Story Card: "The Lotus Blossom's Gilded Cage"
Level: 1
Tags: 'Animal Characteristics', 'weak to strong fl', 'mary sue', 'butler', 'medieval fantasy', 'royalty', 'face-slapping', 'rags to riches'
Description: In a world of beasts, humans are inferior, more often than not sold as slaves to the more superior beastmen. Such is the fate of our protagonist, Ashlee, who was sold by her family when she was only twelve to the strict House of Canaris, a pack of powerful wolves in the kingdom. However, her fate changes when she meets the stubborn cat prince one night in the ball at the palace after a little magic done by her fairy-like adoptive grandmother.
And woah that was a lot to take in. Furan Shi woke up in his new body, and that was the first thing that welcomed him. A notification window up against his face with his story card displayed, the words more confusing than the last.
But he had to say it was a pretty decent story, almost resembling that one classic C*nderella fairytale he grew up with. Of course, it was only his opinion. Raum says the description confused him.
"Raum," he immediately commanded as he sat up, massaging his temple, "give me more details."
And thus more details were given to him as he prepared for the morning. Somehow, he didn't need to familiarize himself with the whole room, as anywhere he looked, he felt as though he'd already experienced countless times.
"Host, the protagonist is Ashlee, a human sold to this house you're living in now. And right now, you are young master Desmond Canaris, the fourth son of the Duke of Ravenhurst and the runt of the pack—"
Furan Shi couldn't help but snort before Raum could finish. "Sorry. I just can't believe I'll get to experience being a runt wolf like Anton."
It was obvious even without Raum's details as he looked into the mirror. He's got wolf ears almost drowning among his ruffled, gray bed hair, a bushy wolf tail; but he's short, almost feminine in appearance, but his shoulders and the slight apple on his throat suggested otherwise. His eyes were emerald and doe-like, nothing like a distinguished Canaris. His adorable look seemed begging for a headpat or two.
"Now, host, if you don't want to make my job harder for this story, please remember his personality: he is insecure about his status as the runt wolf—"
"No way..!" Furan Shi cut the crow off once more. "I love being small and cute!"
He could hear Raum sighing behind him, and he could swear Raum could also be rolling its eyes at him. Not that he cared. He was busy admiring the silver-haired runt wolf in the mirror, so cute and submissive and— oh, right! That was him!
Ah, so cute! Squishy squishy~
Raum tried to speak again through Furan Shi's comments, continuing the story. It almost didn't believe it was the same host who had been panicking about losing progress in the trial world.
"Ahem- as someone who's insecure about being small and adorable, you have a favorite target to bully to make yourself feel better — that's right, it's Ashlee."
Furan Shi wasn't liking what he was hearing, but he could forget that for a moment because look! Aww, his tail is wagging! Sooo kawaii cute, right~?!
"Aww, my tail is so long now that I'm not a bunny anymore!"
"Host- please…"
But Raum gave up. It wasn't like Desmond was an important enough character. Ashlee was a beautiful young lady, so it wouldn't only be Desmond who's not fond of her. Girls from the branch family would also be bullying her for being weak af, until she'll have no choice but to sob while mopping the floor.
Plus, it was Desmond's older brother, Arlo, who will be entangled more in the story. Arlo was doomed to be that second male lead who will never be chosen, but it was his fault. He was too harsh on Ashlee that he'd ultimately scared her away.
"But Raum, here's a more important question." Finally, Furan Shi seemed to be interested in the story, rather than in himself. "Where are we in the timeline?"
"Today is the day Ashlee would be sold to the House of Canaris."
That means Ashlee was only twelve years old in this timeline.
"And that also means host is only ten years old. By this time, you already have a butler to assist you with every turn."
"Oh?" Furan Shi turned to the bird again. "Where is he?"
His interest was coupled with a little doubt and maybe trepidation. Maybe. He couldn't be too sure now if his lover would suddenly decide to join him in another story card and ruin it for him, so he needs to be cautious with every character that's close to his.
Or maybe this time, he'd be in control. Hopefully.
"He's right outside the door, only one call away."
"Raum, how was he so powerful again?"
The crow, not knowing what it meant, replied, "...the butler?"
"No..! I-I meant Camilius."
Furan Shi picked up a brush and sat down in front of the vanity table. He started brushing his shoulder-length ruffled hair. The crow flew to an empty spot on the table and sat down as well, before it stilled, its eyes unblinking as they glowed.
"From what I can gather… no I didn't have anything to gather. I can't find him anywhere."
Furan Shi sighed. "I'll just call the butler in."
After grooming himself with the help of his butler, Furan Shi went downstairs to join his family for breakfast with Ashlee in mind. Well, half. The other half still couldn't get over with his new look. His hair, after a little cream, became a smooth silver. And…
He couldn't resist tying a cute bow on the base of his tail.
The moment he stepped into the dining hall, however, all his thoughts were thrown out the window. He stilled by the arched portal, and his eyes landed right on the one who had those suffocating pheromones: Desmond's father that's by the head of the table. His wagging tail immediately stilled, instinctively knowing that such dog-like behavior was ought to get punished.
He lowered his head and shuffled to his place around the table, his ears pinned flat against his head.
Because he's late, he got the privilege to get stared at by everyone around the table. He suddenly felt uncomfortable being a runt wolf among all these damn strong wolves.
The head alpha cleared his throat, the stifling pheromones immediately ceasing as he did so. Everyone resumed their meal, and Desmond, who seemed embarrassed, quietly picked up his utensils.
「 "I keep telling host you should pay attention to the story." 」
「 "Sorry.." 」
「 "I'm doing this for you. Don't say sorry. Ah, now I feel bad." 」
The family of six started eating in silence. It was only as expected, so Furan Shi couldn't complain much, but his utensils couldn't stop making noises as they hit the porcelain plate. The more they do, the further Desmond sunk into his seat in embarrassment.
"Desmond Canaris." His father's stern voice made him straighten up his back again. He slowly turned to the alpha by the head of the table.
"Y-yes, father..?"
The alpha just kept his glare fixed on his runt son. Said runt son looked down in a submissive gesture and was about to cry.
「 "What the hell is this pressure, Raum?" 」
「 "Welcome to the animal kingdom, host. You're no longer in trial mode, but do remember that you are still in easy mode as a beginner host." 」
「 "Fucking-" 」
"Eyes up here when you're talking to me, Desmond."
Furan Shi gulped and forced himself to look back up at the older man, which felt as though pushing against a strong tidal wave he couldn't even see. And there was the source, staring right back at him without a hint of anything. Not even disdain, but that was a fortunate thing, considering Desmond is a runt pup.
"Yes, father…" Furan Shi forced himself to speak more clearly, but a bit of his nervousness could still be traced by the end of his quiet reply.
The other members of the household stopped their eating as well just to watch the father and son interaction. Mm, a good telenovela over their fine dining, enough to season their breakfasts, no?
"Have you never learned any manners…"
As the man started to lecture him, the words just went from one pup ear and out the other fluidly. In fear, his back just froze in a straight posture, and his hands on each side of his plate on the table with the fork and the knife. The pressure from the man was enough to fight his breaths from traveling to and from his lungs that he felt himself physically fighting for his place around the table, as though he could be crushed if he looked away.
"F-father…"
"Are you talking back to me, young man?"
Ah, so this is what it really feels like to have a blood-related father. He knew Aleister was too good to be true, and he didn't really believe in his absentee father in his original world.
He slowly shook his head.
After breakfast, he was forced to kneel on peas and corn, which was a painful combination for his sensitive skin. In the first hour, he'd already wanted to end this turn and simply restart and remember not to talk back anymore. In the second, he was complaining about the heat of the sun beating down his face. The nearest shade was still too far for him to lean into, unfortunately.
But in the third hour, he just felt a bit numb, partly itchy, by his knees. He just wanted for this punishment to end.
Ha. Even Camilius wouldn't treat him like this! After a rough fuck back then, the python had always taken care of him. Camilius had always…
A tear dramatically rolled down his eye, but he forced himself to suck the rest in. He's being emotional again. Huhu.
The punishment was ought to last two more hours. The duke had initially thought of making his son do double, but fortunately, in the end, he just settled for five hours.
"Raum…" he whined. "This is too much for my first real transmigration, don't you think?"
The crow from the side hopped a little closer to inspect his numbing limbs, and maybe peck a few corn for itself. "Agreed. Though I told you you should have paid attention to his personality."
The system agent flashed a holographic window in front of Furan Shi, showcasing the original Desmond's profile data.
"The original Desmond would never think about talking in the presence of his father, unless prompted by him."
"Dang.. where's mother-" when he needed her most.
Furan Shi stopped himself. Right. His mother's dead when she gave birth to the runt pup. And that may explain why his father always held a hot temperament towards him.
He's the reason why there was no Duchess of Ravenhurst.
Ah, he really had the worst luck this time. Maybe being the Harbinger of Nuanced Inconveniences for a while had rubbed off on him.
In the end, with his numbing skill locked away behind the [Bye-bye V-card~] condition, he was forced to purchase a level 1 numbing pill from the system store for two hundred C points. Not only did it numb the pain: it also seemed to have numbed his emotions. He couldn't be emo anymore for a short while.
But at the very least, he had cheated his way out of his first mishap. Who knows what else may be in store for him in the near future, being the runt of the family and all that. Dang, even Jinx would have better luck than him. Even Anton would have better luck, but that's mostly because he's a genius. Maybe he was the one who stitched those tentacles to himself back then, just so he wouldn't be the weakest wolf anymore.
Desmond wasn't that smart. Furan Shi couldn't even think of any strong points for him aside from his face card. The real definition of "dumb beauty". He couldn't fault him, though. He grew up without a mother, replaced by an overbearing father who would scold him at every turn. The maids around him would coo at his beauty, too, and thus he himself probably knew he didn't have any stronger suits than his face.
And every good resource would be spent on his elder brothers, who "held more potential". Arlo was next in line to inherit the duke position, Bennett would be knighted next winter, Caspian would be a good diplomat, and where would that leave Desmond, who was also not the best in anything other than grooming himself?
"I bet he'd be a good relief toy for the knights," Furan Shi quipped, which, as expected, was not appreciated by his system agent. "Desmond is small enough for the job, you know? Maybe three knights at a time.. hehe.."
"At least wait until you're twenty. That's the maturing age for wolf demihumans." Raum then sighed and erased its own avatar from Furan Shi's sight.
"Oh, come on."
The numbing pill's effect lasted for another three hours, when Desmond was already back in the bathroom of his bedroom, soaking in the warm tub. The water was reaching his chest. He let his shoulders slouch and folded his knees up so his chin could rest on them, his arms hugging his bent legs.
Aside from himself, the water contained some soothing herbs and petals around, prepared by his personal butler whose name he'd forgotten already. It wasn't his fault they didn't interact much. Well, it sorta is. But he wasn't the topic.
As the butler waited outside of the curtain, Furan Shi got to enjoy his soaking. And moping. His knees still have those weird clusters of small bumps and hole-like dips from the peas and corn earlier which were trypophobia-inducing to look at for the average person. He ran his fingers over the weird texture, but immediately flinched away as they stung.
Every now and then, his sight flitted back to the silhouette of the butler on the curtain at the side. He then squinted his eyes.
He reached for the curtain and suddenly drew them to the side, the man behind it jumping ever so slightly.
"Yes, young master?" the unnamed butler asked, hoping to ignore the awkward atmosphere that dawned on them. But his master only stared harder. He could feel his raccoon tail tingling to its bushy tip as it straightened behind him.
「 Ozwald Errant. Male. A thirty-five year old raccoon demihuman serving the House of Canaris as a butler, specifically the fourth young master. Amiable. 」
And the more he stared, the harder his skill worked. A few parts of the man's body glowed in his vision, indicating Ozwald's weak spots, but overall he would be a relatively impenetrable guy as an opponent even as his physique wasn't that big. Not even his tail was a weak spot.
His eyes traced down the raccoon's arm, down to his gloved hand.
"Can you flex your arm for me?" the runt wolf absentmindedly requested.
Although confused, Ozwald had no choice but to obey, pulling up the sleeve of his suit and flexing his arm in a smooth, controlled motion. His muscles rippled, his biceps bulged, right in front of Desmond's widened eyes. The butler could have sworn there was a certain twinkle within them for a brief moment.
「 "Can I romance him?" 」
「 "It wouldn't be a good look on you." 」
「 "Well, tru." 」
「 "Your father would strip you himself… and then whip your back until you bleed. 」
「 "I know.." 」
「 "And then he'll have Ozwald hunted down and killed." 」
「 "I knowww .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·." 」
「 "And then Camilius might hunt you both, too." 」
"Is… the young master satisfied?" Ozwald interrupted. Desmond only grinned at him.
"Can you show me your abdominal next?"
The butler obeyed hesitantly, pulling up his suit and the shirt under it to slowly reveal his flat stomach. There were subtle lines there that hint at his toned muscles that became more prominent when he flexed them, too.
He had no time to doubt his young master. It was an innocent request, and his master was only ten years old, so he shouldn't have any problems showing this runt pup the product of years of his experience in the field of serving. However, he couldn't help but feel there's really something wrong about it. Or that he just felt awkward under his master's intense stare.
But then it dawned on him, when he saw his young master's scrawny arm reaching out to touch his tight abdominal muscles.
The young master Desmond was only admiring what he will never be. He will never be this ripped because he's a runt.
A looming sense of pity fell over his shoulders, and he instinctively leaned closer for Desmond to reach his flat belly. He let the poor pup feel his muscles, every slight bulge and dips over his stomach, and then he watched as that small hand hovered to his exposed arm, his heart aching as he did so.
Those little fingers traced along his visible scars, as well as the burnt marks, and he let the poor pup feel them all. His eyes then moved on over to Desmond's knees in the tub, visible among all those foam. The raccoon almost cried on the spot.
And from it all, he realized one thing: he should be working harder for his young master. If Desmond could never have a stronger physique, then he will earn it for the both of them.
Raum quietly sighed as the raccoon pledged that in his heart.
「 "Do you think I can ever win against him in a wrestling match, Raum?" 」
The crow sighed again.
——————————
That night, he attended dinner on time, thanks to Raum's insistence. But of course, his father's treatment was still the same, all because he couldn't stop scraping his utensils against the porcelain plate. He was reprimanded so heavily that he felt his food had lost flavor right as he was chewing a piece of it.
His brothers appeared nonchalant at the side, trying their best to avoid their father's wrath.
That was all until they were interrupted by a sound of a glass breaking. Everyone snapped their attention to the side of the table where the sound came from. There was a young human girl, kneeling before a broken glass and trying to scoop them up onto her long skirt.
「 The protagonist Ashlee. Female. A twelve-year-old human serving the House of Canaris as a lowly maid after being sold by her family. Harmless and pliable still. 」
Her hair, a dark red, was tied up in a neat bun on her head. Her pale hands also started bleeding red the faster she sweeped the shards to her skirt. The whole dining area was quiet, inevitably pressuring the girl who could only bite her bottom lip to hide her pain.
She was beautiful, even with her circumstances baring her into this scrawny, pale little girl that's serving another family. Furan Shi could surmise she'd be elegant if properly groomed. Like Desmond.
The young girl's eyes momentarily went over to meet Desmond's, and from that short meeting, ten notifications suddenly rang in Furan Shi's head.
「 Ding! A donation! Added "hellow twink :P" 512 C points to system wallet 」
「 New! Mission: Tame the protagonist [Ashlee]. 」
「 New! Mission: Tame character [Arlo]. 」
「 New! Mission: Tame character [Bennett]. 」
「 New! Mission: Tame character [Caspian]. 」
「 New! Mission: Raise character [Desmond]'s reputation. 」
「 New! Mission: Prevent the protagonist [Ashlee] from meeting her fairy-like adoptive grandmother before the ball. 」
「 New! Mission: Prevent the protagonist [Ashlee] from falling in love with the cat prince. 」
「 New! Mission: Take revenge against character [Desmond]'s father. 」
「 Ding! A donation! Added "Good luck lol" 512 C points to system wallet 」
Furan Shi almost got dizzy as his vision was spontaneously blocked by holographic windows that overlapped with each other.
「 "Raum, this is too much work!" 」 He cried in his mind.
「 "And I wasn't the one who gave them all to you. Technically, I did, but then again I'm just a translator…" 」
The runt pup rolled his eyes at the system agent being witty with him and resumed his eating, complaining in his mind about the world giving him too many assignments like Ashlee's hands weren't bleeding at all. But from the side, the little girl was staring a bit more towards him with an unreadable expression. Nothing negative, but nonetheless she was interrupted by the alpha clearing his throat. The latter didn't know whether to reprimand the girl as she was already bleeding.
"Rana, send her back to your sleeping quarters and tend to her wounds."
「 "Tsk. Look at him getting more concerned about a human girl. What about Desmond here who actually knelt on peas for five hours straight? I can still feel the sting right now, thank you very much..!" 」
The human maid named Rana began escorting Ashlee out of the dining area, but the trail of blood droplets she was leaving were too visible against the tiled floor that the alpha had lost his appetite. He stood up and left the dining area in a bad mood.
Seeing this, Desmond also got up and left for his bedroom, leaving his three brothers around the table to enjoy their dinner with blood on the floor to look at every now and then.
Back in his room, Furan Shi could finally breathe again, away from the pressuring presence of his father and his brothers. He dived straight into his bed and cuddled a long pillow. He lazily kicked his boots off his feet, them landing haphazardly on the carpeted floor.
His butler didn't follow him all the way to give him room to breathe.
Furan Shi rolled around for some time, before flipping himself again so he would be lying on his stomach, the pillow beneath him.
"Raum," he called, and the bird promptly materialized before him.
"Yes, host?"
"Please tell me the rewards would at least be grand. It's only my first day here and the world is already dumping missions for me!"
The crow chuckled, its small head shaking as it did. "Don't worry. The world said you'll be rewarded handsomely. And please stand up. You just ate."
Furan Shi didn't feel like standing up, so he did not. Instead, he rolled around some more with nothing to do. This is a medieval fantasy world, so he didn't have a phone to amuse himself with. He could open the system store and browse for items, but then he was saving up his C points. He could also brainstorm ideas to achieve the many missions handed to him, or think about Camilius' real identity, but he was too lazy to play detective.
All he understood was Camilius had an authority of a system agent and more, but was also able to transmigrate like a normal host. And then his thoughts would stop there. Ashlee didn't even come to his mind.
A series of soft knocks cleared his thoughts again. Thinking it was his butler, he languidly sat up and beckoned him in with a, "come in, Ozwald."
But it wasn't Ozwald who opened the door and came in. It was Ashlee, holding a tray with a glass of milk balanced on it. She smiled shyly and excused herself in, her head low as a sign of respect to the young master on the bed.
"You're not Ozwald," Desmond noted, Furan Shi making sure there was an authoritative edge to it.
"Yes," replied the girl as she carefully made her way towards him. "My name is Ashlee, young master Desmond, and I was tasked to give you a glass of milk."
Desmond raised a brow. "And where's my butler?"
"Ah, he's in a meeting with the other butlers."
Ashlee placed down the tray onto the bedside table and proceeded to pick up the glass of milk to hand it to Desmond. The latter took it with both hands and a small, "thank you, Ashlee."
The girl only smiled when she stepped back, hiding her bandaged hands into the pockets of her apron when Desmond had just noticed them.
Before drinking, the runt pup had to ask, "are your hands alright now?"
"Yes, master.." the girl coyly replied with a nod.
「 "Raum, how do I tame her?" 」
Now that Ashlee's presenting herself right in front of him, he realized he could tame her as per the mission's instruction. He didn't receive an answer from the crow, though.
「 "Alright thanks gee." 」
「 Using skill [Sanctuary lvl1] 」
He, of course, paired it up with his [Cuteness Overload!] skills, making sure to appeal to the girl's soft side as a small, harmless pup.
"Thank you for the milk," he grinned before drinking. As he parted from the rim of the glass after a few sips, a white milk moustache-like trail was left over his lips. "But isn't it too early for this? I just had dinner."
Ashlee helplessly shrugged at that. "Does master… want this maid to keep him company?" She offered instead.
「 "Raum, did my taming work?" 」
「 "Not yet. A little more interaction and you'll get her trust." 」
So, to answer the maid, Desmond grinned like the child he was. Raum had to do some things behind the scene as quickly as possible to prevent the OOC from glitching anything.
"Please call me Desmond," he suggested. "'Master' is too weird for you to say!"
"Eh.. but…"
Desmond pouted. "Pleaseee?"
Ha. Ashlee couldn't help but smile at his cuteness. She almost felt she could melt away the boundaries between master and servant and just pinch his cheeks!
And so, Desmond sent the final nail to seal the deal. "I have no friends, so I want you to be my friend, not my maid…"
Ashlee gave up resisting. "Alright.. but this would be just between us, okay?"
Desmond finally smiled brightly that the girl almost felt as though the stars and perhaps the moon outside were dimmer against the young master.
"Yes! And I will call you my 'big sis', okay?"
Ashlee nodded happily at that. To her, this young master seemed all the more adorable with his little white moustache there. She produced a handkerchief from the pocket of her apron and leaned in to gently wipe it off Desmond's face. The young pup quietly complied, which made Ashlee's heart melt.
The young pup's face was cupped quite snugly in her other hand. She couldn't resist leaning in to nibble at the young master's cheek!
"Big sis..!" Desmond protested rather… well, cutely. Ashlee chuckled and kissed the cheek she'd messed up.
"Aren't you an adorable little thing?"
"Y-you shouldn't be teasing me too much! Hmp..!"
Furan Shi might as well die of cringe. Raum, on the other hand, was giggling in his head freely. Knowing you're cute is one thing, but having to act like this in front of an audience is another. It's cringe..!
Afterwards, the two bonded over conversations and some playing on Desmond's bed. A small, but sure, connection was established between the two of them, a certain mutual understanding that Ashlee didn't expect to find in this strict household. She learned that Desmond was a very lonely wolf demihuman, ostracized by his peers for being a runt wolf. And Desmond had learned the same thing about Ashlee, that she was separated early from her family and was thrust into chores instead of having the privilege to play with friends.
Both of them didn't have friends, and now they have found it in each other. Furan Shi congratulated himself for getting Ashlee this easily.
「 Taming successful! Ashlee is now part of the Sanctuary. Note that host can use skill [Empathy lvl1] on characters in the Sanctuary. 」
Hmm?
Furan Shi stilled for a brief moment to digest this new information. This wasn't his first time using the skill [Sanctuary], as he had attempted it on Uno before, but this was the first time it had worked. His interest in this discovery was curbed when Ashlee nudged his shoulder.
"You alright?" she asked, her smile faltering slightly with a hint of concern.
「 "Raum, she's only human. What skill can I mimic from her?" 」
And just then, his uncharted appraising skill started turning its gears.
「 Ashlee. Female. A twelve-year-old human serving the House of Canaris as a lowly maid after being sold by her family. Harmless and pliable still. 」
It started listing off her backstory, about being slaved away yada yada.. and then her abilities, most of which have something to do with house chores and being a budding, strong female lead.
Nothing too out of the ordinary, but Furan Shi's interest was once again piqued when he noticed a passive skill listed in faint gold.
「 Golden halo lvl10 」
Bingo.
「 Using skill [Empathy lvl1] on character [Ashlee] 」
But seeing as it was a skill written in gold, he failed to learn it. He tried again, only to end up fruitless. He'd only developed his [Empathy] skill to the next level for trying his best to use it again and again on Ashlee.
"Des—" Ashlee's face suddenly appeared through the holographic screen, making him flinch— "isn't it time for you to go to bed?"
Desmond sighed, which Ashlee took as a sad one. "You're right. I should…"
"Aww, don't worry..! We can just play again tomorrow!"
Furan Shi just smiled at that, one that didn't quite reach his eyes, so Ashlee had really bought his sad facade.
"But big sis.."
"Yes?"
"Are your hands really alright..?"
Something in her eyes flickered as Desmond suddenly brought up her hands again. She looked down at those bandaged hands of hers, her fingers dlowly wiggling under her unreadable gaze.
She brought a hand up and just pinched his cheek. She couldn't help it — not when she felt she'd gotten close and all chummy with the young master. And after a few more of those, along with her promises, she left his room.
Furan Shi could breathe again with the protagonist gone.
"Gee.. she was very chatty for a human trafficked girl.." he couldn't help but comment to Raum, who was nestled on a pillow at the side. "Ah, her voice was soft, though. Soothing, even."
"But look at this..!"
「 Ding! Completed mission: "Tame the protagonist [Ashlee]"! 」
「 Reward: Added 1000 C points to system wallet 」
「 Story unlocked— 」
"Wait, this one's new," Furan Shi abruptly spoke out in the middle of the notification. "Why didn't I unlock a story in the first world?"
"Host, that was a trial mode. It was originally a level five story card. You can always go back there to experience it again in a non-trial version."
"Ah, how anticlimactic of you.."
"What did you expect me to say? And please don't forget you have Anton's key."
Furan Shi sighed and focused back on the floating tab.
「 Story unlocked: Ashlee's origins (first half) 」
The floating window began to roll Ashlee's childhood, her life far before she was sold as a slave to the House of Canaris. It all started with a little girl — a human girl — on a leash.
Furan Shi's expression slowly shifted to a disturbed one the more background he's shown, and that was only half of it.
"I'll be… collecting stories like this from everyone..?" he asked, not really minding if Raum wouldn't be able to catch it.
"Well, not as intense as hers, but yes, host. But don't worry. Ashlee's story may just be the worst of them all, considering her background, so you'll be fine with the rest."
Furan Shi was not comforted one bit. He couldn't have imagined how a background like hers could still produce a sweet little harmless thing that can cuddle with her squishy young master. If anything, Desmond should have been wary of her since she'd let herself bleed earlier during dinner.
Feeling somewhat intrigued while partly disturbed, he continued to watch, nevermind getting some sleep for the night.
「 [Mother's Eye] development progress: 0.02% 」