Would he find her ugly upon such a close and thorough inspection? Being compared to the elf or the dog-kin must’ve made her seem rather lacking. Jasmine glanced at Quinlan apprehensively while waiting for his verdict.
“Hmm… Nice, I like this getup. It fits you perfectly well.” He nodded after some deliberation, making her heart skip a beat as the suffocating weight was lifted from her shoulders.
“Kaelira, are you ready to go?” Quinlan asked while eyeing the second elf who seemed to be busy scribbling something on a paper at a desk.
“Just one second, Lord Quinlan!” She shouted and her pen strokes sped up so that she could finish as soon as possible.
Once done, she stood and walked over to them before grabbing the chains of her iron collar and handing it to Quinlan. Seraphiel did the same.
He took both chains in his left hand while offering Jasmine his right arm. She reached out to grab onto it like a noble lady might.
Her posture conveyed both hesitation and trust – she didn’t lean into him entirely, but the way her arms tensed against his made it clear she was holding on for dear life. Quinlan exuded a calm aura that radiated boundless confidence, and in her overwhelmed state, she found herself instinctively drawn to his steadiness.
The gentle scent of his cologne lingered in the air between them. Jasmine couldn’t help but lean in to get a stronger smell of his scent before tentatively glancing up at him with unsure eyes studying whether he’d seen her shameful actions. He gave no sign of that being the case, so she quickly lowered her eyes with relief just as her cheeks started turning pink.
“For today, your name shall be Pink while mine is Black, okay?” He spoke up all of a sudden.
She thought about it for a second before uncertainly replying, “Umm… that’s a bit too girly for my tastes.”
Quinlan glanced at her with a curious expression before asking, “then?”
“Blue sounds much better if we’re sticking to colors.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Then you are Blue. Here, take this mask.” Quinlan handed her a little fox mask that perfectly hid her eyes but it didn’t cover her entire face, letting her noble aura remain. He took one out for himself as well, it was a wolf mask.
Jasmine did not at all understand what was going on, but she went along with her date’s wishes and put the mask on without asking any questions. She didn’t want to seem like a girl who was too rigid and reserved, but a fun one who could match this very chaotic man’s seemingly boundless energy.
“Let’s roll. [Warp Gate].”
The same ominous portal materialized, eliciting a scared gasp from Jasmine’s lips. The last time she crossed one, she was already through it before she even noticed it since Blossom kidnapped her. Now, however, she had to collect all her bravery to steel her heart.
She gulped and her grip around Quinlan’s arm tightened. She also closed her eyes before taking the plunge and stepping into the portal.
Jasmine could feel the atmosphere around her shift completely, and when she opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but stare around the surroundings in complete disbelief.
They were in an alley, but not any alley! She could recognize the architecture any day. They were in Valorian, the capital city of the Vraven Kingdom!
Enjoy more content from empire
When she heard Quinlan say they would come here, her brain simply couldn’t comprehend that he meant like this! She thought that this date might take a month due to all the traveling that would have to be involved… not that she would’ve complained even though her life was very hectic right now. In fact, she couldn’t help but glance at the swirling doorway with mild annoyance evident in her beautiful crystal blue eyes.
This ugly thing just robbed her of spending an entire month with him!
“Can I ask what sort of spell this is?”
“I’m afraid explanations will have to come later.” Quinlan shot her down without a shred of mercy.
“My Lord!! This lowly one wishes to start the day by visiting a shop for blacksmiths!” Ambition, or rather Kaelira as Jasmine had learned, shouted cheerily and began eagerly making her way toward the main street with so much gusto that her chain strained in Quinlan’s hand. The very athletic woman thus looked more like a dog being taken on a walk than a dejected slave girl.
Both Quinlan and Seraphiel laughed at the sight before the former pulled her back in. “Ah!” Kaelira yelped in shock when she realized that her movements had been restrained. “My lord?!”
“I know that you’re super excited to set up the first real smithy of your life, but we all have a role to play while in this territory. I’m a typical arrogant noble duchebag and you’re my elven sex slave who I took out to the streets with the sole intention of boosting my image, thus I can’t have you dragging me around no matter how much I love seeing your joyous smile. Bear with it for me and when we get home, you can be your true self again.”
Quinlan’s explanation made her eyes widen with surprise. “… Love seeing my smile?” Kaelira didn’t expect these words from her lord, it almost sounded like he was… flirting with her? He never did that, she thought he didn’t like women with defined abs, or perhaps she was just not to his tastes.
Back when she first met the real him in his home, she thought that he might not be interested in elves as a whole due to there not being any elven women in his harem, but his incessant back-and-forth flirting with Seraphiel quickly dissuaded any such thoughts from her mind.
Be that as it may, she got the memo. “Yes, Lord! This lowly one apologizes for her careless actions.” She decreed while bowing deeply.
I accepted her apology.
With that out of the way, it was time to begin our date day, and what a day it would end up becoming…