As Cedric had said, Rufus came to see Sheila in the evening.

“This is the contract.”

With those words, Rufus handed a document to Sheila.

Sheila had written contracts a few times before.

The most recent was about two years ago, when all the servants of the Calley household signed employment contracts.

Before signing the simple contract, everyone received an explanation from the butler about the employment terms. Signing didn’t change anything from before, but having a formal document meant the employment was more secure.

Remembering that experience, Sheila confidently accepted the document.

But what was all this?

The contract from Rufus seemed much longer and more complicated than the one she had received back then.

“Can you read?”

Sheila, narrowing her eyes as she examined the contract, quickly nodded at Rufus’s question.

“Y-Yes, of course.”

As she said, Sheila could read and write. She had learned while working at Chandler’s General Store. To work there, she had to know at least simple words.

Knowing how to read had been a great help after becoming a maid.

When she started washing the maids’ uniforms, she embroidered the owner’s initials on the inner lining to prevent them from getting mixed up. Keeping records of the money she earned from side jobs would have been difficult if she didn’t know letters. As a side note, she used a notebook Judith had thrown away for her records.

Sheila believed that even if she moved to another job in the future, knowing how to read would be a great advantage. And the fact that she could read often gave her a sense of pride.

Thus, confidently declaring she could read, Sheila looked back at the document with determination.

[Whipping Maid Contract]

A title that made it feel like signing carelessly would ruin her life was written at the top.

Below that was small, densely packed text. And not just one or two pages, but three whole pages!

Sheila stared intently at the papers she had received, but she couldn’t make sense of it at all.

The group employment contract from the Calley household had not been nearly this complicated.

Although the butler had given an explanation, it was still something she could have read on her own.

Unaware of Sheila’s thoughts, Rufus spoke with a calm expression, simply carrying out the task given by his master.

“Since you can read, I will explain only the main points.”

Of course, she could read. She just couldn’t read quickly, nor could she read difficult words.

Fortunately, hearing that Rufus would explain made Sheila sigh in relief inside. Following along while listening to an explanation made understanding much easier than reading alone.

She didn’t want to go back on her claim that she could read. If she did, the other party might deceive her about the contents.

No matter how kind Rufus looked, she couldn’t trust blindly. The world was not that easy.

“To put it simply, this is an employment contract designating you, Miss Sheila, as Lady Judith’s whipping maid.”

Rufus spoke with a polite yet very formal smile.

“As you can see at the top, from here on, the Calley family’s eldest son, Young Master Cedric Calley, will be referred to as ‘Party A,’ and you, Miss Sheila, a maid from Broden, will be referred to as ‘Party B.’”

When Sheila nodded quietly, Rufus pointed to the contract as he continued, “In Article 2, Clause 1, you will find the definition of a whipping maid. Naturally, in this contract, it refers to a maid who will be whipped in place of Lady Judith. In Clause 3 of the same article, the class schedule is set for three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and while the days may be changed if necessary, it cannot exceed three days a week.”

I see…

Throughout the explanation, Sheila weakly nodded. Overall, the terminology was difficult, and the content was long.

She didn’t fully understand everything, but she could at least feel that the terms were reasonable.

She was especially reassured by the clause stating that the terms could be modified by mutual agreement in unavoidable circumstances.

Not seeing any major issues with the contract, Sheila was beginning to drift toward drowsiness despite trying to focus.

“…The pay will be the same as your current maid’s salary of ten solid.”

At the word “pay,” Sheila’s half-closed eyes snapped wide open.

“Oh… so there’s no additional allowance?”

Of course. It made no sense to give an extra ten solid just for taking a few strokes of the cane. Maybe ten denis, but not that.

She must have been mistaken when she was summoned to Cedric’s room and got too nervous. The clever Young Master Cedric would never have misspoken.

Still, wasn’t it too much to say it would be physically taxing and then just pay the same as before?

Sheila had expected at least a small allowance, if not another full ten solid, and couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

‘Well, there’s nothing I can do. It’s my job to do whatever I’m told.’

As she was resigning herself to that thought after asking the question, Rufus answered, “Ah! I must have worded that poorly. Upon signing, you will be given an additional whipping maid salary equal to the ten solid you receive as a maid. This is stated in Article 11, Clause 1. As you can see, it is marked as ‘advance payment.’”

Pointing to the relevant clause, Rufus then took out a pouch of coins, as if to present evidence.

Inside that pouch was ten solid…!

Seeing the pouch, Sheila swallowed her saliva.

Once the three-page explanation was finished, Rufus added, “What I explained is the main content, and the rest is just standard clauses you’d expect in a contract. Please review it and sign. I will give you plenty of time to read it.”

Rufus smiled again the same way as earlier. It was truly a smile that made people subtly uncomfortable.

Sheila responded with a formal smile of her own and turned her eyes back to the contract.

He had told her to take her time, but perhaps because Rufus stood guard without so much as a twitch, she could not concentrate at all. The only thing she could make out was that what Rufus had explained was indeed written there as is.

Well, it stood to reason that Cedric Calley, the Calley family’s eldest son, would not pull any thug tricks on a mere maid.

When they had drafted the group employment contract before, it hadn’t harmed the servants either. Far from harming them, it actually reduced the number of times they were dismissed on a whim. There had even been a time when, if you got on the wrong side of not only the Count and Countess Calley but also the head maid or the butler, being sacked overnight was common.

“To repeat out of caution, you must keep absolute secrecy not only about what happens during the lessons but also about the contract details such as the additional allowance.”

As if Sheila’s signing were a foregone conclusion, Rufus once again emphasized the precautions.

Thinking it was a great relief she hadn’t mentioned the contract or the whipping allowance even to Molly earlier in the day, Sheila nodded.

“If you have read it sufficiently, please sign.”

At Rufus’s words, Sheila didn’t hesitate any further and wrote her name at the very bottom.

Next to Cedric’s name, his elegant signature had already been scrawled.

Looking at his signature, Sheila thought: so long as she worked attached to this mansion, refusing the master’s order was not an option.

Rufus also had her sign the other copy he was holding and reading from, confirming that the two were drawn up with the same contents.

Once all the signatures were finished, Rufus slid one of the two sets of documents in front of Sheila out with a swift motion. Then he held out the pouch he had shown earlier.

“You may open it and check.”

Sheila opened the money pouch and poured the gold coins onto her palm. After confirming the ten gleaming coins, she put them back into the pouch and pulled the strings on both sides to tie it shut.

“Is that correct?”

Sheila nodded.

“You may keep one copy of the documents, Miss Sheila.”

Watching Rufus, who for some reason looked in good spirits, Sheila answered, “Yes.”

After Rufus left, Sheila took the gold coins out of the pouch again and counted them, and she also looked over the signed contract once more.

It felt strange to see Cedric’s name and her own written one above the other.

Sheila found the most important part and haltingly read it aloud.

“Article 12, Whipping Salary. 1. Party A shall pay Party B a whipping salary of ten solid each month in advance.”

It was real. Not three months’ worth, but ten solid every month.

Sheila hugged the contract tightly and danced in place.

No matter how hard she worked each month, she had never had such a large sum in her hands. Most of her maid’s wages had to be sent to her family home, and the money she earned from side jobs amounted to at most two or three solid.

After savoring the joy for a moment, Sheila sat down on the floor with the precious contract folded in half and the pouch of advance payment in her hands.

Then she lifted up the floorboard that always creaked. Sheila’s secret space revealed itself.

The small space, just big enough to fit a box, was where she usually kept her ledger and various important items.

Sheila put the money pouch and the contract in there, then closed the floor.

‘This pays off better than I thought.’

Sheila felt good.

Getting involved needlessly with a noble, and with Cedric at that, weighed on her mind, but it was only three months anyway. As a fifth-year maid, Sheila knew well how quickly three months passed.

She wasn’t confident about being beaten, but looked at another way, there was no field she was more confident in than working things off with her own body. Born in a household with nothing, with only her body to her name, it was a choice she could hardly avoid.

A body that would rot once she died anyway. Better to use it hard while she was alive and then die.

Thanks to this, she would be able to give Molly a wedding gift that would not be stingy.

‘This is for the best.’

Thinking so, Sheila soothed the lingering unease in her heart.