“Are you serious, Maid?”

 

Ethan asked with widened eyes in response to my request to extend my time as his exclusive maid.

I looked him in the eye and nodded as I answered.

 

“Yes. I’m serious, Young Master.”

“…Maid, you might not know this yet, but… normally, a noble lady shouldn’t be an exclusive maid for a man. Of course, they sometimes send them as general servants for the bond of the family, but…”

“No. I already know that noble ladies don’t take the role of an exclusive maid for a man, Young Master.”

“It seems you don’t understand…”

 

…Considering my actions in front of Ethan until now, it’s understandable for him to be suspicious, but at least this time, I was certain.

The issue he was worried about if I took the role of his exclusive maid was, in fact, not a problem for me at all.

However, Ethan still seemed to think that I didn’t understand and continued to provide additional explanations about taking on the role of his exclusive maid.

 

“It’s a bit complicated, but I’m saying this for your sake, Maid.”

“……”

“It’s fine for now, but if it’s later revealed that you, as a noblewoman, worked as my exclusive maid, it could hinder your marriage prospects.” [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

 

…Well, of course it would.

It was common for the role of a noble’s exclusive maid to rarely include a “night service.”

Of course, to some extent, it was a relationship based on mutual agreement, so it was a slightly different concept from rape, and even that custom had almost disappeared by now.

Anyway, an occupation with the possibility of having relations with another man before marriage was bound to receive unfavorable attention.

However, nothing like that had ever happened between Ethan and me, and in the first place, I had been desperately trying to avoid such situations.

Of course, that didn’t mean it would seem like nothing happened to others.

So, Ethan was probably saying that out of consideration for me in his own way, but honestly, it was an unnecessary concern for me.

 

“I don’t mind.”

“…What?”

“Having my marriage prospects hindered by being the young master’s exclusive maid is not a problem for me at all.”

“…Think about it seriously, Maid. I’m saying this because I really don’t want you to be in trouble because of me.”

“I am thinking very seriously.”

 

Because I wasn’t thinking about marriage in the first place.

My marriage prospects are being hindered because I’m Ethan’s exclusive maid. So what?

Isn’t it rather advantageous to prevent noble sons, who are difficult to avoid due to their power, from trying to hit on me in advance? [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, since this was a world where commoners didn’t place much importance on chastity, there was a possibility that they would approach Lilith regardless of whether she had experience or not.

But that could be solved with the “viscount noble status” that Ethan and Seraphine created for me.

And there would be hardly any commoners who would foolishly risk their lives to try to eat a noble…

 

“I want to continue being Young Master Ethan’s exclusive maid even after receiving the status of a viscount’s daughter. And that’s for the four years we attend the academy.”

 

That was also the only way for Lilith, a viscount’s daughter with no backing or connections, to survive.

It’s true that I’m a pretty decent mage who can use Mana Blast at this level, but this alone could lead to the possibility of getting involved in troublesome matters with other nobles attending the academy.

If I, as a viscount’s daughter, who is on the lower end of the lower nobility, enroll without proper connections, there will naturally be many people trying to shut me down in various ways.

Among them, there would be quite a few who would approach me pretending to help but actually try to use me.

In that case, the most stable way to survive would be to continue working as Ethan’s exclusive maid while always doing activities together with him.

If I work as an exclusive maid, I will have to stick with him for most of my life in the academy, whether I like it or not, and above all, I can clearly imprint on other students that I belong to the Blackwood family.

…And even if a situation arises where I’m being used by someone, I thought it might be better to be used by Ethan rather than a stranger I’ve never even met.

Considering all those situations, I requested Ethan to extend my position as his exclusive maid.

But the answer that came from Ethan’s mouth was close to a roundabout rejection.

 

“…For now, I’ll take my time to think about it.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m really happy that you said you want to continue being my exclusive maid, but this is a matter that needs to be seriously considered.”

“I see…”

“…It’s just that I’m not mentally prepared yet, so wait a little bit.”

 

…Mentally prepared?

What do you mean by being mentally prepared all of a sudden? You just have to treat the exclusive maid position like you’ve been doing until now, right?

For some reason, Ethan’s answer gave me an uneasy feeling and anxiety began to rise in my heart.

For now, though, there was something I was more happy about, so I let it slide.

Anyway, the fact that I could enroll in the Magic Department of the academy, even as Lilith, was much more important news to me.

A carriage passed through the border of the Blackwood territory, and several horses and soldiers surrounded the carriage.

Inside the luxurious carriage surrounded by several guards as if protecting it, its owner, Princess Seraphine, quietly looked out the window at the passing scenery without a word.

Her escort, Luke Cruella, was seated across from her.

The Blackwood territory gradually moved away from the gate that marked the border of the Blackwood territory.

Looking back one last time at the Blackwood Mansion, which was already so far away that it looked like a dot, Seraphine offered a small apology in her heart.

 

‘I’m sorry, Miss Lilith.’

 

She couldn’t even give a reward to the one who had defeated the King Serpent and ended the monster wave at the Imperial Palace; instead, she just gave her a viscount status and enrolled her in the academy.

Feeling guilty, Seraphine could only vaguely stare out the window until she left the Blackwood territory.

Luke, her escort, carefully asked a question while observing Seraphine’s expression, which was different from usual.

 

“Princess Seraphine.”

“What is it, Luke?”

“If you have any concerns, would you please confide in me?”

“……”

“If you trust me and tell me, I will not divulge it even if a blade is put to my neck, Princess.”

 

Luke requested Seraphine to confide in him, asserting his loyalty to her.

She also knew very well that Luke was not the type of person to carelessly spill secrets somewhere.

However, apart from that, Seraphine couldn’t fully confide the secret she held in her heart to Luke.

If Seraphine’s concern was simply her own secret, she might have felt somewhat relieved just by confiding in her tight-lipped escort.

But what was weighing on Seraphine’s mind right now was not her own concerns but a concern about a woman named Lilith Rosewood, a servant of the Blackwood family.

The moment she spoke about that concern, it would inevitably lead to a situation where she would also have to speak about Lilith’s secret.

Carelessly blabbing about someone else’s secret was far from Seraphine’s personality, so even if it was Luke, her most trustworthy and tight-lipped escort, Seraphine couldn’t tell him.

 

“I’m sorry. It’s not a concern I can tell you about, Luke.”

“……”

“It’s my personal issue, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Is it a concern related to the conversation you had at the Blackwood Mansion?”

“……”

 

Seraphine’s expression momentarily faltered at Luke’s question that hit the mark.

As an escort who had served her for a long time, Luke could notice the change in Seraphine’s expression in an instant.

 

“Even if you say there is discord with the Blackwood family, I will serve Princess Seraphine until the very end, even at the cost of my life.”

“…No, it’s not such a dangerous issue.”

“Is it a concern about that maid from the Blackwood family? The one who eavesdropped on the princess’ conversation until the very end…”

“…Luke.”

“Yes.”

“I clearly sent you out of that drawing room.”

“…That’s right.”

“Then don’t hastily make assumptions about what happened inside. Do you find my orders so amusing?”

“I-I will correct myself!”

 

Seraphine’s escort immediately prostrated himself on the ground to apologize the moment he realized he had misspoken.

However, the one who received the apology didn’t even spare him a glance and only silently followed the scenery outside with her eyes.

In her heart, she continued to apologize to Lilith, whom she had promised to enroll in the academy.

 

‘Miss Lilith, you’re probably just happy about the fact that you can enroll in the Magic Department of Luminor Academy now.

 

But I know. I know what kind of hardships a helpless young lady with only a viscount status will face when enrolling in the academy.’

 

The viscount status is the lowest among the nobility.

The moment she enrolls in the academy, all sorts of riffraff will likely approach her to use her.

It was a future anyone could predict, even without foresight.

 

‘Moreover, Miss Lilith’s magic is powerful enough to attract the attention of others in many ways, so people who are too much for you to handle on your own will probably try to approach you.

 

Even knowing that, I won’t ask you to forgive me for deciding to enroll you in the academy. But it was necessary. I’m sorry, Miss Lilith.’

 

No matter how outstanding Lilith’s individual magical education was, it would not be easy to shake off the persistent interest gathered from so many people.

Especially considering the characteristic of the Magic Department, where only nobles could enroll, there weren’t even any commoner students of lower status than her.

It wasn’t too difficult to imagine that she would become a “target” for the Magic Department students in many ways.

Cruelly, Seraphine’s plan also included Lilith becoming that “target.”

 

‘Half a year…or maybe you’ll get tired even sooner. The Magic Department of the academy will be a place that’s not easy to endure with the status of a viscount’s daughter.

If I extend a helping hand to you when you’re suffering from other nobles like that, will you be able to refuse? If I ask you to become my exclusive maid on the condition that I protect you, will you be able to refuse then?

You probably won’t be able to. Because I will only reach out to you when you’re faced with a situation you absolutely can’t refuse.

I’m sorry for not being able to think of any way to use you other than this. I will definitely apologize for all these sins I will commit against you in the next life someday…’

 

One day, Seraphine suddenly felt the need to keep the strongest close aides in her arms to prevent the future she saw from becoming a reality.

Luke, the escort knight, in her right hand, and Lilith, the exclusive maid, in her left hand.

In her mind, these two were the strongest cards she could control as she pleased, so enrolling Lilith in the Magic Department of the academy was also the first step in Seraphine’s process of getting her hands on her.

Thus, Seraphine’s plan to secure her second strongest, and most capable close aide, seemed to proceed smoothly without any particular obstacles, just like her other plans.

But unfortunately, there was one unexpected blind spot in Seraphine’s plan this time that even she hadn’t anticipated.

Because even Seraphine hadn’t predicted the situation where Lilith would insist on being Ethan’s exclusive maid even with the status of a noble lady.