Iris snapped her fingers, and the shackles around Leng’s limbs instantly fell away. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.

“Let me hear you bark a couple of times.” Iris watched Leng with amused interest and spoke teasingly.

After a full day and night of torment, Leng’s pride had been completely ground away. She was no longer as fierce and unruly as before.

It wasn’t that Leng’s will was weak. These tortures were simply more than she could endure.

If she’d had the chance to kill herself, she would’ve ended her life without hesitation rather than continue living without dignity.

Unfortunately, the Blood Servant’s Mark’s first command was that she could not commit suicide. In other words, as long as the mark remained on Leng, everything she had belonged to Iris.

“Master.”

“Good girl.” Iris clapped her hands in satisfaction.

Leng lowered her head and crawled to Iris’s feet. She slowly untied the straps around Iris’s high heels.

Iris couldn’t help but freeze. She had no idea what Leng was trying to do.

Click...

With a faint sound, the high heel slipped free of Iris’s ankle. Leng reached out with both hands and held Iris’s feet, clad in black stockings, as carefully as if they were priceless treasures.

She slowly leaned her head toward Iris’s feet. Then, she extended her tongue and gently licked them through the black stockings...

Slurp... slurp...

At the prison entrance, Yar watched with gritted teeth as fury surged through her.

“How is this punishment? It’s clearly a reward and pampering session for Leng. No! I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Otherwise, someone else will steal the Demon Emperor from me.” Yar bit her lip and made up her mind.

Then, Yar turned and left. She had to make some preparations before sharing a bed with the Demon Emperor.

……

Iris stopped Leng from continuing. She patted Leng on the shoulder and turned to leave.

“Someone will come for you later. Stay here for now, and enjoy this rare moment of peace.”

“Yes, Master.” Leng knelt on the floor and bowed as Iris departed.

At that moment, Leng had no desire to escape at all. Even if she managed to flee, her master could use the Blood Servant’s Mark to drag her back and subject her to even more horrific torture.

The only thing she could do was obey her master’s orders and make her happy. That way, she wouldn’t be tortured.

No one knew how much time had passed when Candace, the head maid, entered the cell with a food box in hand.

Candace looked at Leng’s empty, lifeless eyes and couldn’t help sighing.

“Sigh... Her pride, her dignity—Her Majesty has worn them all away. How tragic...”

Candace felt that Iris now resembled her mother, Lilia, in many ways. However, Iris had a far more twisted sense of enjoyment than her mother.

She had actually managed to empty Leng’s eyes of all light and leave her without even a trace of resistance. Candace truly couldn’t understand how Her Majesty had done it.

Candace opened the food box and took out three dishes and a bowl of soup. She set them on the floor.

“Her Majesty said you haven’t eaten in quite some time. Hurry up and eat.”

“Thank you.” Tears flowed from Leng’s eyes as she stared at the sumptuous meal. Her voice choked with emotion.

She devoured the food, yet crystalline tears still shimmered in her eyes.

Seeing Leng cry, Candace comforted her. “Recognizing your mistake and correcting it is the greatest virtue. Her Majesty is actually very kind. Serve her well from now on, and she won’t make things difficult for you.”

After hearing Candace’s words, Leng nodded again and again.

“I understand. I’ll do my best to make Master happy.”

“Master?” Candace looked puzzled. Wasn’t she supposed to call her Her Majesty? Why was she calling her Master?

“I’m Master’s loyal hound. I’ll serve her properly for the rest of my life. I’ll be a good hound and never disobey a single one of Master’s orders.”

As soon as she finished speaking, tears spilled from her eyes.

Candace hurriedly handed her a clean handkerchief and soothed her.

“Finish your meal, and I’ll take you to bathe and change into clean clothes.”

“Mm.” Leng accepted the handkerchief and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

This was the most sumptuous dinner Leng had ever eaten. She ate quickly, and before long, she had polished off all three dishes and the soup.

From the way Leng addressed Her Majesty, Candace also guessed at part of the truth. This woman named Leng must have betrayed Her Majesty in the past.

But her betrayal differed from Candace’s and Victor’s.

Candace had betrayed Lilia to preserve her mother’s life. Victor had betrayed Lilia because he believed she didn’t care enough for her subordinates.

Neither betrayal had caused Iris, the Empress, even the slightest loss. After all, the relationship between Lilia and Iris was terrible. Iris would never avenge Lilia.

In short, betraying Lilia was acceptable. Betraying Iris was unforgivable.

Leng must have caused Her Majesty tremendous pain through her betrayal. That was probably why she had been broken so completely.

Candace felt that Her Majesty had already shown great mercy. If it had been the former king, he would’ve probably had Leng flayed alive.

Then he would’ve kept her from dying and subjected her to the Thousand Cuts, ensuring that she suffered until death.

If Leng knew what Candace was thinking, she would’ve chosen to die by the Thousand Cuts without hesitation. To her, living was more painful than dying. Death would’ve been a release.

Candace cleaned up the food box, then took Leng by the hand and led her out of the prison toward a nearby room.

Candace brought Leng into the bathroom and helped her remove her prison clothes. Then, she filled the bathtub with hot water.

“Take a good bath and get some rest while you wait for Her Majesty to summon you. If she calls for you, you must be completely focused. Don’t make even the slightest mistake.”

“Think of all this as atonement. If you perform well, perhaps Her Majesty will remove your status as her loyal hound and let you become an ordinary maid again.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Head Maid.” Leng bowed deeply to Candace.

“I left your clothes outside the door.” After saying that, Candace gently closed the bathroom door.

……

“The Demon Emperor likes pets. There’s a cat in the imperial palace, so he must be hinting at himself. That means Yar needs to dress up as a catgirl. It has to be!”

These thoughts were nothing more than Yar’s own wild imaginings. Still, they proved one thing: Yar intended to give the Demon Emperor an unforgettable night.

Yar stared at the writing in the mirror. Resolve flickered in her eyes as she spoke each word distinctly.

“Yar! You can do it!”

Then Yar ran to the market and bought several inexplicable props.

After purchasing everything, she returned to her room and began sewing a catgirl outfit. With Yar’s superb sewing skills, making a single outfit wasn’t difficult.

……