No Entry Except for the Master - Chapter 19

“During the contract period, you’ll be paid a salary like any other servant. In your case, you’ll also be provided with food, clothing, and shelter. Once my plan is over, I’ll release you.

After that, whether you live as a rabbit or use the money you earned to settle down in human society is up to you. If you choose to live as a human, I’ll arrange a suitable identity for you.”

As long as her true identity wasn’t discovered, those were decent conditions. That is, except for the fact that if her identity was exposed, Teia would withdraw, leaving Lilith to bear all the responsibility alone.

“I could break the contract later. What if I go around telling people I made a deal with you?”

“You wouldn’t be able to even if you wanted to. Even if you tried, the words wouldn’t come out of your mouth. That’s what the prohibition clause is for.”

That was exactly why he had gone through the trouble of obtaining a rare magical contract.

Magical contracts were incredibly useful because, once the contract was signed, it vanished from existence, and one could set prohibition clauses. That made them highly sought after by people who wanted to hide the contract’s existence or who needed to bind unbreakable terms.

However, magical contracts were strictly regulated by the state, and using one privately without authorization was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.

Even illegal copies were hard to find, and it had taken Teia a considerable amount of time—even for him—to acquire a contract with just a single prohibition clause.

“Um… But what if I say I won’t sign the contract?”

“Then you’ll have no choice but to die right here and now.”

“Ugh… Then why even ask?”

At the casual threat of being killed—said as if merely commenting on the weather—Lilith flinched and jumped in place. She lowered her brows and anxiously picked at the ends of her nails.

Humans despised chimera werebeasts. Her past masters used to threaten to report her if she disobeyed. Compared to those who had constantly used threats and violence, Teia’s offer—so long as she behaved—almost seemed gentlemanly.

If she was going to die if exposed anyway, wouldn’t it be better to hide safely in Teia’s estate until the contract ended and then make a fresh start? Lilith gradually began to see Teia’s proposal in a more favorable light.

Teia, reading Lilith’s thoughts plainly from her face, slowly curled his lips into a smile.

Though it was a special magical contract, it didn’t take long. The document shimmered faintly and then vanished, and Lilith became someone who could never speak a word about Teia knowing her true identity.

“Did you escort her back safely?”

To celebrate the contract, Lilith had returned to her rabbit form and gorged on strawberries until she fell asleep. She hadn’t been able to sleep well at night lately, and after crying from being scolded earlier, she was exhausted. Even after a nap, she had dozed off again, snoring softly.

Teia quietly asked Cesar, who had just laid Lilith down gently in her cage in the office.

“Yes. I made sure the lock was secure, too.”

“Your expression doesn’t look great.”

“To be honest, I don’t understand why Your Highness is going to such lengths. The risk is too great.”

“You’re right.”

“Then I understand even less. If it’s revenge against the Crown Prince, wouldn’t it be better to report him right now?”

Cesar had a point. Originally, Teia had planned to tease and frustrate Ludvio a bit and then shake him up by involving the werebeast chimera.

But there were a few reasons his plan had changed.

Ludvio’s desperation had exceeded his expectations. It made his suspect that there was another weakness of his, connected to the rabbit, that he hadn’t yet uncovered.

Dozens of letters, constant requests to visit, and repeated secret attempts to sneak into the duchy—though he had already cleaned up the surroundings, his persistence made him curious to find out just what he was hiding.

And another reason was…

“Unexpectedly, animal therapy has been very effective.”

Even when she was just a rabbit, it had been quite amusing to torment her. Most of all, being able to play with her in bed exactly the way he liked helped relieve a lot of stress.

Whether it was truly the effect of animal therapy or just a matter of compatibility, he wasn’t sure. But the fact that his lifelong, oppressive headaches disappeared just from s****l release was a shocking discovery.

He had become so used to the pain that he could hardly remember what it was like to live without it. Now that he had found that peace, he wasn’t willing to let go of it easily.