Three days had passed since I collapsed from sleep deprivation in the dining room, and finally, the long-awaited day of the operation to eliminate McHart had arrived—the morning of the noble gathering at the palace annex.

"Ah, ugh..."

As the morning sunlight streamed through the window, my body instinctively woke up, a habit ingrained from years of being a servant with a strict morning routine.

Just a few days ago, I had been struggling to get through each day due to sleepless nights, but thankfully, I had managed to sleep well recently. My condition, which had deteriorated momentarily, had returned to normal, just in time for the operation.

-Flip, flop.

I started undressing from my sleeping maid uniform, not really paying much attention since I wasn’t at the academy but at the Blackwood estate. But as I casually tossed off my clothes, something familiar yet strange caught my eye, and my groggy mind began to clear.

'Wait, hold on a second...'

This isn’t my room.

Realizing that I had woken up in Ethan’s room, not mine, a small wave of confusion hit me. Fortunately, the confusion quickly dissipated as my mind fully woke up.

'Oh, right. I did tell Ethan I would be sleeping here for a while.'

Because of the nightmares and insomnia I had been experiencing, I hadn’t been able to sleep deeply. So, three days ago, I had decided to sleep in Ethan’s room to ensure I was well-rested for the operation.

Though I didn’t fully understand the reason, I knew that as long as I could feel Ethan’s warmth beside me, I wouldn’t have nightmares.

It wasn’t that I particularly wanted to share a bed with Ethan; it was just that I needed to be in top condition for the upcoming confrontation with McHart. If my physical state was compromised, it could endanger not only me but everyone else involved in the operation.

'Thankfully, it looks like Ethan is still asleep.'

I narrowly avoided being caught in a compromising situation, as a maid undressing in her master’s room could easily be misunderstood. Since I woke up before Ethan, I quickly gathered the clothes I had discarded.

-Slide.

Carefully, I climbed onto the bed to retrieve my clothes, some of which had unfortunately landed on the opposite side of Ethan. I moved cautiously to avoid waking him up.

Slowly, carefully...

"Ah, good morning, Lillis..."

...But despite my best efforts, Ethan woke up just moments after I did, and unfortunately, the position of my body wasn’t ideal.

-Soft.

"Uh?!"

In the process of reaching for my clothes while leaning over him, Ethan’s face ended up buried in my chest as he sat up.

"Mmff?!"

-Thud.

Startled by the sensation, I lost my balance and fell forward, pressing Ethan’s face even further into my chest.

"Uh, mmm?!"

"I-I'm sorry! Please excuse me!"

"Lillis?! What just happened...?"

Hastily, I grabbed my clothes, quickly put them on, and rushed out of the room into my own.

During breakfast, Ethan and I couldn’t make eye contact the entire time.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

In the carriage heading to the palace annex for the noble gathering with Ethan.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was awkward, not just because we were alone but because things had been awkward between us for a while now.

The awkwardness had been building, especially after what happened this morning. And then there was the incident where I passed out in the dining room only to wake up hugging Ethan, and the night I asked to sleep in his room because I couldn’t sleep alone.

And the next morning, I woke up clinging to him again. I almost instinctively kissed him in my sleep. Such incidents had been happening frequently, leading to this current awkward tension between us.

Honestly, the atmosphere was suffocatingly awkward, but...

'Considering the plan, this awkwardness might actually work in our favor.'

After all, if it seemed like there was tension between Ethan and me, McHart would be more likely to let his guard down and approach me. A touch of realism in our act wouldn’t hurt.

Of course, if it was too awkward, it might ruin the performance, so I needed to lighten the mood a bit.

"Ed."

"......"

"...Ed?"

"Oh, yes, Lillis? What is it?"

"Lilli...s?"

"Lilli..."

Was he not nervous, or was he so nervous that he was making mistakes?

As that thought crossed my mind, I realized I needed to ease his tension a bit by discussing the upcoming operation.

"If you're this tense already, how are you going to fool Prince McHart?"

"...I'm sorry, Lillis."

"......"

"Lilli..."

"We've been preparing for this moment for a long time. Agnes even went as far as pretending to argue with me to dispel Prince McHart’s suspicions, and the Saintess Celesta has blessed me despite the risks to herself. We've all worked hard together to plan this, so we need to carry it out properly."

"...Don’t worry, Lillis. I'll do my best in the real thing."

Ethan was the type of man who could pull through when it mattered, so I was confident he’d be fine once we were in the thick of it.

Still, I wanted to have some extra reassurance. After all, if he lost control and revealed his anger when facing McHart, or if he wandered too close to me and got caught before McHart took the bait, it could jeopardize the whole operation.

If something went wrong during the operation, it would be nearly impossible to get another chance. McHart, once alerted to the trap, wouldn’t fall for it again.

And if that happened, I might have to beg the hero’s party to let me join, as staying at the Blackwood estate after McHart’s full transformation into a demon would only endanger everyone there.

Dragging out the campaign against McHart would only exhaust me further, so I needed to end it during this summer break and return to my peaceful academy life by the next semester.

I knew Ethan wouldn’t intentionally put me in danger, but since I was relying on his help, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give him a little extra motivation.

"Ed."

"Yes, Lillis."

"If everything goes well today and I’m no longer threatened by Prince McHart, I’ll grant you one wish."

"What...?!"

"A wish. Just one."

...Wait. Maybe I was too hasty.

I quickly added a condition to prevent Ethan from making an unreasonable request.

"Of course, I won’t grant something like asking for 10,000 gold coins. It has to be within my ability to grant."

"......"

"Not very enthusiastic, are you? Did you have something else in mind, Ed?"

"No, no! It’s not that I don’t like your offer, Lillis."

"Then what is it?"

"I was just wondering if I could really ask for anything... as long as it’s something you can grant..."

"......"

What a sneaky guy.

It seems that he was still thinking about what happened a week ago. His true intentions were practically written all over his face.

If we managed to defeat McHart, I didn’t see why I couldn’t do what I did for him again. My mouth and throat might suffer a bit, but it was a small price to pay compared to saving my life.

And unlike the hero or others, Ethan was risking his life to help me without expecting anything in return. If this was the reward he wanted, I could grant that.

"Do as you please. Of course, this is all assuming I’m still alive after the operation."

"...I’ll make sure you are, so don’t worry."

"I’m counting on you, Ed."

At the time, I thought I could easily grant whatever request Ethan might make.

Little did I know what he would eventually ask of me as a reward for helping to defeat McHart.