"Ha~!"
Along with a yawn as she woke up, Cocotte stretched lazily.
She blinked her eyes and looked at the sheet of contract paper handed to her.
"?"
Cocotte was still a little sleepy, raising her head in a daze to look at the person in front of her.
A tall figure, and a head of beautiful hair.
A woman.
If Cocotte remembered correctly, Viktor said he had a younger sister.
Their scent was very similar, so this should be that person…
"You're Li…"
"Cocotte Yard, right? I didn't get the wrong person?"
Liya spoke first with a smiling face, making Cocotte freeze for a moment.
Liya pointed at the contract and said, "You only need to sign your own name right here."
As she spoke, Liya took out a pen and handed it to Cocotte.
Cocotte blankly took the contract, looked at the words on it, suddenly sobered up quite a bit, and sat up, "Work for the Clavenna family, every day… eight hours… two days off… food and lodging included…"
After finishing, Cocotte's hands began trembling uncontrollably.
"Th–this… this… this, this isn't right!"
"Hmm? What isn't right?"
Liya looked at the contract with slight confusion. These were already the conditions for the lowest-level workers in the Clavenna household.
She looked at Cocotte, then as if suddenly understanding, said, "Oh... oh, I get what you mean."
Hearing that, Cocotte let out a breath of relief, only to see Liya switch the contract and hand her a different one.
Black paper with white ink, written very clearly, rest all day, but if the Clavenna family encounters trouble, the signee must resolve the problem.
"This one is a little more free."
"Viktor said you're a Tier-Four mage, and a former councilor, so this job is more suited for you."
Cocotte felt like she was going crazy.
"No no no no! Why do I have to work?! I clearly only need to sleep!"
Liya kept the same smiling expression.
"Mhm, Viktor said our Clavenna family doesn't support freeloaders."
"Of course, you can also choose not to sign."
Hope suddenly dawned on Cocotte.
But then she noticed Liya's smile turning a little unfriendly, and a bad feeling rose in her heart.
"Viktor said that if you don't sign, he'll tell your people where you are."
"Ah, well, I don't really understand these things either, I'm just the messenger."
At that moment, Liya's smile looked to Cocotte like that of a demon seeping into her soul.
"So, three choices. Which one will you pick?"
Cocotte lifted her head and slowly closed her eyes, letting tears stream down her cheeks.
These were tears called sadness.
And tears called aggrievement.
If she could choose again, even if she had to sleep inside Endymion's chaotic magical currents, she absolutely wouldn't have picked coming to Viktor's estate.
'He is a bastard!'
Cocotte opened her eyes, a few crystal drops still lingering at the corners.
Since she couldn't resist, then she might as well obey.
"The first one looks really tiring… I'll pick the second!"
"Really?"
Liya smiled even brighter.
"Really!"
Cocotte nodded with absolute certainty.
Only then did Liya let Cocotte sign her name on the second contract.
This contract carried magical restrictions, likely spells Viktor had applied.
After all, only the mana of a Tier-Four mage could restrict someone of the same level.
The moment Cocotte signed and placed the pen in Liya's hand, she then sank down into the cloud beneath her.
"I'm done signing, so… there shouldn't be anything else I need to do, right?"
She clearly remembered the contract stating she could rest all day unless there was trouble requiring her to work.
'Uh… only if something happened?'
Cocotte suddenly realized something.
If something happened every day…
Wouldn't she have to work every day?
"It's over."
Cocotte had no way to regret it now. Her name was already on the contract. She was filled with remorse, recalling the textual trap she had stepped into.
Liya, smiling sweetly, said to her, "Then, get ready to start your first day of work."
———
The carriage slowly arrived at Duke Levi's estate.
Cocotte was sitting on a cloud, nodding off.
A servant saw visitors approaching and hurried into the estate to report.
Soon, Duke Levi appeared at the front gate.
When he saw Cocotte, he paused.
"Councilor Yard?"
Cocotte covered her mouth while yawning, glancing at Duke Levi, "Oh, it's you."
Back when she was a councilor, Cocotte hadn't met many other mages.
But Duke Levi was one of the few she remembered.
He had once gone to the Magical Capital, learned some powerful spells, and brought them back to the Empire.
But Cocotte hardly remembered any of that now.
She said with a bit of resentment, "Don't call me that. I'm not a councilor anymore."
"Oh, I understand."
Duke Levi nodded at her, already understanding in his heart.
Viktor had become the new councilor, but the Mage Council naturally wouldn't break rules just for him.
There had to be a sacrifice to remove a councilor's seat.
Right now, Cocotte was that sacrifice.
Even so, as a former councilor, she was still a powerful Tier-Four mage.
Proper respect was necessary.
But this combination, honestly, felt strange to Duke Levi.
Viktor's sister bringing a former councilor to his home…
No matter how he thought about it, it felt odd.
"Duke Levi, I'm here to help you." Liya spoke.
Before this, Duke Levi had tried to use his influence to help her out of trouble.
Of course, once Viktor intervened, the matter was basically resolved.
So in truth, Duke Levi hadn't actually helped Liya with anything.
But…
Before Viktor returned, Duke Levi had still stepped forward.
Even if he hadn't done anything substantial, Liya had to acknowledge that kindness.
The duke was slightly moved seeing Liya come all the way here. He also knew he had done almost nothing.
But he wasn't the type to reject goodwill. If someone came to help him, that was a good thing.
"Miss Liya, I'll remember your kindness."
Cocotte watched them from the side, completely confused.
She had no idea what the two were talking about, so she simply lay on her cloud quietly listening to them greet each other and exchange words.
Soon, led by the duke, Cocotte and Liya entered a room.
As soon as the door opened, a rush of natural energy filled Cocotte's nose.
"This is…"
"My daughter, Erica's room."
Duke Levi answered Cocotte's question.
Once Cocotte entered the room, what she saw was a delicate, beautiful, golden-haired little girl lying calmly asleep on the bed.
But the strange thing was, vines and flowers were growing out of her body, spreading outward, winding across the floor and walls.
The entire room was practically overtaken by blossoms and weeds.
A flower growing on her body even pulsed its petals as though breathing.
Warm sunlight poured into the room, bathing Erica completely.
Cocotte's eyes lit up.
Such rich natural energy, if she could nap here, it would be amazing.
But she was still at least a somewhat responsible elf. She knew this was her work time, so she couldn't slack off.
Even if she was about to die from sleepiness, she couldn't lie down here.
"My daughter turned into this a few days ago."
"Strange plants grew from her body, and she fell into a coma."
Duke Levi frowned deeply, worry written all over his face.
He had searched the entire capital for doctors, but every doctor said Erica had no problem.
Even magical examinations showed she was in an extremely saturated state.
Liya looked at the flower-covered Erica and nodded.
This situation didn't need explanation. How could a normal person grow flowers on their body?
So she took out a bottle of red potion from her bag.
She had asked Viktor for five bottles earlier when interrogating Chur, but ended up not using any.
So the five healing potions had been kept.
"Duke, let Erica drink this."
Duke Levi accepted the potion.
He knew well how miraculous this little red bottle was. In fact, this was exactly what he had been hoping for.
He could only place his hopes on this potion now.
He stepped across the flowerbed, lifted Erica gently, and slowly poured the red potion into her mouth.
When he finished, everyone stared at Erica.
But the expected recovery did not appear.
"Hmm?"
Liya stared blankly at Erica, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.
The potion instead made Erica's life energy surge even more, and even more flowers grew on her.
"It actually… didn't work?"
Even Viktor's all-purpose potion didn't work… then what could possibly cure her?
Duke Levi felt despair, but he couldn't show it.
Liya, however, thought quietly, feeling something odd.
"Is it possible this… isn't an illness?"
She had witnessed the potion's miracles with her own eyes.
Even someone dying from poison could have their life pulled back by it.
If even the potion did nothing, then perhaps these flowers growing on Erica…
Might be harmless?
But Liya wasn't an expert, this was only her guess.
At that moment, Cocotte was staring at the wildly growing flowerbed beside Erica in surprise.
"Such dense life force, what did you just feed her?"
Liya suddenly reacted.
Right, she didn't understand these things, but wasn't there a Tier-Four mage right next to her?
"Cocotte, your work has begun."
"Eh?"
The shut-in elf was confused. She didn't even understand what this condition was herself.
Duke Levi also looked at Cocotte with expectation.
"Councilor Ya… Miss Yard, please help Erica."
"Uwah, stop saying that, I'll help! Isn't it fine if I help?!"
After all, as a former councilor, Cocotte's moral sense wasn't low.
She couldn't just watch someone die.
Most of the magic Cocotte had studied was nature magic, capable of giving allies and herself strong and long-lasting buffs.
So she sat on her cloud and floated to Erica's side.
Under the expectant gazes of the two, she activated the natural energy inside her and constructed a magic circle in the air.
It was a relatively simple mana scan, mainly to examine the energy structure of these strange flowers.
Very soon, Cocotte's expression grew heavier and heavier.
Finally, she dispelled the magic, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and slowly exhaled, "Druja?"