Chapter 9: Accidental Binding
Rose was ready for a normal type of normal day at the office. She had picked up files for Asher to sign.
She hummed a tune and entered the room.
It was like not watching a bright sun in front of you if you ignored a Moon Charmer. They always dressed brightly as if seeing attention from everyone.
"Ashy, why did you hire a witch?"
Rose saw the Moon Charmer hovering dangerously around Asher.
Her boss was in trouble.
She didn't think twice. She took out her wand and replied, "Ah, Moon Charmer, boss, get behind me."
"Miss Wyatt, calm down. Sit there, please."
Seeing her not moving from her posture, Asher tried again.
"Mom, come back. Sit beside me. We don't have to fight."
Seeing the Moon Charmer calm down, Rose stood there without any intention of calming down.
"Miss Wyatt, meet my mother. Mom, she is my assistant."
"Ashy, how foolish of you to sign a contract with a witch. Break it now."
Rose was enraged.
"No, you can't. I need money."
Asher tried to pacify them both.
"Mom, it's not the kind of contract you think. We have a labor contract. Kind of. Not magically binding."
He then looked at Rose, "Don't worry. Your salary will be on time."
Rose then glared at the Moon Charmer.
"Then give her compensation and let her go. There's no need for a witch to be here."
"What compensation? I have to work here. I can't get money at once. Salary works best for me." Rose thought and then she spoke aloud.
"No, the magic office will not allow you to meddle in this. Especially now. I've been working here for what, a week now. You can't try to fire me."
The lady looked at her with a frown on her face.
"I can when you bring harm to my son. The fire spell, it was because of you, right!"
Rose lost her momentum in half. That was right. She couldn't admit it.
"Don't try to lie. It was because of you he was almost hurt."
"I didn't know that. I recently learned that he was Natural."
The lady frowned more.
"Rose, can you come back in fifteen minutes?"
Asher decided he had to talk to his mother first.
Rose reluctantly got up.
"Don't try to eavesdrop. I'll know."
Rose put back her wand and walked out. The lady read her thoughts even before she had them.
"Mom, we can't fire her. She knows I'm a Natural. It's better to keep her under our noses. We can ask her not to tell anyone. You can make sure of it, right?"
"It's not easy. Witches are witchy. You can't trust them. Only their family can trust them. Witches are like, they do what's best for them."
She trailed off.
"Let's leave her. I have an idea."
Rose was almost sweating trying to think how to save her job. Where could she get such a high-paying job? It's not like she couldn't get another one. But high paying, less effort, no danger, good food, again, no danger, where could she find something like this?
"Miss Wyatt, we have a proposal for you."
The lady spoke first.
"You become my son's bodyguard."
She paused to let the sentence sink in.
"We will pay you ten times your current salary. How?"
Rose was about to fly away. Ten times. Wow.
"I'm in."
She didn't think twice.
"Let's make a contract. Magical one. With your magic imprint."
Rose took out her wand and signed the document. The paper then multiplied into two. One of those turned into light and merged into her wand.
When she left, Asher turned back to his mom.
"Why?"
"Ashy, I'm not powerful like earlier. It took me a day to manifest before you. Witches are powerful. We have a good opportunity here. We have her handle. She will work well. And you get a bodyguard. Win-win."
Asher considered this. It was great but still, something felt off.
"You don't complain now. I think you hired her because you wanted to know what was different about her."
It was true. And now he knew. She was a witch. It made sense why she was not on the list of those college candidates.
"So, do colleges have a magical department? I didn't see her name but her certificates were all genuine."
His mom looked at him with sympathy.
"Son, you didn't inherit my brains. She never studied here. She is a witch. How can she get the documents, think?"
"Those were fake?"
"You still have a questioning tone."
Asher leaned back on his chair.
"Then I hired a person who had no knowledge of the work. I'm really stupid."
"No, you did good. At least, you can have her learn everything in a day. Magic spells are easy."
He nodded.
"I'll go back now. Let her protect you till you come home."
She vanished.
Asher then considered all his options.
He got up and entered Rose's office.
"Miss Wyatt, I signed you up for ten courses. Finish them in a day. Also, I'll leave for a party in the evening. You are coming with me."
"But, I can't finish ten courses in a day!"
Rose didn't want to read.
Asher smiled at her.
It was such a beautiful and dreamy smile. Something you would never tire of seeing.
"I've been told that you have a knack of learning. That too, in a really short period of time. Am I right?"
Right, his mother should have told him about all her weaknesses.
"Sure, sir."
He smiled again. This time, she wanted to wipe the smile off his face.
It was against the contract to harm her employer. She mustered up a smile that broke when she saw how much he enjoyed asking her to work.
It was really easy to learn but the thing was she didn't want to learn, ahhh.
The evening party was something she looked forward to after reading all day.
"Miss Wyatt, wait for me. I'll be back soon."
Asher went to talk with some guys. Rose found herself in a quiet corner where no one would notice her. She cast a spell on herself so that someone who wanted to directly look at her could see her.
She watched a guy pulling a girl to her side.
"How many times have I told you? You are just a substitute. Don't ever think of replacing her. You will remain a lowly maid."
"You are hurting me."
The man then jerked her hand away and left.
The girl didn't cry. She just turned her head away and saw Rose.
"You just saw that, right?"
Rose nodded.
"System LOVE DESTINY at your service. Host binding successful."
What? Rose had hallucinations.
"Hello host, I'm system number 9."
"What?"
"Oh, sorry, I was supposed to bind someone else. But you attracted me. Anyway, a host is a host."
Rose didn't know what to say.
"Don't unbind me. I'll tell you gossip, and I have some cool products when you open the mall."
Rose felt that the system was pretty stupid. It was true that she could unbind because hey, she was a witch. Magic could really do anything.
"Why should I keep you?"
"For example, the lady beside you is in a plot about stand-in literature. She will be hurt many times and then finally get a happy ending."
Rose felt it was wrong.
Why would you stay with a person who treated you like that?
"You can leave him, right?"
She tentatively asked the girl beside her.
"I don't know. I need money for my mother's surgery. He pays me."
She lowered her head. She didn't know why she told Rose everything.
"You can do something else. See, there is this foundation that helps people like you. Call them."
Rose put the Magic Office card in her hand.
The Magic Office did help because they were nonprofit organizations tied up with them. It was just that many humans didn't see them. They were hidden and even the money couldn't be sent out. They couldn't poke their nose in the human world affairs blatantly. As the lady could see her, it meant she was destined. Then she could use their help. Maybe her destiny could be changed.
"Don't be sad. Be happy. Everything will be okay."
She had to leave because Asher was looking for her.
"Ding, plot change successful. Congratulations host, your level upgraded to level two."
Rose didn't react.
She smiled and took notes the entire evening. She didn't meet the lady again. She met so many people and her legs were aching. The food wasn't that great. But hey, at least Asher was happy. He had signed the deal. The couple who signed the deal were pretty happy with his charming demeanor, unlike her.
When she was dropped off near her home, she finally had the time to question the system.
"Tell me, what's Asher's story like?"
"Scanning, scanning, scanning."
"Scanning successful."
"Host, he was supposed to die three years ago. I'm not sure how he is alive now."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
livingandreading
livingandreading Well, the system tells multiple stories of other characters. I wanted to see how Rose will react to all the tropes. Haha. What do you say?
Rose Character image reveal
You asked! And here is Rose's character image. do you love it?
Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone