Kirk felt satisfaction swelling from deep within his chest. A tingling sense of triumph spread across his skin like a pale fire. Nothing had gone his way until now, but seeing Rubia's white face, trembling with fear, finally made the world feel as though it had been set right.0

That was the face a woman was meant to wear. The very idea of her walking about outside was absurd to begin with. A woman's place was either in a brothel or shut within a home. In either case, she needed a collar, properly trained and bound.1

For a mere woman to wander freely, even reaching out for dominion, was a reality so outrageous it almost made him laugh. Above all, that ogress' sudden appearance, pledging herself as Rubia's bodyguard, had tilted the balance sharply against him. The fragile equilibrium of force had been tipped, entirely, to the other side. But now…0

"It's done," Kirk whispered.0

Through the lens of his spyglass, Kirk fixed his gaze on Rubia and smiled with grim delight. The plan had succeeded. At Grassmere's lordship ceremony, before all eyes, she would suffer humiliation beyond repair.0

"Heh… that ogress can't even get back on her feet."0

One of his men muttered at his side, "At this point, she's completely...0