Vol. 1 - Ch. 2 - Julius Craft, the Black Prince - 2
The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Buys an Enemy GeneralThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
I went over to Julius’s side.
Julius had obediently followed me from the slave arena, but I had been considering using a slave muzzle which I’d made with alchemy if he turned out to be as aggressive as the rumors suggested.
I came up with the idea for the muzzle when I saw one attached to a noisy dog while I was out walking. Alchemy is all about imagination; if you want to make something, you can create almost anything. Except for human transmutation, of course.
Julius was about a head and a half taller than me. He looked intimidating when I stood by his side and was also a bit dirty.
His uninterested dull-blue eye looked at me.
“Julius-san, now that you’ve finally understood your position, you need to take a bath.”
“A bath, huh?”
“Your current state is unhygienic, so let’s clean you up. We should also properly heal that wound on your eye. And then, we’ll change your clothes.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Julius-san, I am your master, so please obey me.”
“I’ve been a slave for three years, so I’ve forgotten how to take a bath. Will you please bathe me, dear master?” Julius said mockingly.
I was a bit annoyed. He seemed to underestimate me, thinking of me as someone younger than himself. Even so, I’ve been through my fair share of hardships. If he thinks I would blush or scream over trivial matters like this, then he would be mistaken.
“Very well, Julius-san. As your master, it is my duty to clean you. Now, let’s go.”
Julius turned his gaze away from me and sighed.
He probably saw me as just another twenty-year-old girl, even though I was a respectable noble lady three years ago. But now, I’m different.
“Oh, right. These handcuffs might be in the way.”
I hold out my hands to the magic cuffs on Julius’s arms.
“I command you in the name of Chloe Seigrit. O locks, turn yourself into a collar.”
As I chanted, the red Mobius-like strip detached from Julius’s hands and automatically wrapped itself around his neck, transforming from a glowing red cord into a pitch-black cord. It now resembled a simple collar.
“Julius-san, once you’ve become a good slave who’s willing to listen to me properly, I’ll remove it for you. But for now, please bear with it. If I let the Black Prince Julius roam freely, I’ll be executed for sure this time.”
“You sure are a woman out of luck to be imprisoned and stripped of your status for an uncertain crime.”
“I think Julius-san, who has fallen into slavery after being betrayed by his own country, is also quite unfortunate, though.”
Julius stood up from his chair. He was tall enough that I had to look up to see his face, and he looked somewhat dusty.
“As long as this magic collar is around your neck, Julius-san, you can’t disobey my orders.”
“I know that. Disobeying orders will bring me excruciating pain and render me immobile, after all.”
“I’m glad to hear that you’re aware. Well then, let’s get started. I, Chloe Seigrit, command you, Julius Craft.”
I reached out to Julius, who was much taller than me. I wanted him to sit still if possible, but I guess that wasn’t going to happen.
“The first constraint is not to leave my side and to stay within the distance of my voice. The second constraint is not to do anything I dislike. Is that clear?”
As I finished speaking, a decorative lock-shaped ornament appeared in the middle of Julius’s black collar, signifying that the restriction had been made.
“How abstract,” Julius said, furrowing his brow.
“This means that you just have to obey my orders. And I don’t want to restrict your freedom, so let’s just say it’s more like having a harmless roommate relationship.”
“How lenient of you. You’re just a foolish woman who doesn’t know what kind of man you've acquired.”
“I know who you are. You’re a person called Julius. Now then, it’s time for a bath. This Chloe-chan will show you her most wonderful bath.”
Julius clicked his tongue softly.
He had an intimidating presence, but I wasn’t exactly afraid. After all, I didn’t end up abandoned in the back alley of the royal capital for nothing.
After that, I led Julius out of the room.
Chloe’s Alchemy Shop is located in the central district of the royal capital. It’s a two-story house that serves as both a shop and a residence. The first floor is a combination of the shop and a space for my alchemy furnace, while the second floor serves as living quarters. One side of the hallway from the entrance leads to the alchemy furnace, while the other side has the staircase that accesses the second floor.
My room had its own bath, and the room being used as storage would become Julius’s room, so I’d have to clean that up later.
I guided Julius to the bathroom behind the door inside my room, which was quite small, with just a bed.
The changing room had a laundry basket and a towel. A linen towel covered the wooden floor while a star-shaped lamp sat on the bay window. There was no partition between the bath and the changing room, but the bathing area was a step lower, covered in white tiles.
“Now then, Julius-san. Please take off your clothes,” I commanded Julius, who was standing right in front of me.
“I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to undress myself,” Julius said with a hint of sarcasm.
“That’s a lie, isn’t it? But, since I’m a kind master. I’ll undress you.”
He’s testing me again. I didn't think for a moment that he might actually be a nice person, but he engages in conversation surprisingly well, so I guess that’s enough for me.
I reached out to Julius’s black coat. I fumbled with his belts that were too stiff to push or pull, and Julius silently watched me as I struggled for a while.
“Alright, that’s enough. I’ll do it myself,” Julius said with a sigh.
“I’m a woman of my word, Julius-san. So please wait for a moment.”
“The day is coming to an end. It looks like Alchemists are quite feeble.”
“Using alchemy to compensate for physical weakness is what alchemists do, you know.”
If only I were strong enough, I wouldn’t be doing this here.
Julius promptly undressed himself. His coat fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Underneath the coat was a naked body, slender yet muscular, without any excess fat, and covered with many small scars. Some were old, some looked new, and they seemed to have healed on their own without proper treatment.
I quickly pushed a large towel to the naked Julius, who promptly stripped down to his underwear. I couldn’t look at the lower half of his body. Although it was okay for me to look, out of common courtesy, I didn’t.
Julius was probably tired of teasing me, so he wrapped the towel around his waist, which made me feel relieved. I took off my boots and socks as well, since I had promised to bathe him.
“Now, let’s get you cleaned up, Julius-san. When you feel refreshed, your mood will improve as well. Take a look at the bath. It’s filled with water containing my alchemically prepared Circulation Hot Spring Stone, which ensures that the water is always clean and purified.”
The clawfoot bathtub was filled with plenty of milky-white water, all thanks to the Circulation Hot Spring Stone embedded at its base.
“The amazing thing about this stone is that you can feel as if you’re in a real hot spring, just like the famous Snow Moon Flower Hot Spring in the Rugal district, anytime you want! This item is quite popular and sells really well, but the downside is that collecting the materials can be a hassle.”
I pushed Julius, who was wrapped in just a towel around his waist and wearing a collar, to get into the bathtub. Plenty of hot water spilled over due to his size, soaking my apron. Well, I can always change clothes later, so it’s fine.
The somewhat dirty water caused by Julius in the bathtub was instantly purified by the Circulating Hot Spring Stone’s effect. It’s a marvelous cleansing power, though the downside is that it only lasts about a month, and I haven’t been able to create an everlasting Circulating Hot Spring Stone yet.
“Julius-san, let’s wash your head. I’m going to remove the bandage, okay?”
“Do as you like.”
Julius closed his eye and seemed to enjoy the warmth of the bath. The bathtub, which was large enough for me, seemed too small for Julius. I moved behind him and dampened the dry bandage with hot water using the shower. The shower, which also had a Circulating Hot Spring Stone embedded in the head part, was still in the prototype stage, so it only had a head and lacked a proper handle.
“Let me know if it hurts.”
I carefully removed the bandage from Julius’s head, starting with the right eye. Perhaps because it had been dampened, it came off surprisingly easy. His right eye, exposed after the bandage was removed, was hollow. A scar extended from his cheek to his forehead, and although it looked like a very old wound, it didn’t appear to be festering.
“My right eye was crushed three years ago. I haven’t looked at the scar. But well, it must’ve healed, seeing that I’ve managed to survive till now.”
“You have a strange mix of good and bad luck, huh? It's a severe injury, but it seems to have healed rather nicely. Julius-san, are you the type of person with a high self-healing ability?”
“Slaves can’t use magic, because of the brand.”
Perhaps feeling refreshed because of the warm bath, Julius became more talkative. I checked his brand. It was on the back of his neck, just below the nape, and resembled the skull of a two-horned beast. It was the mark of a slave. I hadn’t noticed it before due to his long hair.
“A self-healing ability isn’t magic; it refers to the body’s natural ability to heal wounds on its own. Seeing that you have quite a few scars, you must be quite sturdy.”
“Looks like it.”
“I’ll make you a nice prosthetic eye. Maybe I’ll even add some special abilities to it. What would you like? Maybe something that lets you see through women’s clothing? Would you like that, Julius-san?”
“That would mean I can see through yours too.”
“Oh right, then I guess that won’t work.”
I proceeded to wash Julius’s hair by applying shampoo several times, lathering it up, and rinsing it thoroughly, which seemed to have considerably improved the stickiness in his hair.