Useless Female? All The Beasts Want Me

"Your Highness, take a look at this one. He's strong and sturdy. No matter what you do to him, he'll endure it all."

"And there's this one. He's thinner, but very sensitive. Just one lash of the whip, and the way he screams will excite you."

"This one over here... no matter how badly you treat him, he won't resist. Beat him hard enough, and he'll only cry and beg for mercy. Perfect if you enjoy breaking someone completely..."

Greed and lust hung heavily in the night air of the slave market.

The slavers hurried to crowd around Ella Morgan, their faces glowing with eager flattery.

Everyone knew that Ella, the third Princess, despite being only a C-level female with weak spiritual power, always spent money lavishly without hesitation.

In their eyes, there was only one reason she would appear in a small and filthy slave market like this.

She had obviously come to choose a few male slaves for her personal amusement.

Their constant chatter made Ella's head pound.

It had been three days since she transmigrated into this werecreature universe.

In her previous life, she had been an ordinary office worker, squeezed dry by endless overtime until she worked herself to death at her desk. When she first woke up and realized she had become a princess, she nearly wanted to celebrate with champagne.

Unfortunately, that excitement disappeared the moment she absorbed the memories of this body.

She realized she had transmigrated into a novel.

She had read this novel before. The story centered around the true princess of the Central Empire, an S-level female who had been separated from her family and raised elsewhere. After finally returning home, she was treasured by her parents, adored by her two older brothers, and became deeply involved with more than a dozen exceptional males before ending up with all of them by her side.

Back then, Ella had enjoyed reading it quite a lot. Watching so many outstanding males grow jealous and compete for the heroine's affection had been undeniably entertaining.

But the problem was that she had not become the heroine.

She had become the fake princess, Ella.

Even while reading the novel before, Ella had disliked this character who shared the same name as her.

It wasn't even because the character was especially evil. Compared to typical villainesses who poisoned people, framed others, or hired assassins, the character had never committed any unforgivable crimes. She was merely obsessed with handsome males, spoiled by her status, and burdened with weak spiritual power.

Even so, the author of the novel seemed determined to pour every ounce of malice onto her.

The moment the true princess returned, the parents who had once spoiled Ella immediately viewed her as a fraud who had stolen their daughter's place. Her two older brothers, who had once protected her so fiercely, began to resent her for taking everything that rightfully belonged to their real sister. The males Ella had once admired turned against her with cruel words, while the nobles who had once flattered her openly ridiculed her.

Later in the story, even after the character Ella experienced a dramatic rise in spiritual power and became a rare S-level female, she still lost completely to the heroine's overwhelming plot armor.

In the end, everything was taken from her, and she was exiled to the Barren Star, where she eventually starved to death.

Meanwhile, the heroine was living a sweet and carefree life with all of her males.

Back when Ella read that ending, it had infuriated her. She had never expected that one day, she would have to face that fate herself.

After transmigrating, she spent a long time thinking things through and came to one conclusion.

The story had only just begun. She still had a chance to change her future.

There were still two full years before the real princess returned.

And Ella's spiritual power had not gone through its second awakening yet. She was still only at C-level.

What she needed to do now was secure enough resources to protect herself before the real princess came back.

Money?

Because of her weak spiritual power, the old Ella had developed a habit of spending recklessly to hide her insecurity. Even with an enormous monthly allowance, almost nothing remained in her account.

Power?

Although the old Ella was a female, who had a high social status in this universe, her spiritual power was painfully weak. On top of that, she had been spoiled as a princess and refused to take on any responsibilities, leaving her without any real authority in the empire.

Ella spent the entire night thinking before finally setting her sights on the males.

She planned to compete with the real princess for them.

Naturally, she had no intention of fighting over the male leads who were completely devoted to the heroine. The males she wanted were the important characters who didn't end up with the heroine.

To put it simply, she planned to win over the males the heroine had overlooked.

For example, Kyson Howe, the heroine's most loyal guard later in the story.

Kyson came from the family of a convicted traitor. Two years ago, his family collapsed. Some relatives were executed, while the rest were exiled. As for him, he was reduced to a slave and eventually sold into the slave market.

In the original novel, by the time the heroine found him, he had already endured four years of torture in that living hell and was barely clinging to life. After the heroine bought him and treated his injuries, Kyson became deeply devoted to her.

Now, Ella was here two years before the heroine would arrive. Getting Kyson to pledge that loyalty to her sounded like a great idea.

With that thought, Ella continued walking deeper into the slave market.

In the novel, Kyson was described as a member of the wolf pack with a "criminal slave" tattoo branded across his face.

Ella searched for nearly ten minutes but still could not find anyone matching that description.

The slaver beside her continued rambling through his sales pitch. Ella interrupted him coldly.

"Do you have any criminal slaves? Preferably a werewolf."

The slaver paused for a moment at her words.

Most females who came here looking for criminal slaves wanted someone they could freely abuse.

It seemed Ella truly had come to find someone to vent her frustrations on.

At that moment, another slaver nearby, who had failed to squeeze through the crowd earlier, suddenly brightened.

"Your Highness, I have exactly the one you're looking for!"

Ella lifted a brow and tipped her chin slightly. "Lead the way."

The slaver instantly bent over with eager politeness and hurried to guide her farther into the market.

The deeper they went, the stronger the smell of blood in the air became.

At last, they stopped in front of a cage.

It was cramped and draped with a thick black cloth, resembling an oversized kennel.

With a flattering smile, the slaver yanked the cloth away.

"This one hasn't been fully broken yet, but he is tough and can endure plenty of punishment. He's still young, too, so he heals quickly. You can keep using him for a very long time..."

Inside the cage, Kyson listened quietly as the slaver listed his so-called "merits."

He lowered his eyes toward the shackles binding his hands and feet and clenched the gag tightly between his teeth.

He wondered who had come for him this time.

Whoever it was, he only hoped they would kill him quickly instead of dragging out the torture any longer.

Suddenly, light poured into the cage, so bright that he instinctively narrowed his eyes.

Through his blurred vision, he could barely make out a slender figure standing outside.

A sweet, clean scent drifted through the heavy smell of blood and rushed into his nose.

Kyson forced himself to lift his head, trying to see the female more clearly.

Under the glare of the light, all he could distinguish was a pair of eyes that suddenly seemed to shine brightly.

Then, he heard her clear voice.

"I'll take him!"

The slaver was quick to read the situation. The moment he noticed the satisfaction in Ella's expression, he immediately raised the price to twenty thousand coins.

Ella didn't find the price unacceptable. There were a hundred thousand coins left in her account.

Without hesitation, she handed over her bank card.

The slaver accepted it with a wide grin.

Once the cage door opened, he kicked the side of it twice and shouted, "Get out! Greet your new owner!"

The silver-haired young male slowly crawled out of the cage before kneeling silently on the ground.

He had heard every word of the slaver's introduction of him. In his mind, the female who bought him was most likely planning to use him to vent her frustrations.

Part of him even hoped she would be brutal.

At least then he could die sooner and end his misery that way.

When he remained motionless, the slaver lifted his foot to kick him.

Ella immediately placed her hands on her hips and snapped, "How dare you kick him? Who gave you permission to touch what's mine?"

The slaver instantly bent over in apology and retreated a step. "Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Using both hands, he lifted the chains attached to Kyson and respectfully handed them, along with the keys, to Ella. "Here you are."

Ella accepted everything, excitement rising in her chest.

Her plan had succeeded!

She looked at the keys briefly before slipping them into her pocket.

For now, she could not unlock the chains. If Kyson escaped, the twenty thousand coins would be wasted.

Holding the chains firmly, Ella turned around.

"Let's go," she said to Kyson.

From Kyson's position, all he could see were a pair of slim ankles and the gently swaying hem of her dress.

He clenched the gag between his teeth and forced his stiff body to crawl after her.

After only a short distance, the footsteps ahead suddenly stopped.

Kyson's body instantly tensed.

Could it be... she couldn't wait to torment him right here?

He prepared himself for the pain that was about to come.

Ella looked down at him and let out a quiet sigh. Then, she tossed the keys to the slaver.

"Remove all his chains."

"All of them?" the slaver asked in surprise.

"All except the collar around his neck."

One after another, the heavy chains dropped to the ground. Ella lowered her gaze toward Kyson. "Can you stand up?"

For a moment, Kyson almost failed to process her words.

Then, he gave a small nod and tried to get up. The moment he did, sharp pain shot through his feet.

Ella quietly let out a breath of relief and led him outside after taking the keys back.

The moment they stepped out of the slave market, a bright female voice suddenly called out, "Your Highness!"

Ella looked up instinctively.

A young female with a ponytail was hurrying toward her with obvious delight written across her face.

It was Zoey Dixon, the old Ella's closest friend.

Ella looked away indifferently, her expression turning cold.

A low groan suddenly sounded behind her.

She turned around at once and saw Kyson's body swaying unsteadily. She quickly reached out to catch him.

The pain from Kyson's injuries had made him dizzy for a moment.

When his thoughts finally cleared, he realized he had collapsed into Ella's arms.

Shock filled his widened eyes as he immediately struggled to stand upright again. Unfortunately, his weakened body failed him, and blood from his wounds smeared onto her clothes.

This was bad.

Kyson froze completely, not daring to move another inch.

Males were naturally tall and big, and supporting him took more effort than Ella expected. She immediately gestured for a nearby guard to bring the car over.

Feeling Kyson trembling against her, she assumed his injuries were becoming unbearable.

By then, Zoey had already reached them.

"Your Highness, I finally found you! Why did you come to a place like this?" Zoey's voice sounded warm, but her face showed clear disapproval. The moment her eyes landed on Kyson, disgust appeared in them. "This kind of place doesn't suit you at all! And you're even getting close to a slave like him. If Jonathan finds out about this, he'll dislike you even more!"

Ella gave her a faint glance.

Taking that as encouragement, Zoey continued, "Honestly, I think you should spend more time learning royal etiquette. Be more elegant and gentle. That's the kind of female Jonathan likes!"

Her gaze shifted to Kyson's side profile, where the dark tattoo marking him as a criminal slave stood out clearly.

Zoey immediately covered her mouth in exaggerated shock. "Oh my God! He's actually a criminal slave? Your Highness, how can you stand so close to someone like him? If Jonathan learns about this, he'll be even more disgusted by you!"

Ella finally lost her patience. "Shut up," she said coldly.

Zoey was stunned into silence by her harsh attitude.

Ella ignored her reaction.

This so-called best friend came from an insignificant family with little status. Her spiritual power was just as weak as the old Ella's. Because they shared similar circumstances, the old Ella had treated Zoey as a close friend and cared deeply about her.

Unfortunately, this friend had always relied on the old Ella's identity as a princess to benefit herself. She constantly used Jonathan Ford, the male the old Ella liked, to manipulate her. After the true princess returned, Zoey was also the first person to betray her and side with the heroine instead.

Ella had no interest in maintaining this fake friendship. Right now, all her attention was focused on the male leaning weakly against her.

The guard arrived and helped the half-conscious Kyson into the car.

Ella stepped forward to get in as well, but Zoey suddenly blocked her way.

"Your Highness, what is wrong with you today? I'm only saying this for your own good. If you keep refusing to listen to me, Jonathan will never pay attention to you again!"

"Enough. I heard you already," Ella said and waved her hand impatiently. "Now move. You're blocking my way."

Zoey stared at her in pure shock.

In the past, Ella would have panicked the moment Jonathan was mentioned. As long as it involved him, she would obediently listen to every word she said.

So why was Ella acting so differently today?

"Your Highness! It's Jonathan's birthday party tonight. We're already running late. You should ditch this slave and go to the birthday party with me now."

Ella did not even bother looking at her. "You can go on your own. Move."

Zoey was taken aback, embarrassment flashing across her face.

Without the accompany of a royal, someone of her status would never be allowed into Jonathan's birthday party.

For a moment, she even suspected Ella was deliberately humiliating her by doing this.

Zoey clenched her teeth and threw out her final card. "Your Highness, if you refuse to listen to me, then I'll never talk to you again!"

Only then did Ella finally look at her.

She pointed at herself and asked, "What did you just call me?"

Zoey blinked in confusion. "Your Highness..."

"That's right," Ella replied with a faint smile. "So what gives you the right to order a princess like me around?"

Zoey's face instantly turned red with humiliation.

Ella brushed past her and stepped into the car.

Furious, Zoey rushed to the door and shouted, "What is this supposed to mean? I'm your only friend!"

The car window slowly lowered.

Zoey's eyes brightened immediately, thinking Ella had changed her mind.

But Ella leaned halfway out of the window and said, "Oh, right. I almost forgot to mention it. I don't think you're qualified to be my friend anymore. We're done. Also, make sure you return all the clothes, handbags, jewelry, and money you've borrowed from me over the years."

"What... what are you talking about..."

Ella's smile widened. "If you refuse, I'll have my eldest brother deal with your family."

The car window rolled back up, and the hovercar quickly disappeared.

Zoey remained standing there in a daze.

She felt certain that Ella had gone crazy.

***

Kyson thought he must be dead.

Otherwise, why would someone be touching him so gently now?

He could feel the warmth brushing across the wounds that had long gone numb from pain. Even though the sensation was faint, it felt dangerously irresistible...

Ella pulled her hand back with a sigh.

After returning home, she had tried using her spiritual power to relieve Kyson's pain.

Unfortunately, the results were barely noticeable.

He still had not opened his eyes.

Letting out another sigh, Ella took out the medical kit and personally began cleaning and bandaging Kyson's wounds.

This wasn't something Ella should've handled herself, but she didn't trust anyone else to do it. She was worried rumors would start spreading.

Especially if her eldest brother, Chris, heard about this.

Although the old Ella was a useless female at this time, her father doted on her, and her mother was also very patient with her. Her second-eldest brother, Ricky Morgan, was an oddball in the royal family. He spent his days in the entertainment industry and rarely returned home. Still, they were close enough.

But her eldest brother, Chris Morgan, was completely different.

He was extremely stern.

He was ten years older than her and currently served as a major general of the empire. He was stationed in the border sector year-round, but whenever he occasionally returned to Capital Star, his discipline toward the younger generation was so harsh that it bordered on unreasonable.

Even the old Ella, despite being a female, couldn't escape it. She was terrified of him.

If Chris found out she'd bought a criminal slave and kept him at her side, he would lock her up without hesitation and starve her for several days.

Ella couldn't endure that.

In her previous life, she'd often worked overtime and skipped meals until she'd curled up at her workstation from stomach pain before dying.

So in this life, she would never allow herself to go hungry again.

So, using the excuse that she was eager to test her new slave's endurance, Ella brought the unconscious Kyson back to her room.

The technology in this world was highly advanced. The medicine used to treat wounds came in the form of a nano-repair spray that could quickly stop bleeding and stimulate cell regeneration.

However, no matter how advanced the technology was, it still couldn't remove the sharp, nerve-stinging pain caused when the medicine stimulated the wounds.

Kyson only felt that gentle touch linger on him for a brief moment before a sudden burst of pain tore through his body.

"Ugh!"

His eyes flew open, and he instinctively struggled, his arms lashing out in resistance.

"Ouch!"

A female's startled cry rang out beside him.

Kyson immediately froze, cold sweat spreading across his body.

He wondered if... in his struggle just now, he had accidentally hurt the female who had bought him.

If that was the case, he figured a cruel punishment was waiting for him.

Ella pressed a hand against her chest, the sharp pain nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

She hadn't expected him to hit her square in the chest.

This body was already fragile, and the force of that blow had nearly made her black out.

Enduring the pain, she turned slightly and rubbed her chest in secret.

Only after a while did she finally recover enough to straighten herself.

When she looked back, her gaze met Kyson's half-open eyes.

Ella bent down slightly until her face was close to his. "You're awake?"

Kyson still looked somewhat dazed.

Ella picked up the spray bottle and shook it lightly. "I'm applying the medicine to you now. Bear with it for a bit, and don't move."

Kyson remained silent. His unfocused eyes stayed fixed stubbornly on her.

In fact, he couldn't see clearly at all.

Ever since he'd been beaten at the slave market and suffered a serious head injury, his vision had remained blurry.

But his hearing was perfectly fine.

She was going to treat his wounds? For a moment, Kyson thought he must be dreaming.

His whole body stiffened as fear crept into him. He was afraid the dream would suddenly shatter.

Seeing that Kyson had gone still, Ella hurriedly finished applying the medicine, worried he might suddenly attack her again.

After treating his wounds, she looked at him and said, "Can you stand up? If you can, go sleep on the sofa."

Only then did Kyson slowly realize this might not be a dream after all.

After all, a criminal slave in his owner's home only needed a corner of the floor to sleep on. Even in his dreams, he wouldn't dare imagine a female telling him to sleep on a sofa.

Still dazed, he slowly pushed himself upright and tried hard to make out Ella's appearance.

Ella pointed toward the sofa across the room. "Go."

The sofa was large enough for him to lie down comfortably.

Kyson moved slightly and realized the tiny glass shards embedded in the soles of his feet had already been removed. The wounds had even been treated and wrapped with bandages.

Those shards had been forced into his feet by his slaver as punishment for trying to escape.

With the gag still stuffed in his mouth, he could only nod awkwardly and crawl his way forward.

Then came a dull thump as his head slammed hard into the leg of a table.

Only then did Ella realize something wasn't right.

She walked over to Kyson and waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Kyson's unfocused gaze shifted faintly.

"You can't see clearly?" she asked.

Kyson hesitated briefly before giving a small nod.

For a slave, any illness or injury was considered a flaw. Their owner could discard them at any time because of it.

He held his breath and waited for her to kick him out.

A complicated look crossed Ella's face.

She hadn't expected Kyson to have problems with his eyesight.

In the original storyline she remembered, the heroine's rescue of him had only been mentioned briefly. Most likely, his eyes had later been healed by the heroine's spiritual power.

But Ella couldn't do that.

She didn't possess that level of spiritual power.

Ella sighed to herself. The gap between a heroine and someone like her-a side character-was just too wide.

After letting out another quiet sigh, she helped Kyson lie down on the sofa. "Just sleep here for tonight."

Kyson's body remained stiff as he lay there.

Ella tossed a thin blanket over him before climbing into her own bed and shutting her eyes to rest.

She was completely exhausted. Anything else could wait until after she woke up.

Kyson lay motionless on the sofa for a long time, not daring to move.

He hadn't expected this kind of reaction from her.

There had been no whipping, no insults, no torture at all.

This female had treated his wounds and even allowed him to sleep on the sofa... Was this real?

Kyson couldn't tell anymore.

Exhaustion finally overtook him, and he slowly closed his eyes.

Even if something cruel waited for him tomorrow, at least tonight, he could rest for real.

Not long after Ella fell asleep, the sharp ringing of her communicator jolted her awake.

Still half asleep, she accepted the call without even checking who it was. "Hello?"

A loud voice immediately burst from the other end of the call. "Ella! It's almost midnight already! Weren't you supposed to personally deliver Jonathan's gift? If you don't get over here now, you'll miss your chance! I've already covered for you for a long time, so where the hell are you?"

It was Ricky.

Ella sat up groggily as the relevant memories slowly surfaced in her mind.

Jonathan was an unfavored male from a noble family, the Ford family. By relying on the old Ella's status as a royal princess along with her popularity and resources, he'd managed to become a fairly well-known celebrity in the entertainment industry.

The old Ella was one of Jonathan's most devoted fans. Every year on his birthday, she personally handled everything and showered him with ridiculously expensive gifts.

Last year, she had given him a limited-edition Star Sea series hovercar, but Jonathan had complained that it was too flashy.

So after learning from that mistake, the old Ella decided to give him something more practical this year. She'd asked Ricky to order a spiritual power bond crystal from another sector for her. It was said to help nourish a male's spiritual power, and it cost her a full one million coins.

One million coins!

That amount was enough to buy fifty slaves like Kyson.

Thinking of that, Ella became fully alert in an instant. "Ricky! You didn't give him the gift yet, did you?"

Ricky let out a snort. "Now you're panicking? There are only eight minutes left before midnight. Hurry up and get over here already. I've brought the crystal with me. I'm just waiting for you to hand it to him personally."

"Don't give it to him!" Ella nearly screamed. "Just wait for me! I'm coming right now!"

But Ricky apparently didn't catch the rest of her shouting and abruptly ended the call.

Ella jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes in a rush, and sprinted out the door.

On the sofa, Kyson slowly sat up, confusion filling his face as his unfocused eyes stared toward the direction she'd disappeared.

***

The party hall blazed with bright lights, and beautifully wrapped gifts were piled high in the center of the room. The guests kept glancing toward the second-floor terrace.

Leaning lazily against the railing, Ricky casually held a small gift box in his hand. Excited gasps rose from the crowd below.

"Oh my God! That's Prince Ricky! He's so handsome!"

"Wait, aren't you a male, too? Why are you acting this excited? Ah! He just looked over here! He looked at me!"

Clearly bored, Ricky tossed a few charming looks toward the crowd before withdrawing his gaze again.

He sneered inwardly. If his sister hadn't begged him to show up at Jonathan's birthday party, a superstar like him would've never attended an event like this.

And after making him come all the way here, Ella herself hadn't even appeared.

Once he got home, he was definitely going to make Chris punish her for this.

"Your Highness," someone called out behind him.

Ricky turned his head, and annoyance immediately flashed across his face when he saw who it was.

At some point, Jonathan had walked up behind him.

As a male werepavo, Jonathan was undeniably good-looking. He was tall, with delicate skin and eyes that naturally gave him a gentle appearance.

But Ricky still caught the trace of arrogance hidden in his gaze.

"Princess Ella still hasn't arrived?" Jonathan asked, unable to hide the impatience in his tone.

He found the situation strange. Every other time, Ella would've arrived long ago. But today, there was still no sign of her now.

Ricky was losing patience as well. He lifted his hand, ready to hand the gift box directly to Jonathan.

Once the gift was delivered, he could finally leave this place that made him uncomfortable all over.

But just as he was about to pass over the box, an anxious voice suddenly rang out. "Wait!"