Chapter 3

Ordinarily speaking, a princess like Evelina wouldn't need to tend to someone's wounds herself, but she didn't dare let anyone else do it. The last thing she needed was for rumors to spread—especially not to the ears of her oldest brother, Gideon Vellmore.

While the original Evelina was branded an Inferior due to her C-class status, the King doted on her, and the Queen was very patient with her. Her second brother, Hadrian Vellmore, was also an outlier in the royal family. He devoted his energy to his career in the entertainment industry and only came back to the royal palace a couple of times a year.

But Gideon was different. He was as strict as they came.

Gideon was ten years older than Evelina and served as a general of Centoria, stationed year-round on the outer frontier. But whenever he came back to Stellaris, the capital planet, his harsh disciplining of the other young royals bordered on ruthlessness.

Even the original Evelina hadn't been spared just because she was female. She'd been terrified of him.

If Gideon were to find out she'd bought a penal slave and was personally nursing him back to health, he would probably lock her up and starve her for two days without even blinking an eye.

And going hungry was the hardest thing for Evelina to bear.

In her previous life, she'd skipped meals constantly while working overtime, forced to curl up at her desk and endure the endless gastric pains. That was how she ended up dying.

This time around, she refused to let herself go hungry.

Therefore, after giving the excuse that she was "eager to test out her new slave", she brought the unconscious Jasper back to her room.

Technology in this era was incredibly advanced. There was a nanoscopic repair spray she could use that stopped bleeding almost instantly and accelerated cellular regeneration. But no matter how advanced medicine was, it couldn't eliminate the sharp sting that came with treating open wounds.

Jasper had only just begun savoring that fleeting, gentle touch when an agonizing pain coursed through him. A groan escaped him. As his eyes flew open, instinct took over, and his arm lashed out reflexively.

A startled cry rang out, making him freeze. Cold sweat instantly broke across his back.

Had he… accidentally struck the female who had bought him? Recalling her earlier conversation with the slave trader, he wondered if he were about to suffer even more excruciating torture now.

Evelina clutched her chest, tears nearly springing from her eyes. Why the heck did he strike her there of all places? This body of hers was delicate enough, as it was. The forceful blow almost made her black out from the pain.

That hurt like hell!

Turning away, she secretly rubbed her aching chest. It took a while before she straightened up again. When she turned back around, she noticed that Jasper's eyes were slightly open.

Leaning down until she was in front of him, she asked, "Are you awake now?"

He stared blankly ahead.

She picked up the repair spray and gave it a little shake. "I'm treating your injuries, so just bear with it for a bit. Don't move."

Jasper didn't answer. Though unfocused, his gaze remained fixed stubbornly on her. The truth was, he couldn't see her clearly. He'd sustained a heavy blow to the head back at the slave market, and his vision had been hazy ever since.

However, his ears were perfectly fine, and he heard her clearly. Was she actually treating his injuries? Was this some kind of dream?

His body tensed up. He was terrified the dream would end.

Seeing that he'd finally stopped moving, Evelina hurried through the rest of the treatment, afraid that he might attack her again. Once she finished, she looked at him.

"Can you get up? If you can, go sleep on the couch."

Slowly, Jasper realized that it wasn't a dream after all.

A penal slave would only get to sleep on a patch of his master's floor. Even in a dream, he would never dare let a female offer him a couch.

He struggled into a sitting position, trying to make out his master's face.

Evelina pointed toward the couch on the other end of the room. "It's over there."

It was large enough for him to sleep comfortably.

Jasper moved a little, only to realize that the tiny shards of glass embedded in the soles of his feet were gone. Not only had they been removed, but his feet had been treated and wrapped in clean bandages, too.

Those shards of glass had been driven into his feet by the slave trader as punishment after his last escape attempt.

Still muzzled, he could only give a vague nod before feeling his way toward the couch—only to crash right into the leg of a table.

At last, Evelina realized something was wrong. She crouched down and waved a hand in front of his eyes.

His cloudy gaze shifted faintly.

"Can you not see very well?"

After a brief hesitation, Jasper nodded. A slave's injury would serve as a reason for him to be cast aside. He held his breath, waiting for her verdict.

Evelina's expression grew complicated. She didn't think there'd be something wrong with his eyesight.

In the original story, the part about the heroine rescuing him had been glossed over in only a few lines. It was quite likely that she'd treated his vision with her mind force.

But Evelina couldn't do that—she didn't have enough mind force!

She grumbled inwardly, wondering if this was the disparity between a heroine and a supporting character.

Letting out a sigh, she helped him onto the couch.

"There you go. You can sleep here."

Once Jasper lay down stiffly, she tossed him a light blanket before climbing into bed herself and happily closing her eyes. She was exhausted. Everything else could wait until she'd gotten her sleep.

Lying motionless on the couch, Jasper didn't dare move an inch.

Was that all?

He hadn't been whipped, abused, or tormented. Evelina had treated his wounds before telling him to rest on the couch. Was this a dream or reality?

Honestly, he didn't know. Feeling weary, he closed his eyes. Even if some even crueler torment awaited him tomorrow, at least tonight, he could finally get some proper rest.

Evelina had only just fallen asleep when the ringing from her personal terminal jolted her awake. Without even checking who the caller was, she answered, "Hello?"

A crisp voice rang out at once. "Evelina! It's almost midnight! Didn't you say you want to give Ivan his birthday present yourself? If you don't get here now, you'll miss it! I've already covered for you long enough—now where are you?"

It was Hadrian, her second older brother.

Still groggy, Evelina sat upright, slowly running through the memories she'd inherited.

The Bairds were a noble family in Centoria, but Ivan was one of the unfavored males in the family. He'd ridden the popularity and resources that came from being associated with Evelina, the princess, to become a moderately successful celebrity in the entertainment industry.

The original Evelina had been his most obsessive fan. Every year, she personally organized his birthday celebrations and showered him with outrageously expensive gifts.

Last year, she'd given him a limited-edition Galactic Series hovercar, but he complained that it was too flashy.

As a result, the original Evelina decided to get something more practical this year. She asked Hadrian to acquire something from another star system—an all-natural mind resonance crystal that was said to aid in the cultivation of a male's mind force and was worth a million gold astras.

A million gold astras?

That was enough to buy 50 Jaspers!

Evelina became fully awake in an instant.

"Hadrian!" she shouted. "Did you give him the gift yet?"

Hadrian snorted. "Panicking now, are we? It's eight minutes till midnight. Hurry up. I've got the crystal with me. I'm just waiting for you."

"Don't give it to him!" Evelina squealed frantically. "You'd better not give it to him! Wait for me! I'm coming right now!"

But it seemed like Hadrian hadn't heard her, for the line went dead with a beep.

Evelina jumped out of bed, grabbed the first article of clothing she could find, and bolted out the door like a whirlwind.

Over on the couch, Jasper slowly sat up. His unfocused eyes remained fixed in the direction she'd disappeared.

…

The grand ballroom glittered from the dazzling lights. A mountain of exquisite gifts occupied the center, while everyone's attention drifted, intentionally or not, toward the second-floor balcony.

Leaning against the railing, Hadrian twirled a small gift box between his fingers.

"Ahhhhhhh! It's Prince Hadrian! He's gorgeous!"

"Hey, you're a male, and he's a male, too! Why are you freaking out like that?"

Hadrian flashed effortless smiles in every direction before pulling his head back with a bored sigh.

If that idiotic little sister of his hadn't begged him to help celebrate Ivan's birthday, there was no way an interstellar superstar like him would have bothered showing up at an event like this. And now Evelina wasn't even here!

He was absolutely telling Gideon to teach her a lesson when he got a chance.

"Your Highness."

Hadrian turned around, a look of annoyance crossing his eyes when he saw who'd called out to him.

Ivan had approached without him noticing. Being a peacockkin, Ivan certainly possessed striking looks. He was tall and fair-skinned. And when his eyes were slightly lowered, his expression made him seem like a pleasant, amiable gentleman.

But Hadrian didn't miss the flash of arrogance in Ivan's gaze.

"Is the princess still not here yet, Your Highness?" Ivan was beginning to lose his patience.

What was going on? Evelina was usually the first guest to arrive. But today…

Hadrian had grown tired of waiting as well. He raised the gift box, intending to hand it over and be done with it. The sooner he delivered it, the sooner he could stop putting up with this nonsense.

"Wait!"