"So, Stiletto… who's this?"
Seven people stood inside Stiletto's room. Daeron and Olson lingered by the door, while Stiletto stood at the foot of his bed. Mya hovered at his side, her expression nervous and flustered.
The twins had followed along as well—too curious about how things would unfold to simply return to their rooms. Thomas's interest seemed rooted in the situation itself, while Elaine's attention lingered more on the woman in the room.
The Goddess sat behind Stiletto, dressed in the loosest garments from his wardrobe to accommodate her extremely curvy figure.
Her hands were folded in her lap as she looked at Stiletto with a strange expression after Daeron mentioned his name. A thought seemed to cross her mind, but she set it aside—for now.
Stiletto smiled as warmly as he could. He knew there was no avoiding this conversation anymore.
And he already had a few ideas on how to approach it.
"She's a friend, Father."
"I've been told. Olson also mentioned you encountered… some trouble. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir. But I had to act, Father. How could I live with myself if I let my friend become a slave? Could you have done that?"
A tense silence filled the room.
After a moment, Daeron nodded, appearing to accept the answer, though his expression suggested his thoughts lay elsewhere.
"Stiletto, are you… alright? I wasn't going to bring it up, but you seem…"
He paused, searching for the right word.
"...different."
Fidgeting ever so slightly, Stiletto quickly regained his composure and spoke as smoothly as he could, feigning ignorance.
"What do you mean?"
Inwardly, he cursed.
'Damn it… I was hoping to avoid this for longer. I've been too rash. Still—what's done is done.'
Daeron cast his gaze aside as he spoke.
"Well… I'm not sure how else to say this, but…"
His eyes returned to Stiletto.
"You're far too timid to have done something like this so suddenly."
Stiletto flinched.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck...'
Cursing the fact that his predecessor had been such a coward, panic set in as he searched for a solution.
Yet only one thought kept returning.
'Goddamn it...'
What was the answer to any problem in life? The one thing that could make even the most irrational, abrupt behavior seem perfectly reasonable?
There was only one such thing in this world.
Lowering his head and averting his gaze, warmth crept up his cheeks despite the insincerity as he muttered:
"I had to do it, Father. I—"
He paused for a brief moment, before finishing:
"I love her…"
Every breath seemed to leave the room as all eyes locked onto Stiletto. The Goddess's eyes flew open, her jaw dropping—though she was quick to conceal it. Mya and Elaine flushed beet-red, while Daeron and Olson stood frozen in stunned silence.
Then Thomas shattered the silence, flashing a cheesy smile as he whistled and applauded.
"Wooo~ Bravo, Stiletto!"
Stiletto suppressed an eye roll.
'Welp... here we go.'
...
Plopping down on the bed, Stiletto let out a long sigh.
In the end, he managed to convince the baron.
After some gentle negotiation, the Goddess was allowed to stay at their home for a while—sleeping in one of the spare rooms before eventually returning to her "family's" place.
In exchange, Stiletto would be stuck doing household chores for an entire week. No matter how heroic his actions had seemed in the moment, Daeron made it clear that what he did had been reckless.
Which it was.
But, of course, Stiletto didn't care.
He had successfully accomplished his goal of claiming his slave.
That was what mattered.
He would figure out what to do about the Goddess's limited time in his house later. A few ideas had already begun to form—ways to keep the two of them together.
'What a hassle...'
"I was wondering the whole time what this person you talked about would look like… So this is her, huh…?"
Mya, now dressed in her proper maid outfit, bowed toward the Goddess, a blush coloring her cheeks as she went on:
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. I am the Young Master's personal maid, Mya."
At this point, only the three of them remained in the room; the twins, Daeron, and the butler had already left.
The Goddess returned the greeting with a gentle nod as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Nice meeting you..."
Awkward silence.
Trying to fill the space, Mya spoke up.
"What's your name, sweetie?"
Immediately flustered, the Goddess stammered as she searched for an answer. It was clear she had no intention of giving her real name—and was scrambling to come up with a substitute.
"Oh! I—I, um... My name—"
"Her name's Lyria."
Instantly, her head snapped sideways as her eyes locked onto Stiletto lounging beside her.
"How—?"
"Doesn't matter. And Mya..."
He turned to face the maid.
"Don't bother being proper with her. You don't need to treat her with any kind of respect, okay?"
Mya frowned, confusion crossing her face as she tried to object.
"But—"
Tired of everything, Stiletto lifted a hand.
"I already know the answer to this, but… can I trust you, Mya?"
"Well, of course you can, Youn—"
"I'm asking as Stiletto right now, not your Young Master."
Feeling the weight behind his words, she nodded without hesitation.
"Of course, Stiletto."
A warm smile appeared on his face.
"Lyria's a slave. Not to whoever was going to buy her in that dingy auction chamber—but to me."
Stiletto preferred to rip the bandage off as quickly as possible rather than beat around the bush. So, before either Lyria or Mya could voice their confusion, he decided to demonstrate it instead, ending the matter swiftly without further explanation.
"Lyria, strip."
Simultaneously, both Mya and Lyria spoke.
"Wha—?!"
Within seconds, the Goddess was standing beside Mya, completely naked.
She didn't look pleased.
"What the fuck is going on?! None of this makes any sense. You saving me—me somehow being your slave—even though I've never met you in my life…"
In response, Stiletto commanded her with the intention of giving an order. It seemed that was the difference between an order working on her or not.
"On your knees. Stop speaking."
Without hesitation, the Goddess dropped, and Mya, who instinctively covered her eyes the moment the Goddess began stripping, stuttered as her voice became high-pitched:
"P—Please explain wha—what's going on here!"
Stiletto pulled her in, gently easing her hands away from her face. After giving her a moment to calm down, he finally spoke as she looked up at him.
"Before anything, let me assure you: I do not love her in the slightest, nor do I place greater value on her than you."
Almost immediately, it seemed that half the stress on her face had faded. In truth, she had been insecure, having seen just how beautiful the Goddess was. Fair enough, considering that even with Mya's unbelievably grand, heavy assets, Lyria far outclassed her.
And that was without even mentioning her otherworldly beauty and youthful appearance, a stark contrast to Mya's rather middle-aged, ordinary look.
Mya nodded, prompting Stiletto to continue.
"Like I said, she's a slave. Not the kind you're familiar with—no slave seals or anything like that. Rather, she's bound to me through a skill I came to possess. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but the fact remains."
"A skill? How is it possible for you to see something like that?"
Despite being a Mortal, Mya knew that this wasn't standard.
Stiletto replied, doing his best not to cringe at his own explanation:
"I seem to be special… Recently, I gained an ability that lets me see things like that—and also level up my skills."
Mya's eyes flew open.
'What the hell… If that's true, he's going to be insanely strong…'
In that moment, she accepted it and made a decision—no matter what, she would help him in any way she could to see him grow stronger.
Pushing that thought aside, curiosity flickered across her face as the curvy maid asked what was on her mind:
"So she's not your friend? How did you meet her?"
Quick on his feet, he responded:
"Truthfully, I've never seen her in this world before. My skill simply indicated that she was someone I could claim and told me how far away she was."
It was technically the truth—though a carefully misconstrued one.
Stiletto had no desire to lie, but revealing that he came from another world was out of the question. Trusting his judgment in the moment, he decided it was best left unsaid. However, he had no intention of ever sharing it, in all honesty.
Still in his arms, Mya lowered her gaze, muttering mostly to herself:
"A stranger, then…"
Stiletto nodded in response.
"Yes… now that I've explained it, could you please step out for a moment? I need to sort a few things out with her. She likely has some answers I'm looking for."
He paused briefly before continuing:
"And keep this a secret from everyone else. Outside of these four walls, we need to treat her like someone I actually love. Okay?"
Looking past Mya, he saw Lyria stuck on her knees, her face clearly angry—yet unable to speak despite it, though she seemed to be trying her hardest.
His attention returned forward as two small hands pressed gently against his cheeks.
Mya gazed up at him with a soft smile and spoke calmly, appearing satisfied.
"Kiss me."
A slight grin tugging at his lips, Stiletto spoke:
"Oh?"
"And then I'll agree and leave~"
"How about I give you more than a kiss on this bed instead?"
He teased her, smacking her ass. Mya's face flushed as she slapped his chest playfully.
"You dummy! Have you already forgotten that you said you needed to 'sort a few things out with her?'"
Stiletto laughed out loud.
"Oh, stop it! I already know you're dripping down there—don't lie~"
Leaning down, the two locked lips as they kissed, Mya rising onto her tiptoes as a twinge of romance crept its way in.
He was really starting to like this woman.
Lowering herself, she lightheartedly brushed her fingers across his pants, feeling his cock before swiveling her hips and leaving the room.
"You wish~!"
As the grand entrance door closed behind her, Stiletto couldn't help but continue smirking as his cock pulsed in his pants.
'She's really starting to win me over… Damn, she's fun~'
Turning back to the task at hand, he shook his head, setting those thoughts aside for the moment. Facing the naked Goddess once more—still unable to speak under his order—he issued another command:
"Get on the bed. Now."