LIEWB 48

Chapter : 48

‘Heh.’

He finally saw it too.

What kind of contract he had signed…

<Employment Contract>

Employer: Adelheid Ulmer
Employee: Randolph

Article 1 [Contract Duration]

① The employment contract period is…

(omitted)

Article 2 [Job Description and Workplace]

① Workplace: At the location designated by the employer
② Job Description: Pickaxe work and other duties as required by the employer
③ If changes occur in job or workplace due to employer’s needs, the employee shall comply accordingly.

Article 3 [Working Hours and Breaks]

① The employee shall work as many hours as required by the employer, up to a maximum of 120 hours per week.
② Mealtime is included in break time.

That’s right.

From the very beginning, I had every intention of working Randolph like a dog.

They used to treat me like this at that awful job I had, so maybe I ended up like this because that’s what I learned.

‘I had no choice.’

My original goal wasn’t just to make Randolph swing a pickaxe, but to use him as a bodyguard for my secret nightly escapades.

So I had slyly added that clause into the contract. I didn’t expect it would come in handy like this.

I did feel a little guilty… like I had tricked him…

‘But considering he tried to kill me, I’m actually being pretty lenient.’

I could’ve died because of him, so really, this was me being merciful.

Besides, this world rewards rotten personalities, doesn’t it?

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I was simply following the laws of this world.

“You’re not seriously planning to break a perfectly legitimate contract, are you?”

“This is… fraud. This contract forces me to obey all your orders for the entire duration!”

I did feel a tinge of sympathy seeing his face full of unfairness, but I couldn’t back down now.

If anything, this was the perfect opportunity, so I folded my arms and pressed forward.

“How is this fraud? You signed it, didn’t you?”

“…”

“I assumed, naturally, that you read it before signing. You’re not going to make the irresponsible excuse that you didn’t read such an important contract, are you?”

“…”

“We’re both adults. Surely you’re not saying I should have explained every clause line-by-line?”

“…”

“You’re the master of an assassin guild. You know how pathetic it looks to go back on your word.”

The system answered in his place:

[SYSTEM] ‘Shapeshifter Randolph’ cannot find any flaws in your logic! Persuasion +1

Even my almost-impossible-to-raise Persuasion stat went up. Jackpot.

No matter how small the stat boost, backed by this kind of evidence, he really had no room to argue. Hehehe.

With the silence dragging on, I quietly waited for Randolph to speak.

I felt like he was about to give in, but since he was a perverted assassin, I couldn’t let my guard down till the very end.

“At one point… didn’t you say…”

How much time had passed?

He spoke in a barely audible mumble, like he was crawling into a hole.

“What?”

“At one point… you said it was gross when I transformed into a woman. You told me never to do it again.”

Wait, why is he saying that so shyly?

Wasn’t the issue that he was spying? Did he get upset because I called it gross?

‘No way… right?’

Maybe he’s just trying to make a counterattack out of sheer annoyance.

If that’s the case, then points for effort…

“Looking back, I realized that was kind of a discriminatory thing to say.”

“What?”

“You’re an artist who fully immerses yourself in the persona—past, present, and future—of whoever you’re imitating. Isn’t that right?”

“Ar…tist?”

“Yes. Despite your ability to kill people easily, you perfectly blend into their surroundings, meticulously crafting your work so that no one notices anything until the target is dead. That’s artistry.”

“That’s… art?”

“If that isn’t art, then what is?”

At my words, cracks finally began to appear in the poker face he’d been trying to maintain.

‘As I thought.’

Just as I’d expected, he was slowly becoming infected with “artist syndrome.”

“For an artist like you, drawing a hard line and saying you can only disguise yourself as a man is a restriction on your growth. Besides, meeting different people will help you expand your artistic horizons.”

“…”

“You’re going to be a maid in a noble house. And not for a short while—this is going to be an extended disguise. You’ll learn a lot you never knew.”

A noticeable gleam of excitement began to shine in Randolph’s eyes. Then, a familiar message popped up.

[SYSTEM] ‘Shapeshifter Randolph’ is inspired by your encouragement and contracts artist syndrome! Persuasion +1

Hehehe, just as planned.

I was sure this guy would fall for it.

“So… you’re saying you won’t find it gross no matter what I transform into?”

“Exactly. Because it’s art.”

At my words, Randolph’s eyes sparkled even brighter… and finally, he gave a positive answer.

“…What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to gather information. Listen for any rumors or what kind of tricks Paula might try to pull on me… Doesn’t sound too bad for you, right?”

As if my persuasion had taken hold, he nodded absentmindedly—but then suddenly stopped and looked up at me.

“Wait.”

“…What?”

“When do I sleep?”

Huh? What’s he talking about?

I stared at him like he was speaking nonsense, and he protested with an incredulous look.

“If I do pickaxe work at night and spy as a maid during the day… when exactly am I supposed to sleep?”

“Oh, that…?”

I didn’t think about that.

Come to think of it, maids start working really early…

But I couldn’t reduce the pickaxe time either. We needed to mine a fixed amount of magic stones for the prince.

“Hmmm.”

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

Sorry, Dolph.

“Just get sleep here and there. Like, an hour or two at a time.”

“…What?”

“You won’t die from that, probably.”

The system once again stepped in to respond for him.

[SYSTEM] You have enslaved a person with a diabolical contract that doesn’t exist in any world! You are awarded the title ‘Evil Employer’ as a special reward for your groundbreaking villainy! Karma +5

I didn’t love gaining karma, but at this point, a new title?

‘Doesn’t seem like a bad deal.’

Actually, kind of great.

Anyway, this meant I’d successfully secured a spy to keep Paula Ulmer—the noob exterminator—in check.

✦

Randolph turned out to be surprisingly effective.

In just one day of infiltration, he managed to sneak out a piece of my stolen invitation that Paula had taken.

Thanks to that, I could now use all my in-game knowledge to identify which social events I could attend.

‘Vanessa Nesselrode.’

Vanessa was the queen of Arc’s social scene up until the second quarter’s fountain festival.

In every playthrough, the imperial newspaper at the end of May always featured the headline:

“Vanessa Nesselrode Crowned Spring Queen for 3 Consecutive Years.”

So this was the perfect timing—when Lady Vanessa Nesselrode had the most influence. I had to meet my biggest rival face to face.

Thus—

“Sophie, come with me.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am…!”

I proudly headed to the dressing room with Sophie in tow.

Since my bedroom couldn’t accommodate all the dresses and accessories, I had temporarily turned the next room into a dressing room.

It was really just a place to hang dresses without much organization…

“Hehehe.”

But still, seeing all these dazzlingly designed dresses hanging made me feel full even without eating.

Was it because I liked dressing up? Not exactly.

The dresses and jewels here weren’t just for luxury—they were all loaded with incredible stat boosts. Real treasures.