"Your job is to be my live-in maid."
"You will be entrusted with all the household chores. Of course, there will be an allowance given, and in addition to three meals, an afternoon snack will be included too."
The mansion was redundantly spacious with plenty of rooms available. So there should be no problem accommodating Charlotte.
Charlotte started to get flustered upon hearing the rough explanation.
"Are you listening to what I am saying!? I'm the one who asked you!"
"Well... it certainly seems foolish to shelter such a woman."
Allen's pragmatic side was urging him to withdraw his offer.
She reeked of trouble. For Allen, who lived deep in the woods with a single desire not to have anything to do with people, she was a plague to him.
"I told you earlier...... I've been betrayed like you in the past."
"...You, too?"
"Allen. Allen Crawford."
Looking straight into Charlotte's eyes, Allen offered a small smile.
It was about three years ago.
Allen had set out on a trip to broaden his horizons. During his journey, he was invited by a certain party to join their group.
They were looking for a wizard to join as a member on their adventure around the world.
With their skillful storytelling, they had drawn the naive Allen, who had yet to experience the real ways of the world, to the dreams of adventures and fun he would have with his friends.
Allen was born a genius. He was rarely understood by others, and so there were only a few people who he could call friends.
But they had intended to use Allen from the beginning.
"Those guys had only wanted to use me for my abilities to uncover an ancient temple that had been sealed off. They had only wanted the treasure and left me there in the middle of a horde of demons."
"Oh no... that's terrible!"
"Well, it's all in the past now."
Allen shook his head with a wry smile.
He had barely survived at that time. Thanks to that incident, he no longer put his trust in people.
He gently held Charlotte's hand.
"I had no one to help me at that time. That's why I... can't leave you in a similar situation."
"... Allen."
Tears welled up in Charlotte's eyes.
... Now all of Allen's companions were prisoners of this country.
Allen had gathered every piece of evidence of their crimes and turned them over to the authorities.
And while he was at it, he had left countless curses on them. Surely they would all be in prison by now, suffering from chronic manic insomnia, headaches, and constipation together.
Just by thinking about it, Allen felt that his meals tasted so much better.
In addition, the government offered a large amount of bounty money for this case.
Apparently, his old companions had been up to no good here and there. Thanks to them, he was able to buy this mansion with that cash and retire comfortably.
His distrust of people had intensified in exchange for his revenge.
However, Allen decided to keep this a secret from Charlotte for the time being. She was deeply touched to learn that Allen had experienced the same kind of betrayal.
Even so, Charlotte adamantly shook her head.
"B-But... I would only bring trouble to Allen! I appreciate the sentiment but... I can't accept such an offer!"
"Is that so... it can't be helped then."
What a fairly stubborn girl!
If that's the case--
"In that case, I'll have to use my last resort."
Allen snapped his fingers.
Shortly after that, a glowing red crest appeared on his clothes around his chest. It was a sign of a curse, which was Allen's specialty.
He gave Charlotte whose head was tilted, a fearless and meaningful grin.
"Just now, I had cast a curse of death on... myself"
"... What?"
Charlotte stared back with a confused face.
Then, Allen pointed a firm index finger towards her as he crouched vigorously.
"Unless you say 'I will work here' I will not lift this curse! In other words... three minutes from now, my heart will stop working!"
"W-What!?"
"Come on. Hurry up with your decision! Else, an innocent civilian is going to lose his life because of you!"
"Why would you do that! The manner in which you speak came across as a bad person but... it seems you're a nice person for trying to help me!?"
"Mwahahahaha. Of course, I am the embodiment of virtue! So what are you going to do, Charlotte? You have two minutes and thirty-one seconds left! And if I may add, it's already getting harder to breathe!"
"Please don't take your life so lightly!"
And that was how Charlotte, with a pale crying face, agreed to live in this mansion in less than a minute.