Although Su Duan understood that flowers didn't have that meaning in the eyes of humans, he still froze for a moment, feeling a little bit reluctant.

Audrose was extremely perceptive and of course didn't miss the slight reluctance in his eyes.

He frowned and asked, "Is there a problem?"

The work he arranged for Su Duan only required carrying a watering can and shaking it a few times, without needing to touch the flowers, so there was no need to worry about getting pricked. In fact, even if Su Duan slacked off and didn't water, it would be fine, because this so-called watering job was something he made up on a whim.

Those irises were all carefully selected varieties that already had dedicated staff regularly checking and maintaining them. Even if Su Duan didn't water them, naturally someone else would go water them.

He would instruct the butler not to be too strict with Su Duan. As long as he didn't cause trouble, just let him be.

Audrose dared to say, in the entire prince's mansion, you couldn't find an easier job than this.

Su Duan shook his head and said dejectedly, "No."

Audrose stared at him for a few seconds and thought of a possibility: "Do you have hay fever?" With technological advancements, human genes were constantly evolving and improving, so this disease was actually very rare now. But among unevolved populations, there was still an extremely small number of people who suffered from it.

"..." Su Duan was stunned for a moment, a hint of something unreadable flashing through his black eyes, and he firmly said, "No!"

If he had hay fever, then he wouldn't be able to be pollinated. This point must be made clear.

Audrose didn't understand why his reaction suddenly became so intense, but as long as it wasn't hay fever, that was good. "Then from now on, you will obediently water the flowers. If you don't do a good job, you will be punished."

Although he had already decided to have the butler turn a blind eye to the little slave, these things couldn't be let known to the little slave, otherwise he would be spoiled rotten.

Su Duan nodded and promised in a muffled voice, "I will work hard."

There was nothing more to discuss after that. Audrose summoned the butler and had him take Su Duan to see his room.

Su Duan was assigned a single room. Although it wasn't large, it was already very good treatment among slaves.

Most slaves lived in six-person or eight-person rooms. Only the highest-ranking batch of slaves had a chance of being assigned a single room like this.

Su Duan secretly breathed a sigh of relief at not having to live with strangers.

"...Your work hours are at ten in the morning and five in the evening. If the humidity monitor outside the garden drops below the critical point, then water. If not, then no need to bother. The tools are in storage unit number three next to the garden. Here is the key."

Su Duan obediently reached out to take the key. "Mm-hmm."

The butler handed over the key and noticed the silver ring on his hand, his eyes flickering.

He remembered that when this slave was brought back by His Highness the Prince, he had nothing on him. How was it that after just one trip to the study, a ring appeared on his hand?

And it was in the shape of an iris.

Irises were the favorite flower of His Highness the Prince's mother, Empress Sefir, when she was alive. This was something the entire empire's citizens knew.

Although Prince Audrose had never shown any special fondness for this flower, due to Empress Sefir's influence, his personal belongings basically all used the iris as a mark.

The origin of this ring was obvious.

Thinking of how His Highness the Prince specifically instructed him through the personal terminal not to be too strict with this slave, a hint of thoughtfulness flashed through the butler's eyes.

......

After the butler finished his instructions and left, Su Duan first explored the entire not-so-large room, and then started playing with the spatial ring Audrose gave him, trying to put things from the room into it and take them out again.

Su Duan finally concluded, "This is very similar to the 'storage rings' or 'storage pouches' I've seen human cultivators use, but the principles are completely different."

Storage rings used spiritual power to create an independent space, while spatial buttons were entirely the crystallization of technological power.

The system said, "All roads lead to Rome."

So Su Duan learned a new idiom from the system.

With only himself there, it was still a bit boring after all. Su Duan played for a while and then curled up on the bed and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already two or three o'clock, completely missing lunchtime.

Su Duan rubbed his soft little belly, feeling hungry.

But he still remembered that heartless person who made him go water the reproductive organs of other plants. He first asked the system, "Where is Audrose?"

The system said, "System detects that the treatment target is currently repairing a mech 30 kilometers away from you. He will probably need two hours to return."

Su Duan said, "I understand, thank you."

Since Audrose wasn't home, he would have to go find food for himself.

Trying hard to recall the location of the kitchen the butler told him, with the system's help, Su Duan found the place where slaves got their meals.

Because it was already past mealtime, only one person on duty remained in the kitchen. He had dark skin, very prominent muscles, and a fierce appearance. He looked not like a cook, but more like a thug.

Su Duan was startled when he first saw him.

But this fierce-looking slave actually had a pretty good temper. Although Su Duan came to get food after lunchtime, he showed not the slightest bit of impatience. After confirming Su Duan's name, he asked if he was new, and then handed over a tube of nutrient solution.

Su Duan said, "Yes, I arrived this morning. Thank you." Then he held the green nutrient solution, spacing out.

- Was this thing really edible?

The answer was that not only was this thing in his hand edible, it was the staple food of most people in this world.

Due to geological and environmental reasons, plants were scarce in this world, leading to high vegetable prices. Even some minor nobles didn't have the means to eat vegetables for three meals a day.

Under these circumstances, nutrient solutions were created. They were artificially synthesized, containing the nutrients and elements a normal meal should have. They were also convenient to consume and came in many flavors... Of course, the main thing was still the cheap price.

The price of a small head of cabbage was enough to purchase a hundred tubes of mid-priced nutrient solution.

So even many noble households would often choose nutrient solutions as their main meals.

The food provided to slaves at Audrose's mansion was not bad. The one Su Duan held in his hand was mid-grade nutrient solution, the staple of average households.

But looking at the bizarre color, Su Duan still felt a bit hesitant to put it in his mouth.

It wasn't until he returned to his own room that Su Duan opened the nutrient solution, cautiously taking a small taste.

...The flavor was actually not bad?

In any case, it tasted much more normal than it looked, and this tube happened to be the sweet flavor he liked. Su Duan licked it clean like eating a dessert.

However, facts proved that the nutrient solution was much more filling than dessert. Just a tube the size of a finger made Su Duan so full he kept burping.

It seemed that eating half a tube next time would suffice. There was a very small freezer in his room where he could store the remaining nutrient solution.

After resting for a while, Su Duan checked the time and saw it was almost five o'clock. He went to the garden, took the watering can and filled it with water, preparing to work.

But after Su Duan rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, he discovered that the humidity detector outside the garden showed the soil moisture in the garden was quite high and didn't need watering yet. He stared blankly at the detector for a few seconds, then had no choice but to put down the watering can and slip away.

A female slave walked up to him and asked, "Are you new here?"

This was the second time today Su Duan heard this question. He had been asked the same thing earlier when he went to the kitchen to get the nutrient solution.

This female slave was very beautiful, with light blue eyes a bit like Audrose, but her expression was very cold. The way she looked at Su Duan carried a hint of sizing him up. Su Duan instinctively didn't want to interact with her.

Su Duan cautiously took two steps back, nodded, pulled down his sleeves, and prepared to leave.

The female slave suddenly grabbed his arm with great force. Su Duan couldn't break free.

She looked at Su Duan's arm and her face changed. "You don't have a slave mark."

Su Duan was stunned for a moment before realizing she was talking about the slave brand. At the market, Audrose had refused the slave trader's offer to brand him, and didn't bring it up again after they returned. He thought the matter had passed.

Su Duan softly said "It's none of your business", and forcefully swung his arm, but this female slave's strength was surprisingly great. Not only did he fail to shake her off, he even hurt himself a bit.

The female slave impatiently said, "Come with me."

This female slave seemed to have quite a high status. Su Duan was dragged along by her. They encountered a few other slaves along the way, but they only glanced at the two before going about their own business, having no intention of meddling.

Only when passing by the kitchen did the tall slave on duty there come out and ask about the situation.

After understanding what was going on, the tall slave said, "He's new here and may be a special case. You should ask the butler first."

The female slave gave him a cold look. "Slaves are slaves, what's so special? He'll have to be branded sooner or later. Bothering the butler with such a small matter, do you want me to be punished?"

Towards the end, her voice almost turned shrill.

The tall slave watched their receding figures with furrowed brows, then turned to lock the kitchen and went to find the butler.

That new slave had black hair and black eyes. Such slaves tended to have weak bodies. Back when he was still at the slave market, he had personally witnessed a black-haired, black-eyed slave being branded. There had been a lot of blood, and a few days later, he heard that slave died because the wound couldn't heal.

......

Su Duan, who was being roughly dragged along, was very angry. He was a very quiet herb and basically never got mad at people, but this female slave grabbed his arm right from the start, which was extremely rude.

And from the looks of it, she was going to take him to get that very painful branding.

Audrose hadn't made him do it, so what right did this person have to drag him along?

The angry Su Duan decided to fight back. He asked the system, "Do you have anything in your store that can make me stronger?"

The system said, "Yes yes, Host. This 'spinach with an iron content 1000 times higher' can increase your strength to 10 times the original for one hour, which is more than enough to deal with the person in front of you."

While the system was introducing the item to him, the female slave had already forcibly brought him to a room. The room was very dark with only a strange-looking machine inside, likely used for branding slaves.

The female slave pressed the power switch on the machine. A faint beeping sound rang out as the machine started up.

Su Duan asked, "This, uh, how much experience does the spinach cost?"

The system said, "50 experience points."

It actually cost as much as five painkillers!

Su Duan felt a slight heartache for a second. Seeing that his arm had already been dragged next to the machine by the female slave, with the scorching heat making his arm hair stand on end, he immediately decided, "Buy it! Use it now!"

The system said, "Alright, Host!"

With a whoosh, 50 experience points were deducted.

In that instant, Su Duan felt a warm current surge through his body, his limbs suddenly filled with strength. He pulled his arm back again, easily breaking free this time.

The female slave looked at Su Duan who had suddenly turned tough, stunned for a moment before seemingly getting enraged, her expression turning even more vicious as she reached out to grab him again.

To get revenge for being dragged along the whole way, Su Duan forcefully shoved the female slave's shoulder.

The effect of this shove was immediate. The female slave staggered back several steps, her head slamming against the cold, hard metal frame of the doorway with a bang. She let out a scream and squatted on the ground clutching her head.

However, even while in too much pain to stand up, she still glared at Su Duan with an almost vicious gaze, cursing under her breath.

Hmm... Although Su Duan couldn't understand what she was saying, he could guess it was nothing good.

Su Duan stood there hesitating, pursing his lips as he unkindly thought, should he give her another shove?

But before he could reach a conclusion, a familiar figure appeared at the open doorway.

It was Audrose.

Su Duan froze, glancing at the female slave squatting on the ground with a pained expression, then at himself standing there perfectly fine. He didn't know how to explain.

From this scene, no matter how you looked at it, he was the one bullying others... Su Duan shrank back his hands.

The female slave cooperatively let out a small sob, calling Audrose "Master" in a gentle voice, sounding utterly aggrieved and pitiful, not at all like the vicious cursing from moments ago.

Su Duan: "..." How could this woman's acting switch so quickly?

However, Audrose didn't even glance at the female slave crouching by the door. He strode over in a few steps and rolled up Su Duan's sleeve, only breathing a sigh of relief after confirming there were no injuries on his arm. He looked Su Duan up and down, his deep blue eyes appearing especially gloomy, and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Su Duan, with his arm being gripped, dazedly shook his head.

Audrose was wearing the black cloak from when they first met, likely having just returned from outside. His brows were tightly furrowed, a rare obvious displeasure showing on his face.

Although the little slave seemed to have no issues, the prince still gave him a rough pat-down all over before feeling reassured.

This morning he had gone out originally to repair a mech, but unexpectedly encountered a little slave, completely forgetting about it, so he had to make another trip in the afternoon.

But as soon as he got home, he saw the butler and a slave walking with hurried expressions. After asking, he learned that in the mere two hours he was gone, the newly purchased little slave had gotten into trouble.

Audrose had originally thought his residence was very safe, but facts proved he had been too presumptuous.

Although he had confirmed the little slave had no injuries besides some redness on his wrists from being grabbed, the inexplicable panic in his heart wouldn't dissipate. Audrose took off his cloak and wrapped the little slave entirely in the garment carrying his scent before finally calming down a bit.

Passing by the door, he glanced down at the female slave still crouching on the ground, his gloomy blue eyes carrying obvious coldness.

The female slave, originally still weakly crying, froze upon being swept by that gaze. After Audrose left with Su Duan, she began trembling uncontrollably, tears continuously welling up.

This time it was from true fear.

......

The cloak that fit perfectly on Audrose dragged on the ground on Su Duan. Su Duan had to lift it with his hands to barely be able to walk.

He was brought to Audrose's bedroom.

This bedroom was very large and simple, mixed with some medieval Western European style. A dark wide bed about three to four meters across stood in the center of the room. The room's height was much taller than normal rooms, appearing very spacious. A few thick beams crossed above, purpose unknown.

Audrose took the cloak off him and silently took out a bottle of new repair spray, spraying a layer on his wrists that were red and swollen from being grabbed. After the swelling disappeared, he found a new set of towels and clothes for him and said in a low voice, "Go take a bath."

Su Duan was still a bit dazed. He sensed Audrose was angry, so he became even more timid, without any of the aura from earlier when he pushed that female slave against the door frame and wanted to hit her again. He asked softly, "In your room?"

Audrose nodded. "I'll wait for you outside."

Due to the keen senses of the evolved humans, he could smell the scent of that female slave on the little slave, along with the odor of low-quality perfume, very unpleasant, making him feel exceptionally agitated.

Like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded, something in the depths of his heart was provoked, eager to come out and declare ownership.

Only when the sound of trickling water started in the bathroom did that agitation barely calm a bit.

Su Duan obediently washed himself in the bathroom and came out with a body full of steam and wet hair.

Then Audrose draped a towel over him and gave his head a vigorous rub.

According to past patterns, after his lover had him bathe, he would often pollinate with him, so Su Duan habitually washed every part of his body, with some parts washed several times.

But it seemed Audrose had no intention of pollinating with him... the dazed Su Duan thought.

After drying the little slave's hair, Audrose lowered his head, his nose tip touching the still slightly damp hair, rubbing against it lightly.

The scent on the little slave was very faint, but it could still be smelled up close. It was a strange mix of fresh grass and another bitterness. Honestly it was a bit odd, but Audrose bizarrely found it pleasant, even rapidly becoming enchanted.

Only when the little slave was about to notice did he raise his head, finally giving the little slave's head one last ruffle with the towel.

"Go back and rest. No need to water the garden tomorrow. In a couple days I'll arrange a new job for you," Audrose said as he straightened Su Duan's collar one last time.

The garden was still too far. Since safety couldn't be guaranteed even at home, he still needed to arrange for the person to be somewhere he could see at all times.

......

Su Duan dazedly was brought to take a bath, dazedly returned to his room, and finally dazedly lay on his bed.

He asked, "System, did I just go to Audrose's room to take a bath?"

The system said, "That's correct, host."

Su Duan fell into contemplation. He always felt something was off about Audrose but couldn't specify what.

He asked the system. The system said it could only detect that Audrose indeed had emotional fluctuations, but the specific reason couldn't be determined.

"Wait a minute," Su Duan suddenly realized. "Since Audrose had emotional fluctuations, why didn't the healing value increase?"

The system froze for two seconds. "...About that, sorry host, the system also can't analyze it QAQ."

The more Su Duan thought, the more puzzled he became. Today was still his first day in this world. After experiencing so many things, he wasn't tired to begin with. Before long, he curled up on the bed and dozed off in a daze.

He slept very deeply, not even realizing something quietly pushed open the door and slipped to his bedside.

Under the dim moonlight late at night, a huge figure squeezed part of its body into Su Duan's room. Although large in stature, its movements were exceptionally nimble, not making a single sound.

In the pitch-black room, a pair of deep blue vertical pupils lit up eerily like ghost fires, reflecting the curled up, thin figure on the bed.

......

【Ding, the healing value of the healing target Audrose has increased by 20. The current total healing value of the healing target is 30. Please keep up the good work, host!】

Only when the electronic voice sounded in his mind again did Su Duan startle awake from his sweet dark dreams.

As a result, as soon as he opened his eyes, before he could ask the system how the healing value increased so much, he met two icy blue vertical pupils larger than his head, appearing especially eerie in the dark room.