“Ehehe, five hundred trang.”

Charlie rolled around on the bed, holding the deposit confirmation.

She felt a bit uneasy, but didn’t Audrey also want to study Charlie?

The reason for the commotion over Liliana’s appearance in the novel was because she awakened as a Zero.

Of course, her holy power would be nothing compared to Liliana’s. But still, imagine how wonderful it was to receive money so easily.

“With five hundred trang, I can live for five months.”

Charlie hugged the pillow tightly and smiled brightly. Her pheromones bubbled up due to her high spirits.

Maybe it was because she had released them once. Just as Tanner said, she felt a bit more in control.

“Yaaaawn—”

Charlie yawned deeply.

Releasing and retracting pheromones was entirely a mental effort, so she was quite tired.

“If work is always like this, I could do it forever.”

Charlie pulled the blanket over herself as she drifted off to sleep.

Unaware of the red light flashing in the darkness.

* * *

TWO.

“What?”

Tanner’s words shattered Charlie’s peaceful days.

“Me too?!”

“There’s an outbreak of flu among the main building attendants, so for the time being, the Zeros will have to take over their duties. This includes you, Miss Charlie.”

Well, Hector had extreme mysophobia. Besides, she was in no position to refuse work for pay.

But the sudden death flag was bound to cause some confusion.

Honestly, she wasn’t even a character in the original work, so it was hard to call it a death flag.

However, being on the bad side of that crazy Grand Duke Hector would at least mean expulsion.

Tanner, who had been observing Charlie’s ashen face, spoke.

“I know the rumors about His Grace are not good, but Miss Charlie seems particularly afraid of him.”

For a moment, the transmigrator’s heart skipped a beat.

Could Tanner’s real ability be mind-reading?

Of course, since it was an ability of the Emperor Kaisis, Tanner couldn’t have it.

If he did, Tanner would be the Emperor.

‘Hector, you idiot.’

But suspicion was inevitable, so Charlie’s narrowed eyes glanced at Tanner.

‘Hector’s mysophobia.’

Tanner blinked in surprise at the sudden glare.

‘Hec… Hector is a Grand Master!’

As she mustered the courage to mutter inwardly, a faint smile spread across Tanner’s face.

No way…!

“Even if you stare at me like that, there’s no special allowance. It’s work calculated into your wages.”

Oh, come on. Do you really think I’m that greedy?

Charlie couldn’t hide her disappointment and relaxed her shoulders.

“It would be nice if you gave it, but it can’t be helped if you don’t.”

Well, she was greedy after all.

* * *

Before long, the selected Zeros headed to the main building. Most were men, but there were also female Zeros like Charlie.

Those gathered in the main lobby moved to their designated positions under Tanner’s instructions.

Only Charlie and the female Zeros remained.

“You will be assigned slightly more important tasks. So listen carefully to the precautions and act with special care. If you violate these rules and act individually, you will be dealt with according to the contract.”

Charlie’s ears perked up.

What exactly was written in that damn contract?

Had she ever heard about the violations? She racked her small brain, but nothing came to mind.

No wonder, since the contract, densely packed with small print, was over ten pages long.

Moreover…

[Since wages and treatment vary by employee, the contents of the contract are confidential. If violated, the penalty is ten billion rangs, so please be aware.] It stated, making it impossible to ask someone else to read it for her.

“You two will be assisting His Grace with his bath. His Grace does not like anyone seeing his body, so be very careful with your gaze.”

“Yes.”

Phew—

Charlie let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

Assisting with the bath. It was a position where even a slight mistake could lead to death, or at the very least, expulsion.

“You two will be attending to the young ladies who will share purification with His Grace. Do not react to or engage in conversation with the young ladies, regardless of what they say. If you are asked a question or find yourself in a difficult situation, do not hesitate to speak to the knight waiting at the door.”

“Yes.”

Wait a minute.

Why does it feel like the difficulty is increasing?!

Feeling a growing sense of unease, Charlie rubbed her forearm.

But as they say, a bad feeling is often right.

Such instincts never missed, so Tanner smiled at Charlie.

“And Miss Charlie.”

“…Yes?”

“You will be my assistant. Just be careful with everything from now on.”

What, this demon bastard?

* * *

Sitting or standing, be careful.

Even breathing, be careful.

Pheromones, extremely careful.

Thus, Charlie’s days continued, walking on thin ice, as if she were there but not there.

Every morning, she didn’t forget to self-hypnotize and find inner peace.

‘I am not Liliana. I am not the silver-haired girl Hector was madly in love with, nor the purple-eyed girl he wanted to crush. I have no death flag. No matter how good my pheromones are, Hector is a mysophobic and has insensitivity. Yes, he won’t care about someone like me.’

The main building was truly an enormous palace.

Gold here, gold there. The interior, bathed in golden light, was the epitome of luxury.

Even from the outside, it was so, but it would put the Palace of Versailles to shame.

Each floor seemed to be over four stories high, and the ceilings filled with murals and sculptures were almost sacred.

And fortunately, Charlie rarely encountered Hector.

To be precise, she had never faced Hector directly.

The only thing she saw was a silhouette, who she presumed to be Hector, through a slightly open door.

All the attending was done by Tanner, while Charlie waited outside the door.

‘Bring this. Bring that.’ Following Tanner’s instructions, she ran around the vast palace.

At this rate, she felt she could endure a year in the main building.

“Today is the day of purification. His Grace will be in a bad mood, so be careful. Be very careful.”

This demon bastard. You have an ability, don’t you? You’re reading my thoughts that I can handle this.

Charlie glared at Tanner.

“You’re doing well enough already, but no matter what you see, do not scream or cry. Understand?”

I know, you jerk.

Hector hated those two things extremely.

* * *

Maybe because she had read the novel, Charlie didn’t scream or even get very surprised.

In fact, there was nothing much to be surprised about.

The sight of women being dragged out of the room, wearing only a robe and calling out Hector’s name, was quite surprising.

But compared to Charlie’s worry about seeing dismembered corpses, it was all manageable.

‘Is he a mad, obsessive man only towards the main female character?’

Well, considering his mysophobia, it made sense he was obsessed only with the main female character.

If he was going to be obsessive, why not be a gentle obsessive? Why did he have to become a crazy obsessive man leading to a bad ending? She felt somewhat pity for him.

Especially purification through s*x. It felt like a violation of human dignity.

It was very contradictory that one had to engage in unwanted s*xual relations to live normally.

“Ah, ah, haah.”

Hearing the rough moans, Charlie, who was waiting at the door with Tanner, looked down at her watch.

Three minutes. It had only been three minutes since it started.

“Oh my god….”

Charlie sighed deeply, thinking Hector would be very angry today.

What kind of d*ck is it that women can’t last five minutes? They must be superior too.

Charlie wetted a towel to quickly wipe off the woman’s fluids before heading to the bathroom for her master, Hector, who would find them filthy and want to cut his flesh.

“Haah, uh, ah….”

No, just hang in there a bit longer. At least make it past five minutes.

Charlie muttered inwardly as she moved her hands faster.

This was not just pitiful, it was miserable.

They say the pain of not being able to ej*culate is immense.

Moreover, due to the aftereffects of his ability, Hector sought strong alcohol every night.

Leaving aside purification, having such a magnificent organ and not being able to ej*culate was truly torture. It was forced castration.

Charlie silently handed two wet towels and one dry towel to Tanner.

Tanner looked at Charlie with amazement and admiration.

Ding—

As expected, the bell rang, signaling Hector’s call and the failure of this s*x session.

* * *