As Sista gazed at the silver-haired Title before her with disheveled hair and hollow eyes, the line of anger in her heart finally began to subside.
“Forget it. After all, Bien is one of the top assassins within the Black Feather. It is only normal that you failed to perceive anything.”
On the floor, white undergarments and a discarded long Rose Dress were tossed aside carelessly. Su Ling’s slender body was completely exposed.
Water droplets hung from the corners of her Lips, her small face was as pale as Snow, and her body trembled involuntarily. No expression remained on her face.
Sista looked down at her, a flash of complex emotion crossing her Eye. With a helpless sigh, she walked out of the room.
Outside the door, a Maid had been waiting for a long time, pushing a cart with clean towels and a brand-new, luxurious Rose Dress.
“Her Highness, here are the items you requested.”
“Mhm. Hand them to me and take those old clothes away.”
Sista casually handed the stained Maid’s Rose Dress that Su Ling had been wearing to the Maid, then took the soft towel and the new Rose Dress.
From that day on, Sista had made her decision.
She no longer wanted Su Ling to be a personal Maid. She wanted to lock this precious toy away in a cage that belonged only to her, savoring this possession slowly and meticulously, never letting anyone else touch her Su Ling.
Returning to the room, Sista shook out the Rose Dress and held it up against Su Ling’s body to check the size.
The Rose Dress was creamy white, made of luxurious silk. Its texture was soft and lustrous, fitting the body closely and narrowing at the waist, with the hem cascading down like a waterfall. Exquisite gold and silver threads were embroidered onto the Rose Dress.
This had originally been a holiday gift from a Duke’s daughter to Sista, but Sista did not care much for this style of clothing and had kept it in the wardrobe.
Now, Sista had found a suitable Master for the Rose Dress. She had the Palace tailors cut and sew it to fit Su Ling’s measurements.
She was going to make many beautiful clothes for her little toy, changing them into different patterns to please her own eyes.
“Put this on.”
She spoke to the vacant-eyed Su Ling inside the cage, but Su Ling seemed to have her soul stripped away. She did not move at all, not even blinking her Eye.
*Has she already broken? She is just like a wooden doll…*
A faint smile played on Sista’s Lips, even though her heart was being tormented by twisted feelings.
However, once she thought about her beloved Title belonging completely to her, at her disposal, a sense of happiness overflowed and nearly consumed Sista.
Her hand stroked Su Ling’s cold skin, her fingers climbing through that thread-like Silver Hair, kneading it gently in her palm.
Whether it was the simple and pure inner self or this beautiful outer appearance that looked like it was carved by a master craftsman, the silver-haired Title before her was a perfect masterpiece created exactly according to Sista’s inner preferences. She couldn’t put her down.
Su Ling still did not react.
“If you won’t move, I will dress you.”
Since it was inconvenient to dress her inside the cage, she finally unfastened the iron chains binding Su Ling and opened the handcuffs. Sista’s willow-leaf-like eyebrows twitched slightly as she placed a collar around Su Ling’s neck.
The collar was made of soft, pitch-black leather. One end was connected to a very thin iron chain, which had a copper handle at the other end.
Sista focused on adjusting the position of the collar on Su Ling’s neck, then grabbed the ring and led her out of the cage, placing her on the small bed nearby.
Su Ling remained silent. Her appearance even made one wonder if she had lost her Ability to speak.
“Lift your hands. Right, a bit higher.”
“Put your legs together too… Should I put the petticoat on before this? How troublesome. Let’s start over.”
Sista fumbled with the clothing somewhat clumsily. As a princess, she was naturally not good at such trivial daily tasks. But in order to make her lovely doll look more beautiful, she had specially learned how to dress someone not long ago.
“Sista… Her Highness…”
Having finally put the Rose Dress on, the silver-haired Title, who was as stiff as a doll, finally spoke.
“Her Highness, where… are we now?”
“Moonlit Fortress.”
Sista replied. She was obsessively sniffing the scent of Su Ling’s long hair, but her hand was still firmly holding the chain. Even though there were well-trained Guards outside, Sista would not allow any possibility of Su Ling escaping.
“Mans Castle… Is it the one where we watched the Snow before?”
“Mhm. After the fire incident, I stayed here for a while during the spring.”
“I see… Then… when can I go back to Hailuosen?”
“You aren’t going back. You will live here from now on. I don’t need you to be a Maid; I only need you to make me happy,” she commanded in a cold tone.
“You will be the Canary in my cage for the rest of your life. Don’t even think about going anywhere else.”
Hearing these words, Su Ling’s face showed no expression. She simply fell silent and said nothing more.
“What? Are you unwilling?”
“No… I will do as you wish. I will obey you.”
Su Ling felt like she no longer had the strength to struggle.
Seeing Su Ling’s submissive appearance, Sista felt unaccustomed to it. Before, she would at least resist a little, but now she seemed to have stopped resisting altogether.
“I’ll ask you one more thing. You shouldn’t still be thinking of returning to Hailuosen Castle, right?”
“…”
“Give up on that idea,” Sista said, unconsciously lowering her voice.
“Karin and the group she brought killed so many Guards at the Castle. And you were taken away by her in front of everyone. If you go back now, Moria will immediately accuse you of Espionage and execute you in the name of a spy.”
“Summer City is my personal property. Other Nobles cannot set foot here without my permission. I don’t want my toy to be killed so easily.”
Su Ling narrowed her Eye. She suddenly seemed to realize something and looked at Sista in surprise.
By placing her in her own Castle, she could ensure that everyone around her was one of Sista’s own people. This way, neither Moria nor any other Nobles could easily touch Su Ling.
So, Sista locked her here not just to take away her Statue of Freedom, but also to protect her.
She knew Sista’s fondness for her, but that was only the Lover a Master has for their pet. It was a Lover built on an unequal status. On the night her innocence was taken, a night of torture and trauma, Su Ling had become certain of this.
However… now, that conviction wavered.
“But the punishment for staying with me isn’t over yet. For a Maid who dared to disobey Her Highness’s Royal Command and doesn’t learn her lesson, I cannot let you off so easily.”
Sista tilted Su Ling’s face up and gave her a light kiss on the Lips.
“The interrogation can barely be considered a pass. However, the punishment that follows will be long. You’d better wait and see.”