"You!" Eustace looked at Leo with an almost maddened look, "Let me take those earrings. I swear I'll repay you." He didn't seem to be in the most stable state of mind.
Leo smiled with interest in the man's actions and spoke before the clerk could try to send the man out, "Do tell, who do you need those earrings for?" He asked, "Are you going to propose to your significant other?"
"Those earrings were something that Lady Demeter herself asked me to get for her," Eustace said, "I can't disappoint her, no matter what." There was a sense of desperation in the man's tone that told Leo that he would most likely die to fulfill the request of this 'Lady Demeter'.
"Demeter, you say?" Leo's eyes got an almost predatory glint in his eyes that neither the man nor the clerk understood. But Ingrid could easily discern that look in his eyes. It was the same look that he had whenever he did something that would leave her feeling extremely confused and conflicted about herself and her own identity. She shuddered and looked down, shrinking her presence as much as she could, she didn't want to get involved in the situation.
"You must address her with the necessary respect!" The man was agitated, "Lady Demeter is an impeccable combatant. It is rumored that she once took on an adept in single combat and won." He spoke with reverence in his gaze.
"The more you speak, the more I'm interested in this woman that you're talking about," Leo said, "What's her background?" He asked.
The man seemed to be happy to talk about the woman whom he was smitten with, "Her background is the most mysterious thing about her. No one knows who's backing her, but as far as I know, even peak adepts have disappeared when they pursued her with hostile intentions."
"Sir," The clerk decided to interject at this point, "You don't need to listen to this man's garbage, Mike, can you take him out?" She asked the man who was guarding the door.
"No!" The man resisted fervently, "Look at him. A man who puts a woman as beautiful as her on a leash and parades her around like a brothel whore doesn't deserve Lady Demeter's earrings!" He shouted as the guard pulled him out, "A disgusting man such as him won't cherish your jewelry! He will throw it away just as he would throw away his slave."
The last sentence that the man spoke before being thrown out of the store made Ingrid shudder. She realized that this was a very real possibility and that she might be truly thrown away by Leo after he was bored of her. Just as she looked up at him with pitiful eyes, Leo's indifferent voice sounded, "Richard, do me a favor and take care of him." Leo said into the air, "And find out about this Lady Demeter whom he kept referring to."
Both the guard and the clerk were confused at Leo's words which didn't seem to be addressing anyone, but their eyes widened in both fear and astonishment as they saw Eustace disappearing from his spot right before their eyes. At one moment, he was picking himself up, and in the next, he wasn't even there.
"Shall we get back to business? Miss Levia," Leo said with the same gentlemanly smile that he had before. He pulled his arm a little and yanked Ingrid's leash, pulling her closer to himself, "Don't mind her, she got a little spooked by the man's words." Leo's hand made its way to Ingrid's bare shoulder as he lightly pressed certain spots on her neck, making her take a sharp breath and close her eyes. An involuntary moan escaped her lips before she pursed them, not wanting to embarrass herself further. Though her eyes stayed closed as she leaned toward Leo, all thoughts about being abandoned by him were completely forgotten by her.
"Y-yes…" The clerk, as trained as she was still felt a little overwhelmed by the display of raw power in front of herself. A man instantly disappeared from in front of her store, presumably dead. She quickly pulled herself together before taking out the earrings and placing them back on the tray in front of Leo, "You were talking about the clipping mechanism. We can modify the design and attach a permanent clipping mechanism to it if you so wish. The earring would still be removable, but would require a special tool."
"That would be satisfactory. She will need to get her ears pierced too. So, prepare the necessary tools for that," Leo said, "It's going to be a virtually permanent accessory, so make sure that the earrings and piercing needles match perfectly. I don't want anything to have to be done later."
Ingrid heard his words and wanted to protest, but his light massage on her neck had drained all of her energy and her mind felt like it was constantly going blank. Just as the thought of protest popped into her head, it disappeared as if it was never there in the first place.
"I also want to commission some more pieces in the same design, will that be doable?" Leo asked.
"We already have the materials, so as long as you give us the necessary requirements, we can have them done within a week." She told him as her eyes eventually made their way to Ingrid's dazed face. Her eyes were half closed as if she was overdosing on some drug, but the peaceful smile told her another story. The clerk quickly snapped out of it, "I'm sorry…" She apologized to Leo and bowed much deeper than before. She was still a little intimidated by his previous display of backing.
"It's fine." Leo didn't mind her gaze, "I need three similar pieces of jewelry, one for her belly button and two for her nipples, can you get them made?" Leo asked as the clerk blushed at his request.
As for Ingrid, she heard his words and opened her eyes wide, wanting to protest, but the same thing happened just as Leo pressed her neck again. She lost her train of thought and her eyes closed once again, regaining that dazed expression as she barely held herself back from moaning.
"It can be done, sir. Will you be able to pick up those items next week?" She asked.
"I'm only going to be in Vineta until tomorrow, so I'll send someone to collect them in two weeks. What about the earrings?" He asked.
"The mechanism can be replaced with relative ease within the day. You can return by the evening and we'll have both the earrings and the piercing kit prepared." She answered, "You should get her naval and nipples pierced today itself so that there is sufficient time to heal before she can wear the jewelry. We will put in some temporary barbell studs as a complementary service that you can replace with the jewelry once it is made."
"Good." Leo nodded, "Give me the prices."
"The earrings go for five credits while the commissioned nipple and naval pendants will go for ten and five respectively, making your grand total twenty credits. The piercing process can also be considered as a complementary service." She answered.
When Ingrid heard those numbers, all the lost tension reappeared in her body as she opened her eyes wide. Hearing that this was the cost of her jewelry almost made her want to turn and leave on the spot. Leo let go of her neck and let her understand the value of what he was getting for her.
"Okay," He said to the clerk, "I'll pay ten credits now and the rest when my men come to collect the jewelry two weeks later." His words made the clerk smile a little and she said, "As the Young Master wishes." She was happy that he was going to pay for some of it in advance, "Here you go." She handed him an orb and he transferred ten of his credits to it.
"Done." He said, "I'll return with her in the evening. Also, prepare some restraints and a heavy chair." With those words, he turned around as Ingrid walked behind him, still in a daze.
Just as he stepped out of the door, he turned and gave the clerk a glance, "Eustace probably isn't going to return and repay your debt…" Leaving those ominous and almost threatening words for the clerk, Leo walked away.
As they walked a few steps, "I've only ever made a total of 9 credits in my whole life…" Ingrid said, "And I have barely a credit to my name at this moment…" She seemed to be mumbling to herself.
"As I said," Leo told her, "You might be a slave, but you are my slave." His words affected her more than even Ingrid herself realized, "Accessorizing you is something I deem necessary, so it shall be done. If I deem that you will spend your entire life as a denied celibate cocksucker, then that's what you will be. You're completely mine, Ingrid. And I can do whatever I want with you."
"T-thank you, master." She bowed to him, not wanting to hear other examples of what he could do to her.
Leo smiled a little, "Keep walking," He yanked her leash a little such that she had to keep walking, which made her straighten up.
Soon enough, he turned a corner into a somewhat deserted alley and asked, "What's the haul, Richard?"
"He had 7 credits, young master." Richard came to Leo and tapped on his shoulder, transferring the seven credits to him.
Leo looked at his transaction history by focusing on the credits part of his status panel.
{Credits:
29.943 - 0.5 (The Gilded Tavern)
29.443 - 10 (Velvet Jewelers)
19.443 + 7 (Richard Harland)
Balance: 26.443}
"Cool," Leo said to Richard, "And what of this Lady Demeter? Did you find out anything about her?" Leo asked him, "I'm intrigued by her." The look in his eyes told both Richard and Ingrid that he was more than just intrigued by her.