“To Miss Lilith Rosewood.”

“……”

 

Although I was momentarily startled by the chilling first line of the letter, I managed to calm my pounding heart somehow.

It can’t be helped. After all, Seraphine was a character with remarkable insight in many ways, even in the game. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

After Ethan revealed his identity during his recent appearance at the masquerade ball, love letters from various noble ladies would fly in from all over.

Seraphine probably thought it was a sufficiently “predictable situation” that I, as Ethan’s exclusive maid, would manage the overwhelming number of love letters that a single young master couldn’t possibly check.

 

‘Actually meeting her in the flesh does give me goosebumps.’

 

It can’t be helped. That’s the kind of character she was from the beginning.

It would be absurd to deny Seraphine’s characterization at this point. I stopped thinking and read Seraphine’s letter…

…The letter that Seraphine sent to me while pretending to send it to Ethan.

 

『Have you been well, Miss Lilith Rosewood? I apologize in advance for having to contact you in this way due to the many eyes watching.

As someone who has already experienced cooperating with me on the night of a full moon, you should be able to figure out who I am without me explicitly stating my identity in this letter. So, to be prepared for any situation, I won’t include any details about my personal information.

I am truly indebted to you for the other day. If you, Miss Lilith, had not cooperated with me that day without any suspicion of my motives, the Argentian Empire would have suffered much greater damage. Considering the results of the other choices I briefly saw, I think it’s fortunate that it ended this way, thanks to you. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

I will refrain from asking how you know that I become more intelligent every full moon. The same goes for how you can handle that much power despite being a commoner. When I think about what happened that day, I realize I should give you a sufficient reward; I am currently making preparations for that.

The details are written at the back of the letter.』

 

‘The back of the letter?’

 

…Does she mean the second sheet sealed with sealing wax?

I learned in the game that it’s best to check letters from Seraphine as quickly as possible, so I immediately used a letter opener to remove the second sheet.

Compared to the first sheet, which was filled with greetings and past events, the second sheet had only one short sentence written at the center of the paper.

 

『I will meet you soon to discuss it.』

 

…Soon?

When exactly is ‘soon’?

As far as I know, there is only one case where Princess Seraphine would send a letter with such an ambiguous feeling.

When Seraphine, of all people, uses an ambiguous expression, it must be in a situation where it is certain enough that there won’t be any problems even if she writes it this way…

 

‘Could it be…?’

 

With a hunch, I stuck my head out the window and spotted a lavish carriage approaching near the mansion.

I had to put aside everything I was doing and call Ethan from the next room first.

 

“Young master! Princess Seraphine has visited the Blackwood Mansion!”

“…Now?”

 

First of all, we had to welcome the guests from the Imperial Family who unexpectedly came to the Blackwood Mansion.

“It’s been a while, Lord Ethan.”

“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit the Blackwood Mansion, Princess Seraphine.”

 

A reception for the Imperial Family suddenly began in the drawing room of the Blackwood Mansion.

Centered around the table in the drawing room where Princess Seraphine and Ethan were seated facing each other, all sorts of servants from the mansion had gathered, creating a tense atmosphere.

Most of the servants were tense because it was their first time seeing a member of the imperial family, and the male servants were mostly distracted by Seraphine’s beauty.

When I thought it would be difficult to have a serious conversation in this situation, Seraphine dismissed all the people gathered in the drawing room with a single gesture.

 

“I’d like to have a private conversation for a moment, so could everyone except the people who are absolutely necessary leave?”

 

The servants of the Blackwood Mansion hurriedly left the drawing room one by one, murmuring at Seraphine’s declaration.

In this situation, I was also discreetly trying to gauge whether I should leave or not, but Ethan was the first to clearly resolve the matter of my stay.

 

“I see. Everyone except Lilith, my exclusive maid, should leave.”

 

…So I have to stay, after all.

Come to think of it, it wouldn’t make sense for the person who needs to have the conversation to disappear from a meeting arranged through a letter sent to me in the first place.

I guess at least 50% of the conversation we’ll have after the meeting will be related to me. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

After all the other servants of the mansion had left, only four people remained in the drawing room.

From the Blackwoods, Ethan and I.

And from the Imperial Family, Seraphine and her escort, Luke.

Luke is quite close to Seraphine, so she’d probably just leave him there. Even if he hears the story about me, he won’t carelessly divulge it…

 

“What are you doing, Luke? You should leave, too.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said I’m going to have a private conversation, so anyone who isn’t absolutely necessary should leave.”

“……”

 

Luke, Seraphine’s escort, was shocked to realize that he wasn’t a “person who was absolutely necessary.”

However, he still couldn’t refuse Seraphine’s order, so instead of arguing, her escort quietly left.

…Except for the resentful glare he gave me before leaving the drawing room.

 

‘It’s not like I wanted to stay either.’

 

Seraphine and Ethan have something to say to me, so they kept me here, but why is he jealous of me?

While I was worrying about whether I had unnecessarily earned the resentment of a troublesome person, Ethan, who had moved from the center of the sofa in the drawing room to a corner, called me and pointed to the empty seat.

 

“Maid, you should sit too.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ll be mainly talking about you, anyway. It would be better to sit together and talk rather than having you standing there and listening.”

“……”

“I agree, Miss Lilith.”

“…I understand.”

 

Since the two of them were urging me, I had no choice but to quietly sit down in the empty seat.

Seraphine sat in front of me while Ethan sat beside me.

Sitting between a princess and a young master who could easily crush me with their status even if I stayed still, I carefully observed the situation.

In the silence, the first one to open their mouth and start the conversation was Seraphine.

 

“First of all, I should tell you the reason why I came all the way to the Blackwood Mansion.”

“……”

“……”

“I sincerely thank you two for your utmost efforts in slaying the King Serpent during the monster wave at the Imperial Palace the other day.”

“Oh, no… That much is…”

“It is my greatest pleasure that my humble efforts were of assistance to the empire.”  [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

 

Unlike me, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do, Ethan responded to the conversation as if it were natural to him.

Seeing this natural behavior, he was indeed a noble young master.

 

“The reason I personally came to the Blackwood Mansion today instead of inviting you to the Imperial Palace is to express my gratitude for this. It would be rude in many ways to make the two of you, who did your best until the very end to save as many lives as possible, travel all the way to the distant palace.”

“Oh, no… Rude, you say…”

“That’s not true at all, Princess. If you summon us, it is only natural for a nobleman to respond to that call.”

 

…Why is Ethan being so sweet today?

Could it be that he’s really interested in Seraphine, and that’s why he’s acting like this?

Even though he said he wasn’t, in reality, Ethan is no different from other boys…

 

“And also, it would be even more difficult to arrange a meeting like this at the Imperial Palace.”

“…?”

“There would be no better place than here to have a leisurely conversation with Lord Ethan and Miss Lilith. Don’t you think so?”

“Well, yes…”

 

Indeed, if Ethan and I had been invited to the Imperial Palace, we wouldn’t have been able to create an environment like this.

One where only three people—Seraphine, Ethan, and me, Ethan’s exclusive maid—could have a conversation.

 

“May I ask how the matter I mentioned before is proceeding, Princess?”

“Although time is a bit tight, I think it can be completed within half a year. But no matter what, the highest position that can be given would be a viscount.”

“That’s more than enough. As long as the fact that she’s a noblewoman can be proven, that’s all that matters.”

 

…What? What are they talking about?

Their suddenly having a serious conversation among themselves in front of me made me feel strangely uneasy.

Seraphine, who first noticed my reaction from across the table, also told me about what she and Ethan were doing.

 

“Don’t worry, Miss Lilith. It’s not about actually taking away another noble’s status, but rather, we’re talking about creating a new fictional family.”

“…Pardon?”

“We can’t hide the secret that you can use magic forever. Fortunately, the princess says half a year is enough, so we can somehow make it in time for next year’s entrance to the academy.”

“Please, wait a moment. I can’t understand the content of your conversation at all. A new family, entering the academy… These are all unfamiliar topics to me.”

 

My uneasiness grew even faster as their explanations only raised more questions.

Sensing that something was off, Seraphine glanced at Ethan and carefully asked a question.

 

“Lord Ethan, could it be that you haven’t properly explained this matter to Miss Lilith?”

“I did mention it to her once before, but this is the first time I’m providing the details.”

“…You talked to me about it, Young Master Ethan? I’m truly sorry to say this, but I have absolutely no recollection of hearing anything related to the conversation you two are having now.”

“What are you saying? I told you last time. I told you that I would somehow help you, who was troubled by not being able to use magic freely. I also said that I thought I could get cooperation from Princess Seraphine.”

“That… I understood it as meaning you would keep the secret that I can use magic…”

 

I felt quite perplexed by Ethan, who was casually saying things that were impossible for me to follow as if they were obvious.

Unable to watch the two of us any longer, Princess Seraphine took the lead in providing additional explanations about the content they had been discussing.

 

“Miss Lilith.”

“Yes, yes!”

“It seems you haven’t heard the exact story from Lord Ethan yet, so let me tell you clearly.”

“……”

“Miss Lilith, have you ever thought about enrolling in the academy as a noblewoman?”

“…Pardon?”

 

Me?

To the academy?

…How?