him as if they would stay there forever. A gaze so blatant it was almost blind.

Thump.

“……?”

Crown Prince Michael suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his heart and pressed his chest.

He hadn’t known such a sensation before, but looking back later, it was the feeling of ‘too cute.’

‘Yes.’

Crown Prince Michael made his decision and thought to himself. They say dogs follow their master unconditionally.

Whether he’s a beggar on the street or the Emperor of the empire, a dog doesn’t distinguish. If it’s a dog that gives such affection and trust simply because he’s its master, then it’s worth raising.

He brought up reasonable justifications as if trying to make someone understand, but in the end, this was merely the emotion coming first, followed by rationalization.

It just felt like she was his at first sight.

‘Looking at me like that, it would be pitiful to just leave her.’

Crown Prince Michael convinced himself, as if he had ever felt sympathy for anything before.

That day, as if under a spell, he brought the girl to the palace.

—

But gradually, back in his familiar office handling paperwork as usual, his unsettled mind returned to normal. Crown Prince Michael reflected on the situation outside the palace once more.

‘……How strange.’

It was strange. Not a long period, but in Crown Prince Michael’s lifetime, he had never felt such a feeling before. The sensation when those two eyes were directed at him.

‘Was she waiting? For me?’

The child looked at him as if she had been waiting only for him.

‘She wouldn’t have even known who I was.’

In fact, that was also due to the information gap between Michael and Eugene.

Eugene had already known Crown Prince Michael for a long time, and without even being conscious of it, that affection for him showed in her eyes.

To be precise, it was affection for a favorite game character, but.

Having no way of knowing such specific details, Michael felt a strange feeling at the peculiar trust she showed him.

Somehow, a ticklish feeling in his chest.

‘As I thought, it’s strange.’

That girl…… something about her was strange. She made Crown Prince Michael feel an awkward sensation he didn’t know.

Mistaking it for unpleasantness, Crown Prince Michael made a decision to himself.

Before this feeling he was experiencing for the first time could escape his control, he would remove the girl who was its cause from his sight entirely.

That was definitely what he had thought.

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

—

“Master!”

Having entered without permission and dared to roll around on the Crown Prince’s bed, her innocent eyes, not even imagining she had done anything wrong or would be scolded, silenced him.

“You…….”

He needed to scold her, or rather, send her out. Before she could unsettle his mind even further.

But even after opening his mouth, he couldn’t bring himself to say such negative words to her.

“……?”

Her unwavering eyes looked at him with curiosity. A gaze that believed he would never harm her.

Even though there was no reason for that.

Crown Prince Michael had no choice but to close his mouth again.

That child’s eyes made him feel strange.

In the end, he couldn’t even bring up his original intention to remove the girl from his sight.

Instead, he ended up instructing that a space be arranged for her to reside permanently within his palace.

The next morning.

Crown Prince Michael went to his office at his usual early hour and began his work. The one thing different from usual was that thoughts of the child came to him intermittently throughout his work.

He looked out the window, still dim before the sun had fully risen, and thought.

‘She’s probably still asleep.’

What was she doing? Was she still lying in that fluffy bed, like she had been happily rolling around on his bedding yesterday?

Crown Prince Michael, who normally would be completely focused on his paperwork without any waste of time once work began, found himself unconsciously thinking of the white-haired girl even while working.

“Your Highness, I’ll bring in your breakfast.”

Before he knew it, the sun had risen in the sky, brightening the outside of the window, and he heard the voice of an attendant who had brought his morning meal. He watched the servants transfer the dishes freshly prepared in the kitchen to the table.

Then Crown Prince Michael suddenly wondered who would be taking care of that child’s meals.

“……Head butler.”

This was just, perhaps, checking whether the servants’ work assignments were properly distributed.

If someone wasn’t properly grasping their duties, it would inevitably create a gap somewhere.

So, from the room Eugene had been assigned the night before, to the person in charge of her overall living arrangements, to the related budget allocation—he confirmed everything before finally starting his meal.

The head butler, who had been hit with his superior’s sudden surprise questions from the morning, was drained, but being a meticulous talent, he answered without missing a single detail, and finally asked about matters requiring the Crown Prince’s approval.

“And Your Highness, yesterday we didn’t put on restraints while sorting the items sent from the shop, but today the manager who finished organizing the warehouse has brought separate restraints. If you permit, may we put them on ‘His Highness’s puppy’ today?”

Saying that, the head butler took out the restraints he had received in advance.

“……Those are?”

“These are restraints provided as a set with the slaves from the shop. They’re in the form of a standard collar, and although they’re single-use, they’re functional items with magic imbued as well.”

Crown Prince Michael reached out his hand as if to bring them closer. Receiving the restraints from the head butler, the Crown Prince asked in a casual voice.

“What function do they have?”

The restraints were in the form of a ring slightly larger than a person’s neck circumference, with a considerable weight. The rough surface of the restraints was uneven and slightly coarse.

“If the slave attempts to flee or rebel against the master’s will, breaking this activation device will cause the restraints to explode as well.”

Crack.

The restraints shattered to pieces in the Crown Prince’s hand.

“……The strength is weak.”

‘That was supposed to be sturdy.’

He thought that, but the capable head butler held his tongue.

Crown Prince Michael instructed that proper restraints be made to replace the broken ones, adding detailed specifications for how the finished product should look.

—

Not long after, the ordered restraints were completed.

The head butler waited for the restraints, for which His Highness had personally given detailed instructions, to be made to order, and as soon as they were finished at the forge, he brought them straight to the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, what you ordered has been completed.”

The ring he respectfully offered was handed over to the Crown Prince.

“Hmm.”

Crown Prince Michael closely examined the ring in his hand. The specially made circular ring was made of metal yet as thin as ribbon fabric, seeming like it wouldn’t cause any discomfort even when touching a child’s soft skin.

The Crown Prince examined the ring’s seams and both the inside and outside surfaces from all angles for quite a while before finally setting the restraints down on the desk with satisfaction.

“Bring her here.”

Though he didn’t specify who, the quick-witted head butler immediately understood his master’s intent and headed toward Eugene’s room.

“Master?”

Until Eugene, called by him, entered the office, Crown Prince Michael sat with a serious expression, furrowing his brows, making a resolution to himself.

‘I let it slide last time.’

This time, he would not be caught up in that strange feeling like before and give in to everything she wanted.

In fact, trespassing into an imperial family member’s bedchamber without permission was a grave offense. Even for a noble, it wouldn’t be out of the question to confine them to a terrifying dungeon.

And for a slave of all things!

If anyone else among the imperial family had done that, they would have been executed immediately. The only reason he was generously overlooking her cute rolling around on the blanket was because it was her……

‘I should instruct her to stay only within my palace, as it’s dangerous.’

Something dangerous might happen if she went outside, and he couldn’t let that innocent one go out without any preparation.

Crown Prince Michael, unaware that his thoughts had somehow veered in a strange direction, opened his mouth toward Eugene, who was staring blankly at him.