Morning arrived with a biting chill. The fire in the hearth had burned down to ash, leaving the cabin cold and gray.
Bram had left before dawn, his heavy boots crunching on the frost-covered grass outside as he headed to the deeper woods to check his trap lines.
Elara was in the kitchen, quietly kneading dough, her movements mechanical and submissive. She didn't look at Kael as he sipped his tea.
She simply placed a bowl of porridge in front of him, touched his shoulder with a lingering, trembling hand, and retreated.
Kael ignored her for now. His focus was on the ladder leading to the loft.
Creak. Creak.
Lila descended. She looked less put-together than the night before. Her hair was messy, and there were dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well.
She clutched the small, glittering gemstone Kael had given her tightly in her fist, as if it were a lifeline.
She hit the floor and marched straight up to the table. She slammed her hand down next to Kael's bowl.
"Payment," she demanded, her voice raspy but sharp. "Ten gold. Now."
Kael blew on his tea, the steam curling around his face. "Good morning to you too, Lila. Did you sleep well?"
"Cut the crap," Lila hissed, glancing at her mother in the kitchen. Elara was facing away, humming a tune, clearly lost in her own world. Lila lowered her voice.
"Dad is gone. Mom is... distracted. Give me the money, or I start screaming."
Kael set his cup down slowly. He looked up at her, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips.
"I don't have any gold," he said simply.
Lila froze. Her eyes bulged. "What?"
"I don't have ten gold coins," Kael repeated.
"I don't even have one. I came here with the clothes on my back, remember?"
Lila's face twisted into a mask of rage. "You liar! You said we had a deal! You gave me this—" she held up the gemstone "—as collateral!"
"Exactly," Kael said. "Collateral. A guarantee of value. Do you know what that stone is, Lila?"
"It's a ruby," she scoffed. "Or a garnet. I'll sell it in the city if you don't pay up."
"It's not a ruby," Kael corrected softly. "It's a Soul-Binding Stone. And by accepting it, you didn't just accept a rock. You accepted a contract."
He activated the System.
[Skill Activated: Arcane Binding Contract]
[Condition Met: Target accepted the gift greedily.]
[Terms: The debt must be paid. If monetary payment is impossible, service must be rendered. ]
Suddenly, the gemstone in Lila's hand flared with a pulsing crimson light.
"Ow!" Lila shrieked, dropping the stone.
But the stone didn't hit the floor. It dissolved into a red mist before it even left her palm, seeping directly into her skin.
A glowing red sigil, a stylized chain appeared on the back of her hand, burning like a brand.
Lila stumbled back, clutching her wrist. "What... what did you do?! What is this?"
"It's the contract," Kael said, standing up. He didn't look like a lost city boy anymore. The air around him grew heavy, suffocating.
"You tried to blackmail me, Lila. You tried to sell your silence. A merchant must honor her deals. You accepted the collateral. Now, you owe me."
"I don't owe you anything!" Lila yelled. She turned to the door.
"I'm telling Dad! I'm telling him right now!"
She took two steps toward the door.
[Contract Enforcement: Active]
Lila's legs locked up. She gasped, her body freezing in place as if invisible wires were holding her back.
She struggled, her boots sliding on the wood, but she couldn't take another step toward the exit.
"You can't leave," Kael said, his voice echoing with the Cognitive Nudge.
"You haven't paid your debt. A merchant never runs from a debt, Lila. It's against the code."
"Let me go!" she cried, panic setting in.
"Mom! Mom, help me! He's doing something!"
Elara turned around from the counter. She looked at Lila, then at Kael.
Kael held up a hand.
"It's okay, Elara. Lila and I are just... discussing business. She's agreed to help me with an inventory check."
Elara's eyes glazed over. The logic settled in. Business. Inventory. Help the guest.
"Oh," Elara smiled vacantly.
"That's nice, dear. Work hard." She turned back to her dough.
Lila stared at her mother's back in horror.
"Mom? Mom!"
"She can't hear you," Kael whispered, stepping up behind Lila. He leaned close to her ear, smelling the sweat of her fear.
"Not the way you want her to. Now, about that debt."
He walked around her, circling her like a shark.
"You demanded ten gold coins," Kael mused.
"That is a significant sum. Since I cannot pay in cash, and you have accepted the contract, the debt reverses. You now owe me the value of ten gold coins to break the binding."
"I... I don't have ten gold!" Lila stammered, tears pricking her eyes. The magical pressure was making her head swim.
"I know," Kael said.
"You have no assets. No wagon. No goods." He stopped in front of her, his eyes raking over her body.
"But you do have inventory."
Lila's breath hitched. She wrapped her arms around herself.
"No. You're sick."
"I'm a businessman," Kael corrected.
"And I need to appraise the value of your assets to see if they cover the debt."
He pointed a finger at her. "Strip."
"Go to hell!"
[Contract Enforcement: Penalty]
A jolt of pain, not sharp, but a dull, throbbing ache—shot through Lila's abdomen. It forced her to double over.
But mixed with the pain was a strange, sickening heat. A throb of pleasure that made her knees weak.
"The contract demands compliance," Kael stated coldly.
"Every time you refuse, the interest rate goes up. And the penalty gets... hotter."
Lila gasped, clutching her stomach. Her body was betraying her. The magic was rewiring her resistance, turning her defiance into arousal.
"Please," she whimpered. "Don't make me."
"I'm not making you," Kael said, using his Cognitive Nudge.
"This is just an appraisal. You want to be a merchant, right? You have to know the value of your goods. How can I forgive the debt if I don't know what you're worth?"
Logic. Twisted, sick logic. But under the influence of the System, it started to make sense. I have to pay. I have to show him the goods.
With shaking hands, Lila reached for the buttons of her blouse.
"Good girl," Kael encouraged, sitting back down on the edge of the table. "Show me."
Slowly, agonizingly, Lila undid the buttons. She pulled the white fabric open, revealing a simple linen camisole underneath.
Her face was burning with humiliation, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Off," Kael commanded.
She pulled the blouse off and dropped it on the floor. Then the camisole.
She stood topless in the middle of the kitchen.
Her breasts were smaller than her mother's, perky, barely a handful, with pale pink nipples that hardened instantly in the cold air.
Kael looked at her critically. He didn't drool. He looked like a customer inspecting a piece of fruit.
"Small," Kael noted aloud.
"Standard quality. Nothing exotic. Two gold coins."
Lila flinched as if he had slapped her. "I... I am not..."
" pants," Kael interrupted.
Lila sobbed, a broken sound. She unbuckled her leather breeches and shoved them down. She kicked them away. She was left in plain cotton panties.
"Turn around," Kael ordered.
She obeyed, turning her back to him.
"Hmm. Better," Kael commented. "Good muscle tone from the city work. The hips are narrow, but the legs are strong. Let's say... three gold coins."
He did the math aloud. "Total value so far: five gold. You're still short, Lila. You owe me five more."
Lila turned back around, covering herself with her hands. She was trembling violently, her pride shattered. She was the smart one.
She was the one who was going to make it in the city. And now she was standing naked in her parents' kitchen, being priced like cattle by a man she tried to extort.
"Please," she begged, her voice tiny. "I'll do anything else. I'll clean. I'll cook."
"Elara already cooks and cleans," Kael dismissed. "I don't need a maid. I need... amusement."
He stood up and walked toward her. Lila flinched, but she couldn't move. The contract held her feet to the floor.
Kael reached out and hooked a finger under the waistband of her panties.
"Your mother is very accommodating," Kael whispered. "But she is... soft. You, Lila, you have fire. I think that fire is worth five gold coins."
He snapped the elastic band against her skin.
"Here is the new deal," Kael said.
"You will be my personal assistant. You will ensure your mother stays obedient. And at night... you will help me with my 'stress relief' when Elara is too tired. If you do that, the debt is paused."
Lila stared at him, wide-eyed. "You want me to... to help you use my mother?"
"I want you to manage the household," Kael corrected.
"Like a good merchant manager. Do we have a deal? or do I finish the appraisal and take the rest of the payment right now?"
He looked pointedly at her crotch.
Lila squeezed her eyes shut. The shame was overwhelming, but the fear was stronger. And beneath it all, the Contract was pulsing, sending waves of heat through her blood, making her want to say yes.
"Deal," she whispered. "We have a deal."
[Contract Updated]
[New Role: Manager / Pet.]
[Corruption Progress: 15% (Humiliated / Trapped).]
"Excellent," Kael smiled. "Now, get dressed. You look unprofessional."
Lila scrambled to pick up her clothes, her fingers fumbling with the buttons. She dressed as fast as she could, wiping her tears.
"Oh, and Lila?" Kael called out as he returned to his porridge.
She froze, fully dressed but feeling more naked than ever. "Yes?"
"Your mother missed a spot on the floor over there," Kael pointed to a clean patch of wood. "Clean it. On your hands and knees. Consider it your first task as manager."
Lila looked at the floor. Then she looked at Kael. Her jaw tightened, her old spark trying to ignite, but the brand on her hand burned warningly.
She dropped to her knees. She crawled over to the spot. And she began to scrub nothing.
Kael watched her ass sway in the air as she scrubbed.
One broken, he thought. Now, to train her.