In the entire Empire, there was only one person who could issue orders to Uris, the Commander of the 1st Knight Order and the "Iron-Blooded Knight"—a symbol of eternal victory.
The Empress. Only the sovereign could command her.
- "Barbarians are stirring on the frontiers. Handle it at once." - "Go now."
Whenever the Empress spoke, Uris bowed her head and marched toward the battlefield. But now, the one barking orders was not the ruler of the Empire, but a common, filthy bandit.
When he told her to spread her legs, Uris did so.
It was an act of profound disgrace. She had never moved at the whim of anyone but the Empress. To take a command from a bandit—it was unthinkable. Yet, at the sound of his voice, her body moved of its own accord, fueled by the visceral memory of what he had done to her before.
"Nngh...!"
She was indignant. The sight of herself, legs parted at his whim, was a stain on her soul. She was the Empire's greatest knight. Only the Empress held her leash. How dare a common thug...
The bandit sneered as their eyes met. "The prickly ones are always the best to train. The ones who give up immediately are no fun."
"Shut... up."
"Is that so? Because despite that sharp glare, your 'little place' here is screaming that it wants to be taken."
The bandit's hand moved toward her groin.
Squish.
He tapped against her moisture-laden skin. "How much were you looking forward to this? You look so clean on the outside, but you're quite the lewd one, aren't you?"
"...."
Uris felt her face burn. Her most private weakness had been exposed to the one person she never wanted to see it. It made it look like she really was anticipating this. But no—she told herself it wasn't true.
"I... I came to defeat you—"
"And yet, you lost again."
"Kh-!"
In reality, she could have felled a dozen such men with a single stroke. But here, her slender hands were pinned, unable to budge. No matter how much she thrashed...
"It's useless."
She couldn't escape his grasp. His thick fingers and corded forearms were an immovable force.
'Remember this touch. The feeling of being held.'
The words of the mage echoed in her mind. That man... did he hold my hand like that on purpose? But the thought didn't last long.
Squelch.
"H-ah!"
With practiced ease, his fingers found the drenched fabric of her panties.
"From the moment you walked in here dripping like this, it was obvious what you wanted."
Uris was speechless, stunned by the vulgarity she had never encountered in her noble life. Yet, as his fingers grazed her, a wave of silver pleasure rippled through her, making her shudder. The sensation of those thick fingers through the cloth was... good. She squeezed her eyes shut, her body trembling as she drank in the sensation.
"I let you go and sent you home, yet you came back. You must have been looking forward to that 'next time' I promised."
"I... I wasn't..."
"Then what is this?" The bandit asked, lifting fingers now glistening with her moisture.
"Th-that is..."
She wanted to deny it, but there was no refuting the evidence that had come from her own body.
"Say it. Quickly."
Under the weight of his threatening tone, she finally parted her lips. "I... I was looking forward to it. I was..."
She had denied it to the mage and to the bandit's face, but in her heart, she had craved it. She wanted to feel that sensation of being helpless and violated once more.
'No.' She tried to convince herself. 'This isn't my true self. I'm only saying it because he's forcing me.' But even as she thought it, her body betrayed her, responding to his touch with a terrifying honesty.
"Is that so? Then you know what you have to do next."
"What do you..."
"Spread yourself."
"...What?"
"Part your lips with your own hands and show me exactly how wet you are."
"Don't... be ridiculous..."
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
His gaze was cold, like a predator's. Her heart constricted, and she flinched.
"Take off your clothes yourself. Resist, and I'll kill you where you stand."
Uris, released from his grip, began to strip off her armor.
'It's so heavy...' It was strange. The armor that usually felt like a second skin felt like lead today. Her hands shook so much she could barely find the clasps.
Click!
The heavy steel plates fell to the floor. Under normal circumstances, she would have looked for an opening to counter-attack. But from the moment she was captured, her spirit had been broken. She didn't realize it, but the previous defeat had already dismantled her defenses.
Slide.
Naked now, Uris bit her lip and tried to cover her chest and groin with her hands. Her face was crimson with a shame that felt like it might burst her heart.
"I believe I told you to spread them yourself?"
"...I... I understand."
Her fingers trembling, Uris reached down and parted her folds. The tender pink flesh was exposed, and a single, clear drop of moisture trailed down her thigh like a tear. Who could look at this and see the Iron-Blooded Knight?
"Kekeke, what a sight."
The bandit's mockery pierced her heart like a dagger. Why did his words carry such weight? Despite the humiliation, her heart hammered against her ribs harder than it ever had on a battlefield.
"Enough admiring. Let's get to the main event."
Clank.
In his hand, the bandit held heavy iron shackles. "Bind your own arms with these."
"W-what?"
"Carve it into your mind—that you are a loser."
Again, an order. And again, she felt she had no choice but to obey. In this world, she could not overpower him. She had already exposed herself; she was already falling. Whispering justifications to herself, she snapped the shackles onto her wrists.
Clang!
"This is the symbol of your defeat. Do you know what happens to those who lose to bandits?"
"...."
"They become slaves. The men work the mines; the women become body servants."
"I am no servant—"
"You weren't. But look at you now. Does any girl standing here naked and spread-eagled look like anything but a servant?"
It was true. The "real" Uris was gone, replaced by a vulgar, naked woman who had discarded her own armor. It was humiliating, yet her heart raced. Was it the submission, or was she truly aroused? She couldn't tell anymore.
"Well, we'll find out soon enough."
The bandit smiled wickedly. He attached a rope to the chain of her shackles and threw it over a sturdy tree branch.
"Hngh!"
With a painful tug, her arms were pulled upward, exposing her entire body to the air.
"Ho... I noticed it last time, but your body is top-tier. Too good for me to keep to myself."
Uris hung there, bound and completely bare. Her pink nipples and areolas were fully exposed. The only thing "wearing" her was the iron on her wrists—the mark of a loser. The wind against her skin felt terrifyingly real. Since her capture, she hadn't had a single moment to remind herself that this was an illusion.
"Even like this... I won't lose..."
"Words don't mean much when your nipples are hard and you're leaking."
"You're just going to... touch them again anyway, aren't you? I... I'm already prepared for that..."
Before she could finish, his fingers roughly swept across her exposed heat.
"Haaaa-ah!"
She arched her back, her toes curling. The unannounced pleasure surged up her spine and crashed into her brain.
"Huff... huff..."
"Tsk. Did you think I'd just do the same thing twice? I told you... if you came back, I'd give you something much better."
Her legs gave out. She had heard that when a woman feels too much pleasure, her body loses its strength. Was she... feeling pleasure?
"Aren't you a sensitive one? I've never seen a girl go off just from a little rub like that. Ah, did you come back on purpose because you're so sexually frustrated? I hear noble ladies are too obsessed with 'dignity' to ever get touched properly."
"Shut... up..."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Because right now, you aren't a noble lady playing knight, and you aren't the real Uris."
Not the real Uris. The words hit her hard.
"W-what?"
"That's right. You aren't 'Uris' right now, are you?"
I'm not me? She repeated the words internally.
"Then... who am I?"
"What else? A perverted bitch who wants to be a slave."
Clang.
The sound of the shackles—the symbol of a slave—rang in her ears.
"The real Uris wouldn't have come undone just from a single touch."
"I'm... not the real Uris...?"
"Exactly. Right now, you aren't her. So tell me what you really want."
"I... I..."
Her lips parted, but she fell silent. Her instincts warned her that if she spoke now, she would cross a line she could never return from.
"Tsk, whatever. You'll admit it soon enough."
The bandit began to strip off his trousers.
"Wait... what are you doing?"
"What do you think? I need to enjoy myself, too."
As his trousers fell, the sight of his massive, erect member dazed her. It was... so large. Hard as a pillar and twitching with heat.
"You... you're going to put that... inside me?"
"Kekeke, is that what you want?"
"..."
"Don't worry. I won't take your maidenhood today. A virgin is valuable. I might sell you later, and I don't want to lower your price."
"Sell me...?"
"It's what bandits do. Now, be happy. I'll let you keep your virginity."
He pressed the hot, throbbing length of himself against her wetness.
"But I still need my fun."
"D-don't..."
"Keep your thighs tight. I'm going to rub it right against you."
His rough hands forced her thighs together.
"Ah!"
Then, he thrust his member into the tight space between her thighs and her heat.
"H-aaaaahhh!"
A high-pitched moan tore from her throat.