"Whoa… What do I do!"
Arin grabbed the shoulder that Princess Deborah had touched while her face turned red and began stamping her feet like crazy.
'So cool! She's so cool!'
She should never wash these clothes, which were touched by the divine touch of the Princess, and keep them as an heirloom for the rest of her life.
'But I don't have many clothes.'
Because her family is ruined because of her father, who likes to gamble and has a business problem.
(T/N: By business problem, the author means that the father likes to 'gamble' with his businesses and possibly keeps getting in debt.)
Arin tapped the tip of her old shoes with a sullen face, and then cheered up as she recalled the contents of the fourth clause of the contract brought by the Princess.
[Arin Oslot is working as Seymour's librarian as of April 23.]
The position of Seymour's internal librarian was temporarily vacant, so she decided to work there as a temporary employee.
'I can't believe I'm the Princess' vassal!'
"Kyaa!"
She was so happy that she let out a shriek.
The Princess was also a very compassionate master.
As the librarian, she can read books as much as she wants and do her schoolwork at the same time.
Also, the salary is quite high, so she can buy new clothes right away.
Above all, it was an honor for her family to be able to breathe in the same space as the Princess.
'I'm so happy. It's like a dream.'
Actually, she was really scared at first…
Arin Oslot's first impression of Princess Deborah, whom she had only heard of through rumors, was horror itself.
The appearance of Princess Deborah, who had dark circles because she had trouble sleeping, and her eyes turned red from holding back her yawn, was even more brutal that day.
The Princess, who appeared with her bloodshot eyes and a gloomy atmosphere, struck George with the truth by saying he was ugly, with an uncomfortable look on her face.
'Ugh…'
How can she just come out like that?
The unpleasantness was also short-lived.
Princess Deborah, who is rumored to be bad-tempered, may not have stepped up to help her, but in the end, Arin was able to escape George's bullying thanks to her.
When she tried to endure her fear and say thank you, in front of Arin's eyes, the Princess began to punish George for behaving carelessly.
Strangely, that night, Arin couldn't sleep properly because she kept thinking about the Princess.
"The absurd theory you claim to be true."
'Why wasn't I able to refute it so confidently like the Princess?'
Arin was slowly losing confidence because of the ignorant words her father and brother habitually uttered.
Like George, her father, the Earl of Oslot, had a prejudice that women were naturally incapable of magic, and invested much more in his son.
So, since childhood, high-quality education was monopolized by her older brother, and the education Arin received was only basic.
However, she likes to read and is smart, so she was able to qualify for the program for gifted people run by Wizardry Association on her own.
With her father's gambling and a series of failed trading businesses, magic was her only hope.
But recently, even that hope has faded.
Because of her body constitution, which didn't build up mana well, the habitual disrespect of those around her, and the support of her family that was completely cut off.
Amid all the hardships, she felt her heart clearing as she saw George, who had been picking fights with her whenever he had a chance, being beaten to her heart's content.
Moreover, there was something about Princess Deborah, who was tall and had cold features, that made women's hearts flutter.
The denial that she was becoming a fan was brief.
After that day, Arin started making gifts to repay Princess Deborah.
Whatever her intentions, Princess Deborah stepped in, and George's bullying disappeared because of that; so, she had an excuse to give her a gift for that, and she also wanted to give her a gift as a fan.
'It's an insignificant gift, so there's no helping it if she throws it away…'
Fiddling with the magically crafted gift, Arin approached her, who was sitting on the campus behind the magic building.
As soon as she saw Princess Deborah's gorgeous jewelry and luxurious dress, she immediately felt intimidated; but surprisingly, she spoke to Arin first.
"You there, is there something you want to say to me?"
"Ah, that! H-Here. I-I was grateful for what you did last time."
Her hands and feet trembled as she met her bloodshot eyes. She felt like she was going to throw up from the tension.
Princess Deborah tilted her head as she closed her eyes and suddenly held out the gift she had been working on for several days.
"What is that?"
"This is a violet that has been enchanted with preservation magic and scent amplification. As the scent will last for a long time and it will remain in the same shape for more than a month, you can put it as a table decoration."
"You mean you cast attribute magic on a flower?"
"Yes."
"It looks good."
A faint smile appeared on the Princess' lips.
After softly taking the violet from Arin's hand with her pale hands, she opened her mouth.
"What is your name?"
"Arin Oslot."
After speaking with Princess Deborah, Arin kicked the bed all night long in emotion.
'I can't believe she accepted my gift.'
On top of that, something happened the next day that made Arin even more excited.
Princess Deborah secretly came to Arin with a contract.
"Do you want to work as my vassal?"
"What? M-Me, working as the P-Princess' vassal?"
How could she dare to, when she's so shabby?
"There is no need to be afraid. There is something I want to make with your abilities."
Arin's face lit up again at the Princess' words that she needed her insignificant abilities. She was so happy that her hands and feet were trembling.
"You need money, right? As you know, I have nothing but money, so we will get along well."
With a wicked smile, she fluttered a piece of paper that was caught between her index and middle fingers, as if to sign it right away.
'I-I think I'm going to have a nosebleed…'
Arin Oslot, who has a nasty preference for bad men, signed the slavery contract without hesitating for a second, with her mouth shut.
And since then, she hasn't regretted that choice not even once.
***
Meanwhile.
Besides Arin Oslot, there was another person who wanted to get closer to Princess Deborah.
The 5th Princess. Vivienne Hystch.
The only younger sister of Crown Prince Behonik Hystch, she was also one of the Empire's leading fire wizards.
On the day of the fact-finding meeting.
The 5th Princess reluctantly attended the fact-finding meeting at Isidor's request.
Since it was the request of the man whom her brother cherished the most, there was nothing she could do.
'I see Seymour's ruffian has gotten into trouble again.'
Thinking indifferently like that, the Princess leaned against the wall with an annoyed expression and folded her arms.
However, the fact-finding meeting began to develop in a completely unexpected way, and her lax attitude gradually changed.
'How could she solve that formula so quickly?'
She started concentrating and even clenched her fists.
"I… fell in love."
The 5th Princess, who was looking at the Princess' formula, said suddenly, rubbing her hot cheeks.
Thierry, who was standing next to her, was surprised by the fact that the 5th Princess, who usually didn't change her expression or talk much, had such an intense reaction.
"Princess, what on earth did you fall for?"
"I fell in love with that new method of approach. She broke all the conventions set by the Archmage."
"Honestly, I have no idea what the Princess is talking about. What is x and what is y? Are the two lovers or are they enemies? Why are they suddenly sticking together and falling apart like that, causing a commotion?"
"Stop talking."
Looking at Thierry, who was uttering nonsense, the 5th Princess had a pathetic expression on her face.
Like Thierry, the executives who were amateurs in magic looked at the Princess' formula with a confused expression on their faces.
"And they say they are executives."
The 5th princess rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue several times.
After the turbulent fact-finding meeting, Isidor smiled gently, as if he were proud.
"Didn't I say it would be fun? Princess."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I can see that Princess Deborah isn't a Seymour for nothing. To the point that she even surprised the 5th Princess like that."
Thierry muttered with a gloomy face.
"It was really a great performance."
The 5th Princess gave her thumbs up in admiration.
The improvement method announced by Princess Deborah was shocking in itself, and the way she pushed against the Academy and Lemont by herself without feeling discouraged was also impressive.
She was the most coveted talented person she has ever seen recently.
"Seeing that you made my heart race so much, Isidor, you are responsible for bringing Princess Deborah to Epsilon."
Thierry was surprised when the 5th Princess suddenly insisted, with a determined expression on her face.
"Won't Princess Deborah go to Omicron unconditionally? There are a lot of vacancies, and above all, Sir Philap is there."
At Thierry's words, the expressionless 5th Princess frowned slightly.
"Why would Seymour, an orthodox imperialist, go to such an unfounded place?"
Since Omicron was a club dominated by the senate forces who were against the imperial power, she was even more displeased.
"Because Sir Philap…"
"Sir Isidor can lure her with his beauty. He can do it."
The 5th Princess cut off Thierry's words and stared at Isidor's beautiful face.
"Hm. Now that I think of it, it may be possible enough. Our Epsilon leader is much more handsome than Omicron's leader. It's my pride."
Thierry nodded his head in agreement.
"That's right. It's possible enough."
Isidor, who had already used the handsome guy strategy to the point of exhaustion, turned pale.
"Sir Isidor, be strong."
"Bring her to Epsilon, unconditionally."
The 5th Princess left the auditorium, with a strong tone of voice.