A Maid Is Needed!

The firelight flickered across the high ceilings of the sitting room, casting long shadows that danced like restless spirits. Lina sat stiffly on the couch, her fingers digging into the fabric of the blanket draped over her lap. The warmth of the hearth, the fullness of her stomach—it all felt like a cruel illusion. A trick. Nobles didn’t just help street rats like her. There was always a price.

Sebas stood with his hands folded neatly behind his back, his silver hair gleaming in the firelight. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes—sharp and assessing—never left Lina.

"My lord," he said, voice smooth as polished steel, "what shall we do with her?"

The armored lord tapped his helmet. Clang. Clang.

Lina flinched at the sound.

Then, abruptly, the lord straightened.

"A manor cannot be complete without a maid!" he declared, his hollow voice oddly cheerful.

Lina stared. "…What?"

Sebas blinked. "My lord?"

"Think about it, Sebas," the lord continued, gesturing around the cavernous hall. "This place is too big for just the two of us. And with everything we’ll need to do in the town, you could use some help."

Sebas considered this for a moment before nodding slowly. "A maid… That would be practical."

Lina’s eyes narrowed. "You want me to work for you?" Her voice dripped with disbelief.

The lord nodded. "A job. Fair pay. Food. Shelter. No more stealing."

Lina scoffed. "And what’s stopping me from robbing you blind and vanishing the first chance I get?"

The air in the room turned to ice.

Sebas’s composed demeanor cracked—just for a fraction of a second. His eyes darkened, his posture tensed, and when he spoke, his voice was low, dangerous.

"After the hospitality you’ve been shown," he said, each word deliberate, "to even suggest betrayal is beyond insulting." He took a single step forward, and suddenly, the kindly butler was gone. In his place stood something far more terrifying. "Do you know what happens to thieves who bite the hand that feeds them?"

Lina’s breath caught. Instinct screamed at her to run, but her legs refused to move.

The lord, however, raised a gauntleted hand. "Sebas."

The butler paused.

"Enough," the lord said, his tone firm but not unkind. "Threats won’t get us anywhere."

Sebas exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders. "…My apologies, my lord."

The lord turned back to Lina. "No slave pacts. No chains. Just an offer—work here, and you’ll have what you need. Betray us, and you’ll lose the best chance you’ve ever been given."

Lina’s fingers curled into the blanket. She wanted to refuse. She should refuse. But the warmth of the fire, the weight of a full stomach, the promise of safety—

Her pride warred with survival.

Before she could answer, the lord reached up and—with a casual motion—removed his helmet.

Lina expected a ragged man full of scars.

Instead, she saw a man.

Pale, yes. His features sharp, his skin almost unnaturally smooth. There was an eerie stillness to him, like a painting that wasn’t quite right. But he looked… human.

The lord blinked. "Oh."

Then, as if remembering something, he reached up again—and plucked his head clean off his shoulders.

Lina’s brain short-circuited.

The lord held his own head in his hands, turning it slightly as if inspecting it. "Right. Forgot about that."

Lina’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

"Y-Y-YOUR HEAD—!" she shrieked, scrambling backward so violently she nearly toppled off the couch.

The lord calmly reattached his head with a soft click. "Ah. Sorry. That’s… probably alarming."

Lina gaped at him, her entire body trembling. "Y-YOU’RE—! YOU JUST—!"

Sebas sighed. "My lord, perhaps we should have eased her into that revelation."

The lord scratched his chin. "Hm. Probably."

Lina was still staring, her face pale.

The lord cleared his throat. "So. About that maid position…"