"Corner!"

The clack of wooden pieces and stone pieces echoed throughout the busy room in the posh lobby of the event hall. A large collection of tables had been set up, a regular event held once per month at the request of the nobles and businessfolks who employed others. Maids competed in a game of skill and wit to try and win honor both for themselves, and their employers.

"Side."

"Side!"

"Side again."

"...damnit."

A hiss of defeat as a few clacks of stone in a row could be heard and a crowd of ladies cheered. "Millet! Millet!"

A certain mousey maid sat across from the familiar Ellie who had used her 'day off' to attend the monthly COLLEA tourney that was held exclusively for the maids. Ellie was a well regarded champion, one who tended to win every time she showed up, to the point a lot of money was typically exchanged regarding bets and her winning.

Only that day…

She lost!

A crowd upset as the short mouse maid actually defeated not only the reigning champion, but defeated her so damned soundly that it was like an adult trouncing a child.

The maid, Millet, smiled from ear to ear as she took her coinpurse and trophy and accepted the honors happily before leaving and making her way back to her employer.

–

"Pardon…?" Millet's voice cracked, sounding scared.

"I'm sorry Millet, but you just lost me thousands of gold coins, even if I take your purse from the matches it wouldn't account for that. I bet against you, of course I did, who could have believed you would have ever won?" That voice was from her current employer, a fox of the sil Krum family who had been employing her for quite a while. Naturally he didn't pay her much, but he did pay her and it was something her family relied on.

"Sir, p-p-please, I cannot lose this job. It is all I have!

But it fell on deaf ears as the fox turned and walked out of the foyer, carrying away Millet's coin purse and her trophy both after having thrown her aside.

–

The poor thing ran out of the manor and disappeared into the back alleys, crying and sobbing in despair. In her early twenties, she was still at a perfect age and of skillset to find a job, but it would take time. In the meanwhile, her family might very well starve! No, no, she had to be strong, she could skip meals, she'd be fine. Millet looked down at herself and touched her stomach. Sure, she was quite thin, but in her mind she was actually overweight and could do to lose some.

She tried to put on a brave face, washing away the tears in a nearby fountain and made her way back to her small home far, far away in the commoners area.

–

A week had passed since then and no one had seen Millet. Not her past employer, not any of her normal acquaintances or coworkers, not even workers in the marketplaces. Who was looking for her? Well, that'd be Ellie. She had gotten specific permission from Dame W'elma to find her, and the more Ellie looked, the more worried she became. The recent Maids champion shouldn't be hard to find, especially in the network of maids that existed in the capital. It should be impossible to hide, let alone difficult to track down.

It worried her something severely, especially after realizing she was fired for her win. After making sure that the sil Krum family would no longer be welcomed with many trading firms in the capital out of pure spite of that awful behavior, Ellie actually panicked slightly, fearing the worst for the mouse. In fact, she even reached out and overstepped her bounds in contacting the Fluff Sage to ask for his assistance. Why? She had no idea he and Millet were acquainted, but after Ellie described her, both Rou and Affection realized whom she was talking about.

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So of course Fluff Sage Rou agreed to help.

–

Going on two weeks and no one could find her even still before finally she had been spotted by an adventurer after a request had been put out in the guild for any sighting of her.

It turned out that Millet was the eldest of a family of mice and both of her parents had long since passed. All that was left was Millet, the eldest, and a series of mouths to feed in her younger siblings. The poor mouse had been trying desperately to earn any money she could while looking for work, but after having been fired by the sil Krum family, no well-to-do household would hire her, and poor folks certainly didn't need a maid. In desperation she had sought out a whorehouse and had even started to try and work there before fear got the better of her and she ran away, unable to go through with things when she saw the way someone was looking at her.

"Millet, right?"

The voice from nearby as Millet crouched in an alley corner, considering what options she had left, caused her to tense up only to see a familiar face. "It's… you. I, ah… I'm sorry, I don't recall your name, but hello." Millet tried to put on a normal and fair voice but it was impossible to hide that she'd been crying, or that she'd ripped off the gaudy clothes she'd been wearing for the establishment she fled not long before, still smelling of caked on perfume and cheap alcohol.

She recognized Rou immediately despite not quite realizing he was the Fluff Sage. Sure, she'd heard the rumors, but surely Fluff Sage wasn't the very same red panda she'd had a fling with on a lark one evening.

"Hey, look, uh…" Millet started, realizing this might have actually been her chance. She already found him cute as it was and had good memories. If it was him, surely it would be acceptable, right? She didn't mind the thought and if she could get paid from it?

But what surprised her was Rou actually closed the distance and hugged her, "I know we don't know each other well enough for this, but whatever is going on, I will keep you safe if you need it. Okay?"

"Safe? I… I'm okay!" Millet stuttered out in confusion before she sunk into the warmth of the hug and the weight of the last couple weeks came crashing down and she began to sob without reservation.

–

At some point she must have sobbed herself to sleep as Rou had simply sat down where he was, Ellie eventually having found them and the red panda explaining what little he knew to Ellie. Ellie nodded and left to take care of something, leaving Rou to just sit there in the corner of the alleyway, sitting on an empty crate he'd left in Affection's domain, arms around Millet as she slept off her frustrations.

"Well, I don't really need a maid, but even if I did she can't very well come and go." Affection reminded Rou lightly as they were talking mentally while he sat there.

"I know, but it's not like I know anyone who can help her get a job. I could ask W'elma but I feel like that's overstepping boundaries even if she and I are back at the level of sharing a bed once a week."

"Whore."

"You might not be wrong." The two had a laugh at that and he looked down at Millet. "What about mom?"

–

By the time Millet came around, she woke up in an unfamiliar bed. Afraid at first, she calmed down slightly as she realized that the man beside her was both dressed, and was someone she knew. The same one she'd been talking to before she passed out. "I'm sorry, I must have… fallen asleep or something. How embarrassing, I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Can I make it–"

A finger was pressed to Millet's mouth as Rou leaned to kiss her forehead, "You don't need to do all that, you're safe, and so are your siblings. You remember Ellie, right? From the maid tournament? She was able to find your siblings and they're with my mother, currently having a meal. You're all safe."

Millet stared, scared at first as she heard about her family only to find herself a bit weepy as she tackled Rou and clung around his neck, sobbing hysterically once more. Not quite sure how to handle the moment and a bit awkward, Rou just returned the hug around the mouses back and held onto her until she calmed down. Eventually after Millet collected herself, Rou took her to his bathing chambers nearby and allowed her to clean up and eventually she reunited happily with her siblings.

As it turned out, this little arrangement was beyond perfect for all involved. Shiela had been extremely lonely without her young child around for so many years that being surrounded by a gaggle of children again left her beyond happy to care for them. Sure, they weren't hers, but it wasn't long before the Ma'am had shifted into mom and they felt like having a family again.

The mouse maid wasn't quite sure how to handle it all of course, but after Rou and his parents sat down with her and offered her a job with them, as a maid for their estate, and payment would both be fair and assurances that the children could live there as well, Millet nearly began to weep openly again.

While there was no official adoption, it was pretty much like Dominic and Shiela had a new family and even Dominic seemed happier for it despite not saying anything.

Of course, Millet was the happiest of them all. Both for having a job again, and realizing that this employer wasn't going to put her in an awkward situation like the last one. Especially as Rou had set up assurances that even if she eventually was let go, she'd immediately have a job at the W'elma corporation. Not that there was any plans for her to be let go.

–

Though as the next couple weeks went on, Rou was trying /very/ hard to be proper and not feel like he was taking advantage of Millet. Given he and the maid had already had a fling at least once, she was /very/ forward in trying to thank him. Hugs, kisses, very blatant offers. As of yet he'd declined until finally Rou took her up on the offer after he realized she wanted it just as much as he did, and it wasn't just her trying to use her body to repay him.

In this world, the idea of 'abuse of power' wasn't unknown, but most didn't really care. The notion of a maid finding a well-to-do master and winding up the mother of a child with them was an age-old path towards escaping poverty. And Millet wasn't blind to this and was perfectly happy pursuing that option with the 'young master' of the Erial household.

Only from here out, their flings weren't quick to and fros in an alley when no one was looking. It became a regular exchange at night(and day sometimes) in his room, at least when he wasn't with Affection, given Millet had a bit of a crush on him. And at the rate things were going? There was a very real chance she might actually wind up with child one day.

Why had he suddenly succumbed?

Affection would not shut up and very much wanted to see them get together. Watching the world through Rou's eyes was like playing a dating sim for her. She wanted to see the main characters get together. In fact, Affection very much cheered them on in Rou's mind for a proper relationship because, to her, it was about as fairytale as possible. Affection 100% would have been an Otome gamer if she was on Rou's original world.