In the dimly lit reception hall, the Duke sat on the main seat in the center. Dressed in dark green noble’s attire, he gently stroked a deep blue Luck Bag. Smoke curled up from the pipe beside him.

A breeze blew in, slightly dispersing the smoke, and the Duke’s hazy features gradually came into view.

His golden, vertical pupils held a hint of a dark, unreadable smile. The man’s features were sharp and handsome, as if carved by a knife, and he possessed a sinister charisma, like a walking calamity.

"Good evening, Ms. Zhi Zhi."

The Duke set down the deep blue Luck Bag. He lifted his gaze to the young woman before him.

The smile on Yu Zhizhi’s face froze. She slowly straightened up, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "Good evening..."

The Duke didn’t seem like his usual self.

He was smiling.

But his eyes were devoid of warmth, exuding a quiet coldness, exactly like a venomous snake perched on a branch, staring down its prey.

Yu Zhizhi slowly took a step back.

She held her breath. Seeing that he "didn’t seem to notice," she slowly took another small step back.

’I have to run! I need to hide, quick!’

Seeing the little female’s actions, treating him as if he were blind, the Duke couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "What are you hiding from? Did I say you could leave?"

The moment he finished speaking, a cloud of smoke enveloped Yu Zhizhi. Her legs, beneath her snowy gauze skirt, trembled as the smoke pushed her forward, right in front of the man.

An invisible force pushed her hands behind her back...

A black snake slithered over and bound her wrists.

Stumbling, she fell to her knees before the Duke.

The man sat in a languid pose, his right hand supporting a long, slender silver pipe, the bowl of which glowed with red embers.

"How many Luck Bags did you buy?" he asked quietly.

With her hands tied behind her back, Yu Zhizhi knelt, replying softly in a daze, "Two."

"Why not four?" The Duke poured a little water into his pipe.

The embers died out.

He glanced at the young woman nonchalantly. The rabbit ears on her head drooped slightly, her expression a mixture of confusion and innocence.

Her clear eyes seemed to be asking—

’Why should I buy four?’

The Duke let out a low chuckle. Wiping his pipe with a handkerchief, he said, "You only bought two Luck Bags, one for me and one for Noel. What about your other two lovers? Tang Luo Ke and Dracula. Isn’t it a pity that they won’t be getting one?"

...Huh?

Yu Zhizhi’s expression was blank.

’I never thought about that...’

Seeing the little rabbit’s utterly innocent look, her watery eyes misty as if she were seriously considering the possibility of buying two more Luck Bags to send to Tang Luo Ke and Dracula, made the Duke’s teeth itch with frustration.

He had loved this gift so much.

He had treated it as a treasure.

He hung it on an object he used most often, where he could see it anytime, anywhere. That way, the Duke would be reminded of the little female who gave him the Luck Bag.

He would think of her sweet smile, her soft voice, her fragrant body, and how she would always lean against his chest shyly.

His joy was irrepressible. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He had lost control of his emotions, so much so that he couldn’t even hide his snake tail...

But then today, he had seen it.

The same gift, the same sentiment, in the hands of another male.

It turned out she had bought two of them on the same day, at the same time.

One for him, and one for Noel of the Rabbit Clan.

And she had even given it to that rabbit brat first.

’It made his joy that night seem like a joke.’

"What do you take me for?"

The Duke gripped the slender pipe in his hand tightly, his golden, vertical pupils staring intently at the young woman kneeling before him.

Yu Zhizhi was extremely nervous. The Duke was mercurial, and his question made her swallow hard.

"I..." The little female’s voice was soft and a little nasal. "You’re... the Duke."

Her gaze flickered away as she stammered:

"A-Am I not your... pet?"

The Duke’s expression darkened even more.

He used the pipe in his hand to tilt the little female’s chin up, forcing her to look at him.

"Carrying my cub, and yet you court other males?"

Yu Zhizhi’s face paled slightly as she denied it at once, "I didn’t!"

Noel’s engagement to Nicole of the Snake Clan had been broken.

’If the little female heard this news, wouldn’t she be thrilled?’

The Duke had heard that males of the Rabbit Clan were the most capable of stirring the deep-seated reproductive urges in the genes of Rabbit Clan females—

"I’ve said it before. Until I choose a Beast Husband for you, you are to remain by my side as my pet."

The cold pipe, carved into the shape of a lotus, held the young woman’s chin.

"You dared to give him a Luck Bag?"

The Duke stared at her coldly, his golden, vertical pupils gradually darkening. "What, are you planning to die in bed?"

Yu Zhizhi stared at him blankly.

The Duke had suddenly become angry, and it was a terrifying kind of anger.

His voice was completely different from usual, as if he were suppressing something. Hearing his last words, Yu Zhizhi shivered.

"I—I’m still pregnant with the cub—"

Afraid the Duke would do something drastic, she reminded him with a trembling voice.

There was a hint of a sob in the little female’s voice.

She knelt on the floor, her hands bound tightly behind her, shoulders trembling slightly. Her rabbit ears drooped pitifully, and tears like pearls slid down her face, frightened by the Duke.

’Crying?’

’This is her usual trick.’

’This time, he wouldn’t go soft.’

The Duke watched her indifferently. "Since you’re so keen on being a pet, then starting today, you can be a proper pet."

"Your cage will be moved to the backyard shortly."

"Don’t even think about going anywhere before you give birth to the cub."

Yu Zhizhi cried even more miserably. SOB...

’I don’t want to...’

’I don’t want to live in a cage!’

"I haven’t awakened my spiritual power yet, so I can’t turn into my Beast Form, SOB SOB SOB..."

Yu Zhizhi’s tears streamed down her face, making her look fragile and pitiful.

"The cage was custom-made for you; you’ll fit." The Duke put away his lotus pipe, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs. "After you give birth, I will announce your death to the world."

"From then on, you will stay by my side forever, as my pet."

"I will never let you go—"

"Even if I marry in the future, even if I take a female from the Snake Clan as my wife, you will still be my pet."

’Doesn’t she like being a pet?’

’Then she can be his pet for a lifetime.’

’To be played with as he pleases.’

The Duke passed his sentence on her: "...Don’t even think about leaving me in death!"

WAHHH—

Hearing these words, Yu Zhizhi cried even more wretchedly.

The Duke stared at her with a grim expression. His little pet was so delicate even when she cried, gasping for breath as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. She choked on her sobs, looking as if she would cry herself to death right there in the reception hall if he didn’t hold her.

Yu Zhizhi’s crying was heartbreaking.

She thought about how she would have to live in a cage, how she’d be locked up forever, unable to go anywhere. Even if the Duke got married, he wouldn’t let her go; he would imprison her for life.

WAAAH—

Even if he was the Duke, he couldn’t just strip her of her freedom like this.

Before she reached Level 10, the system would keep giving her tasks.

Without freedom, she wouldn’t be able to complete the tasks, and she would eventually be erased...

As Yu Zhizhi cried, her upper body slumped forward. She leaned against the Duke’s knees, her head tilted to the side, tears running from her nose toward her ear.

SOB SOB SOB...