Chapter 03
It’s been exactly three years and one season.
The gap of several years was agonizing. What if the evidence had been destroyed in the meantime?
But honestly, it was too early to worry about that. A decisive obstacle was blocking my path.
I had to slowly admit that I needed to face reality.
I had to find out who the owner of this body was.
“Here is your resume.”
I took the document folder the Head Housemaid handed over. Only after taking a deep breath did the black letters come into focus.
—
**<Resume>**
Name: Lacey Thiel
Date of Birth: Euphorian Calendar, Year 729, October 15th
Place of Birth: Port City, Portman
Family: Father, Mother (Deceased)
Work Experience: Risteran Marquisate (Capital Townhouse)
Reference: Dellosa Risteran
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—
So she’s twenty-six this year…
I thought we were the same age. It was unexpected that she was three years older.
It would have been nice if she were a detective, which would be advantageous for catching the criminal. Or a large-scale information broker, perhaps.
Her previous workplace, the Risteran Marquisate, was a highly prestigious family even within the Euphorian Kingdom.
If she received a reference directly from the lady of such a house, she must have been kept close by her side.
It would have been natural for her to be taken to social gatherings, meaning she was likely highly trusted.
Although I frequently attended social events myself, I had never seen ‘Lacey Thiel’.
Was there a gap before she entered the Canis family?
I quickly checked the hiring date. It was one year before my father passed away.
“Huh?”
But one document seemed to be missing.
“I’d like to see the lifetime contract as well.”
Since she signed a lifetime contract, she was bound to the Canis family until death.
If necessary, I might have to terminate the contract and leave for Euphorian.
“Is it not in there?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Let me see.”
The Head Housemaid took the folder back with a puzzled expression.
“That’s strange. It should be there.”
She checked multiple times and even rummaged through the filing cabinet, but couldn’t find even a trace of the lifetime contract.
If that’s the case, the situation might turn in my favor.
I could use the insufficient documents as a pretext to request contract termination.
“Oh dear, look at my mind. You contracted at the townhouse in Euphorian, right? Of course.”
Her tone, implying she had an idea, made me uneasy. I closed my lips, which I had been about to part.
“Perhaps the Family Head might be keeping the lifetime contract himself.”
“The… Family Head?”
Instantly, the face of the current head of the Canis family came to mind.
My mood immediately sank.
A few days before my father passed away, I danced with that man at a masquerade ball.
We even moved to the garden and had a brief conversation.
I knew it already, but what a rude man he was.
“Generally, documents are delivered to me… Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
At her pointed remark, I snapped back to attention. The Head Housemaid was glaring at me with a frown.
“Is there something on your lips?”
“Huh?”
I was so lost in thought I didn’t even realize I was wiping my lips with my sleeve.
I had rubbed them so hard they cracked, and the taste of blood seeped into my mouth.
“They were itchy, so I did it without thinking…?”
I glossed over it and quickly put my hands down, clasping them together.
“It seems you know how to be ashamed. Be more careful with your behavior from now on.”
“Yes, I will.”
Anyway, I had sworn I would never get involved with Ash Canis, that man, again.
I had sworn…
“But you contracted directly with the Family Head, didn’t you? If there’s a confidentiality clause or something, of course the Family Head would manage it separately.”
To think I would become a maid employed by that man!
And of all things, having signed a lifetime contract…
“Sigh. I wonder what wind blew for him to bring in a lifetime maid, when he rarely involves himself in hiring. And a foreigner at that.”
“Ha, haha…”
I wanted to know the reason more than anyone.
Why on earth did you make a contract with that man, Lacey Thiel?
But no voice was heard from within me.
It had been well over a month since I put on Lacey’s ‘shell,’ and her consciousness or memories remained silent.
I needed to know *something* to get by.
I couldn’t remain like a newly hatched chick, so I started gathering information.
First and foremost, about ‘Lacey.’
“Um, then how can I check the lifetime contract?”
It was highly unlikely a commoner would keep a diary, and her belongings were exceedingly simple. As if she had abandoned her past.
Because of that, it was hard to guess even her usual way of thinking, let alone her tastes.
So, I reluctantly turned my eyes to the documents, but…
The most important one, the lifetime contract, was missing. That’s just unfair.
This is troublesome.
I was hoping to find out the contract terms, just in case.
My expectation of finding useful information plummeted. Along with my mood, which had been somewhat hopeful.
“Well… I suppose we’ll have to ask the Family Head when he returns from his inspection…”
Even the Head Housemaid’s face, which had been speaking matter-of-factly, began to show noticeable dark clouds.
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
How irresponsible…
“Please, I’m begging you. Okay?”
“That’s not something I can decide.”
The Head Housemaid turned her head away, feigning indifference. Did she think I would back down just like that?
“Head Housemaid. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘Where the heart wills, a way opens’?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“I really need to check it.”
As I persistently clung on, the Head Housemaid finally declared surrender, as if fed up.
“Ugh, well, I’ll ask the Chief Aide, just in case…”
“Wouldn’t it be more certain to ask the person directly?”
I tenaciously held on.
“I’m busy, so you can leave now!”
As expected, the order to leave was given.
As I trudged out of the Head Housemaid’s room and quickly turned my head, I saw through the narrowing gap in the door.
A look in her eyes that said, *’You’ve got plenty of nerve, must be nice.’*
—
My mood was stifled.
The fact that I couldn’t find out the terms of the lifetime contract felt frustrating, like something stuck in my chest. I crouched in a corner of the hallway.
“Sigh, I guess I should just be content with what I have, or something.”
Even if I terminated the contract, my future prospects were just as bleak.
The region ruled by the Canis family was infamous for being treacherous.
To the north, a mountain range teeming with vicious monsters.
To the south, a desert known as the Land of Death.
A barren land surrounded by danger zones—that was the domain of Canis.
Even if I hired a guide and escort mercenaries, there was no guarantee I would safely reach the Euphorian Kingdom.
If it really came down to it, I’d have to leave alone, but…
“Even thinking about it again…”
The thought that joining the knights’ procession was the best option kept resurfacing.
But remembering the story that maids weren’t needed made the future seem bleak.
“Even thinking about it again, what?”
Just then, a voice piped up from beside me. A woman with freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose had approached without me noticing.
“Huh? Sonia?”
“What are you muttering to yourself about?”
“Ha, haha…”
I absolutely must not let it slip that I’m thinking about leaving the Canis family.
Whether due to the geographical environment or loyalty towards the Canis family, the people here had a solid wall against outsiders.
If I said the wrong thing, I’d attract suspicion.
I couldn’t turn even Sonia, the only maid who showed me friendliness, into an enemy.
I put strength into my lips and pulled the corners of my mouth into a smile.
“It’s nothing. Anyway, what brings you here?”
If she found out I was away from my post, who knows what kind of scolding I’d get.
Especially lately, with guests staying at the castle, the castellan and Head Housemaid were on high alert.
Laying low and flawlessly completing my duties was the best policy…
“Sonia, want to swap tasks with me?”
“…Again?”
—
The task Sonia was assigned today was cleaning the Ritual Hall.
“I’ve swept the floor, drawn the curtains, and cleaned all the windows!”
It was truly spotless, without a speck of dust.
The only task left was to dust the stone statue standing in the middle of the hall.
“As much as life is about give and take, isn’t this a losing deal for me…?”
It was actually Sonia who was getting the short end of the stick. I hadn’t even started cleaning the hallway.
“Thank you so much! I won’t forget this favor!”
Yet she held my hands, jumping up and down.
I stood before the problematic statue, holding a dry cloth.
It was the form of a brave wolf, carved from gray rock.
Its pointed fangs were sharp enough to cause injury with just a graze.
The moment I raised my head a little more and met its ruby-inlaid eyes.
“Eek…!”
Goosebumps broke out on my arms. Why did I feel nervous no matter how many times I saw it?
“I-It’s just a rock, after all…”
I deliberately turned my head away and started wiping the statue with the cloth.
The wolf sculpture did look frightening, as if it were alive.
But Sonia had another reason for finding this task burdensome.
The wolf was the symbol of the Canis family.
Out of respect for the Canis family, even touching their symbol felt like sacrilege.
If she accidentally made a scratch, she might prostrate herself on the floor as if she were a great criminal.
“If that’s the case, then it really is a losing deal for me…”
Just then.
“Are you really going to go through with this?”
An extremely agitated voice came from the hallway.
“You’re noisy, Fritz.”
Fritz.
That was the name of the Chief Aide whom the Head Housemaid said she would ask.
If I risked being rude, I could ask him right now if he knew the contract’s whereabouts.
But the moment I recognized the other person in the conversation, my mind went completely blank.
The owner of the other voice was none other than…
“Please, my Lord!”
It was Ash Canis.
