About half a day had passed since the masquerade ball at the palace, where many events had occurred in a single night – the meeting with Lizzy, the conversation with Seraphine, and even the monster wave.

The palace had begun its own investigation as soon as the monster wave incident ended that day.

The incident that occurred at Lake Verdan this time was highly suspicious in many ways.

Normally, it wouldn’t make sense for a monster wave to occur in the capital.

In the first place, the Imperial Capital Defense Corps existed to protect an environment where monsters could appear.

Moreover, the fact that so many monsters crawled out from just one lake meant that someone had intentionally caused the monster wave.

The palace would probably conclude within a few days that it was the work of demons.

 

‘That would be the story if it followed the original plot, of course.’

 

There was a possibility that the story, which had begun to twist somewhere, could suddenly flow in a different direction.

At least, it would be quite possible to find out that demons were involved in this monster wave.

So, the palace would be busy investigating the monster wave incident, and the rewards for those who played a significant role in this monster wave would be given a little later.

 

‘In the original story, Agnes received the biggest reward, followed by Orion.’

 

If we were to compare their contributions, Seraphine and Agnes would be at a similar level, but Seraphine, as a member of the royal family, received a somewhat formal reward rather than a financial one.

Next, Orion would have been highly evaluated after Agnes for his role in selecting Agnes as a talented individual in a crisis situation and ultimately contributing to the defense.

Caraham, who had defended the carriage parking lot near the southern gate, was also scheduled to receive a reward, but in the original story, he likely didn’t attend due to the issue with his sister, Lizzy.

In the original story, Caraham was a character who yearned for his sister, Lizzy, until the very end.

 

‘I don’t know for sure. I can’t possibly know the every move of each character in the work.’

 

To be honest, I don’t know the details of the rewards either. I guess they received something like cash or rare materials.

Anyway, with my and Ethan’s involvement, there were many changes in positions in the palace defense, so the reward process would have been completely disrupted as well.

There were six people who played a major role in this monster wave, so these six would likely be called upon during the reward ceremony.

 

Moonlight Shadow Princess Seraphine.

 

Orion, the Sage of Verdure.

 

Hellfire Agnes.

 

Tactless Caraham.

 

Ethan, the Lout Prince.

 

And me, Lilith, the Brave Exclusive Maid.

 

…Now that I list them like this, the titles for Caraham and Ethan are quite ruthless.

Of course, since the two were originally villains in the story, it can’t be helped, but now that I have the opportunity to organize it like this, I can’t help but feel sorry for them.

Well, judging from Caraham’s appearance when I met him last time, his tactless attitude seems to be the same. So, at least for the current him, that title wouldn’t be too unfitting.

However, the title of ‘Lout Prince’ for the current Ethan felt completely unsuitable, no matter how I thought about it.

The current Ethan was neither lout nor did he show any signs of becoming a villain.

If such a dramatic change in Ethan’s story had occurred in the game, his title would have surely changed to something else.

And while I don’t know about the titles of others, I know that at least my title had definitely changed.

Three years ago, when I first checked my information window, my title was ‘Low-Rank Maid.’

But now, the title floating in my information window was ‘Brave Exclusive Maid.’

At this point, it wouldn’t be strange to give Ethan a different title instead of Pig Prince.

Of course, even if the title actually changed, there was no way for me to confirm it from my perspective.

In the first place, the title system was created to make it easier for players to distinguish characters.

So far, there have been no cases where I could check the title of someone other than myself in this world.

 

‘…But no matter what, he’s definitely not a Lout Prince by any means.’

 

What title would suit the current Ethan, who is not a Lout Prince?

Ethan, the Blackwood Young Noble? There are more than a few nobles in Luminor Academy, so the title of young noble is too common.

Ethan, the Son of the Sword Master? That’s practically a title for Harold, not Ethan.

Ethan the Slim, Ethan the Black-Haired, Ethan the Swordsman, Ethan the Defender of the Western Palace Gate, No Ethan No Life…

…Now that I think about it, Ethan had no distinctive characteristics that rolled off the tongue.

Moreover, the titles that could be attached to him were elements that other characters already had one or two of.

Looking back, the scumbag Ethan in the original game really had no character-defining elements other than being a ‘lout’ and just being a ‘scumbag.’

In fact, even the current Ethan became ambiguous when those two elements were removed.

Something special that only Ethan has, unlike other characters…. Hmm….

 

“…No, why am I even worrying about this?”

 

Come to think of it, there was no reason for me to worry about Ethan’s title at all.

It’s not like the title I come up with will be reflected in this world.

My habit of being a core gamer in my previous life had unintentionally surfaced again. When I was really into the game, I used to think, ‘What would their title be?’ whenever a new character appeared.

…In fact, what mattered now wasn’t Ethan’s new title.

What I should be worried about is not what title to give him but my personal safety.

That’s because I had made a huge blunder in this monster wave.

I had committed the crazy act of killing the King Serpent with a large-scale magic, Mana Blast, right in front of Ethan’s eyes.

 

‘At that time, I had no choice, but…’

 

If I had hesitated to show my magic there because I didn’t want to, not only my life but also Ethan’s and Seraphine’s lives would have been in danger.

By the time someone capable of subduing the King Serpent had gathered, there would have been even greater sacrifices than in the original work.

If Seraphine and Lilith had really died in that incident, this world itself would have had no future.

Of course, just because I saved the world’s future in the long run didn’t mean I could ignore the fact that I had used magic.

It was virtually impossible to expect Ethan to overlook this matter without any questions.

 

‘How should I make an excuse for this…?’

 

With that, I moved my steps to Ethan’s room with a slightly anxious heart, timing it with his morning wake-up time.

I sincerely hope in my heart that the apology method I had prepared would somehow work well.

Generally, what methods are there for a commoner to apologize to a noble when they have committed a sin?

First of all, monetary appeasement was impossible in my situation. No matter how much money I saved up with my status as an indebted maid, I couldn’t shut the mouth of the young Blackwood noble.

Moreover, this time, it was also impossible to deceive him with words. After openly using magic right in front of his eyes, it was unthinkable to believe that I could deceive him.

Neither money nor lies would work.

Due to my status and constraints, I couldn’t use other methods either. In my current situation, there was only one way I could deal with Ethan.

…Somehow, I had no choice but to handle it with my body.

 

Thud!

 

“For this matter, I have no words to say, Young Master Ethan!”

“M-Maid?!”

“Not only can I, a mere commoner, use magic, but I also concealed that fact until now. I sincerely apologize, Young Master!”

 

Thud! Thud!

 

“W-Wait, Maid! I understand, so stop it! Don’t keep hitting your forehead on the floor!”

 

Are you familiar with the old saying that you can’t spit on a smiling face?

This is just my personal opinion, but that saying is wrong in many ways.

Even if you just go to the Korean military, you’ll find more than a few bastards spitting phlegm on a grinning face.

Rather, if the wrongdoer doesn’t prostrate and beg for forgiveness, they’ll be lucky not to get beaten up even more.

Then, conversely, what are the ways to get beaten less after doing something wrong?

Of course, it’s to prostrate on the floor and beg before getting beaten.

Soft-hearted seniors can’t even think of beating you more once you prostrate and beg first, and even nasty bastards drastically reduce their frequency of bullying if you show a submissive attitude.

With the calculation that universal human reactions wouldn’t change just because the world I lived in changed, I lay flat on the floor, showing the most repentant attitude possible.

After banging my forehead on the floor about five times and spewing apologies, Ethan himself started to stop my actions.

 

“To deceive you, Young Master, who has trusted me, about such an important fact, even if I confess my sins with this life, it wouldn’t be enough….”

“Ah, I get it, so stop now! I’m not particularly angry at you, Maid, for this matter!”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. For now, let’s sit down calmly and talk. Okay? Please.”

 

Indeed, the best way to gain the upper hand in a conversation was to make the other person feel sorry.

It would be difficult to properly dominate the conversation while harboring a feeling of guilt.

…In fact, Ethan hadn’t really done anything wrong to me right now.

Following his words, I stopped banging my head on the floor, moved to the table, and began the conversation.

Ethan made eye contact with me and started the conversation by recalling what had happened last night at the palace.

 

“What happened yesterday was a bit surprising.”

“…Is that so?”

“I never even imagined that you, Maid, could use such magic. Not to mention, such a large-scale magic at that.”

“…For hiding it until now, I apologize again.”

“It’s okay. As I said earlier, I’m not particularly angry about that. Rather, I’m just grateful.”

“…”

“You were originally planning to keep hiding it, right? But if it weren’t for you then, it would have led to even greater sacrifices. You were also able to save my life thanks to you and Princess Seraphine.”

“I’m glad my magic was of help to you, Young Master.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Maid. Even though you originally wanted to hide it, you made a big decision for me.”

 

This is somehow embarrassing.

Anyway, judging from Ethan’s reaction, he really didn’t seem to mind that I had hidden the fact that I could use magic.

Moreover, he seemed to genuinely feel gratitude for me using magic to defeat the King Serpent.

For now, it was a much better situation than the few worst-case scenarios I had worried about.

…It was inevitable to think that I had banged my head for nothing at first.

 

“So, Maid.”

“…Yes, Young Master.”

“You might not like me asking this, but I feel like I have to ask this question before moving on.”

“…What is it, Young Master?”

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

“…”

 

In the end, this question comes up.

Faced with Ethan’s carefully asked question, I was once again engulfed in an internal conflict.

Should I shake my head and quietly bury the truth as I have until now?

…Or should I reveal this nuclear bomb-level secret that Lilith possesses, trusting that Ethan will keep it confidential?

It was the moment I was convinced that I had reached the crossroads of a choice that would change my life forever.