Execute the order faithfully, do you understand?

Moyu disabled the glass's refraction mode, turning the wall transparent. The moment he did, Iris, who had been squatting on the bed, rushed right up to him and pressed her entire body against the glass.

"Good morning, Iris."

Moyu gave a yawn and continued sipping his milk.

Iris had returned to her vampire state; the inhibitor had worn off.

Iris said, "Let me out."

Moyu replied, "I can, but let's get one thing straight first. You have to behave and not try any funny business, or you'll be punished."

Iris said, "Fine."

Moyu manipulated the control panel beside him, opening the containment chamber.

A door rose from the floor.

The two stood face to face.

Iris froze for a split second, then launched a decisive attack. Blood thorns erupted, surging toward Moyu from all directions.

"Tsk, such a disobedient girl."

Without a hint of panic, Moyu snapped his fingers. The blood thorns instantly dissolved, vanishing without a trace.

Iris sat on the floor in a seiza position, completely paralyzed. Her abilities and mobility had been stripped away; now, she could only speak and slightly turn her head.

The restriction belt was truly wonderful.

With a mere thought from Moyu, it could instantly strip the target of all mobility.

"What did you do to me?"

Iris's voice trembled slightly.

Moyu actually detected a hint of fear in her. Without offering an explanation, he hoisted Iris over his shoulder, carried her back into the containment chamber, and casually shut the door behind them.

"What are you going to do?"

"Punish you, of course. Didn't I make that perfectly clear just now?"

Moyu unbuckled his belt and stepped behind Iris.

Realizing what was about to happen, Iris's pretty face flushed crimson, and she cried out in panic, "No! Not that! You can't..."

Smack!

"Ow! It hurts! Why are you hitting me... Wait... hold on, why does it actually hurt?!"

With tear-filled eyes, a mixture of shame and fury, Iris began to feel genuinely frightened. Vampires weren't supposed to feel pain, yet under Moyu's belt, the sting was sharp enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Moyu chuckled darkly.

The restriction belt suppressed abilities.

The blocking of pain reception also fell under the category of abilities. Once restricted, although Iris remained a vampire, she was as fragile and soft as a human—even more so, in fact, because her heightened sensory perception made her experience of pain all the more acute.

Moyu wore the smile of a devil.

"Heh heh heh!"

Iris let out a shrill shriek and immediately resorted to begging for mercy, sliding to her knees at light speed.

The future Empress of the Blood Clan?

Really? Is that it?

Are you a French vampire, by any chance?

Moyu didn't stop.

Crouched in the corner, Iris sobbed continuously. She tried her best to hold back her tears, but couldn't help weeping. Her pitiful, woeful appearance almost made Moyu feel a pang of guilt, as if he were the villain here.

He buckled his belt back up and asked, "Will you be a good girl now?"

"Mm..."

Iris sniffled and nodded.

"Come with me. Let me fill you in on the current situation."

To make Iris work for him sincerely, mere threats of violence were useless; he had to create the illusion that they were both in the same boat.

Holding her backside, Iris stood up and limped along.

It seemed he might have laid it on a bit too thick.

Moyu released the suppression of the restriction belt.

Instantly returning to normal, Iris stopped crying and became thoroughly docile, keeping her head down and not daring to look at Moyu.

Moyu led her on a tour around the space station, explained their current predicament, and even brought out various data logs to back it up.

"...This is a post-apocalyptic world. I am the last human left, and also your only source of food here. We are two grasshoppers tied to the same rope now, do you understand?"

Sitting on the floor in a seiza position, Iris stared blankly out the window at the fragmented planet, unable to accept the reality. "No... impossible. This is fake. It has to be fake."

"You can go outside and see for yourself." Moyu pointed toward the airlock.

Iris ventured outside the space station. Unfazed by the vacuum of space and requiring no protective gear, she moved freely through outer space, using blood thorns as grappling lines to fly back and forth across the massive station.

Moyu sat down and waited.

An hour later, Iris returned, completely soul-smashed and spiritless.

Moyu asked, "Well?"

Without a word, Iris retreated to her containment chamber, curled up hugging her knees in the corner, and began drawing circles on the floor with her finger.

Moyu scratched his head.

Did she seriously just get emo?

He was going to have to paint a grand vision for her.

Giving a couple of coughs, he said, "If you work hard, I might consider taking you to the next timeline."

In a flash, Iris appeared right in front of Moyu. Her tear-dusted eyelashes fluttered as her big eyes stared straight at him. "Really?"

"Really."

"It's a promise!"

"It's a promise~"

A flame of hope flickered in Iris's eyes.

Moyu smiled without elaborating.

He had indeed said he would take Iris to the next timeline, but he hadn't explained that anything brought into the primary timeline would be branded by it and could never remain in a derived timeline.

In other words.

Both Iris and Alice were permanently trapped in the present. Even if they were taken to a derived timeline, they would simply snap right back.

Still, people needed hope to keep going.

With a carrot dangling ahead, they would strive forward with all their might.

"I'll work really hard!"

"Come on, let me give you a detailed rundown of the space station and assign your living quarters."

Moyu pulled Iris along, briefing her thoroughly on the station's layout, assigning her a room, and handing out daily supplies.

Iris went into her room to change.

A moment later, a thoroughly displeased blonde maid emerged.

Her blonde hair was styled in an updo, complementing sapphire-like large eyes, a delicate melon-seed face, and a black-and-white maid outfit adorned with ribbons and bows. White-silk-clad little feet were tucked inside thick-soled black leather boots.

Absolute perfection~

Iris looked down, inspecting the maid outfit with great dissatisfaction. "I don't like this outfit. And, I need... um... underwear..."

"Supplies on the station are scarce, you'll just have to make do for now," Moyu replied. Then, his tone shifting, he declared, "Starting today, you will call me Master, and you will faithfully execute my orders. Understand?"

"No way! Absolutely not!"

Iris reacted strongly.

After all, she had always lived the life of a pampered young miss; everyone else was supposed to call *her* master.

The corners of Moyu's lips curved upward.

He wasn't afraid of her rebelling; what he'd be afraid of is if she didn't rebel at all.

"It seems you still haven't grasped reality."

With a sigh, Moyu stepped forward, scooped Iris up in a bridal style, and carried her straight back into the room. A chorus of loud wailing echoed from within, followed by a sudden clarity in her gaze.

This future Empress of the Blood Clan was far too easy to bully. A simple punishment completely shattered her resistance, and now she was as obedient as a little rabbit.

Moyu asked, "Now, what are you supposed to call me?"

With a blushing face and a tense struggle, Iris finally managed to squeeze out:

"Ma... Master..."

"Didn't catch that. Speak up."

"Master."

"Still can't hear you."

"Master!"

Moyu nodded in satisfaction, reaching out to gently pat Iris's head. Lowering her gaze, she wiped the corners of her eyes.

"Good. That's much better. Such a good girl. Now, I'm going to assign your duties, and you'd better put on a good performance. Do well, and everything is negotiable. But if you slack off or harbor any little schemes, well... heh heh, you know what happens."

"Yes..."

Iris drooped, utterly dejected.