"Alan, is it? I've never heard of you, but to be able to release a collar of subjugation -- you must be quite the renowned mage. You have my thanks."
"You're welcome. So, um, could you leave Marquis Hannibal's disposition to me?"
"That's a rather unreasonable request."
"Well, I was hoping to... take care of things."
"Can you really pull that off?"
"Just watch."
◇◇◇
Marquis Hannibal, knocked unconscious by a savage beating from the warriors, woke up in an unfamiliar room.
"Ugh... damn those muscle-bound brutes, just you wait. Huh? This voice?"
The voice that came from Hannibal's mouth belonged to a middle-aged woman.
"Well, well, you're awake, former Marquis Hannibal?"
"Who are you? Stulte? And this place... isn't this a slave quarters?! How dare you -- do you have any idea who I am?!"
"A deserter who defied our great lord, Alan -- that's who."
Stulte, the owner of the White Slave Guild, had already been broken in by Alan's subordinates.
"By the grace of our exalted lord, Alan, you've been turned into a woman. From now on, you'll live as an anonymous commoner slave named 'Hanna.'"
"Nonsense! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Hanna, look at that mirror over there."
When Hannibal looked at the mirror in the room, it showed a middle-aged woman dressed in commoner's clothes with a collar of subjugation around her neck.
"That's impossible! I am Marquis Hannibal!"
"Sure, sure. Now let's face reality. Though honestly, you got off easy."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"With crimes like yours, you'd normally be made an illegal slave and nobody could complain. But our magnanimous lord, Alan, declared that 'illegal slavery is out of the question.'"
"How can you say that with a straight face?! Gaagagahh!"
"Our merciful lord, Alan, instructed: 'Treat them only as a legal slave -- for a former noble, that should be humiliation enough to kill them.' So do your best."
◇◇◇
When the head of the house, Marquis Hannibal, suddenly vanished into thin air, the Slane Marquisate was left without a successor. Hannibal's son, who took over, was unable to secure any illegal slaves either.
Since he knew no other way to maintain the family's power, the faction that had been on track to rival the Three Grand Electors scattered, and the Slane Marquisate fell into decline.
◇◇◇
At the former Marquis Hannibal's estate, the noble who had newly purchased the mansion was berating a middle-aged woman.
"Hey, get to cleaning already!"
"Y-yes, I'm sorry!"
"You're always so slow! Do you want me to make you clean the chamber pot with your tongue?!"
"I'm sorry, please, anything but that!"
"Honestly, you can't even use cleaning magic, and I was kind enough to hire you. The least you could do is put some effort into it!"
"Y-yes, right away! Damn it -- this was my mansion, so why am I being made to do this..."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing at all."
Marquis Hannibal -- no, now just a middle-aged woman named Hanna -- was forced to scrub down a massive noble's mansion.
The White Slave Guild had been short on cleaners, and Hanna had been assigned to a particular noble's estate, which gave her some stability.
But a marquis family head would naturally possess no cleaning magic -- the kind common lowlifes carried.
And the estate she'd been assigned to was none other than the former Slane Marquisate's mansion -- the very place where she had once reigned as its master.
There she was made to clean, tormented daily as a lady's maid by the noble who had purchased the estate -- a humiliating existence beyond measure.
◇◇◇
"Hanna, there's still dust on the window frame! Can't you clean properly?"
The head maid traced a finger along the window frame with a slow, deliberate drag.
"My apologies, Head Maid. I'll wipe it down right away."
"Good grief, when will you ever learn to clean properly..."
On top of that, the other servants bullied her too.
The servants had no way of knowing that Hanna was the fallen former master of the house, so they worked the newcomer mercilessly.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The name of the noble who had newly purchased the estate was surely Polna... never mind.
Also, the legal slaves here are only made to work for their intended purchase purpose or assignment purpose (cleaning the mansion, in this case), and food, clothing, and shelter are guaranteed.
Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Fist God] [Spear God] [Scorching Magic] [Freezing Ice Magic] [Clear Storm Magic] [Rock Iron Magic] [Sacred Magic] [Dark Magic] [Space-Time Magic] [Thunder God Sword] [Phantom Thief Gentleman] [Ninja Master] [Seeker of Truth] [Uncanny Strength] [Veda] [Pain Relief] [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance] [Dark Spirit's Protection] [Super Intuition] [Heaven's Gate] [Abyss Contractee] [Magic Hand] [Treasure Search] [Seduction] [Incitement] [Eloquence] [Strong Luck] [Growth Speed x10] [Growth Limit Breakthrough]
Rank: Orichalcum