Deceit and Cruelty

Although she was paid at the end of each year, the cost of food, clothing, medicine, and travel was not counted.

She initially thought it was an allowance as a contract servant but turned out to be wrong.

All of that turned out to be added to his debt without notice.

"Even at the end of the year when we have holidays, sometimes my income becomes negative because our living expenses increase."

Lyra's face turned pale as she remembered that she also had to send money to her family.

"Then why are we working here?!" Ellaine asked, even though the answer was very clear.

"Although Oliver is merciful to us, I know that the Necrosis Family is cruel," Lyra spoke softly.

"Eh?"

"The debt is a formality, or you could say it's just an excuse. Usually, after they destroy a family, they just set aside a young woman to take responsibility for the family debt and make her a contract maid." Lyra told her what she knew.

"Huh?! If that's the case, it means the memorandum I signed a year ago..." Ellaine looked back at Lyra with a shocked look.

"All the collaterals went through the same thing. Oliver wrote a memorandum to transfer all the property to his family. He did whatever it took to get you to sign it."

"B-but, there's nothing to take from my father beside a huge debt."

"It doesn't matter how small or poor your family is. Being here means they have confiscated all of your assets. For example, land, rights, patents, trade or commercial associations."

In Ellaine's case, The Ducal of Necorsis took the fertile territory of Marquess Davies.

"Then wouldn't it be more profitable to sell us to the madam than to hire us?"

"You don't know yet? Geez, what have you been doing all this time?! Property transfers can only be done after 19, so Oliver gives us time and work until then. After that, your fate will be determined by your luck."

Even though she already knew all that, Lyra still tried hard to be able to pay off all of her debts.

"I thought Oliver gave the job because of his kindness. I didn't think that this was also part of his scenario... No... Is there a way to get out of this vicious circle?!"

"What if someone paid off our debt and saved us from this cursed land? A mighty and strong man!"

"...." Ellaine knew why Lyra said that and clung to such a dream.

"This is the Necrosis family, one of the most prosperous families in the empire. There must be many strong people coming in and out of here... How about we seduce one of them?"

There is a legend circulating among the maids here.

A knight was once given a gift from Oliver for his contribution to The Ducal of Necrosis.

The prize was not gold, silver, or any other treasure. But the knight only wanted one of the collateral servants trapped inside the Necrosis mansion.

The knight chose that woman because he had fallen in love with the girl who did the laundry here, just like Ellaine and Lyra were doing now.

"How is that woman now?"

"It is said that the woman is now living happily with the knight as his wife... It's a romantic story that any girl would dream of."

"It's not easy. Moreover, it's a baseless story." Ellaine curtly answered because she didn't want to take Lyra seriously.

When she was done with the laundry, she stood up and stretched.

The two of them brought the 4 buckets of laundry to the side of the mansion.

Many of the clothes hanging on the clothesline fluttered in the wind. The two were drying the laundry together, but Lyra's gaze was fixed in the distance.

"What is it?"

"Maybe we can hope in someone like that." Lyra pointed towards the back of the mansion.

The sound of a horse-drawn carriage rang out from a distance, and the sound grew louder. Since the back of the mansion was so quiet, they could hear people talking from there.

"Come with me, Ellaine!" Lyra walked toward the road.

Ellaine also followed Lyra with a dry cloth in her hand.

An eye-catching blue carriage approached from afar.

It is constructed with the finest ebony and finished with a glossy glaze. Each side of the carriage had a gleaming gold ornament.

The presence of the carriage on the dark forest road was heavy.

"That's a carriage not from Necrosis."

Ellaine knew very well that Necrosis' carriage was shiny black with gold-plated ornaments. But the carriage that was present this time she had never seen before.

"That's right, it's the Imperial High General's carriage. Just look at the flag."

"Huh? Such a person can't possibly see a debtor like us. After all, why would he take us?"

Ellaine didn't know what Lyra was thinking until she hoped for a high-ranking general to save them.

The carriage slowed down as they were almost there, and the windows opened.

"Oh My God, this is Dylan Codwald, a high general!"

As Lyra whispered, Ellaine also stared at the blue carriage.

A man with an angelic face, very handsome. It was a face Ellaine could never have imagined.

"Who the hell is he? It's rare for an imperial person to come to the main noble estate of Necrosis."

The two peered through the shade of the trees near the path and stared at the carriage.

"The news is that Brother Oliver abandoned the name Necrosis and sided with the Empire and has now become a Grand General."

After learning who the guest was, Ellaine immediately turned around and returned to work.

"Huh? You're not at all interested? Supposedly with your peerage, that could be something to offer Sir Dylan." Lyra immediately followed Ellaine who had returned to the laundry.

"Being tied to the Necrosis Family alone makes our lives seem dead, especially if we have to deal with a troubled family member. Just thinking about it scares me."

16 year old Ellaine thinks that the plan Lyra said will never succeed in saving them.

However, it wasn't long before Lyra pulled off an opportunity Ellaine had neglected to do.

Lyra managed to seduce a descendant of Necrosis, and the man took Lyra away from the Necrosis Mansion.

Meanwhile, Ellaine, who didn't want to risk getting involved further with the Necorsis Family, struggled to survive for three long years. Until her destruction comes.

***

Nineteen-year-old Ellaine was broke. After her entire property was stolen.

She never thought Lyra's words were true that the lives of the collaterals would end at the age of 19.

The job Sir Oliver was given turned out to be just to wait until the collaterals were old enough, and it was inevitable that Ellaine would be sold.

"Ellaine looks like it's your last day here."

Ellaine was distraught when the head maid informed her that she would be sold to a madam.

Her desperation arose because she knew long ago that she would be sold. If she changes ownership after all of her property is taken by Sir Oliver, she will truly become enslaved.

"I am good at embroidery, I can speak and write foreign languages, and I am good at calculations. Please, I will do anything as long as I am not sold." Ellaine caught the butler and begged.

After the collateral's property was stolen, most of them would be sold to other nobles.

It was a good thing that the collaterals managed to escape from the cursed ties to the Necorsis Family, but so far there has been no news of the safety of the collaterals after being sold.

"Is that true?" The head maid asked the maid who had been Ellaine's supervisor for the past 4 years.

"Yeah, she used her skills to make some extra money." The maid confirmed Ellaine's words.

The head maid pondered for a moment. After gathering her thoughts, she told Ellaine to follow her and take her to meet someone.

Ellaine shivered as the person she had to deal with was someone she had never wanted to see again since 4 years ago.

"Ah, so that's the maid some nobles talk about. I haven't seen you in a long time, have you become prettier? Let me see." Oliver agreed to meet with the contract maid the head maid was talking about.

The silver-haired girl with gray eyes entered the room she had never been in before.

"Is she a virgin?"

That was the only question Oliver asked.

After that day, like a miracle, Ellaine was not up for sale. She was made a permanent servant of the mansion.

Oliver knew that Ellaine was noble and entrusted her to manage his workroom.

Although Ellaine was happy to have the trust to work in the Necrosis Family eldest son's room, she knew light work was a high risk.

Apart from Oliver wanting to eat her, she knew that Oliver had a wife who could hurt anyone if she was jealous.

Rosalie was the wife of Sir Oliver, who didn't like it when a woman seduced her husband.