Chapter 75

“Are you perhaps a young lady born with noble blood from somewhere?”

A question that came up during the conversation with Ethan, which, in a way, could be said to be perfectly natural.

Well, it was the first conversation we had after I used such powerful magic, so naturally, such a question had to come up.

In this world, not only did a commoner who could use magic not exist, but if such a case did exist, the meaning would almost always boil down to one thing.

It’s not that they’re a commoner who can use magic, but they’d have to be a bastard child who inherited noble blood from somewhere.

In this world, a family’s bloodline magic was an element that directly represented that family’s status and ability.

As a result, each noble family had a marriage culture where they only married among nobles to ensure that their bloodline magic never ‘leaked out.’ Occasionally, if a child was accidentally born between a commoner and a noble, they would at least take them in as a concubine to prevent the bloodline magic from being spread, which was the norm.

No, it would be fortunate if they at least took them in as a concubine.

There were many cases where they engraved a slave mark to prevent them from running away with the seed, permanently confining them somewhere in the mansion, or killing them to prevent the birth of that bastard child.

The existence that was born by escaping a life-threatening situation in such a way was a ‘commoner who could use magic.’

There were, naturally, reasons why it shouldn’t be revealed that I could use magic.

The moment a rumor spread that I was someone’s bastard child, even if I didn’t know who, I might become the target of ‘nobles who had something to hide.’

‘Of course, Lilith is a completely special case, so she has nothing to do with noble bastards…’

Regardless of whether it was related or not, there was simply nothing good about that fact being known.

This was a dangerous truth to the point where if it was revealed, I would really have no choice but to live as a maid of the Blackwood estate for the rest of my life.

The moment I became a free person from belonging to the Blackwoods, a nameless noble would come after me just because I could use magic.

In that sense, it might be a better choice to reveal the truth to Ethan and ask for his cooperation.

The problem was that the truth itself was even more difficult to reveal to Ethan.

That’s because the reason Lilith Rosewood could use magic was that this character was the ‘Saint’ of this generation.

‘It’s already hard to believe that Lilith was a bastard child of a noble, but claiming to be a Saint is going too far no matter what.’

In this world, there were only two people in the entire world who could use magic despite not being from a noble or royal family.

The two beings born with mysterious powers in time for the resurrection of the Demon King, the Hero and the Saint.

The Hero, of course, refers to the protagonist character in Luminor Academy.

The other one, the ‘Saint,’ was none other than Lilith Rosewood.

Of course, my claim of being a Saint would be an even more absurd answer than the answer of being someone’s bastard child, so there was no way Ethan could believe it, no matter what.

In the first place, apart from being a saint, it was impossible for Lilith herself to even be aware of the fact that she was a saint.

The Saint in “Luminor Academy” wasn’t a character who could prophesy that she herself was a Saint.

The process of Lilith being officially recognized as a Saint by the Aurelian Church would probably have to go through these steps.

They’d first have to track down Saint Lilith according to the divine revelation received by the Church, confirming that Lilith possessed the qualities of a Saint.

After realizing that she was a Saint, she would have been moved to the main church of the Aurelian Church.

The reason I speculate that it must have been like that is none other than this. In both the current and the original storyline, the fact that Lilith was a Saint was not revealed until the very end of the story.

It was thanks to the greatest troll act committed by Lilith’s father just before he died of alcoholism.

Just before the priests of the Aurelian Church discovered Lilith, Lilith’s father sold his daughter due to gambling debts, which was the cause.

‘In fact, it’s also the number one reason that made Lilith’s life miserable.’

Thanks to that stupid act, the fate of Lilith, who would have lived a life being revered and blessed by other priests in the Aurelia Church, plummeted to the bottom as the sex slave of Ethan, the Lout Prince of the Blackwood Ducal family.

Moreover, the father who sold his daughter like that couldn’t even live for a few days and died alone from alcoholism, so it was really miserable.

It was the worst incident befitting a character with a single-digit luck stat.

In fact, the foreshadowing that Lilith was a Saint could be sufficiently found in certain elements of the game.

It’s hinted by how, despite being a mage, her attack magic hardly hit, but her support magic was excessively efficient.

It’s explained by why, among her various stats, only her Charm stat that attracted people was unnecessarily high.

…And the various hints that could be obtained while playing the game gradually unraveled the foreshadowing that Lilith was a saint.

Moreover, one of the decisive hints was that Lilith was the only ‘non-virgin’ character among all the heroines. …It’s not a setting I particularly like.

The powers of a Saint were unique powers that only a Saint could use. It’s just like Moonlight Shadow Princess Seraphine, who used lunar power.

There was one more condition attached to using those powers, which was that the Saint had to be a ‘pure virgin’ to use them.

Lilith, who had already become Ethan’s sex slave by the time the academy story began in Part 2, naturally couldn’t use those powers.

The fact that none of the main characters could use the powers of a Saint was practically a shocking hint in itself.

Still, in the final chapter of the work, Lilith does awaken them and somehow becomes able to use her powers.

‘Actually, by that time, it’s not really special for any character, and not just Lilith, to awaken their powers.’

That’s why I said it’s not impossible to conquer the Demon King without Lilith.

My explanation about my identity has become long, but the conclusion was this.

The current me cannot reveal to Ethan the reason why I can use magic.

Revealing the reason I can use magic meant revealing the fact that I am a saint.

Revealing the fact that I am a saint meant revealing that I know what is happening in this world.

…And revealing that meant revealing that my existence was from another world, not this world.

Rather than revealing all of this, it was the best decision to keep my mouth shut and pretend not to know…

…even if Ethan misunderstands me as a bastard child of some unknown noble as a result.

For a moment, I had thought that I could maybe reveal the fact that I’m a Saint to him.

But in the end, the conclusion I reached in my heart was that I still couldn’t reveal it to Ethan.

So from now on, it was time to act as the ‘Clueless Maid Lilith’.

“Actually, I’m not sure, Young Master.”

“…You’re not sure?”

“It started when I saw a noble using magic in my hometown where I used to live, and I unconsciously felt interested and tried to imitate it. At that time, I was young and had no knowledge of magic, and I didn’t know that magic was the exclusive property of nobles.”

“…”

“A normal child would have probably just pretended to use magic and nothing would have happened. However, magic that should have never come out under normal circumstances burst out of my hands with a strange sensation, and I was amazed by it and told my mother.”

“…Your mother must have naturally stopped you from using magic after seeing that.”

“…That’s right.”

It’s a lie.

Even in my memories from when I was Lilith, my mother was barely memorable.

That’s because she passed away from tuberculosis before even three years had passed since giving birth to me.

The first time I used magic was not in my childhood, but the Clean spell I used for the first time after becoming a maid.

I felt a bit sorry for disparaging my deceased mother, but anyway, the most important thing right now was for me to survive.

I shamelessly acted as the ‘Innocent Maid Lilith’ and glossed over my magic.@@novelbin@@

“But in my childishness, I couldn’t understand my mother, who prevented me from using magic, and I secretly practiced magic where others couldn’t see.”

That’s a lie.

“Of course, that was only until I was sold to the Blackwood estate, and I never used it once after I started working as a maid at the Blackwood mansion.”

Of course, that’s a lie.

“The magic I used when facing the King Serpent was the same. Princess Seraphine suddenly took me to the western gate of the palace and said she witnessed me using magic to defeat monsters… While concentrating to meet the princess’s expectations, it just happened to come out by chance.”

That, too, is of course a lie.

I don’t even know anymore. Why does it become impossible to do anything but lie the more plausible things I say?

If I were a lying doll made of wood, by now, just cutting off my nose would have produced enough firewood to warmly heat the entire Blackwood mansion.

I don’t want to spew out lies like this just for the sake of it. It’s just that the truth I have to hide is so important that I have no choice but to make up a completely different story.

I’m not without the desire to go to the Aurelian Church, reveal that I’m a Saint, and receive the church’s protection, but considering the original story of the work, even that is impossible.

In the end, there was only one way for Lilith to survive.

Hide the fact that I can use magic as much as possible, and if I’m discovered, pretend to be a bastard child of some unknown noble.

That was the best method.

“Hmm…”

Ethan, who lowered his head as if pondering something after hearing my words, let out a groan.

Perhaps he had found something suspicious in the excuses I just made.

After all, the excuses I just gave to Ethan were all stories hastily put together to pretend to be a ‘noble’s bastard child.’

If Ethan was determined to investigate my background, it wouldn’t be too difficult to reveal that what I just said was a lie.

Things like the fact that my mother in this world passed away when I was young, so she didn’t have a chance to see me using magic, or that my father was a commoner farmer, not a noble, could be found out with just a little investigation.

Perhaps Ethan already knew those facts.

But it couldn’t be helped. For now, giving hastily made excuses was the best method.

…Of course, that’s also assuming that Ethan will keep the secret.

“Okay, Maid.”

“Yes?”

“You knew how to use magic since you were young, but you’ve been hiding that fact because you’re a commoner, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Got it. Now that I know you have such concerns, I’ll do something about it.”

“…Pardon?”

…What does he mean by doing something about it?

For now, judging from his tone, it seems like he’s saying he’ll cooperate with me.

Could it be that he means he’ll continue to keep it a secret that I can use magic?

“Young master. Does that mean you will continue to conceal the fact that I’m a commoner who can use magic?”

“…Huh? Ah, well, that should be the case for now. Of course, I think I’ll have to talk to Princess Seraphine first about what to do afterward.”

“…You don’t have to worry about Princess Seraphine. She also said she would keep my secret.”

“That’s a relief, then. If the princess cooperates, we can resolve it a bit more easily.”

“…I’m truly grateful, Young master.”

…To think the day would come when I’d receive such help from Ethan.

Of course, the current Ethan had grown up properly, unlike the scumbag Ethan, so his humanity itself wasn’t particularly surprising.

But I didn’t expect him to keep his loyalty to me, a mere maid.

‘Well, this is also proof that Ethan and I have gotten along well so far.’

Let’s think that the bond I’ve built with Ethan until now has moved his heart and helped me at the right time.

Anyway, the only direct witnesses to the incident at that time were Ethan and Seraphine.

If just the two of them guaranteed to keep it a secret, there was no reason for me to be in danger.

I’m really glad it somehow worked out well.

Thanks to Ethan’s words that he would keep my secret, I was finally able to relax my tense chest.

Having cast off all my worries, I immediately returned to my duties as Ethan’s exclusive maid.

“We’ve already spent so much time talking. It would be best to go have breakfast before it gets late, young master.”

“You’re right, Maid. If we go too late, Father will scold me again.”

Ethan Richard Blackwood listened to my words and descended the stairs with me toward the dining room.

I also followed behind Ethan to fulfill my duties as an exclusive maid and moved my steps to the first floor with him.

However, at that time, I had not yet anticipated…

…that the meaning of his words “I’ll do something about it” did not simply mean keeping a secret.