Chapter 6

Evelina stared at the gag in Jasper's mouth with a complicated expression. It had saved her neck last night, preventing the ungrateful wolfkin from taking a chunk out of her. But she couldn't keep the gag on him forever. At the very least, he needed to eat.

In the end, she raised her hand and opened the control interface on her personal terminal. With a click, the straps of the gag came undone, allowing Jasper to spit it out immediately.

Jasper's sharp features still carried traces of youth. A dark tattoo covered most of his face, marking him as a penal slave. His jaw hung slightly open in confusion as he stared dazedly at her.

For some reason, Evelina thought he looked rather like a dog.

"Can you talk now?"

Jasper moved his stiff jaw. After slowly closing his lips and licking them, he said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, master."

He shifted backward, lowered his head, and bowed. "Please punish me for my insolence last night, master."

The corner of Evelina's mouth twitched. "T-That won't be necessary."

That was way too loaded a line—and a form of address.

She threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and headed out of the room while saying, "Aren't you hungry? Let's eat."

Jasper remained kneeling on the floor, his fingers curling slightly. She didn't seem to want to punish him, but why was that?

Last night's events were just as puzzling to him. She had treated his wounds and let him sleep on a soft couch. And after he'd disrespected her with his actions, she could've killed him without consequence, yet she hadn't.

Could a female really be this benevolent?

Jasper was still wrapped up in his thoughts when that faint, familiar scent came back. He saw a blurry figure approaching before sensing that someone had gently taken his hand.

"I forgot you can't see very well. Come on then. I'll take you down for a meal."

A short while later, Jasper sat at the dining table, visibly uneasy.

Evelina tapped the plate. "Eat up."

"Master... this is for me?" Jasper asked hesitantly.

There was a plate of meat in front of him!

In this era of interstellar living, natural ingredients were incredibly expensive, and edible meat was especially hard to come by. Usually, only the females, who were more particular about taste and texture, ate real food. A small number of noble males also ate it, but most males survived on nutrient serums.

No female would ever give real food to a slave.

Evelina shuddered at being called "master". She had to silently remind herself to adapt to the local customs of this universe.

"That's right. Go ahead and eat. There's more if you need it."

Jasper only hesitated for a moment before grabbing the meat and quickly stuffing it into his mouth. Having gone without eating for three days, he was starving. No matter what Evelina intended to do to him, he would worry about it after he had his fill.

Evelina quietly watched him, thinking that he must've been ravenous, for he ate like a wild animal. It was as if he might even swallow the plate.

Seeing that, she couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken. The Jasper she knew from the novel was a powerful and decisive S-class guard. But the Jasper in front of her was only a 19-year-old male who had already gone through the fall of his family and suffered endless torment.

When he finished the food, she asked, "Are you completely blind?"

Hearing that she was asking about his sight, Jasper replied in a muffled voice, "I can still see, master. I just can't see things clearly."

"When did that start? Why can't you see clearly?"

"About a month ago. I got a head injury, and when I woke up, my vision was blurry." Jasper gulped, and he couldn't resist mumbling out the rest of the words. "I'll do whatever you need me to do, master. My eyesight won't cause any issues…"

Evelina's heart clenched a little. She straightened up in her seat and lifted her chin with practiced arrogance. "Do you know who I am?"

Jasper looked toward her with an uncertain expression before shaking his head.

"You've probably heard of me before. I'm Princess Evelina Vellmore of Centoria."

Jasper froze.

Princess Evelina, the Inferior?

He'd certainly heard of her. Before the Lunareths had fallen, he'd heard a ton of rumors about her chasing males all around the galaxy.

That explained why the mind force he felt last night had been so weak—but what about the scent he smelled?

"I didn't buy you for a specific task in mind. I just need you to do as I say, and I'll even get your eyes treated," Evelina declared. "You're mine now, so I'll treat you well."

In other words, he'd better not bite the hand that fed him!

Evelina's domineering declaration successfully turned Jasper's ears red. Did she just say he belonged to her?

So she had, in fact, bought him to entertain herself with. That made sense, of course. Apart from being tortured for entertainment, slaves were often used as playthings for pleasure as well.

Jasper slowly lowered his head. "Yes, master."

It only took him a few seconds to accept his new identity. If staying by Evelina's side meant she would continue treating him like this—as well as she did now—then he was fine with it.

Evelina had no idea how badly her words had been misunderstood. She reached out and took his hand, adding to the misunderstanding by saying, "Let's get you in the shower."

He still carried the rotten, bloody smell of the slave market, and it was a little unpleasant.

Jasper's face grew even hotter. He was pulled to his feet. The hand holding him felt soft and warm. He only dared to press against it ever so slightly as his feet moved before his mind caught up.

Evelina pushed him into the bathroom, explained where the toiletries were, then turned around and closed the door.

Jasper stood still for a moment before slowly feeling his way around. When he found the body shampoo, he gave it a close sniff, but it wasn't the scent he smelled on her. Silently, he began washing himself, hoping that she would be satisfied.

…

Inside the main command cockpit of the interstellar fleet, a man in a general's uniform sat upright. A beam of light fell across his face, outlining a downright perfect facial structure. However, his deep eyes held a chilling indifference.

A subordinate reported to him, "We received a message from the queen, Your Highness. She says that Princess Evelina is about to choose a prince consort, so she requests that you return as soon as possible to assist with the selection."

Gideon Vellmore turned his head a little before humming in response. "Inform the queen that I'll be arriving tomorrow night."

The subordinate acknowledged the command before stealing another glance at Gideon, Centoria's mightiest warrior. He truly didn't understand what the queen was thinking. Gideon was an SS-class male, yet she continued to refuse to find him a suitable female.

And whenever the military situation became tense, she always found some excuse to summon him back. At this rate, Gideon would eventually lose his mind from the volatile fluctuations of his mind force and undergo permanent feralization!

Gideon lowered his eyes and issued navigation commands for the fleet. He knew very well that his mother was summoning him back for his own good.

If he failed to suppress the violent fluctuations of his mind force and transformed into his beast form, he would end up exposing a secret—that he was the descendant of a monster and wasn't biologically related to the royal family of Centoria in any way.

Shutting down the command console, Gideon left the cockpit.

In the corridor, several officers were gathered together discussing something. The moment they saw him, they immediately saluted. "Greetings, sir!"

Gideon gave a slight nod.

"M-May I trouble you for a second, sir?"

Gideon paused and glanced puzzledly at the subordinate awkwardly approaching him.

"Sir, I… wanted to ask if Princess Evelina is beginning the selection process for her husband."

"That's right," Gideon replied, sounding somewhat confused. "What about it?"

"When the princess selects her prince consort, does she take military achievements into account?" the male asked with a bashful smile. "Do you think I can join the selection, sir?"

Gideon was even more baffled now, and the other officers immediately crowded over.

"Sir, is the princess only choosing her primary husband this time? What about her secondary husbands?"

"Yes, of course! I'd be willing to try for a secondary husband position too. I've received perfect evaluations for three consecutive years. Can I use that as my qualification?"

"That's nothing! What about me? I got a second-class merit achievement last year…"

Gideon frowned, feeling genuinely confused. Since when did Evelina become so popular with the males?

The officers noticed the perplexed look in his eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh. You haven't heard about it yet, sir?"

What was he supposed to have heard?

Recalling that Gideon showed no interest in the usual interstellar gossip, one of the officers immediately pulled up a video on his personal terminal and showed it to Gideon.

"I honestly never expected this, sir. Princess Evelina really is such a wonderful female. Whoever becomes her prince consort will be incredibly lucky..."

In the video, a petite female said in an earnest voice, "As you know, my mind force is weak. Whoever becomes my husband will already have to suffer because of that. And if I maintain relationships with other males, I'd be hurting his feelings, too."

Gideon raised his brows. Was that… Evelina?