I Reincarnated Just to be Unemployed

[Luceille’s POV—Ashcroft Manor—Later]

Silence.

An eerie, suffocating silence hung over Ashcroft Manor.

Every knight stood frozen with trembling hands gripping their swords. Servants huddled together behind pillars, peeking over one another’s shoulders as though expecting the apocalypse itself to begin.

Why?

Well, because the entire manor had been invaded.

BY WHITE FOX BEAST!!!

White foxes. Big foxes. Small foxes. Fluffy foxes...everywhere.

The courtyard, the hallways, the gardens, and the front gates...

PACKED.

Absolutely PACKED with white fox beasts.

. . .

And me? I was standing right in the middle of them. Apparently, I had become some kind of walking fox magnet. Every single fluffy menace insisted on sticking as close to me as physically possible.

One rubbed against my leg, another rested its head on my shoulder, and a third had somehow claimed my foot as its personal pillow.

...Personal space had officially died today.

Cassian calmly looked around at the terrified knights before speaking in his usual emotionless voice.

"Put your swords down." No one moved. "They’re harmless."

The knights looked ready to cry.

"B-But... Your Grace..." one stammered, pointing a shaking finger at the enormous fox currently lounging beside me. "They’re... they’re White Fox Beasts... they are wild and dangerous."

I let out a helpless sigh and raised both hands. "Alright, everyone... calm down."

Dozens of frightened eyes turned toward me. "They’re completely harmless, as you can see. I am surrounded by them and still alive."

The courtyard became even quieter; the knights collectively wore the exact same expression.

Respectfully...We don’t believe you.

Fair enough, standing alive in between them was not just proof that they are harmless, I guess. Even I would’ve questioned my own sanity if someone had told me this yesterday.

With another sigh, I bent down and wrapped my arms around one particularly chubby fox.

"Come here..."

...

"...Hngh!"

Sweet heavens. Why was this thing so unbelievably heavy?! My legs trembled as I somehow managed to lift the fluffy beast a few inches off the ground.

"S-See..." I wheezed between strained breaths. "I’m... holding him..."

My arms started shaking violently.

"...A-And... he isn’t... biting..."

I carefully lowered the oversized fluffball back onto the ground before my spine filed a formal complaint.

"Whew..." I wiped imaginary sweat from my forehead before poking its round belly. "Wow...Why do you weigh as much as my student loan debt?"

The fox blinked, completely unbothered as I gently put it back down.

The fox blinked innocently. "You seriously need a diet."

The fluffy criminal stared at me for exactly three seconds and then—

LICK!

Everyone flinched in horror.

"...Hey." Another happy lick landed on my hand. "I wasn’t complimenting you."

The fox tilted its head before looking up at me with the most devastating pair of sparkling amber puppy eyes I had ever witnessed and wagged his tail even faster. Its sparkling little eyes stared up at me with unconditional love.

. . .

. . .

"That’s illegal." I covered my face with both hands. "No, don’t look at me like that..."

The fox scooted even closer. Its ears drooped. Its eyes somehow became even bigger.

. . .

. . .

"You’re using emotional manipulation..."

The fox answered with another tiny "Yip."

. . .

"Fine, I lost." I crouched beside the fluffy menace and squished both of its unbelievably soft cheeks. "Alright, alright...you win; you’re cute. I officially withdraw my diet proposal."

The fox immediately wagged its tail so hard that snow flew everywhere. "...You’re way too easy to please."

Then—

"Pfft."

. . .

I froze and slowly... I lifted my head towards the ’pfft’, and Cassian Ashcroft was standing there, still, tall, cold, and firm as a mountain. With the exact same expression he wore every time he looked like he was thinking about either war, taxes, or murder.

I blinked; every knight and maid blinked, the fox blinked, and even the snow seemed to pause and stare at him.

Did the Grim Reaper Grand Duke just... pfft?

Silence lingered for several long seconds.

Then everyone silently reached the same conclusion.

Absolutely not.

There was no way the Black Monster of the North was laughing. Even the heavens rejected that possibility.

We all stared at Cassian like he had personally betrayed the laws of nature as he remained completely composed as if he had not just done something deeply illegal. Then, with the same calm tone he probably used to issue execution orders, he said, "Everyone. You’ve seen they are harmless. Return to your work."

His gaze swept across the sea of fluffy white foxes before stopping on me for the briefest moment.

"Captain Cedric."

"Yes, Your Grace."

The captain named Cedric straightened at once and hurried after him. I watched Cassian walk away for a long second, then narrowed my eyes.

"Did he really not laugh?"

One of the foxes yipped beside me. I stared at it; the fox stared back. "Don’t look at me like that; I’m putting this on today’s list of unsolved mysteries. There is no way he laughed."

That was when—

"I think he laughed..."

"AHHHH!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. The foxes around me jumped too, several puffing up their tails in alarm. I spun around dramatically.

"Mia!"

The poor maid immediately bowed so deeply I thought she might headbutt the ground. "M-My apologies, Your Grace! Did I frighten you?"

I clutched my chest. "Yeah, could you please announce your existence before appearing behind people? I have a very fragile soul."

"I deeply apologize, Your Grace," Mia bowed.

Then she looked up and smiled, not the tiny, terrified sort of smile she normally wore like a borrowed coat. This one was gentle, warm, and almost proud. "Shall I prepare some warm tea for Your Grace?"

Hold on.

I blinked. Yesterday, this girl trembled harder than a leaf in a hurricane whenever I looked at her. Now she was smiling? Did someone secretly replace her overnight? Or...did she accidentally eat courage for breakfast?

"...Why aren’t you trembling?"

Mia straightened her back, determination shining brightly in her eyes. "I have made my decision."

"Wow...that’s ominous."

"I have pledged my loyalty to you, Your Grace."

"But the knights are supposed to do that."

Mia nodded proudly. "I know."

"...You’re a maid."

"I know."

"So...when exactly did this happen?"

"Yesterday."

"...Why?"

A brilliant smile spread across her face. "Because I finally understand, Your Grace. Your Grace is kind; you protect the weak, you feed the hungry, and you even pet fox-beasts. I know Your Grace is different from the rumors. You are not cold, not cruel, not evil. Your Grace is... a god-blessed child."

Silence.

I stared at her; she stared at me with shining eyes. The foxes stared at us. Somewhere in the distance, a knight cleared his throat very badly, as if he were trying not to laugh.

I exhaled.

"Mia..."

She smiled with all the sincerity in the world. "Yes, Your Grace?"

"That’s too much."

"...Pardon?"

"That’s way too much."

I pointed at her with the severity of a professor grading an exam. "Your Oscar will be rejected this way."

She blinked. "Your... Oscar?"

I closed my eyes for a second before letting out a defeated sigh and waved my hand dismissively.

"It’s nothing. I’ll just take everything you said as a compliment."

Mia tilted her head, still looking confused, but wisely decided not to ask any further.

"Now..." I smiled as dozens of fluffy white faces looked up at me with sparkling eyes. "Could you bring some food for these babies?"

I looked around at the sea of foxes surrounding me. "My babies are hungry."

"Right away, Your Grace!" Mia bowed enthusiastically.

Then—

She disappeared.

"..."

"...Does she know teleportation magic? Or she’s just really fast."

Eh.

Either explanation worked. I shrugged before scratching the nearest fox behind its ears.

"There, there." The fox immediately leaned against my hand with a happy little chirp. "Your food will be here soon."

Its tail wagged so hard it nearly knocked another fox over. I couldn’t help smiling because back on Earth, I always wanted a cat. A fluffy little roommate waiting for me after work. Unfortunately...life never gave me one. I looked around at the dozens—no, hundreds—of fluffy white foxes staring at me with unconditional affection.

...

I guess the universe heard my wish...and accidentally upgraded it. From one cat...to an entire species.

"I...just should’ve been more specific."

***

[Cassian’s POV — Ashcroft Manor — Same Time]

"There, there..." Lucielle’s gentle voice drifted through the open window. "I know you’re hungry."

She stroked the enormous foxes without the slightest hint of fear, as though they weren’t magical beasts capable of tearing apart armored knights.

"Your Grace!" A frantic voice echoed from below. "I brought every chicken from the kitchen—"

"Ah!"

CRASH!!!

The wooden cart tipped over as dozens of roasted chickens scattered across the courtyard.

"Mia."

Lucielle hurried over. "Be careful."

Instead of scolding the maid, she immediately helped her back onto her feet. "Are you hurt?"

"N-No, Your Grace!"

"Good."

I silently watched everything unfold from the windows of my study, my hands clasped neatly behind my back.

"She truly is different."

The Lucielle Ashcroft I knew was a child. A little girl who had been offered to House Ashcroft as the price of saving House Duskbane from ruin, neither of us had been given a choice; the marriage had been decided long before either of us understood what such a union truly meant.

She became my wife, and I became her husband, nothing more and nothing less. From the day she entered this manor...she had never once looked at it as her home. She isolated herself behind the walls of her chamber.

Days became months. Months became years. She never attended banquets, rarely left her room, and rarely spoke to anyone. She wandered through this manor like a soul that had already abandoned its body.

The only time I saw her expression change was when a young maid had stolen a jeweled ring from Her Grace’s chamber. When the theft was discovered...Lucielle ordered the girl to receive fifty lashes.

I saw fury and fear in those eyes for the first time since I have become her husband. From that day onward every servant within House Ashcroft feared her.

Some obeyed out of duty and most obeyed out of terror. The manor gradually fell into silence around her, no one willingly approached the Grand Duchess.

She accepted that solitude...as though she had long since resigned herself to it. But yesterday I saw something different when she stood before the entire household and protected a maid accused of theft.

And today she stood before a divine beast and defended not only her people but humanity itself, and now she sat upon the courtyard stones, laughing while feeding white fox beasts with her own hands.

The woman below my window and the woman I had lived beside for the past ten years could not have been more different. It was as though...someone had awakened inside the shell of the former Lucielle Ashcroft.

My gaze lingered upon her for another silent moment; one of the White Fox Beasts suddenly rolled onto its back. Lucielle laughed before rubbing its stomach as though it were an ordinary household pet.

"What...has changed you so completely?"

Behind me, Cedric finally broke the silence.

"My Lord..."

I turned away from the window and returned to my desk as he hesitated before speaking again. "Do you truly believe Her Grace has... tamed the White Fox Beasts?"

"We witnessed it ourselves." My voice remained calm. "There is nothing left to question."

Cedric lowered his head.

"Then...should we report this to the Imperial Palace?"

The room fell silent.

"This is no ordinary incident, Your Grace."

No...It wasn’t. I looked back toward the window. Outside, Lucielle was laughing as dozens of foxes happily crowded around her.

A divine beast, a divine contract, and the blessing of the Nine-Tailed Fox, no matter how anyone interpreted today’s events...the conclusion would remain the same.

The Grand Duchess of Ashcroft had obtained the acknowledgment of a god.

That fact alone was enough to shake the empire; the Imperial Palace would never ignore it. Especially...

Him.

The Crown Prince.

The woman who had once been chosen as the crown prince’s future bride, the woman he had publicly abandoned. If word reached the capital...the palace would not celebrate her; they would fear her, and the imperial family had always destroyed anything they feared.

Cedric carefully observed his lord’s expression before asking, "Shall I prepare the report?"

My fingers tapped slowly against the wooden desk. "No."

Cedric blinked. "My Lord?"

"They will learn of today’s events soon enough."

Information this significant could never be hidden. Spies were everywhere; even servants carried rumors faster than horses.

The Imperial Palace would hear about it; the only question was... How would they respond?

I looked once more through the window.

Lucielle sat on the snow completely buried beneath an avalanche of white fur, laughing as one particularly greedy fox stole an entire roasted chicken.

She looked happy.

I do not want to see her with those dead eyes again.

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