I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 58 [Masquerade Ball (5)]

 

In my previous life, there was a saying that circulated in online communities:

Compared to the past, people in the modern age don’t get hit at home or at school, so their attitudes have gotten worse in proportion.

If you realize there’s a possibility of getting hit anywhere at any time, you’re bound to develop some manners. Conversely, if you don’t need to worry about getting hit, your personality goes wild.

Looking back now, that saying was half right and half wrong.

I somewhat agree that modern attitudes have gotten worse because people don’t get physically disciplined anymore.

…But now, I don’t think it only applies to modern people.

 

“You bumped into me! What are you going to do about this?!”

“……”

 

Whether modern or medieval times, a brat raised without the fear of being hit just had no manners.

I was witnessing that eternal truth unfold right before my eyes.

The crazy girl brazenly bumped into me and then played the victim. All sorts of curses rose up to my throat.

Thankfully, right away, the good Lilith Rosewood inside me popped out and calmed the delinquent Lilith’s personality.

 

‘Endure it, endure. If I stand out here for no reason, it’ll just become more troublesome.’

 

I had already gotten Ethan’s attention by doing something unnecessary as soon as I entered the Imperial Palace tonight.

If I couldn’t endure it here and confronted her angrily, it would feel refreshing in that moment, but the ensuing results would be obvious.

Rather than causing a scene, it was easier to just put up with it and move on.

If, by any chance, the other party revealed her status and persistently pressed me, it would be disadvantageous for me as a commoner.

Although it was impossible to force someone to reveal their status inside the masquerade ball, if a noble was really determined, finding out was easier than drinking cold soup.

 

‘If something happens, expecting Ethan’s help… would probably be difficult.’

 

If I were really Ethan’s fiancée and this kind of argument occurred after rudely clashing, it wouldn’t be impossible to conversely pressure the other party using the Blackwood family’s status.

The problem was, I wasn’t actually his fiancée right now; I was just pretending to be his.

Also, I had already finished calculating that Ethan likely wouldn’t actively protect me if a slightly more troublesome situation occurred.

No matter how exclusive of a maid she was, in the end, Lilith was just a commoner maid subordinate to the family.

He probably wouldn’t want to cause a rift with another noble family just to cover for one maid.

Especially if he couldn’t be sure of the other party’s exact rank and position.

Unless Ethan truly had deep feelings of affection for me, it was hard to expect him to feel close to an exclusive maid who had tried to strangle him to death in his childhood.

Having clearly judged my position and rank in that short moment, I quickly gathered as much information as I could with my eyes about the brazen girl in front of me.

That is, just in case this girl was a major character from Luminor Academy or someone related to it.

 

‘She has the aura of nobility but doesn’t seem like she was raised in a strict household. Judging by her hair color, she doesn’t appear to be from a major family either.’

 

In Luminor Academy, the nobles called ‘major families’ usually had distinct characteristics or hair colors that made them easy to differentiate.

For example, those with Blackwood blood mostly had black hair and black eyes, fitting their name.

…And if there were a major noble family with sky-blue hair like that girl, she would probably be from the Azeria or August families.

For now, though, it was a bit difficult to assume the girl in front of me was from either of those two families.

First off, Azeria was a noble of the Serendia Kingdom, not the Argentian Empire, so there was no way they’d attend Princess Seraphine’s birthday party.

The August family only had a few famous figures, and as they were villains, I knew each of their faces one by one.

 

‘It strangely feels like I’ve seen her somewhere before, though…’

 

Of course, if it didn’t clearly remain in the memory of someone who played for 2000 hours like me, she was probably at the level of a supporting or extra character at best.

In other words, to summarize, this girl herself wasn’t that high-ranking of a noble.

Of course, whether the opposing noble’s rank was high or low, just the fact that they were nobility was immense pressure for Lilith, so it didn’t really matter.

 

‘No matter how low-ranking among nobles, they’re still incomparably higher than commoners.’

 

Glossing over it as much as possible and ending this disturbance without revealing family names or given names would be the most amicable solution.

Knowing who was more wrong and who suffered more damage weren’t very important factors in this world’s judgments.

The most important thing when determining what was right and wrong in a medieval fantasy world was power and, usually, wealth or force, after that.

I had neither of those three as a commoner maid with debt.

At best, if they were people of similar status, things like who was more at fault could be used to discern right and wrong, but it wasn’t a method I could use in my current situation.

Having grasped the situation in that split second, I began my “persuasion” to the noble young lady, spewing words with a brazen expression, suppressing my emotions as much as possible.

 

“Sh….”

“…?”

 

…Oops, my bad.

 

“…M-Miss, I’m sorry for startling you. My shoulder bumped into your hand, ruining your pretty gloves with the cocktail.”

 

‘You brought your hand to my shoulder and have the audacity to act so self-righteous.’

 

“I was just about to tell you something….”

“But since the cocktail that spilled from your hand also stained my dress, how about we consider this both our faults and just let it go rather than making a fuss?”

 

‘I suffered more damage, but let’s not attract attention in an ugly way and just resolve it peacefully.’

 

“No, but you just…”

“Also, if a young noble lady raises her voice carelessly outside, her refinement may be doubted. If a fight broke out at a wonderful party like Princess Seraphine’s birthday, imagine how sad Her Highness would be.”

 

‘Don’t yell loudly like a bumpkin outside with no manners. You think the princess would be thrilled to see the spectacle of her guests fighting at her own birthday party?’

 

I conveyed what I wanted to say in the most roundabout way possible, holding back my true feelings.

Still, she seemed to have received some mandatory noble education, as she understood what I said to some extent.

 

“…I understand. Th-there’s no choice, then. I’ll have to mercifully forgive you this time.”

 

…For now, it seems this disturbance has been quietly suppressed somehow.

Then, I just need to distance myself from this spot as if nothing happened.

The stain on my dress can be wiped off with a handkerchief. Fortunately, since it’s a crimson dress, any stains aren’t very noticeable.

Thinking that, I tried to naturally end the conversation and walk away.

 

But…

 

“…What is the meaning of this behavior before my eyes?”

 

…It seemed my partner had no intention of just letting this situation go.

 

“Wh-what is it, you?”

“That’s my line. I’m asking about your attitude; you not only dirtied my partner’s clothes but brazenly demanded an apology from her.”

“M-my gloves got dirty too! Because your partner didn’t pay proper attention to her surroundings…!”

“The one who didn’t pay proper attention to her surroundings was you. In a situation where a shoulder and hand collide, of course the hand that can move much more freely is the one at fault for bumping, no? Especially if you’re holding something like a glass with a drink, you should have been extra cautious.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Besides, your gloves can be easily changed, but my partner’s only dress was dirtied. It’s clear that the one who should be apologizing is you, not my partner, but I cannot tolerate such a brazen attitude from you.”

 

…Ethan, why are you suddenly acting like that?

I was just about to smoothly clean things up on my end and move past it, so why is he gathering people’s attention and causing a scene again?

The atmosphere of the party quickly centered on us due to Ethan’s sudden “partner protection.”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one startled by the focusing gazes.

 

“Wh-what…”

“……”

“What nonsense are you spouting?! I merely graciously accepted the apology your partner already admitted to! What gives you the right to say you can or cannot tolerate me?!”

 

The sky-blue-haired young lady seemed surprised by the sudden attention but still didn’t back down to preserve her pride.

Judging by this attitude, it was certain that she was unaware of Ethan’s identity.

What was truly amazing was her ability to open her mouth so boldly in a situation where she didn’t even know the other party’s identity.

…It’s strange; if there was a noble young lady with this personality, she should have appeared at least once or twice even in the game.

I had never seen a character with this appearance, either among the supporting or villainous characters.

Since her voice didn’t sound familiar, that meant she didn’t even have a voice actress, so she was really a supporting character at best, no matter what.

I could confirm it in detail somehow if she just took off her mask, but it was a pity that I couldn’t attempt that in the current situation.

 

“D-do you even know who I am?! What makes you so rude with such confidence?!”

“Even if I knew who you were, would that change who’s in the wrong?”

“At the very least, you’d have to take back the insult you spat at me. Although this is a masquerade party, don’t think you can just brush off your actions.”

 

…Well, I think you CAN brush it off.

At most, the only guest at this party with a higher status than Ethan would be Princess Seraphine.

The Blackwood family was quite a powerful noble family, even among other ducal houses.

I don’t recall any family with sky-blue hair being more influential than the Blackwoods.

At best, the August family of Marquis status with sky-blue hair held some meaningful power, but…

Even so, the August family appeared as villains in the game.

In other words, even if they make enemies now, it won’t be much of a problem later.

Around the time I was thinking she was probably bluffing, the sky-blue haired young lady continued speaking with more confidence than anyone.

Ethan and I listened to what she blabbered for now, curious about what she’d say.

 

“First of all, you. Judging by your hairstyle and voice being unfamiliar to me, you’re certainly not from a prominent noble family.”

“……”

“Let me clarify something for you who seems excited to participate in Princess Seraphine’s masquerade ball. Just because it’s a masquerade party where names and identities are hidden, that doesn’t mean status holds no meaning…”

“…Although I’m seeing you for the first time today, I didn’t expect there to be a young lady at this party who could insult the Blackwood’s partner and even make them beg for forgiveness.”

“…Black…wood?”

 

The moment the family name left Ethan’s mouth, the sky-blue-haired young lady stopped talking and carefully muttered the name Ethan had mentioned.

Judging by that reaction, she clearly hadn’t imagined at all that my partner was from the Blackwood family.

 

“…Blackwood, you say?”

“Then that man can’t possibly be…”

“He looks different from the rumors…”

 

No, to be precise, it seemed most people here at the party were unaware.

Well, even if I were in those nobles’ positions, I probably wouldn’t have thought of it either.

The last known public appearance of Ethan was from about three years ago, right after he got up from being bedridden.

Most people here would only be familiar with the image of Ethan being short and fat.

They probably couldn’t immediately connect that the man who had lost weight and even gained some muscle was Ethan Richard Blackwood.

 

“D-don’t pretend to be him…! I heard the Blackwood family only had one son…”

“Yes, just me. My father never took a second wife or concubine after my mother passed away.”

“…And I heard that only son had quite a lot of body fat…”

“That’s a shameful part of my foolish days. It’s a story of my past that I want to forget, so should I take it as an insult to me if you dare mention that?”

“……”

“You seemed to have quite a lot to say, but suddenly became quiet.”

 

The young lady, who was cornered the moment Ethan mentioned the Blackwood name, avoided eye contact.

Judging by this situation, it was easy to predict how this argument would end.

At the very least, that “unforgivable act” she was talking about would occur.

By the way, I feel like I’ve seen that character somewhere before, after all.

Where have I seen her…