Chapter 7
The Duke only spoke one word:
“Echidna.”
But to Eki, it felt like his voice echoed inside her head over and over again.
Her vision swayed. The buzzing in her mind made her stumble, and she barely managed to grab the bed frame for balance.
“Yes… my lord…” she whispered.
[[Come to my office.]]
“…Understood.”
The voice faded.
Strangely, the Duke’s tone had been calm, almost gentle. That wasn’t normal.
In truth, she hadn’t seen him face-to-face in more than a hundred years. She had long since fallen out of his favor.
Recently, she had been forced to play the role of the new human maid’s roommate. A task he had forced on her.
And yet… she actually didn’t hate it. In fact, she liked it more than she expected.
Eki looked one last time at Shasha, who was still sleeping peacefully. Her heart softened for a moment. Then she nodded firmly, as if making a decision.
She picked up the stuffed toy from the floor with trembling hands and hugged it tightly to her chest.
Her footsteps made no sound as she walked down the hall toward the Duke’s office.
Meanwhile, Shasha was busy assigning chores.
“Mr. Jameson, Mr. Parkan, please clean the main staircase today.”
“Yes, head maid!”
Their answer was quick and powerful. Good.
“Then for the railings, you should—huh?”
Before she could finish, the two monsters suddenly rushed off.
“Wait! I didn’t even tell you how to clean it yet!”
She looked around. They were already far away, scrubbing the stairs and polishing the railings on their own.
“….”
Shasha closed the folder of notes in her hands. That was the last task on this week’s list anyway.
But something felt… strange.
Since her first day, the monsters had listened to her—but only halfway. They slacked off, faked working, and always left dust in the corners.
But today?
Today was different.
Everyone was working so hard it was suspicious.
Even the twin monsters with huge wings—who normally just sang creepy songs—were sweeping furiously, their giant talons holding the dustpan steady.
‘Weird. Really weird. But hey, work is work.’
She forced herself to accept it. Better to clean than too dirty.
And besides, she had something much scarier to worry about:
Today was her first official report to the Duke.
“Shasha, the Duke says you must give him a report every week from now on. The first one is today.”
“…What?”
“Today.”
“…WHAT??”
That morning, sleepy-eyed Eki had delivered the news. Shasha nearly fainted on the spot.
Now here she was, standing in front of the Duke’s office door, clutching her stack of papers like a shield.
‘Okay, deep breaths… in, out… you can do this.’
Knock, knock.
“My lord, it’s the head maid. May I come in?”
“Come in, Shasha.”
The moment she heard his voice, her nerves vanished.
His tone was calm, gentle, even soft. So different from before.
She opened the door.
The Duke sat in his chair with one leg crossed. His half-lidded crimson eyes looked straight at her—distant, unfocused, unreadable.
For a moment she froze.
Then she remembered the papers and bowed quickly.
“M-my lord.”
Her voice trembled like a baby goat. Thank goodness her face was hidden—she was blushing hard.
The Duke didn’t seem to notice. He simply gestured toward the chair across from him.
“Sit.”
“…Yes, sir.”
She carefully sat down in the jewel-studded chair, trying not to breathe too hard on it.
“How is the mansion?”
“Very satisfactory!”
Too broad? Maybe. But it was the truth. Everything was running well.
The Duke gave her a brief look, then picked up a black teapot. Slowly, he poured dark liquid into her cup.
He said nothing. Just stared.
“…Thank you.”
She blew gently on the cup… then frowned.
The liquid was pitch black, with strange chunks floating inside.
‘…This can’t be safe to drink.’
But his eyes were on her. She had no choice.
She lifted the cup, pretended to sip, then set it back down.
“Delicious! Ha-ha…”
Lie. Pure lie.
“….”
The Duke’s lips curved into a smile. A beautiful smile. Too beautiful.
His gloved fingers began to tap the table. Tap. Tap-tap. Faster and faster.
Shasha panicked.
“I-I really love it here, my lord! The staff obeys me perfectly!”
Tap.
His finger stopped.
“…I see. Good.”
Relieved, she shut her mouth tight. Her heart pounded like a drum.
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.
It reminded her of something.
Back at Baron Armond’s mansion, right before payday, he would call her in, smile that same fake smile, and then cut her wages in half.
Her eyes widened.
‘Oh no… is he going to cut my pay too?!’
Maybe the tea was just intimidation. Maybe these reports were just an excuse.
She clenched her jaw. She should have demanded a contract clause to protect her wages too!
Finally, the Duke spoke.
“Then tell me—why have you not cleaned my office or my chambers?”
“….”
The papers slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.
Defeat.
