I became the contracted maid of the (villainous) Duke due to personal circumstances

With hurried hands, she opened the letter.

She had waited until the last moment. Surely, they had managed to secure the money. Ruru read the message from her father with a hopeful heart, but her expression quickly soured.

The letter read, “Earlier, Lord Damian expressed his desire to cancel the contract. Both my mother and I are currently on our way to the capital. Ruru, please go pick up Thomas. We’re truly sorry for how things have turned out.”

Written with a rough hand, the letter revealed the cancellation of the contract by the noble who had been investing in the glass workshop. It was the final blow that signaled the end of Einzweir’s Company.

(“…I had a feeling this might happen.”)

Ruru, on the verge of tears, bit her lip to hold back her emotions. There were two things she needed to do immediately.

First, she had to quickly arrange for her brother’s withdrawal from school. Second, she had to find a place to hide from the debt collectors until her parents returned.

She couldn’t afford to waste time crying now. She had to stay strong. Determined, she took a deep breath and began walking briskly.

And then…

“Hey, Miss Einzweir, we’ve been looking for you.”

(*Gasp*)

On her way, debt collectors started appearing from the shadows, and Ruru jumped in surprise.

( “They were all gathered in front of Einzweir’s Company, so I thought they wouldn’t be in the town!”)

She tried to turn around and go in the opposite direction, but they quickly surrounded her.

“Nice to see you, Miss Einzweir. We’ve been searching for you.”

(*Scream*)

As they traveled down the road, debt collectors began emerging from hiding spots, causing Ruru to jump in surprise.

(“There were so many of them gathered in front of Einzweir’s Company, I didn’t think they’d be around town!”)

She tried to turn and head in the opposite direction, but she was quickly surrounded.

“Well, well, look who we found. We’ve been wanting to have a little chat with your dad… But where could he have gone?”

The debt collectors spoke in a friendly tone, clearly taunting her. They underestimated her because she was a young girl. Ruru did her best to maintain her composure.

“W-Well, my father is currently outside the capital, and he’ll be back very soon.”

“Is that so? But he’s definitely coming back today, right? After all, today is the deadline for the loan repayment, and it’s been extended several times, hasn’t it?”

One of them put his arm around her shoulder and leaned his weight on her, making her feel trapped.

This is bad. She couldn’t escape.

“P-Please, I beg you. Can you please wait for just a few more days?”

In response to her earnest plea, they burst into laughter, their voices echoing.

“Oh come on, missy. You run a furniture store, so you should be keeping up with your delivery dates. Or maybe, what’s this? Are you planning to stomp and run away?”

“I have no intention of doing that! I will repay it properly.”

“Well, that’s some determination.”

“…So, do you know how you’re going to repay the money?”

The men chuckled while scanning over Ruru’s face and body.

“We’ve got a perfect job for you, missy. We can introduce you.”

“For the sake of your family, you should be determined. You’ve got a pretty face, and if you work hard, you could easily earn around 50,000 gallons in a day, don’t you think?”

(This is definitely leading towards being sold to a brothel—!)

Shady moneylenders wouldn’t introduce her to a legitimate job. Ruru turned pale and vigorously shook her head.

“I’ll repay the money properly, I promise!”

“We can’t wait any longer.”

“Please, just give me a few more days!”

“Quit your jabbering and get over here!”

She felt like they were about to forcibly take her somewhere

(Why am I the one going through this… No, I asked Mom and Dad to focus on the business and not worry about me. But that accountant, leaving a young girl behind and running away! Aah, a crisis of chastity! I have to find a way to escape from here somehow…)

Desperately resisting and without any regard for shame or pride, she cried out, “Someone, please help!”

“What are you doing?” The passerby who appeared to be a young man pushed aside the debt collectors and pulled Ruru close.

Ruru found herself sheltered by the stranger’s chest before she could even fully recognize his face. He was a young man with an unassuming but solid build and a confident voice.

An expression of exasperation crossed his face as he sighed, seemingly bewildered by the situation.