“A slave collar?! Irefi, are you in your right mind?”

I nearly fell backward in shock. This was definitely not the kind of item I’d expect Irefi to collect.

From the beginning, the Eld Empire prohibits slavery except for those guilty of crimes equivalent to treason.

For someone as rigidly principled as her to possess a slave collar was extraordinary.

“Ahem, let me clarify before you misunderstand. I don’t intend to make anyone my slave!”

“That’s a relief… I thought you were planning to put it around Zikharun’s neck for revenge.”

“I’m curious about how low your opinion of me is, Nepy.”

I believe Irefi wouldn’t show me a slave collar for any base purpose.

But truthfully, it’s hard to imagine what legitimate use it could have, so my thoughts were bouncing in strange directions.

“Hmm. May I ask what the purpose of this suspicious collar is?”

“Well…”

Her face flushed with a shy sunset glow as her words trailed off.

That sunset became a powerful bombardment, pounding my heart vigorously. My face seemed to take on the same color as my heartbeat quickened in response.

Irefi sensually moved her pink lips for quite some time.

Finally, she managed to reveal the truth.

“I… got it for myself to wear…”

“…Huh? Whaaat…?”

“You heard me correctly, so stop making that face! I, I got it for myself to wear…!!!”

“But why?! That makes no sense!”

I was the one confused by her fierce confession.

A distinguished noble and former captain of the Imperial Guard. The once-unrivaled “Destroyer” of the continent, Irefi, wanting to wear a slave collar herself.

This was a major incident that would shatter and trample her pride.

“Let me ask you something. Do you know what a slave collar actually is, Nepy?”

“Obviously it’s something that identifies someone as a slave, isn’t it?”

“If you saw someone wearing this collar while walking down the street, would you recognize them as a slave?”

“That would be difficult.”

The collar in the jewelry box wasn’t particularly fancy, but it wasn’t hideous either. It looked like any accessory you might find sold on the street.

That was the extent of its appearance.

“Your judgment is correct. It wasn’t originally created for that purpose.”

“It’s a slave collar but not designed to identify slaves? I don’t understand.”

“That’s wrong. It’s not that it wasn’t designed to identify slaves, but rather that its original purpose was completely different.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t overthink it. This is from another continent, so it would be strange if you knew about it.”

It seems I’ve outwardly shown my complex reasoning.

Irefi cleared her throat, signaling the beginning of a lengthy explanation.

“To explain its purpose, I should first introduce you to creatures called dragons from other continents. They’re sacred beings the size of mansions with lifespans exceeding ten thousand years and all sorts of abilities.”

“Dragons!!!”

“Nepy?”

“Ahem! Nothing, nothing. Please continue.”

I couldn’t help but get excited. I’d just learned about the actual existence of the romantic creatures known as dragons.

The Chain Lich Jahakra had a dragon-like form. But being a Chain Lich monster, it was too hideous to be categorized as a true dragon.

But real dragons actually exist…!

“A dragon’s power is like a natural disaster to humans. Whether you’re doing business, waging war, or pioneering new lands, a single dragon’s appearance can ruin everything.”

“So they really are powerful. Dragons!”

“Well, I suppose so.”

Irefi responded lukewarmly before continuing her explanation.

“The slave collar was created to counter dragons, even if it meant venturing into forbidden territory.”

“This little collar? Against dragons?”

“Yes. The reason it’s called a slave collar is because its essential purpose is ‘subjugation.’ Once it makes contact, everything ends. The creature must obey human commands regardless of its status.”

“Amazing… controlling a dragon with just one collar. But how does this small thing fit on a dragon?”

“It has some size adjustment capabilities. The point is that this small collar can suppress tremendous power.”

At this point, I began to understand the intention behind the slave collar.

But I still couldn’t figure out why Irefi would want to wear such a dangerous item herself.

Irefi seemed determined to amplify my concerns as she continued to reveal more troubling information.

“It can even control thoughts. If ordered to forget something, the wearer must forget. It can make someone hate or like another person. Because of this, after the dragon problem was somewhat resolved, a bloody purge occurred.”

“Ah…”

I somewhat understood the reason now.

After dragons, humans became the targets. Whether a continent’s most beautiful woman or a powerful ruler, all would be helpless before the slave collar.

To prevent the proliferation of slave collars, I imagine the craftsmen and owners were all reduced to pools of blood.

This was just my speculation, of course.

“I obtained this with great, great difficulty. It was quite challenging to extract it from another continent’s black market.”

“That’s why I don’t understand why you’d deliberately want to wear something so dangerous…”

“…”

“You explained all that history just to tell me why you bought the collar, right? This isn’t like the straightforward Irefi I know.”

“Ugh…”

Now that it was time to confess her true purpose, Irefi’s eyes darted downward.

But she couldn’t remain silent forever.

Even the solid prison of shame couldn’t prevent the truth from emerging.

“To sleep together…”

“Kimchi?”

“To sleep together… I’m trying to find a way to sleep with you somehow…!!!”

“W-what?! S-sleep together…!”

Irefi’s shocking outburst contained an enormous amount of meaning.

This concept had been completely excluded from her daily life of maintaining appearances and acting properly.

“Um, if I’m not misunderstanding… you mean that thing we do at night? Really that?!”

“Could you please not ask such teasing questions when you already know…?”

“Huh.”

As I sighed quietly, Irefi also let out a sigh.

The difference was that her sigh was accompanied by damp self-deprecation.

“I know too. We can’t keep postponing it. Although we’re only engaged, we’re not young anymore. Besides, if we consider our actual ages, we’re both well past our sixties and menop—”

“Aaaaargh!!! Stop it, Irefi! That’s a dangerous statement! We’re still twenty-seven, okay?!”

“If that’s what Nepy says, then I suppose so.”

“These days I never get a break for my heart…”

Her attitude has been peculiar since her personality briefly switched with her future self.

It’s as if she wants to completely break away from her former self, becoming bolder in her usual behavior and more open-minded.

Personally, I see it as a positive change. Perhaps it’s evidence that she’s gradually escaping the dark shadows of her past.

“I can guess. You want to seal your overflowing power with the slave collar to prevent accidents, right?”

“It’s embarrassing to admit… but yes, that’s right.”

Certainly, I’d prefer not to experience that bow-bending magic in bed again.

If someone had witnessed our silhouettes that night, they would undoubtedly have given me a bizarre nickname like “Nepy Flip Z.”

But that’s one thing, and this is another. I didn’t want to resort to something as extreme as a slave collar.

“Irefi.”

“Yes.”

“Are you… okay with this? Wearing a slave collar, thinking I might ask for something strange…”

Could it be that she trusts me enough to completely surrender her body to me?

If so, she’s half right and half wrong.

I don’t have the slightest intention of doing anything harmful to Irefi.

But… I questioned whether my reason could block my instinct to try various fantasies.

“Your eyes seem to be sparkling, or is that my imagination?”

“Definitely imagination!”

“Sigh.”

Irefi expressed her disappointment with a sigh. She gave me a half-lidded look as if I were pathetic.

“Are you stupid, Nepy? As if I could be subjugated by something as trivial as a slave collar.”

“Huh…?”

“The collar is simply meant to control my physical strength according to your commands. Nothing more, nothing less.”

With that single statement, she rendered all the lengthy explanations I’d heard completely useless.

Experiencing severe cognitive dissonance was inevitable.

“What about all that talk of absolute obedience, mind control, and everything else?”

“Those are all objective facts. They just don’t apply objectively to me.”

“But you clearly said even dragons couldn’t resist this…”

“That’s for dragons.”

“…What?”

How many times had I pathetically repeated question words?

The calm facts Irefi revealed next made me feel incredibly insignificant.

“They may be called dragons, but they’re just winged lizards in the end, aren’t they?”

“But they’re dragons, right? Masters of all kinds of magic, and as you said, creatures comparable to natural disasters…”

“Magic, yes. That’s what they called it on other continents. But it’s just at the level of animals performing tricks.”

“This is insane…”

Irefi’s scale was suddenly put into a new perspective.

Right, my fiancée is the world’s strongest knight.

Unprecedented. Unparalleled. Supreme.

All these modifiers seemed prepared exclusively for her.

With just one sword, she could bring the continent to destruction. If she wished, she had the power to end the world.

‘No matter how many dragons there are, one swing of Splitting Heaven and Earth would make everything equal…’

I recalled when I twisted her sword path with my desperate humor.

The sensation of my body hair standing on end was remarkably chilling.

The precious thing that saved the world from the crisis of destruction was nutritious bean sprouts.

“Nepy, you’re having strange thoughts again. Don’t you ever get tired of it…”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I can read even your blank stare by now.”

“Looking at things like this, we have been together for a long time, haven’t we?”

“Not for normal reasons, but yes.”

“Heh.”

“Hehe.”

Without either of us initiating it, we laughed simultaneously.

Who would have thought we’d end up together when the imperial order to live with Irefi first came down?

If someone had told our past selves about our current situation, we would have denied it in terror. That’s how dramatically the relationship between Irefi and me has changed.

“Nepy.”

“Yes.”

In the relaxed atmosphere, she moved right next to me.

Close enough that her clear, flowing white hair touched my elbow.

She looked up at me from my shoulder.

“You know.”

Sapphire eyes reflecting moonlight.

Her beautiful eyes, unique only to her, appealed to me with a surface of rippling blue lakes.

With reason united with emotions that had been laid to rest at the bottom of the lake,

She carefully asked me.

“Would you put it on me yourself?”

My gaze slowly shifted to the jewelry box. There was only one item she could be asking me to put on her.

By the time I tried to ask for confirmation, it was already too late.

“The slave collar.”

She kindly provided the answer.

“Irefi…”

In the early evening when dusk was faintly losing its power.

A time when the circulating twilight gradually filled the void of the fading sunset.

In the office cluttered with scattered pens and documents awaiting approval.

A space whose strictly business-like atmosphere gave the impression of being very much like her.

There, only Nepy and Irefi, two foolish people, sat with blushing cheeks.