Chapter 156

I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 156 [Date? (4)]

The date… no, the weekend outing with Ethan continued after that. I’m not calling it that despite my outfit having changed from a maid uniform to a noble young lady’s red dress.

The maid uniform I had been wearing until just now was scheduled to be delivered to the academy dormitory along with the other clothes bought at the store.

Perhaps because I had changed clothes and was walking around, I felt like the number of gazes directed at me had decreased somewhat compared to earlier. Maybe people were deliberately averting their eyes, thinking I might really be a noble young lady.

Most people wouldn’t have any issues just staring at a maid who was at most a viscount, but they wouldn’t dare to stare too long at a woman who clearly appeared to be of noble status, as they couldn’t tell if she was a viscount’s daughter or a margrave’s daughter.

After leaving the clothing store, Ethan took me to an ordinary Italian-style restaurant. Of course, there’s no ‘Italy’ in this world; I just mean the menu gave that kind of impression.

It was a decent restaurant serving salad, grilled freshwater fish, light pasta, and slightly sweet desserts.

I didn’t intend to complain or find fault no matter what restaurant he took me to, but the restaurant Ethan chose had quite a clean and relaxing atmosphere.

“Does it suit your taste, Lilith?”

“Yes, Ethan. The food is delicious, and it’s a nice place.”

I thought he might order wine or try to create an atmosphere suitable for a confession, but fortunately, it didn’t seem that was his purpose in bringing me here.

…Or perhaps Ethan hadn’t been thinking about confessing at all from the start, and I was just getting ahead of myself.

I hoped I was just being a presumptuous maid who didn’t know her place. That would be much better than receiving an awkward confession that I could neither accept nor reject.

“I hear you’ve been getting along well with the daughter of the Blaze Viscount family lately. Rumors say you two spend an hour after class together talking about various things.”

“Miss Blaze seems to lack knowledge about spirit studies, so I’ve been helping her. Although she’s the top student of the Magic Department, she doesn’t seem to be very popular with spirits.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…Well, you did recently contract with a sylphid.”

For reference, Sally and Sei didn’t join us on today’s date. They had used quite a bit of mana in yesterday’s monster training.

While Sally, being a high-level spirit, was fine, Sei, a mid-level spirit, seemed a bit tired, so I fed her plenty of mana and let her rest in the dormitory.@@novelbin@@

With Sei staying in the dormitory, Sally, who dotes on Sei, naturally chose to stay in the dormitory as well.

…I hope nothing troublesome happens while they’re left alone for a day.

“What about you, Ethan? Are you getting along well with your classmates? I heard that Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat has been showing quite an interest in you.”

“…Well, I don’t particularly like that guy.”

“Pardon?”

“He has a bad reputation, so you’d better not pay attention to him either, Lilith. He’s already hanging around with two girls, and lately, it seems he’s been bothering Miss Natalie and the princess as well.”

“Oh… I see…”

Natalie probably aimed to get close to him from the moment she enrolled in the Swordsmanship Department. The Natalie-Thomas couple combination could cover the protagonist’s lack of endurance in the middle of the story.

His approaching the princess was probably a required event. If his goal was to clear the game, he would definitely try to complete the required events. If he accidentally skipped one, it could mess up the story later on and prevent him from using the external knowledge he had.

I could understand to some extent why Ethan disliked Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, but knowing the circumstances, I just felt sorry for this meaningless vigilance.

‘Judging by this reaction, it seems I won’t have many opportunities to make contact with Gyeongmwajogyegigwat.’

I’d need to somehow resolve Ethan’s wariness towards the protagonist before I could talk to him or probe his thoughts.

If, by any chance, the protagonist thought of Ethan as a villain, I’d need to clear up that misunderstanding, too.

Anyway, Ethan and I spent time taking a light walk along the wide lake surrounding the Island of Knowledge while discussing recent events.

In this relaxed atmosphere that we hadn’t experienced in a while, my mind also became a bit calmer.

‘This kind of leisure is nice too.’

With the sudden increase in tasks since the start of the second semester, I’ve been having a lot of headaches lately.

Maybe I needed an opportunity to spend time leisurely like this.

Ethan might have been wanting this kind of time, too, given how busy he’d been recently.

‘Was I really just mistaken?’

Maybe he asked to spend time with me as the noble “Young Lady Lilith” just to create a comfortable atmosphere.

He might have felt a bit stifled if he felt like he had a maid by his side, even on a rare day off.

Come to think of it, he could confess to his exclusive maid anytime, anywhere.

If he had strange feelings for me, he would have pounced on me long ago, given that we’re using the same dormitory.

I must have been the one making strange thoughts about this not being a date. I really am overly self-conscious. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

As my mind calmed down, the complex worries I had been harboring in my mind flew away, making me feel more relaxed.

As we spent time like this and our light lunch was somewhat digested, Ethan carefully made a suggestion to me.

“…So when I introduced Sei, who I contracted with that day, to Miss Blaze, she suddenly said something to me and ran off somewhere…”

“…Um, Lilith.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s alright with you, shall we rest for a moment on that bench over there?”

“Are you tired, Ethan?”

“It’s not that I’m tired, but I noticed a cheese shop as we were passing by earlier. If you’re okay with it, how about we take a break and have a little picnic?”

“……”

Until we were talking, I didn’t have any particular thoughts, but after hearing Ethan’s words, I realized I did feel a bit hungry.

Maybe it was because I relaxed and let my guard down.

Until just now, I had been on edge, thinking Ethan might confess to me, carried away by the atmosphere.

…Or maybe it was just because we had a light lunch, so I got hungry after walking for a bit.

“If that’s the case, I’ll go get it. You rest for a moment, Ethan.”

“Ah, no. I brought it up, so I should…”

“You paid for everything at the clothing store and the restaurant, didn’t you? Then, at least let me buy the snacks.”

“But still…”

“Wasn’t it you who told me to act like a noble young lady, Ethan? Or is your ideal noble young lady someone who shamelessly freeloads from beginning to end without opening her wallet once?”

“…Alright, Lilith. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Ethan, seeming to judge that further persuasion would be meaningless in the face of my firm attitude, finally nodded and allowed me to open my wallet.

To think I need such persistent permission even to buy a few coins’ worth of snacks…

“I saw the cheese shop while we were walking earlier, too. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay, be careful.”

After nodding slightly in response to Ethan, I briefly walked back along the path we had just come from.

It’s just within the Island of Knowledge; how dangerous could it be?

“Beautiful young lady, is there anything you need?”

“Could I have a piece each of Gouda and Cheddar cheese? Just enough for a simple snack would be sufficient.”

Listening to the muscular-armed cheese shop owner, I ordered two pieces of cheese displayed in front of the store.

Gouda and Cheddar were about the only cheeses I knew, given my limited culinary knowledge. I hadn’t tried Blue cheese raw yet, so I didn’t particularly feel like challenging it. Also, it didn’t seem like this shop sold things like Ricotta or Emmental.

“Looks like you’re out for a picnic with your fiancé. I saw you passing by earlier.”

“Oh… he’s not my fiancé. We are planning to have a picnic, though.”

“Then, is he a family member?”

“It’s hard to say he’s family… it’s a bit of a complicated relationship.”

“…Ah, I see.”

Well, it’s not just in the academy, but generally, nobles often had various complicated family relationships.

Bringing in an heir from another family to continue the family line, step-siblings born from remarriage between noble families, children born of incest, and so on.

It was knowledge not worth digging too deeply into. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

The commoners living on the Island of Knowledge were quite perceptive about these matters, having frequent interactions with nobles.

After hearing me say it was a complicated relationship, the shop owner seemed to become conscious of my gaze and hurriedly packaged the items I ordered and handed them to me.

“That’ll be two silver coins, miss.”

“Thank you. Take care.”

“Have a good time!”

The bag containing the two pieces of cheese felt strangely heavy as if he had added something extra as a service.

I didn’t think it was strange, as it was an event that often occurred when Charm stats were high. My charm had already surpassed three digits after my recent level-up.

‘In games like this, usually, the heroine gets kidnapped when she’s separated from the protagonist.’

Of course, having learned dagger techniques, I was now in a position where anyone trying to kidnap me would have to worry about their own life instead.

I always carried three daggers in the inner pocket of my maid uniform every day without fail…

‘…Ah, that’s right.’

Come to think of it, the daggers would still be in the maid uniform I changed out of earlier.

I had intended to retrieve them when changing back later, but I forgot in the rush.

…Well, it should be fine. Nothing should happen just because I don’t have my daggers.

Still, feeling strangely uneasy without the daggers on me, I returned to the lakeside bench, our meeting place, while maintaining vigilance in all directions.

Fortunately, nothing dangerous, like encountering kidnappers or robbers, happened along the way.

“Ah, Lilith. You’re back?”

“…Yes, Ethan.”

“Why are you walking so anxiously? Did something strange happen…?”

“No, Ethan. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

How would Ethan react if I told him I was anxious because my daggers were gone?

Thinking this, I approached Ethan with the paper bag containing the cheese when I noticed a long, corked bottle in his hand. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Seeing that, my wariness towards Ethan, which I had momentarily set aside, was instantly rekindled.

“What’s that, Ethan?”

“Ah, this? I bought it while you were out getting snacks. I thought it would feel a bit empty without something to drink, and wine seemed appropriate for cheese.”

“…I see. So you bought alcohol…”

“You’ll drink too, right Lilith?”

“…Well, I suppose I should, given your thoughtfulness.”

…Forget about kidnapping events. Maybe the one I should have been wary of was someone else entirely.