#001.
Prologue.
That Maid Wants to Cancel the Contract
Contract Cancellation.
The abbreviated term for ‘contract termination’, it was the word referring to the act I was about to undertake.
“Head of the Household, please cancel the contract.”
A challenging demand. An unpleasant light cast over his mesmerizing amethyst eyes.
Even his eyebrows furrowed.
But I had no regrets.
Because that was precisely my intention.
“Contract termination. I mean it.”
“……Contract termination? So, ‘Cancel’?”
“Yes.”
My employer, Ash Canis, sneered.
“You abbreviate the strangest things.”
I couldn’t retort. Frankly, I agreed with that sentiment.
But it had already stuck to my lips.
“This seems like an inappropriate situation for this conversation.”
His ash-grey hair fluttered, and in the blink of an eye, his body heat was pressed against me.
A shocked scream pierced through the piano accompaniment.
From behind the pillars far away, knights who were corpses without their solemnity and servants who couldn’t resist gossip stood with their mouths agape, hands covering them.
I understood how they felt.
The shock of witnessing the head of the Canis family, who rules the territories north of the Grey Zone, dancing hand-in-hand with a lowly maid from a foreign country must be considerable.
Though I, the one who’d become the circus monkey, was dying of embarrassment.
“Don’t you agree, Lethy?”
His wolf-like eyes narrowed, the fierceness disappearing. A blindingly elegant smile paralyzed my reason.
“That’s right…?”
Suddenly, the strength left my body and my vision tilted steeply.
But conversely, my body spun a full circle in the air against gravity. It was the sequence of moves where the man lifts the woman by the waist.
“Careful.”
But Ash Canis seemed to have seen through my state.
Get a grip, Lethy.
If I space out now, forget the humiliation, the contract cancellation will go down the drain!
“Head of the Household, I’m serious.”
The laughter vanished from his face.
As expected, was it intentional? What a vexing man.
“There is a set procedure for canceling a contract.”
“I know I have to submit a contract termination request form.”
The problem was that every time I filled out a contract termination request form, it disappeared without a trace.
As if a fairy hiding in the castle was playing a trick.
“So, you know, yet you boldly demand cancellation verbally, huh.”
And he mocked me for abbreviating it earlier.
“My salary isn’t enough to buy paper, you see.”
“Well, I suppose. To repay the lifetime contract advance, you’d need to save every penny, after all.”
“Urk…!”
Why did he have to hit my sore spot?
Lifetime maids receive an advance payment of the contract money, considering their abilities and duties. It’s part of a process to increase loyalty to the household, I suppose.
Not for me, though.
“I’ll pay it back as soon as I arrive in the capital of the Euphorian Kingdom.”
“How? Did your father’s debts become void overnight?”
‘Lethy’s’ contract money went entirely towards paying off the debts incurred by her deceased father through gambling. For me, with my frail body and a single suitcase as my entire fortune, it was an excessive arrangement.
Just based on that fact, it would be human decency to devote myself to this man with a feeling of lifelong gratitude.
If I were the real ‘Lethy’, that is.
“Just so you know, I’m not one to engage in financial transactions without trust.”
“…….”
And you, who values trust so much, apparently threw an enormous sum of money as an advance to a commoner with no collateral.
“I’ll prove it in the Euphorian capital. Then it’s fine, right?”
As I tried to draw a clear line, Ash Canis let out a sigh.
“Lethy, what’s the reason for this sudden behavior?”
His tone, as if coaxing a capricious lover, was absurd. Since when have you been so affectionate towards me?
“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
It wasn’t like I planned to shamelessly demand contract termination from the start.
Not until this man, Ash Canis, made a shocking statement.
“You said you wouldn’t take me to the Euphorian Kingdom.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Of course it is.”
“The personnel going to the Euphorian Kingdom are entirely under my jurisdiction. Why is that a problem?”
An expected question. I took out my prepared answer.
“Because I’m suffering from homesickness.”
“……You, homesick?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed. His gaze showed he didn’t believe it at all. How sharp.
“Let’s say you are homesick. But you’re not from the capital, are you?”
Instantly, the personal information of ‘Lethy’ that I’d seen on the resume came to mind.
She was from a port city in the northwest of the Euphorian Kingdom!
“J-just because you were born there, does that make it your hometown? Where your heart attaches is your hometown!”
“A not incorrect statement.”
Phew. I managed to somehow gloss over it. Even I thought it was a ridiculous excuse.
“In that case, it’s a problem that will be solved if you become attached to this Canis land from now on.”
Irritated by the man’s wit in perfectly parrying my words, my steps naturally became rough.
*Thud!*
“What are you doing?”
But my target had escaped by a hair’s breadth, so I ended up kicking the poor banquet hall floor instead.
Tears welled up, but I couldn’t show it.
“Nothing.”
“In that case, please focus on the lesson. Instructor.”
It doesn’t seem like he’s going to comply with my request willingly.
Then, it’s time to change tactics.
“The wolf statue in the Hall of Consciousness!”
Operation Name: Desperate Measures. Let’s take this as far as it goes.
“Actually, I broke it!”
The region ruled by the Canis family holds wolves sacred, to the extent that folklore related to them exists.
Hunting wolves, or even damaging their symbols, is considered a serious crime. Depending on the severity, it can lead to exile, or even execution.
They wouldn’t keep the real culprit who broke a wolf statue in this castle, right?
But a smile appeared on Ash Canis’s face. The smile that seemed to carry a spring breeze felt ominous instead.
“It’s fine. I’ve arranged to receive a new, identical one as a gift.”
What are you talking about? There’s no way someone would give you a gift like that!
But he seemed completely sincere, his expression utterly serene.
Was this not enough?
Then—
“I also dropped the documents related to the Fedeluc mine into the fireplace and burned them!”
“Don’t worry about that matter. I’ve restored all the contents.”
How did you manage to restore over thirty pages of documents?
“In times like these, it’s reassuring to have a subordinate with instant recall ability.”
Such a cheat skill…
It seems I have no choice but to play my next card.
“Remember the incident where poisonous weeds were mixed into the warhorses’ feed? That was actually…!”
“The stablemaster said it. Cassanrid weed loses its toxicity when blanched, so it’s fine for animals to eat.”
“But back then…!”
“I confirmed it with the head of the pharmacy as well.”
Now he was even cutting me off mid-sentence.
This man, who casually curved his lips into a smile, showed no intention of conceding.
“Don’t you think keeping me around will cause significant losses for the Canis family?”
“The Canis family’s treasury and military power aren’t so pathetic that they’d be dented by mere trifles like that.”
Is the very idea of expelling me non-existent?
This is troublesome…
“Huh?”
Then, the piano performance ended. Which meant…
“Shall we conclude the lesson here?”
Ash Canis, who let go of my hand first, took two steps back and saluted. It was a perfect posture. According to the Euphorian royal etiquette I had taught him.
Then, without any lingering attachment, he began moving away towards the ballroom exit.
“Are you really leaving just like this?”
Good heavens. He doesn’t respond or even look back.
Then I have no choice but to use my last resort.
I dashed forward and blocked his path. And lowering my voice, I spoke in a grave tone.
“You were the one who broke the promise first, Head of the Household. You said you would take me as your partner to the Masquerade Ball…”
Once the words were out, it sounded like something a whining child would say. I suddenly wanted to crawl into a hole.
“A-and you said that at the ball, you absolutely must dance at least one piece before you can leave, right?”
“Ah. Don’t worry about that. It’s uncertain whether the Masquerade Ball will even be held.”
“What?”
“To be precise, it’s uncertain whether the Euphorian Kingdom’s Autumn Harvest Festival itself will take place. So, there’s no need to bring a partner.”
I had read that in a report I found while cleaning his office a while ago.
I thought there was no change in the schedule since the dance lessons continued…
“May I pass now?”
There was a reason I absolutely could not back down like this.
My younger brother, the King of Euphoria, was in danger.
The one who murdered my father might be trying to harm my brother too!
“If you’re not here, Head of the Household, I, I might get lonely…?”
But I couldn’t say that honestly.
Being laughed at was better than being suspected.
*Pfft.*
He really laughed. Was he mocking me?
But with a smile on his handsome face, I almost lost myself staring at him.
“If you’re really that lonely, how about keeping the wolves company as a plaything while I’m away from the castle?”
“Eeek!”
I reflexively let go of his arm and stepped back.
“Then, let’s finish the rest of this conversation after I return from the expedition. I can no longer tolerate the Imperial Army of Enenhaf treading on Canis land.”
Ash Canis’s expression turned cold in an instant. A murderous intent I hadn’t felt before touched my skin.
Engulfed in fear, I only regained my senses after he disappeared from the ballroom.
“H-he told me to become wolf food so easily…”
Even if he acts friendly, he actually really dislikes me, doesn’t he?
No matter how I think about it, it seems like he hates me?
“But why…”
Why! Won’t you cancel the contract?
