“Tina, I’m done with you. Break off our engagement and get out of here.”

Tina was speechless at the words of her fiancé and boss, Maquel.

“B-break… the engagement…?”

Her trembling voice prompted a stern nod from Maquel.

In that moment, Tina wanted to punch herself for even briefly hoping he might be planning to celebrate her eighteenth birthday.

“Yes. You know why, don’t you? Your countless misdeeds.”

“M-misdeeds…!?”

“Don’t play dumb. I already know you’ve been dumping your work on colleagues and falsifying accounting documents for illicit gains. Naturally, you’re fired.”

“F-fired…!?”

The shock hit her harder than before, and her vision went dark. She could swear she had no memory of the misdeeds Maquel listed.

Of course not. All Tina had done was work herself to the bone.

“I-I didn’t do any of that…! To begin with, I haven’t left my room during work hours—”

“You haven’t left? And who can prove that? Fact is, there are people testifying you pushed work onto them, and the accounting documents were tampered with.”

“T-that’s… I’m hearing this for the first time, and I don’t know anything about it…”

“That’s pathetic. The financial reports were your responsibility, weren’t they? Who else could’ve tampered with them?”

It was true that Tina handled the financial reports, which required specialized qualifications.

But that was at Maquel’s request, not her choice. With her overwhelming workload, falsifying anything was unthinkable—she barely had time to breathe with constant all-nighters.

“Stop making excuses. I’ve even brought a witness. Come in, Layla.”

“Yes, Lord Maquel.”

Ignoring Tina’s protests, Maquel glanced toward the door.

The woman who entered was someone Tina knew—Layla, a colleague her age, hired this year.

Maquel put his arm around Layla’s waist intimately and kissed her wavy hair. Tina’s eyes widened at the lover-like gesture from her fiancé.

“Layla testified that you dumped work on her. You even made her handle financial report reviews and investigation summaries, didn’t you?”

“W-what…?”

“Yes, it’s true. I was so scared, but she threatened to get me fired if I didn’t obey… I had no choice.”

Tina could only gape as Layla spoke in a tearful voice. It was beyond impossible.

To begin with, this was practically the first time in ages Tina had spoken to Layla.

Layla always mocked Tina’s “plain looks” or said things like “her age makes me stand out more.” Tina disliked her and, with her grueling workload, barely had time to interact with her, let alone dump work on her.

‘Why would Layla say such a thing…?’

Tina trembled as she looked at Layla, who was still crying and clinging to Maquel.

But Layla’s lips curled into a triumphant smirk, making Tina gasp in shock.

“That’s enough. Tina Sistloise, you are hereby fired from the Ministry of Magic’s Southern Third Branch. Our engagement is over. Never show your face before me again.”

“W-wait, Lord Maquel!”

“Shut up, you fool. If you’re still here by tomorrow, I’ll have the guards drag you out. Let’s go, Layla. I won’t let you suffer anymore.”

“Oh, Maquel… I love how kind you are.”

“I love you too.”

Whispering sweetly, Maquel pulled Layla close and walked away.

“Please, wait! I really didn’t—”

Tina stepped forward to chase her fiancé, but stopped when she saw Layla’s mocking smile.

Her momentum caused her to stumble and fall, sapping her strength. Collapsing to the floor, Tina bit her lip.

‘What do I do now?’

That thought consumed her. Engagement broken, job lost—what was she supposed to do?

‘I knew about the rumors between Layla and Maquel. I heard they were seen entering a room together at night… but I never thought it’d come to this.’

Now it was clear. Layla’s lie about being burdened with work was to get Tina fired.

Layla often complained that “someone as plain as her being Maquel’s fiancée” was absurd. She must have wanted Maquel’s affection and saw Tina as an obstacle, so she fabricated that outrageous lie.

‘Judging by Maquel’s behavior, he loves Layla too. He didn’t even verify the evidence before…’

In other words, Tina had been completely outmaneuvered by Layla.

The realization drained her strength, and she collapsed to the ground. Tears blurred her vision as she wondered, yet again, why this was happening.

*

To begin with, Tina had been promised “permanent employment” at the Ministry of Magic’s Southern Third Branch.

And the one who promised it was her fiancé and deputy branch head, Maquel Chester.

Maquel was originally a junior colleague of Tina’s father.

Her father was a magical biologist.

A prodigy recognized by the state, he died in an accident ten years ago, on Tina’s eighth birthday.

Her mother died giving birth to her, and with no other relatives, Tina was left with only an inheritance.

It was Maquel, then fifteen, who kindly reached out to her.

“Are you Tina? Nice to meet you. I’m Maquel Chester, your father’s junior.”

“If it’s okay with you, why don’t you come live with me? My father’s a baron and the head of the Ministry’s Southern Third Branch.”

“We want to support you. As Aster Sistloise’s daughter, you must be exceptionally talented.”

And so, eight-year-old Tina became a ward of the Chester baron family.

But her treatment was far from good.

The baron despised commoner Tina, and the prideful baroness tried to throw her out countless times.

Sleeping on a balcony in the dead of winter made her think she might die. Her treatment was worse than a servant’s—closer to a slave’s.

‘If I’m kicked out of work, what’ll happen to me…?’

How long had she sat on the office floor? Standing unsteadily, Tina sighed as she trudged down the hallway.

Graduating from the magic academy at fifteen, promised permanent employment at the Southern Third Branch, and working there for three years.

Endlessly tackling an overwhelming workload alone led to this—accused of baseless crimes, engagement broken, and job lost.

‘When Maquel proposed, I thought I could finally be happy…’

When he asked her to marry him, Tina thought it was a joke.

He was a noble’s eldest son, and both the baron and baroness despised her.

Yet Maquel insisted he wanted her. He said he’d handle his parents, that he loved only her. She remembered crying with joy.

“I… I have to leave…”

Recalling that day brought tears again. Clenching her fists, Tina forced herself to look forward.

Maquel, the deputy branch head and the baron’s son, had spoken. Nothing she said would change the outcome. She had to pull herself together.

First, she needed to clear out her belongings from the staff dormitory and find a new job.

‘First, money…! The inheritance from Mom and Dad should still be intact.’

With a small, determined fist pump, Tina steeled herself.

‘I won’t cry anymore…! I’ll stand on my own!’

*

And so, shy Tina began to take action with resolve.

Money was the priority. Her parents’ inheritance should still be there, enough to tide her over for now.

So, she rushed to the bank as soon as it opened.

“W-what? There’s no money at all…!?”

“That’s what I said, miss. Can you leave now?”

The bank clerk’s words left Tina speechless again.

“T-that can’t be…! I deposited it ten years ago—”

“There’s nothing there. Zilch, nada, empty. You so poor you’re seeing things?”

“No way…! Please, check again—”

“I don’t know what to tell you. There’s not a cent in your vault. Give it up.”

The clerk shooed her away and walked off. Tina, left behind, crouched down, whimpering.

It couldn’t be empty. The day she became a ward of the baron’s family, she came here with Maquel and—

‘…Oh.’

As she sifted through her memories, her tears stopped.

It dawned on her. It had to be.

If Tina hadn’t withdrawn the money, the only possibility left was that Maquel had.

“I… I might’ve been tricked from the start…”

Cursing her own naivety, Tina buried her face in her arms. Engagement broken, worked to exhaustion, money and job stolen.

This was a matter for the authorities, but in this small town, the baron’s influence was absolute.

Even if her suspicions were correct, no one would challenge a noble.

‘Talk about a rough road ahead…’

She half-wished she could turn into grass and disappear.

Feeling her spirit break, Tina stood on shaky legs.

“I just… want to rest.”

Since starting work, she was lucky to get three hours of sleep a night.

All-nighters were routine. Living for work had left her body in tatters.

‘If only I could sleep a ton right now… and maybe bury myself in Fenrir fur…’

Recalling the fluffy fur from her father’s handmade magical creature book, she wandered into a nearby park.

Then, housewives gossiping nearby spotted her.

“Hey, look. That’s the woman kicked out of the Ministry.”

It was definitely about her. Cursing her keen ears, Tina quietly sat on a bench.