At first, there were other humans, but gradually, she was the only one left.
She had never been allowed to leave that room.
Her daily activities were confined to a room of only a few hundred square feet.
At most, she could do some leg stretches and light exercises.
She hadn’t walked this far in a very long time.
After all that walking today, the soles of her feet were throbbing.
Cheng Xi quietly hissed, enduring the discomfort.
The moment she returned to the bedroom, she dove into her little nest and refused to come out.
Hotte watched the small castle door close, one eyebrow raised.
‘Human bodies really are fragile.
Is she already too tired to walk?’
‘I won’t disturb her.
Best to give her some time to adjust.’
…
Lying in her nest, Cheng Xi was exhausted but not sleepy.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, her ears picking up the sounds from outside.
It seemed he had gone into the bathroom to shower.
Listening to the faint sound of running water, her mind began to drift.
Before she was captured, she had been a sophomore at a performing arts academy, majoring in vocal music and dance.
And despite coming from a complicated family, she had been full of hope and excitement for the future.
Yet, in a single night, her life had been turned upside down.
‘If only this were all a dream.’
She blinked, and a tear slid down her cheek, disappearing into the soft pillow.
At some point, the lights went out.
The air grew unnervingly still, with only the sound of shallow breathing mingling with the pitch-black night.
Only when he was sure she was asleep did Hotte, lying on the bed, finally drift off himself.
The night passed peacefully.
「Early morning.」
Just as everyone in the castle was enjoying a delicious breakfast, a high-pitched scream suddenly made them all jump.
Hotte’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
He calmly cleaned out an ear.
‘Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s yesterday.
Who knew she had such lung capacity?’
He leisurely sliced off a piece of steak and placed it in his mouth, continuing his breakfast as if completely unconcerned about what had just happened.
“Duke, what happened?”
“Was that scream from the human pe— er, Cheng Xi? Did something happen to her?”
After swallowing his last bite of meat, Hotte took his napkin and wiped his mouth.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll go up and have a look.”
“…” Mary and Mani exchanged a look.
For some reason, they both felt a pang of sympathy for the new human pet.
To the outside world, their Duke was an invincible War God.
But only the servants who had worked in the castle for many years knew that beneath Duke Hotte’s mature and stern exterior was a malicious and wantonly unrestrained side…
Meanwhile, Cheng Xi was still in the bedroom, pale with fright and frozen stiff!
‘Help!’
One moment she was fast asleep, the next she felt something fluffy brush against her face.
She swatted at it instinctively and her hand closed around something hairy.
Her eyes flew open, and she saw a furry spider the size of a stool right in front of her face.
She saw four chilling, grayish-green eyes staring at her, and she realized the thing in her hand was one of its legs.
In that instant, she felt the blood freeze in her veins.
An almost uncontrollable scream tore from her throat.
“AH!”
“AHHH!”
‘Where did such a huge spider come from?!’ Cheng Xi was so scared she burst into tears.
In a panic, she flung the furry spider away, her heart pounding as she scrambled for the door.
Just then, the bedroom door opened.
Hotte appeared, and in that moment, his figure seemed towering and heroic in her eyes.
Without a second thought, Cheng Xi ran straight for him.
She scrambled to hide behind her Alien master, crying out in fear, “Help! There’s a giant spider!”
Tears streamed down Cheng Xi’s face; she was absolutely terrified.
Hotte surveyed the scene, a knowing smile flashing in his eyes.
He cleared his throat and chided softly, “Mao Mao, you’re not allowed to scare our new friend.”
‘Mao Mao?’ Cheng Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
‘Please don’t tell me that thing is one of the Alien’s pets.’
Unfortunately, she was right.
After scolding the furry spider, Hotte pulled her out from behind him and ruffled her hair reassuringly.
His magnetic voice was tinged with amusement.
“Cheng Xi, don’t be afraid.
This is Mao Mao.
It might look a little scary, but it’s actually very gentle.
It doesn’t bite.”
“You’re new to the family, so from now on, you two are playmates.
I’m sure you’ll get along wonderfully.”
The man spoke like a patriarch setting things in order, completely ignoring her ashen face.
‘Get along wonderfully?’
‘No!’
‘Facing a giant, furry spider every day?
I must have a death wish!’
Rejection was written all over Cheng Xi.
Absolutely not!”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, forming a big “X.”
Hotte arched an eyebrow, his tone full of regret.
“You don’t like it? I brought Mao Mao over this morning specifically to play with you. It seems to like you a lot. Cheng Xi, you’re going to hurt Mao Mao’s feelings.”
‘What?
What did I ever do to deserve this?!’
Cheng Xi couldn’t stop herself from glaring resentfully at the Alien.
‘This guy is such an asshole!’
Her furious little glare made Hotte’s heart itch with amusement.
He reached out and pinched her cheek.
“That angry?”
Annoyed, Cheng Xi slapped his hand away.
“Jerk!”
‘I don’t want to deal with either of them.
This world is just out to get me.’
She turned to flee back to her little nest, but as she took a step, she put weight on one of the blisters on her foot.
The pain made her double over with a sharp hiss.
“SSS!”
‘It’s true what they say, when it rains, it pours.
Not only was I nearly scared to death first thing in the morning, but my feet are covered in blisters from yesterday.
It hurts so much!’
Her cry of pain caught Hotte’s attention.
“What’s wrong?”
He crouched down to examine her feet, only to find several blisters on her delicate soles.
He looked up in surprise.
“How did your feet get like this?”
Cheng Xi shot him a resentful look.
“It’s from all that walking yesterday.
This wouldn’t have happened if I’d been wearing shoes.”
Hotte: “…”
Knowing the Alien wouldn’t understand her anyway, Cheng Xi didn’t bother trying to explain with gestures.
She just struggled back to her little nest and sat down.
In his eyes, the little pet had just limped away to shut herself in.
She looked utterly pitiful.
He rubbed his nose sheepishly.
‘She’s so small, but she’s got quite a temper.’
‘It was my mistake.
I forgot that humans get hurt if they walk around barefoot.’
‘It’s been too long since I’ve kept one.
I’ve forgotten all their little habits.’
Mao Mao scuttled over and rubbed against his calf.
Hotte let out a soft snort and flicked its fuzzy head.
“It’s because you look too scary. You’re not allowed to frighten Cheng Xi anymore. She’s timid and gets scared easily, understand?”
Mao Mao wobbled its four grayish-green eyes, giving no indication of whether it understood.
It just kept rubbing affectionately against his calf.
Hotte watched it in silence for a few seconds, then the corner of his mouth twitched as he looked away.
‘It really is a bit too ugly.’
He lifted his foot, kicked the spider several feet away, and then left the room.