The iron slave collar that every slave wore.
At first glance, it was just an ordinary restraint, similar to an iron shackle.
In the original story, the background focused mainly on the time after Piel and the other heroines had already escaped their slave status.
So the information I'd heard back then was...
'If you harm the master, a restraint spell activates.'
'Magic is imbued to force absolute obedience to commands.'
'Only the master can release it,' and so on.
Just that much.
So I had no idea.
That this collar had 'this kind of function.'
To be precise, it might not have been a function that existed from the beginning.
But just moments ago, when Piel's eyes sparkled as she asked if I had a dog leash, the slave collar started changing shape on its own.
Click.
The black iron rearranged itself, instantly transforming into the exact shape of a 'dog collar.'
The next click, and a leash grew out as well.
That's why I'm in this situation right now.
In the vast center of the Argent Family's sprawling garden, I'm taking a walk while gripping the leash extending from the slave collar.
And the 'dog'... is, of course, Piel.
Her ears perked up, her tail wagging excitedly, crawling on all fours in her maid outfit, bounding cheerfully ahead of me.
The clothes were a high-class maid uniform, but her behavior was blatantly that of a pet.
I couldn't tell if I was the crazy one, or if this world was.
But one thing was certain.
Piel looked happy right now.
She wasn't hiding her tail. She wasn't hunching her body. She wasn't afraid of me.
Instead, she tugged lightly on the leash to lead the way ahead, and when I paused for a step, she turned back with sparkling eyes, urging me on.
It was a truly insane situation, but I couldn't help chuckling.
"How is it, Master? My parents always fought sometimes, but the next day they'd go on a walk like this and make up right away!"
"Ah, um... yeah... I feel a bit better, I guess..."
"Hehe! See? Our house was always in the snowy mountains, but after their walks, they'd come back to the cabin totally drenched in sweat every time!"
A 'vigorous walk' in the snowy mountains that left them both soaked in sweat.
The image that came to mind wasn't exactly a walk... but no, it must be my dirty mind.
I was thinking that when the real problem arose elsewhere.
Lucas Argent.
The illegitimate son of a shadowy family even the imperial family couldn't touch, treated like a ghost even within the estate.
Normally, people passed by as if I didn't exist, but now it was different.
Someone once said it, right?
Even the bottom has a bottom.
I was experiencing that in real time right now.
Murmur murmur murmur.
I'd chosen an area with no people, sticking to the inner courtyard near the annex, but everyone was watching.
And without fail, they were all whispering.
"Whoa... he gets one slave and immediately puts that kid on a leash like a dog?"
"As soon as something weaker shows up, his true colors come out... ugh, disgusting."
"I felt sorry for him as the bastard, but now I see he's just a dog bastard."
The stares from passing maids.
Faces that always treated me like I was invisible were now openly showing disgust.
Eyes asking how he could do such a thing.
Eyes looking at me like I was filthy vermin.
I knew.
Exactly what they were misunderstanding.
Everyone was convinced I was making the slave crawl around to suit my tastes.
'Fuck... that's not my thing at all.'
But could I stop because of that?
Piel was smiling properly for the first time since being dragged into this estate.
She was crawling around, wagging her tail hard to please her master, imitating her parents. If I said "this is embarrassing, let's stop" here?
That wouldn't just hurt Piel's feelings—it would deny the 'way of love' her deceased parents had passed down to her.
So I pushed the surrounding stares to the back of my mind for now.
Lucas Argent was this kind of character from the start anyway.
Going from zero regard in the family to negative one—what difference did it make?
Besides, unlike the original, I planned to bail from this house at the first opportunity anyway.
In other words, my top priority right now was one thing.
Not breaking Piel's tail.
I walked slowly behind the wagging tail, pretending to stay composed as best I could.
And I figured I'd at least act like a gentleman.
"Piel, everything's fine, but... lower your hips a bit. Your panties are showing."
"Eek?! M-Master, don't look...!"
"I don't want to see it, but it's showing, you fool."
About ten minutes in.
Piel, who seemed like she'd walk forever, suddenly stopped.
"Master! Let's end the walk here for now!"
"Oh?"
I let out a brief sigh of relief.
The story about her parents coming back drenched in sweat after their 'vigorous walk' had been so suspicious—I'd been a little anxious wondering if I'd get dragged into some endurance race.
Of course, the relief lasted all of three seconds.
What Piel pulled from her bosom was a round metal tray.
She stood up on two legs, offering it to me politely like a tribute, her eyes sparkling.
"Now it's time for 'frisbee'!"
"...Frisbee?"
Piel shook the tray excitedly in both hands as she explained with glee.
"Dad always took a frisbee when he went walking with Mom! He said it's so fun throwing it to Mom and making her chase it!"
"Ah, um... I see..."
A 'vigorous walk' in the snowy mountains with frisbee throws to make her show her back.
...Was my imagination too lewd?
Yeah, probably.
My thoughts wandered for a second, but for the sake of the innocent child's pure heart, I played dumb.
"By the way, this is more of a tray than a frisbee, isn't it? Did you get it from the kitchen?"
"Yes! There weren't any frisbees in the estate, so I went to the kitchen and said it was 'needed for the master,' and they came running over in a panic to give it to me!"
And the head chef bastard in the meantime...
His efficiency shot up to 200% after getting stomped on the instep.
Anyway, now I was about to play fetch like a pet owner with this beastkin kid.
The estate's stares were about to get even colder, but at this point, with the floor already broken through, who cared.
"Alright, let's do it."
"Yes, Master!"
Piel lowered herself back down to all fours.
Her tail waved like a wave, full of eager anticipation.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Piel was running with more energy than ever.
On all fours, panting, shaking her tail like the wind.
How long had it been?
Since she could run freely like this, without suppressing her beastly instincts, following her heart.
Mom always emphasized one thing.
Beastkin aren't beasts—they're people, so crawling on all fours should be avoided.
That way, you can grow into a fine beastkin.
But at other times, she said something different.
"Still, if a man comes along who makes your tail wag on its own and makes you want to run on all fours so badly it feels natural... you don't have to hide it in front of him."
Piel had asked.
"Mom, how do you know if it's that kind of man?"
"Hehe... You'll know naturally when you grow up, Piel. Even if you don't want to, your 'lower belly' will throb and send you a signal."
She hadn't understood back then.
What it meant for her lower belly to throb.
But now, she felt like she understood all too well.
The master who didn't discard her even covered in dirt, called her family instead of slave, bathed with her in a warm tub instead of a cold bucket, and ate at eye level on the floor.
Thinking of such a Lucas made Piel's lower belly truly throb.
Painfully, hotly, deeply.
And... Piel came to a quick conclusion.
'Ah, so this is the signal... The lower belly throbbing means my belly is happy from Master buying me so much delicious meat!'
The pure interpretation unique to an innocent girl firmly believing it couldn't mean anything else.
That's why Piel was still running on all fours right now.
Chasing the tray flying overhead, as if her entire life was aimed at that frisbee.
Mouth open, tail wagging, with the expression of a slave, a pet, and the most excited beastkin female in the world.
She thought this happy time would last forever.
Really.
That moment—
Whoosh.
"Gasp! The tray went into the bushes."
Piel had been fetching the tray Lucas threw in five seconds flat, like a hunting dog in training. She was the excited one, while Master's arm was still getting shredded.
So this time, to give his arm a real break, he threw it farther—beyond the annex boundary, deep into the bushes.
Piel picked up the tray from between the gently rustling bushes.
And right as she turned to head back.
"Oh my... oh my oh my oh my!"
"Hm?"
A shadow suddenly appeared.
And footsteps approaching briskly.
Before Piel could look up in surprise, a soft white hand 'squished' her cheek.
"So cute! What is this? Did the Argent Family have a maid like this?"
The young lady kneaded Piel's cheeks this way and that, gushing with admiration like she couldn't hold it back.
"My god... hair as fresh as an orange, eyes sparkling like dewdrops... ears all fluffy and soft... aaah, too pretty!"
"H-Hweh?!"
"Cute enough to shock me! This child... I want to raise her myself? What's your name? Who is your master?"
She had sapphire-blue eyes that shone like gems, adorned with a rose ornament of the same color in her hair—a vision straight out of a fairy tale princess.
Piel couldn't help thinking so; she was that beautiful.
But.
Anyone who knew this young lady's true identity could never stop at just calling her 'cute.'
Because she was the fourth daughter of the Argent Family—which managed this kingdom's 'darkness'—one of the candidates for official next heir, and a year older than Lucas.
Syl Argent.