As Leo was casually walking through the street, he addressed Ingrid, "Let me know if you like something, Ingrid." He said, "I'll get it for you."
"Hu?" Ingrid's mouth opened without her being able to say anything due to how surprised she was. Even as she was walking, she almost stumbled and Leo was forced to stop to let her pull herself together.
"What?" He asked her with a frown.
"I-I'm sorry…" She said with her head lowered, "I was a little surprised that you would allow me to buy something for myself."
Leo gave her a little smile, "I like to do both carrots and sticks. Every couple of sticks should have a little carrot mixed in, no?" He said.
"I guess…" She felt a little pleased inwardly as Leo started walking again. She continued walking in the same graceful yet submissive manner that she was previously walking in, but this time, a significant part of that also came from her own will. It wasn't all due to the crest anymore.
Their duo constantly got weird looks that still made Ingrid uncomfortable, but with her focus being solely on Leo's back, it was easier for her to ignore the passing glances that she was receiving due to her attire and the collar. No one really approached Leo like before since he had a natural aura of nobility that most people could easily discern. One would need to be heavily intoxicated to not be able to tell that he was someone who has spent his life in high society. Even if he didn't have an entourage at his beck and call and was simply walking down the streets, his noble upbringing was starkly evident.
Soon enough, he felt a tug on his wrist and turned to look at Ingrid who bowed her head at him, "Master…" She felt like she should wait for his permission before speaking further.
"Go on," Leo said with a satisfied smile. Her little initiatives to show her submissiveness were not going unnoticed by him. It was probably because she was about to make a request that she thought was outrageous.
"I-I've always wanted to get some earrings…" She pointed at the display window of a jewelry shop, "Always being on my own, I never had the chance to get any jewelry… They wouldn't get in the way of my archery either."
"How cute," Leo chuckled lightly as he turned and started walking toward the store that Ingrid pointed to.
Ingrid couldn't help but blush and want to look down, but the crest's compulsion caused her to continue looking at Leo's back without being able to turn away. The situation caused her to have an almost enraptured expression as she gazed at Leo's back with a blush.
As Leo walked closer to the store, the guard opened the door for him with a bow. Leo gave the man an appreciative nod before entering the store with Ingrid.
"Greetings, sir." The clerk greeted Leo from behind the counter, "Are you looking to buy something for yourself, or for the lady?" She asked with a professional tone, seemingly unperturbed by Ingrid's current attire.
"For my slave." Leo said, "Show me some earrings that you think would suit her." He lightly yanked Ingrid's leash and pulled her forward such that she was unable to focus on his back. Suddenly, the spell seemed broken and she instantly looked down and started fidgeting in her place, the previous grace of her movements nowhere to be seen. "Interesting…" Leo mumbled as he saw the effects of the crest having been dispelled by his action. He decided to do some more testing with its commands later. But he had to fix the current situation first. He said with a heavy tone, "Confidence, slave. Don't embarrass yourself., and most importantly, don't embarrass me."
His words had the effect necessary and Ingrid raised her head to allow the clerk to determine what kind of earrings would suit her.
A few seconds later, the clerk said, "I have some very suitable pairs of earrings for her." She still addressed Leo, seemingly having dealt with such a situation before.
Quickly enough, she pulled out multiple sets of earrings and placed them on a tray before passing them to Leo. She didn't address Ingrid for a single moment of the process, making the girl realize that she probably wouldn't get to choose for herself. She felt a little disheartened but was still glad that she would at least be able to get some jewelry for herself.
"Hmm…" Leo examined the earrings for a while before grabbing a pair and handing them to Ingrid, "Hold them up," He told her.
Ingrid took a moment to look at the earrings before holding them to her ears with a little smile. She liked them. As she held them up, the clerk started explaining to Leo, "These are emerald studded crescent rings that would go on the earlobe. Including these, all of the ones that I've brought out are made of a platinum base material, so there is essentially no need to remove them for maintenance."
"The emeralds match her green eyes perfectly…" He nodded before gesturing to Ingrid to put them back on the tray before grabbing another pair.
"Ah, these ones will be slightly more costly since they are studded with streaks of sapphire in the stylized feather pattern on the platinum stem that meets the oval emerald pendant at the base." The clerk explained.
Leo acknowledged the clerk's words with a nod, "Hold them up, Ingrid," He said while handing the set to Ingrid who cluelessly put them on her ears to show Leo. She'd realized that she was out of her depth right now and all of the jewelry that the clerk had shown her was something that she considered as amazing. It was now that she felt somewhat good that Leo was going to be choosing for her, allowing her to just look pretty for him, 'What the fuck kind of thought process is this…' She mentally chided herself, 'You want to look pretty for him? He's the reason that you've lost your freedom!' She almost screamed inwardly, 'But he's taking care of me too…'
From the start of this day, she had been going through very conflicted thoughts due to the events of the previous night when Leo inflicted enough mental torture on her to cause her horrible trauma. But instead of that trauma taking root in her mind, all she remembered was how comfortable his touch was when he hugged her to sleep. When she was in pain and hurt, he was there to comfort her. All she remembered was how at peace she felt even through her tears when he held her. Somehow, her subconscious mind didn't remember the fact that he was the reason for her state in the first place.
'Dammit…' Even if Ingrid knew what was going on, her subconscious was already being fooled to believe Leo to be her 'safe space'. Soon enough, she would truly embrace her role as Leo's slave. And the worst part was that she couldn't feel the horrible dread that she initially felt when she was told her new status, 'It's all because of that dammed crest…' She blamed everything on the crest that could control her so deeply. And her blame was partially true.
Leo's training would've taken far longer if he hadn't used the combination of Lust Magic and the crest, but it would've taken root nonetheless. All these abilities did was to hasten the process and make it more robust.
By the time Ingrid came out of her reverie, Leo had already decided on the previous pair of sapphire-emerald earrings and was asking the clerk about some changes that he wanted.
As Leo was still discussing the changes that needed to be made, a chime was heard as a man spoke hurriedly, "Levia, tell me you haven't sold my earrings!" He burst into the peaceful store and disrupted the calm atmosphere that Leo was previously appreciative of.
"I must apologize for his rudeness, young master…" The clerk, apparently named Levia, apologized to Leo with a light bow before telling the newcomer, "The earrings have already been sold, Eustace." She didn't want the man to cause a scene.
Leo had an eye for discerning certain microexpressions when it came to women and he'd already read that Levia the Clerk was panicky. The only conclusion that he came to was that the man was after the earrings that Leo had just decided on.
The smile on Leo's face took a slightly mischievous turn as he tilted himself just enough to allow the man to glimpse the earrings that were placed on the velvet-adorned tray. Now, he just had to wait for the man to glimpse at the tray and notice the earrings.
"What do you mean they've already been sold?" The man's eyes widened, "I was just about to bring you the money."
"Say that when you've cleared your debt." Levia said with a frown before continuing, "Now please leave, I have real customers to work with."
The man's gaze couldn't help but be drawn to Leo and Ingrid. It was then that he noticed the earring that he was looking for on the tray, "You haven't sold it yet!" He said excitedly before approaching Leo's side and almost pushing him away, though all that resulted in was the man himself being awkwardly shoved to the side as he tried to push Leo away. Even as a novice aura wielder, Leo wasn't someone a normal man could contest within a purely physical confrontation.
"Are you gonna take care of this?" Leo asked Levia, "I'd rather get things done quickly." His words didn't truly match his actions as he stepped back and caused the man to almost stumble to the side while being forced to grab the counter to stabilize himself, allowing the situation to escalate as he tried to grab the earrings from the tray.
"It's already been sold to this gentleman here, Eustace," Levia told the man with annoyance as she gathered up the earrings in the tray before he could grab them, "You can find something else after you repay your debt."