When Leo walked out of his room, he had a white button-up shirt and a pair of trousers that went well with it. A band was wrapped around his wrist that had a belt-like cloth extending from it. At the other end of that belt-like cloth was a collar, specifically wrapped around Ingrid's neck.
Unlike before, Ingrid's attire was considered inappropriately revealing yet better than a lacy set of lingerie. She had a figure-hugging one-piece dress that went from her chest to her thighs, leaving everything else bare. It was the kind of attire that women were known to wear in brothels and high-end clubs when serving classy customers. It had a sense of grace and elegance that put Ingrid's most prominent features on display while leaving things mostly to the imagination. The rest of her body was left bare, except for a set of strappy sandals that hugged her dainty feet.
"I hate this…" She shuffled uncomfortably as her hand made its way to her chest to pull up the fabric slightly such that she would be able to somewhat hide her very visible cleavage, but her action pulled the dress up from the bottom, making her widen her eyes as she realized that her uncovered core would become visible with nothing more than another tug if she kept going. Her hands quickly made their way down and pulled the dress lower, hoping to keep herself sufficiently covered, but that forced her to reveal even more of her cleavage.
She would've been able to endure it if it was just this revealing dress, but she was forced to put that cursed black collar on her neck that signified her status as Leo's slave. Unlike the one from before that was merely belted to her throat, this was adorned with two sets of locks latching two belts that went along the sides of the collar. The leash also had a lock that attached it to a latch on the collar, making the whole thing nonremovable not only by Ingrid herself but also by anyone else. It could be taken off only by someone with the correct set of keys. Even the leash was wrapped around his wrist with a special band, unlike the usual loop.
"Keep yourself together." Leo's cold voice made Ingrid let out a weak whimper, "Don't embarrass me." He said as she felt a light yank on her leash, signifying that Leo had started walking.
With hesitant steps, she followed him downstairs to the tavern section of their inn. It was a high-end inn, which meant that they had a very nice stock of alcohol for their customers.
Leo slipped his hands into his pockets while casually walking toward the bar as he felt a large number of gazes on his person, 'Guess I can't really taunt the dad by saying that I keep my habits low-key anymore…' He smirked with an almost arrogant look in his eyes as if he was looking down on everyone else. He wasn't bothered by the gazes, as the scion of a duke's house, he knew how to maintain himself.
Unlike Leo, Ingrid was much less confident. Mostly because of her current attire which made her feel like a brothel slut. Feeling the gazes of countless people boring into her skin, she wanted to hug herself and curl up into as small of a ball as possible. She also had the other, more violent option of murdering everyone in this bar who saw her in this state, but she couldn't do that right now. They were currently in a very prominent city of the empire with the number of knights stationed here reaching at least the double digits. That wasn't to mention the number of free knights that were here to explore the dungeon and train.
Also, Ingrid wasn't truly a killer. She'd killed before, but it was done out of necessity for her own survival, not out of desire for slaughter. The thought of a massacre died in her mind just as it appeared. As her head lowered and she tried to suppress the trembling of her shoulders, she heard Leo's voice, "Look up, Ingrid." He said while giving her a sharp look, "Walk with poise. You might be a slave, but you are my slave."
Ingrid felt something trigger inside her with Leo's words, she looked up and focused on the back of Leo's head as her steps seemed to naturally become more elegant, almost perfectly putting one foot in front of the other as her curves were made more apparent with each step. It was as if she was walking in a way to emphasize her features while embracing the stares that she was receiving if one went by her expression and her elegant walk.
Leo's smirk grew slightly after he noticed Ingrid's change before settling down as he approached the bartender, "What's the best drink that you have?"
The bartender stared at Leo and Ingrid for a few seconds before saying, "Single malt, aged 36. It's my own spirit liquor." There was a hint of pride in his words.
"Get me a taste," Leo said and the bartender nodded without a word. He noticed traces of nobility in Leo's actions and didn't want to accidentally offend him for no reason.
He turned to the rack of bottles of all kinds of drinks before grabbing one at the top right and gently sliding it out. He poured a small amount of the contents of the bottle into a glass, "It's a strong one," He advised while sliding the glass toward Leo.
"How refreshing…" Leo first swirled it around the glass before smelling it. A few seconds after that, he drank the entire contents of the glass. He took a little breath as the spirit made its down his throat, leaving a slight burning sensation in its path, but the rich and smooth aftertaste was very good for him.
"It's pretty nice…" Leo praised, "Your technique was top-notch, but the ingredients fell short of quality…" He commented. The intensity of the burn told Leo that the ingredients had most likely reacted in a negative way.
"I'm surprised that you can tell…" The bartender raised his brow, "Yes. When I decided to make this spirit, Vineta had just experienced a famine, causing me to be unable to procure the best ingredients."
"I'm something of a connoisseur for spirits." Leo shrugged, "Got something else?"
"Nothing that comes close to that." He refused, "This is my best stuff."
"Pity…" Leo tapped his finger on the payment crystal and gave the man half a credit, "I think that should be enough, no?"
"More than enough." The bartender smiled wryly before saying, "The entire bottle goes for two credits. You merely drank a tiny amount…"
Leo didn't say anything and got up from his seat, "Put it on my tab. I'm gonna have dinner here anyway."
"Let's go, Ingrid," Leo said while turning around. Ingrid quietly followed him while continuing to walk gracefully as her eyes bore into the back of his skull. She couldn't bear to look anywhere else. Even though she seemed outwardly confident, that was all due to the effects of the crest. Inwardly, she was still dying with shame.
'I'm a warrior for crying out loud…' She cried inwardly, 'Why am I being treated like some sort of cheap brothel girl? It would be better if he just took me to clear the dungeon… Being gnawed to death by the monsters there would be better than this…'
As Leo was peacefully walking to the main door of the inn he was blocked by someone who stepped in front of him, 'Finally…' Leo's smile widened a little as if he'd just found his prey.
"Y-you!" The man slurred out. It was clear that he was drunk, "Don't you have any shame making someone as beautiful as her prance around in such a state?" He pointed a finger at Leo.
"Why?" Leo asked, almost cluelessly, "She's my slave." He said, "I can do whatever I want with her. Even if I want to let her be used by a bunch of burly men in a tavern, that's my choice." He seemed to be provoking the man and the other people in the tavern into making a move.
"That's it, a disgusting man such as you doesn't deserve someone like her! I, Marcus, will serve justice for you, my fair lady!" The man didn't care for any decency and lunged at Leo who easily sidestepped and dodged the man's attack. He raised his wrist up and brought the leash that connected his wrist to Ingrid higher such that it came in the man's way and interrupted his charge.
The man now identified as Marcus choked as the leash stayed taut and snapped against his throat, knocking him back. Leo didn't waste any time and moved his arm in such a way that the leash got wrapped around his neck. He pulled his arm as Ingrid stayed stationary in her spot while looking at Marcus with some pity, but mostly indifference. She didn't care for this man with ulterior motives who only wanted to possess her, the same as Leo. She saw that familiar light of possession in his eyes and wasn't interested in changing masters. At least Leo was someone whom she had a romantic interest in previously. She didn't know how this kind of thought process took root in her mind — she should've been despising Leo with all of her being after what he'd put her through — but this little event only cemented those thoughts.
She stayed grounded stably on her spot as Leo choked Marcus using her leash. He only let it slack after the man passed out.
"Anyone else?" Leo called out, "You can act the hero, maybe my slave here will devote herself to you if you can free her from eternal servitude." He wasn't really satisfied after beating up a single person.
"Ahem…" Leo heard the bartender's wry voice, "Young Master, can you please take your conflicts outside? I would hate to ban you from here due to the property damage that your entertainment will cause…"
"Oh, sure." Leo was an understanding man, "You should've told me before." He smiled, "Let's go, Ingrid."
'What a troublesome man…' The bartender looked over to a table where the third member of Leo's party was sitting. The man gave the bartender an imperceptible nod before downing his drink and getting up, ready to follow Leo.
'I'm getting too old for this…' The bartender thought with a shake of his head.