She was about to be taken to prison, but...
“I managed to escape the house when the guard wasn’t looking.”
“Indeed...” Allen stroked his chin.
It was quite a simple plot, really. In all likelihood, Prince Cecil had been loath to marry Charlotte, either because she was an illegitimate child, or because he’d taken a liking to another woman. His exact motive didn’t matter. In any case, he wanted Charlotte out of his way. If he exposed her as a wicked woman, he would be able to banish his inconvenient fiancée and win public acclaim at the same time—a clever maneuver of killing two birds with one stone.
Doesn’t change the fact that it’s disgusting, Allen thought with a slight sneer.
Unaware of what was running through his head, Charlotte gave him a deep bow. “I’m grateful for your help. But I think they’ll be coming after me very soon—even the newspaper in this country has reported this story, after all. I won’t give you any more trouble. Once I rest a little bit, I’ll set out at once—”
“One question,” Allen interrupted, holding up his index finger. “Are you good at cleaning?”
Charlotte stared back at his sudden question. “Um...?”
“Answer me.”
When he pressed her, she spoke timidly. “Ummm, I think I can clean as well as an average person... Why do you ask?”
“Good. Perfect answer.” Allen gave her a pat on her shoulder. “All right, Charlotte. You’re hired.”
“Huh?!”
“Stay here. You’ll be a nominal live-in maid.”
Her job would include all kinds of housework. He would remunerate her, of course, along with three meals a day plus sweets. Since his mansion was excessively spacious, with many empty rooms, there was plenty of space for one more resident. If needed, there were even multiple toilets and bathrooms.
When he concluded his rough explanation, Charlotte came to herself and went into a panic. “Were you listening to my story?! I’m a wanted person!”
“I suppose you’re right—it’s entirely foolish of me to shelter you.” The cool, rational part of his mind pleaded with him to withdraw his offer immediately. Her presence spelled nothing but trouble. In fact, for a misanthrope like Allen, who lived deep in the forest by himself precisely because he didn’t want to get involved with anyone else, Charlotte might as well have been a messenger of misfortune.
Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon her.
“As I said...I’ve also been betrayed in the past.”
“You too...?”
“My name is Allen. Allen Crawford.” He looked straight into her eyes with a thin smile.
The incident had occurred about three years ago. Allen had been on a journey to see the world when he came across an adventuring party. They were about to embark on an expedition around the world, they said, and invited him to join their group. Apparently, they had been on the lookout for a competent wizard.
Because he had a streak of genius in him, few people had truly understood Allen before then. There was hardly anyone he could call a friend. And so, delighted by their welcome, he readily agreed to join their fellowship, dreaming of the exciting journey to come and the bright future to be shared with his new comrades.
However, as it turned out, they had only approached Allen for their own selfish gain.
“They used me to uncover an ancient temple that had lain hidden under a spell. They wanted the treasure inside. As soon as I lifted the spell, they threw me away—left me to die surrounded by a pack of demons.”
“Oh...how awful!”
“Well, what’s past is past. I was young. An easy target.” He shook his head with a wry grin. Though he’d managed to escape alive, the experience had made him even more mistrustful.
He took Charlotte’s hand and held it softly. “Back then, there was no one around to give me a helping hand. So I...I can’t abandon you when you’re suffering in a similar situation.”
“Allen...” Charlotte’s eyes were wet with tears.
By the by—all of Allen’s ex-comrades were now living in a prison in this country. After hunting down every scrap of evidence for their crimes, he had captured and presented them to the administration of justice. And while he was at it, he had cast layers upon layers of curses on each of them, so by now, they were likely having a grand old time in prison, suffering from chronic insomnia, headaches, and diarrhea.
Whenever he remembered this fact, Allen relished the taste of every meal, seasoned with satisfaction. On top of that, apparently, the group had been wreaking havoc across the country, so the country had given him a handsome reward for turning in the criminals. Thanks to the bounty, Allen was able to buy this mansion in cash and live a peaceful, secluded life in retirement.
At the end of the day, his mistrust in people may have been aggravated, but he had already gotten more than his share of revenge. In other words, it wasn’t quite accurate to say there was no one around to give him a helping hand back then; rather, he had made light work of cleaning up the matter himself.
Nevertheless, he kept the rest of the story a secret from Charlotte. She must have been moved by his words, coming from a man who had also experienced a malicious betrayal.
Yet she still shook her head. “B-But I’ll only bring trouble to you, Allen! I really am grateful, but...I can’t accept your offer!”
“Right...then I have no choice.” It seemed she was a rather stubborn girl. In that case... “It’s time for my last resort.”
Allen snapped his fingers. A glowing, red insignia appeared over his shirt, right around his heart. It was the ominous sign made by a curse that Allen excelled at casting. He grinned triumphantly at Charlotte, who looked bewildered.
“I’ve just cast a death curse on myself.”
Charlotte stared blankly at him. “What?”
Allen pointed a finger straight at her and fired off, “If you don’t agree to work here, I won’t undo the curse! Which means my heart will stop in exactly three minutes!”
“Whaaat?!” Her scream rang throughout the house.