Startled, Ron jerked his head up.

But as soon as their eyes met, his gaze fell again.

The look on his face wasn’t one of fear or helplessness – it was pure discomfort at being in her presence.

He tried desperately to avoid eye contact, desperate to escape.

“Answer me.”

Martian made no effort to hide her displeasure. A sharp slap snapped Ron’s face to the side.

“What do you think you’re doing, Ron?”

“I was wrong, my lady.”

“Yes. You’ve been very wrong.”

She patted his reddened cheek lightly, then grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled.

Several buttons popped off and the fabric tore, hanging loosely.

The ring and chain she had attached to him were now fully exposed.

Although this was a secluded spot, it was still out in the open where people could easily pass by.

Ron’s face flushed with shame.

Martian knew it was different from the kind of shame the Count had shown.

While the Count could turn shame into excitement, Ron found this truly unbearable.

“I may keep you as a servant.”

Martian said, twisting the ring halfway,

“But that doesn’t mean you’re really a servant, does it?”

A small, stifled whimper escaped him.

Martian moved her hand and took hold of the thin chain attached to the ring.

Twisting it tighter around her hand, she gave a sharp tug – the tension pulling hard at the ring on his n*pple.
Ron’s face twisted in pain.

Martian pulled the chain towards her, forcing Ron’s body to bend forward over her.

His body shook violently, bent low. It wasn’t just the pain – he was clearly terrified, unsure of how she would treat him next.

Martian whispered slowly.

“Looks like you won’t understand unless it’s spelled out. Shall I strip you right here and drag you back to the bedroom?”

“Hic… I was wrong… hngh, my lady…”

“If you were wrong, you should be punished. Or would you rather crawl behind me?”

Ron’s eyes turned red and then tears began to fall.

The beast in front of her loved to be pampered and was easily hurt when treated harshly. Unlike the typical pets who enjoyed rough treatment, Ron’s tears flowed because he genuinely couldn’t stand it, because he felt pain.

Martian, showing obvious irritation, said,

“Why are you crying? You act all submissive, wagging your tail for your master – what right have you?”

A dog trying to run away from its master.

The fact that Ron would dare to act that way irritated her.

Since coming into her own at seventeen, Martian had encountered countless beasts like him.

They played the part well enough in bed, but were quickly forgotten afterwards.

Only Ron had stayed at her side the whole time.

Martian looked at the trembling creature and tried to calm the anger that was rising inside her.

Sure, the dog had been rude – but was it really worth getting so angry about?

A part of her wanted to push him to the ground right now, to make sure he never even thought of running away from her again.

She could have.

Ron was her pet – he had nowhere else to go but her side.

He didn’t even have the luxury of properly begging for forgiveness.

Begging was all he could do.

Receiving her affection was practically his reason for his existence.

If Ron ever tried to leave her, the only paths available to him would be menial labor… or selling himself as a common pr*stitute.
His blind loyalty was tied directly to his survival.

Even if he genuinely hated being at her feet, he ultimately had no choice but to kneel before her.

That thought made her mood sink.
Martian let go of the chain she was gripping.

Ron, belatedly sensing the release, hesitated before straightening up.
His n*pples, having been pulled and twisted, were now swollen and red.

She looked calmly at the creature in front of her, then let out a short sigh and spoke.

“If you’re only enduring this against your will, then stop.
Even if you leave this place, I’ll make sure you can get by decently.”

He had been her companion for quite a long time, after all.
Martian didn’t want to see Ron forcing himself into blind devotion.
She had no shortage of pets to play with if needed.
If Ron’s heart had already drifted, she saw no need to drag him along by force.

“I can at least do that much for you… as payment for all the hardships you endured by my side.”

Still, the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
They had shared time together — there were memories built between them.
Though none of it was particularly meaningful.
After all, if something had a beginning, it inevitably had an end.

Just as Martian sighed and turned to leave —
Thud.
Ron collapsed to his knees, almost falling flat on the ground.

“…I’m sorry,” he choked out, “I– I couldn’t handle… seeing you with the Count, it hurt… I just wanted to avoid you until I got used to it… I knew it was presumptuous… but… I couldn’t help it…”

Tears and hiccups broke his voice apart.

He crawled forward on his knees until he was right in front of her.
The emotions he harbored were possessiveness and jealousy — the desperate urge not to lose his master.
Feelings he couldn’t dare to reveal outwardly gnawed away at him from within.
To stay in his place — to behave like a dog, used only for the bed.
Ron could never cross the line drawn for him.

In contrast, the Count was someone entirely different — incomparable.
Ron’s existence had to be hidden in shame, while the Count stood at her side as if he had been drawn to fit there perfectly.

Ron remembered something she had once said: that she wanted to marry someone who was as obedient as Ron, but also wealthy.
And the Count fit that wish almost too well.
He had thought he could endure it, but everything about it was agonizing.

Still, it was Martian who had saved him when he was on the brink of death, who had been the first to show him affection, who had given him a reason to live.
The spaces where he met her were Ron’s entire world, and his relationship with her was his only human connection.
At this point, no other offering could have any real meaning to him.

“I was wrong. Hic… I’m sorry for behaving so recklessly. Please, allow me to stay here, with you…”

Ron clutched the hem of her garment.
It was something he would normally never dare to do, but he was terrified she might leave him just like this.

“Ron.”

She called his name.
He was supposed to answer, but his throat was choked with tears, and no voice would come out.
Instead, he gripped her clothes even tighter, as if that could serve as his reply.

It was then that someone emerged from behind the kitchen.

“I told you to hurry up and bring it—why are you taking so… Ma’am?”

The man, seeing Martian, hastily bowed his head.
After a quick glance at the situation, he hurriedly fled back into the kitchen.
It must have been the middle of lunch preparations — with this happening, no one would dare come out to the backyard where the ingredients were stored.

Martian let out a short sigh and led Ron toward the bedroom.

The bedroom, as always, was neatly kept.
Since Martian hadn’t been sleeping with Ron lately, there was little chance for it to become disheveled.
Martian looked at Ron.

“Your face is a mess.”

She reached out and caressed his cheek.
His skin was still damp, as if he had been crying the entire way up.
When Ron cried, his face looked entirely different from usual — his suppressed emotions would spill out with his tears, revealing his desperate heart.
That helpless, pitiful expression when he cried — it often stirred excitement and satisfaction within her.
She asked him,

“Was it really so unbearable that I accepted the Count?”

Ron’s body trembled.
He bit his lip hard and swallowed several times.
Even without speaking, his reaction was answer enough.

‘He must have really hated it.’
Martian thought it was impertinent of him — and yet found it rather adorable.

“You have to answer properly.”

Her tone softened as her heart did.
Seeing that she wasn’t angry, Ron’s eyes filled with fresh tears.
He leaned his face into her hand, the one gently stroking his cheek.

Though it resembled how the Count behaved, it was born from a completely different sentiment.
Ron finally managed to speak.

“I-I’m fine.”

It was an obvious lie.
If he were truly fine, there would have been no need for that earlier outburst, no need for him to still be crying like this.
He was merely struggling to align himself with what he thought she wanted.

Martian lowered the hand stroking his face and wrapped an arm around his waist.
At even the smallest gesture from her, Ron flinched and shrank back, reading her every movement with desperate attention — like a dog terrified of being abandoned.

He opened his mouth again.

“I truly, truly am fine. So please, just let me stay by your side, as before…”

He spoke through choked sobs, forcing the words out.
His eyes, now red and swollen, kept brimming over with tears.
Even when offered freedom, Ron chose instead to stay, to crouch down at her side.

The sight pleased her.
Martian found it strange herself — she usually enjoyed driving her partners to their limits and watching them writhe in agony, but she had never particularly craved blind devotion.
She was always keenly aware that what she did was a shallow play-acting, and in most cases, such mindless obedience annoyed her.

But Ron was different.

“If you behave prettily,” she said, “I’ll keep adoring you. If the Count behaves prettily, I’ll adore him that way too.
You know me better than the Count does, so you have a bit of an advantage.”

She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
Martian was never the type to make promises about sustaining a relationship.

And Ron, seeing her like this — was even more beautiful.

Martian slid her hand lower, caressing Ron’s backside.
His body, cradled in her arms, shivered slightly again.

With deft hands, Martian unfastened Ron’s trousers.
The loosened waistband revealed the edge of his underwear.
She slipped her hand inside and grasped his member.
It was still soft, not yet aroused.

She brought her hand around again and gently squeezed his backside.
It had been some time since she last had him in bed, and all the old marks had faded away.
The firm, smooth flesh fit perfectly in her palm.

“Today, it’s okay if it’s a little rough.”

Ron’s body flinched again, tensing instinctively — but in the end, he surrendered, pressing himself against her.