The girl was clearly scared, seeing as she didn't dare to move or speak up. I wanted to calm her down slightly, so I asked her gently, peering into her hazelnut eyes with my best attempt at a warm gaze, “Hello… beautiful, could you tell me your name?”

As the words lefty mouth, I immediately cringed internally, whishing they hadn't. I barely managed not wince outwardly at my shitty pick up line-like question.

She froze for a moment, just enough for me to steady my features, then muttered, stuttering slightly, “B-Beautiful...? E-excuse me…? Ah, I-I’m Aina... Master... t-thank you for buying me... B-but, why did you break the collar?” She paused for a moment, then continued, in much a lower tone, “Y-you won't throw me away... right?"

Her face went from scared, to confused, to shy, finally back to scared. A full rainbow of emotions in a bare few seconds. Before she could keep misinterpreting the situation by herself, I stopped her, chucking lightly to ease the mood, and answering, trying to sound as warm and reassuring as I could muster;

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Aina. Of course I'm not planning on leaving you. I just… can't the stand the idea of keeping a slave. Instead, I would like you to be my personal maid. My name is Raynold, but please call me Ray, okay?”

“Okay... Master Ray? Master…." She asked, her dull eyes gleaming slightly for a moment. I sighed, but accepter the denomination for now with a nod. She showed a hint of a smile, but it soon faded away, replaced with helplessness.  "But... I'm not fit to be the servant of someone like you... I'm the worst of the worst, a disgustingly thin, ugly, useless girl... Maybe, maybe you can still get some of your money back if you return me to the shop..."

I hugged her tightly, feeling thoroughly bitter from how low the Aina's self-esteem was. It was this cruel, discriminating world that had caused her to be like this. In that moment, I made a promise to myself. I swore that I would take care of her as best as I could, no matter what.

Feeling heat rising from my chest, I caressed her cheek and said, “That's just the way you see yourself. From my perspective, you are absolutely perfect to be my maid."

Then, I looked her over once again, and felt stupid for not realizing something earlier.

"You have wounds all over! it must hurt a lot, right? Here, to show you how much you matter to me, let me give you this. Drink it and you'll feel better in no time."

I handed her a health potion that I'd bought a couple of days ago in case I got injured, since I fortunately hadn’t had a chance to use it. She seemed reluctant to drink something so valuable, and even tried refusing through several, admittedly weak excuses such as saying she was fine and that it didn't really hurt and such, but with a bit more encouragement, she eventually agreed to taking it. I brought it up to her lips, slowly tilting it back to give her ample time to slowly gulp it all down.

“I-It’s bitter...” She said with her tounge out once I removed the bottle, making an extremely cute expression. I could barely keep a leash ony perverted mind as she did.

“Come on, you have to drink it all.” I brought the glass vial back to her lips, making the red liquid once again flow down her throat.

She eventually finished it, and her condition started getting better at a tremendous pace. After about five minutes, her bruises were no more, her wounds didn’t even leave scars and her face was quickly regaining its original beauty.

At first I was mesmerised by the speed of the healing process, but even after it had ended, I found myself staring at her breathtaking face, which, even behind the dirty stains and despite the foul smell coming off of her, was incredibly beautiful. 

My gaze involuntarily went down towards her supple chest and thin waist... but I soon forced myself to look away, disappointed at myself for harboring such dirty thoughts about a frail, weak, helpless girl. I didn't even know what she'd gone through in her time as a slave.

As we approached the mansion, I once again turned to look at Aina, still lying on my arms. “We’re here,” I told her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she marvelled at the sight of the impressive manor in front of her, overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her since I'd arrived at the slave shop. "It’s so big...”

'Shit! Is she doing this on purpose!?'

I chuckled awkwardly at her statement and entered my room, by directly jumping into it through the window. It was on the second floor, but if I left my sword below, I could jump high enough, even with an extra passenger.

Aina was dumbfounded when I did this, but when she asked “Wha-how?...” I just shrugged the question off, telling her in a playful tone, “Hey, a man’s gotta keep his secrets y’know? Anyway, can you stay here for a bit? I’ll come get you in no time.”

I didn't wait for her response as I gently placed her in my comfy, queen-size bed, and headed for my father’s office, wearing a slightly evil grin. “Now, let’s see if you can beat me in a battle of wits.”