Chapter 45

The moment Lilith Rosewood heard the words of the teal-haired female soldier, she instantly felt dazed.

Because she had no idea how to respond to her bold and brazen answer.

Of course, I could fully infer why the female soldier said such things to me.

Objectively speaking, it was an unbelievable feat.

A mere maid with no proper combat training and not even a magic-wielding noble had vanquished a Hooked Tusk.

Granted, the monster had been sealed in a scroll and was not in peak condition; to be precise, it was a double down and wasn’t a smooth victory.

However, even considering all those factors, the female soldier’s assertion was extremely reasonable and correct.

I would have undoubtedly been shocked if Isabel suddenly claimed to have slain a level 5 goblin.

I couldn’t say I didn’t understand the woman’s argument, but…

‘What can I say? She’s not lying by any means…’

My experiences from my previous life helped me recognize a conveniently placed iron rod that could be used as a weapon, and the monster was in a weakened state due to the seal.

A combination of coincidences had led to Lilith’s victory over the Hooked Tusk that day.

And with just that one incident, Lilith had achieved the remarkable feat of rising from level 2 to level 5, a full three-level increase.

A feat accomplished solely by Lilith Rosewood, without anyone else’s help.

The proof was that she had received the full 150 experience points without any distribution.

So in essence, this teal-haired female soldier was essentially demanding that Lilith commit perjury.

The fact that Lilith had vanquished the Hooked Tusk was an objective truth, so correcting the record as this woman suggested…

‘…Wait a minute…’

Upon reflection, did the feat of vanquishing the Hooked Tusk really need to be Lilith’s?

Granted, at the time, Lilith had done it so spectacularly that it was impossible to hide, and by the time she had recovered in the church, everything had already been settled.

Objectively, there was no benefit to this achievement being hers.

Rather, from the perspective of wanting to avoid attention as much as possible, it was more of a loss.

The fact that Lilith had vanquished the Hooked Tusk had already been reported to Harold Richard Blackwood, and people around her, like Isabel and Catherine, roughly knew about it.

If the scale of the rumor could be reduced even a little bit, there was no reason to refuse.

Lilith wouldn’t be working at the Blackwood mansion forever until she died, and someday, she would become a free person and find another job. Such a bothersome and peculiar feat had the potential to attract the attention of others unnecessarily.

“I’ll turn a blind eye to the fact that you seduced the captain and took the material value of the Hooked Tusk. However, the stigma that our captain entrusted the subjugation of the Hooked Tusk to an ordinary maid and just watched…”

“Emilia, that’s enough.”

“But Captain, this is something that needs to go into the record, so we have to write the facts clearly…”

“…I said, enough.”

“…Yes, sir.”

The woman continued her suspicions based on reasonable inferences about me and Sir Blacksong calmed her down with a slightly angry voice.

It seemed the main reason I was called here was that woman’s protest.

“…Sorry for the late introduction. This is Emilia Reinhart. She is a senior soldier in the Blackwood Guard and my adjutant.”

“Oh, hello, Ms. Emilia…”

“…Yes, Ms. Lilith.”

“As my adjutant, she is also involved in writing the annual record log. And it seems she couldn’t overlook the Hooked Tusk subjugation case I wrote about during the review process.”

“I think it’s a natural suspicion. Even I would be shocked if one of my fellow maids said they could vanquish a Hooked Tusk alone.”

“…I’m grateful for your understanding, Ms. Lilith.”

Emilia, who was still looking at me with cold eyes, was in contrast to Sir Blacksong, who had a slightly troubled expression.

As I was carefully speculating about what kind of relationship the two of them had, Emilia spoke up again.

“Captain has previously shared his merits with other members several times.”

“Pardon?”

“When we finish a joint operation where anyone can see that the captain’s share is over 80%, he claims everyone fought hard and only takes about 10% of his share, distributing the rest to the lower-ranking soldiers. There have also been times when he covered up mistakes made by other members, saying that he had made them.”

“…Don’t say unnecessary things, Emilia.”

“Until now, I have overlooked it because the merits were being shared among fellow colleagues, and it was an act that boosted the overall morale of the Blackwood Estate Guards. But regarding this case, I obviously cannot just let it slide.”

“Emilia…”

“Sir… No… Captain, how can you share your achievements with an ordinary maid who hasn’t even received military training? And to be recorded as if you stood by and watched a civilian maid’s battle without stopping it, even though you were right there! As your adjutant and record keeper, I cannot simply overlook such a stigma accumulating!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Yeah, for this reason, it made sense for Sir Blacksong to call me out here.

As it was a story that wouldn’t be good if it spread outside, it was understandable that he couldn’t write it in the letter.

Until now, the man named Sir Blacksong, the Captain of the Blackwood Estate Guards, seemed to have managed his unit by widely sharing his achievements or covering up the mistakes of his subordinates…

…and that woman named Emilia, who seemed so inflexible, must not have liked his seemingly foolish actions until now.

In that state, while organizing the records, the fact that I had subjugated the Hooked Tusk must have caught her eye.

It seemed that the resentment that had built up over the fact that he had shared merit with a mere maid, not even a colleague, had exploded.

“I understand what you’re saying, Ms. Emilia.”

Well, in the end, this could be resolved if I just conceded the credit.

Being a maid in debt was already tough, so there was nothing to gain from making enemies in unexpected places.

“I, too, felt a bit burdened by the fact that I had the achievement of subjugating a Hooked Tusk with such a fragile body. Also, it would be right to concede the credit to a great knight like Sir Blacksong rather than an ordinary maid like myself.”

“…Ms. Lilith?”

“So I agree as well. On the 15th of May last year, the credit for subjugating the Hooked Tusk will be transferred to Sir Blacksong…”

Just as I was trying to smoothly resolve the matter without anyone having to blush unnecessarily…

…Suddenly, the figure of one person blocked my path, taking a step forward.

“…Maid, wait a moment.”

“Young Master Ethan?”

Ethan, whose gait had improved a bit for a fatty, probably due to the swordsmanship training he had been doing tirelessly these days, approached Emilia.

Meeting her eyes, he asked in a slightly cold voice:

“Emilia… right?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Can you take full responsibility for what you just said?”

“…Pardon?”

“From what you just said, it sounds like you’re claiming that my maid lied.”

…What was this ominous atmosphere?

For some reason, suddenly, the security office began to be enveloped in a somewhat disturbing atmosphere centered around Ethan.

In that ambiguous situation, Ethan continued speaking, still staring straight into Emilia’s eyes.

“Lilith Rosewood is my exclusive maid. The exclusive maid of me, Ethan Richard Blackwood, the heir to the Blackwood ducal family.”

“……”

“Also, she is the servant I trust the most. But now you’re saying that you think my maid’s claim is a lie?”

“…Young Master?”

“Seeing how you can stand there so confidently after insulting my exclusive maid, I suppose you must be a noblewoman from somewhere?”

…No, why is he suddenly acting like this?

It was a situation where everything would end smoothly if I just gave up the credit, but Ethan suddenly approached Emilia and started to make the atmosphere deadly.

Emilia, who had been glaring at me calmly until just now, was instantly cornered and unable to hide her bewilderment.

“…No, Young Master. What I meant was just…”

“Are you claiming that you saw it with your own two eyes? That Sir Blacksong subjugated the Hooked Tusk, and the maid took the credit?”

“…No, that’s not the case.”

“Then I can’t understand why you’re making such a claim. What you’re doing now just seems like you’re trying to intimidate my maid and take the credit for yourself just because you’re a senior soldier.”

“……”

“If that’s the case, then conversely, it would also mean that I can fire you from the guards just because I’m the heir to the Blackwood family, without any problem.”

“…!”

“…!”

Ethan’s sudden, deadly remark surprised not only Emilia but also me.

…Wasn’t it too much to go that far just for making a bit of a mistake in speaking?

Moreover, being a senior soldier wasn’t just a low-ranking soldier but a fairly high rank among soldiers.

If she was capable enough to be the adjutant of Sir Blacksong, a knight appointed by the Blackwoods, her skills would definitely not be lacking.

To threaten to fire someone in that position just because his maid was insulted a bit?

‘…Isn’t that too harsh?’

A questionable thought momentarily crossed my mind, but upon reflection, it might not have been such an unusual situation.

Rather, the fact that he was giving her a chance to make excuses like this instead of suddenly notifying her was an incredibly merciful act compared to the hated antagonist in the game.

Ethan had recently received lessons on etiquette and had become unusually docile, but it was an undeniable fact that his fundamental nature was that of the hated antagonist of Luminor Academy.

It wouldn’t be strange for that side of the hated antagonist to pop out anytime, anywhere.

…And actually, just looking at his current appearance, it felt a bit ambiguous to call him a hated antagonist.

At least the current Ethan’s abuse of power had a justification…

…unlike the version of him in the game, who troubled Lilith for no reason.

‘Could it be that he’s preparing in advance for when he takes power?’

Not only in the Blackwood territory but in any territory, it was unavoidable for noise to occur the moment the ruler changed.

Especially in Ethan’s case, it was an objective fact that anyone could see that he lacked in many aspects compared to Harold.

Even if this brat became a decent person by the time he inherited the Blackwood territory, he would undoubtedly fall short of the status of the current Sword Master.

If that part was considered, Ethan’s current action wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

If he went around the infrastructures of the Blackwood fiefdom one by one, creating a sense of intimidation like this, it could minimize the buzz that would be heard when Ethan inherited the territory in the future.

I wasn’t sure if this was an idea that could come from the mind of a brat who had only received about a year of etiquette education.

Well, the etiquette education of high-ranking nobles didn’t just stop at how to be polite but also included advanced knowledge such as speaking and social skills, so considering that possibility, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

…And to be honest, nothing else really came to mind besides that.

No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense to threaten someone who had risen to the rank of Senior Soldier just because his maid was insulted.

In the first place, it wasn’t like my relationship with Ethan was deep enough for him to protect me, even at the risk of danger.

“……”

“……”

The security office was filled with tension.

In the disturbing atmosphere where it was unknown when it would explode, Emilia, who had been watching Ethan’s reaction, quietly bowed her head and answered.

“I apologize, Young Master Ethan. I was so blinded that I ended up insulting your exclusive maid.”

“…I don’t think I’m the one you should be apologizing to.”

“…I will also sincerely apologize to Ms. Lilith. My simple perspective ended up inflicting an indelible wound on Ms. Lilith.”

“Oh, no… It was a situation that could be easily misunderstood…”

Originally, I was going to just back down and end it smoothly, but receiving an apology from the other side instead made me feel dumbfounded.

It was different from the direction I had thought… but the testimony-related matter seemed to have been resolved somehow.

“Emilia.”

“There won’t be a second chance, so don’t ever repeat the same mistake in your words.”

“…I am deeply sorry.”

Anyway, it was resolved well… right?

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Holy ssibal. The character development!!!

Also, I plan to return to daily chapters soon, probably by next week. The other novel I’m translating isn’t doing as well as I had hoped, so I’ll prioritize this one. For those who are reading both, please don’t worry. As I have announced, Chapters 6-15 for Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins will all be released at the same time, specifically on Thursday, May 23 at midnight (GMT +8). After c15 is released, the next chapters will only be unlocked on a ko-fi tip basis. @@novelbin@@

I plan to keep chapters for this novel free and don’t plan to monetize it directly. Engaging with the novel in any way is already a big help, as this is my first time translating.

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!