On the afternoon of the day when Ethan unexpectedly raised another strange flag in the morning, saying he might land a hit today…

I was once again at the training ground to observe the duel between Ethan and Harold.

Although I heard such words in the morning, to be honest, I didn’t expect too much.

After all, he had said the same thing two weeks ago and lost.

Moreover, he wasn’t even close to winning. It was essentially a match he lost after relying on a feint and failing to execute it well.

If it had been a close match when their swordsmanship skills were similar, it might have ended differently, but there was no reason to be tense about Ethan, who hadn’t reached that level yet.

So, today, as well, I watched leisurely without any expectation that Ethan would do well.

As usual, Head Butler Dittmeyer and a healing priest from the Blackwood mansion were waiting beside me.

 

Clang! Clang! Clang!

 

“Put a bit more strength in your sword! Attacking from unexpected angles isn’t everything! Maintain your speed and power no matter which direction you swing your sword!”

“Uaaaargh…!!”

 

Unlike two weeks ago, when he tried to feint, in Ethan’s recent duels, he had returned to honest, wild swinging.

If he had at least taken up dual-wielding as I advised, I might have had some decent expectations, but Ethan hadn’t shown even such attempts in the past two weeks.

Believing that dual swords were essentially the only way Ethan could land a hit on Harold, I could watch their duel with peace of mind.

 

‘At this rate, nothing will happen to me until his admission to the academy.’

 

Harold would also be gradually familiarizing himself with Ethan’s swordfighting style while crossing swords with his son, so it would naturally be even harder to close the gap.

Thinking this, as I was watching the increasingly boring swordsmanship of the Blackwood father and son…

Ethan’s awkward grip on his sword suddenly caught my eye today.

 

‘Huh…?’

 

Instead of gripping the sword tightly with both hands as usual, he was holding the sword with his right and left hands, switching between them.

Seeing the awkward grip that seemed to be holding almost the ends of the handle, a strange question naturally arose in my mind.

Gripping the sword like that would make the rotation angles of the left and right hands different, but more power was needed to do that, implying muscle fatigue when swinging.

Moreover, it’s not like holding it that way would make it particularly more stable.

It didn’t look like a way to grip a single sword, but rather like the posture just before drawing a sword from its scabbard, and I naturally started to have a different idea.

 

‘…Could it be?’

 

Wondering if the thought that popped into my mind could be true, I focused my gaze on the sword Ethan was holding. Suddenly, the handle of the sword he was gripping started to separate vertically as if lengthening.

I could immediately recognize that this was the action of drawing another sword hidden inside the sword.

In other words, it meant that Ethan had essentially been swinging a scabbard until now.

It was the moment when Ethan’s sword, a single blade, instantly transformed into two swords.

 

Swish!

“…!!”

 

Harold was just as surprised as I was by the sudden split of the sword.

Ethan had prepared his final blow without showing any awkwardness in his gaze until the end and wouldn’t miss this brief opening.

 

Whack!!

“Ugh…!”

 

The sword in Ethan’s left hand, which had been acting as a scabbard, blocked Harold’s sword, and the sword in his right hand struck Harold’s side.

Harold, who had exposed his waist to the unexpected attack, let out a short groan.

The gazes of the other spectators and me watching this scene were also instantly fixed.

 

“Haa, haa, haa….”

 

As if he had really used all his strength for that one strike, Ethan looked at Dittmeyer and me while plunging his sword into the ground.

Dittmeyer, who was still unable to grasp the situation due to the shocking scene, hurriedly hid his bewilderment and swiftly declared Ethan’s victory.

 

“…Young Master Ethan is the victor!”

“Congratulations, young master.”

 

Along with Dittmeyer’s declaration, my body automatically burst into enthusiastic applause, congratulating Ethan on his first victory.

Seeing my reaction, Ethan finally smiled slightly and collapsed onto the floor.

Harold looked down at Ethan silently, speaking to him in a strangely questioning tone.

 

“To think you’d separate your sword during a duel… Your skill in using techniques has been growing lately, Ethan.”

“Was it something I shouldn’t have done, Father?”

“Something you shouldn’t have done… Why do you think that, Ethan?”

“…Because it’s a method not used in general swordsmanship, and I won a cowardly victory without proper technique.”

 

As the atmosphere seemed to be turning strangely serious, I wondered if Harold might pettily refuse to acknowledge the match, but…

Hearing his words that followed, fortunately, that didn’t happen.

 

“There’s only one important thing you shouldn’t do in a life-or-death situation, Ethan.”

“Yes?”

“The most important thing you shouldn’t do to protect your life is ‘lose.’ No matter what technique you use, no matter what mindset you have in the match, the most important thing is to not ‘lose,’ Ethan.”

“…”

“You can be proud. Today, you’re a swordsman who has achieved victory against a Sword Master, even if just for a moment.”

“…Thank you.”

 

Seeing that he didn’t say things like the match was void because Ethan used cowardly means, it seemed Harold was quite pleased with Ethan’s growth.

It had been three and a half years since Ethan started learning swordsmanship from Harold, so Harold probably felt more joy than pain or shame about the hit he took today.

After all, it was a strike that clearly showed that his child, Ethan, had definitely grown.

 

“From the next training onwards, I’ll teach you how to dual wield. It seems you have talent not only for single-sword combat but also for dual wielding, Ethan.”

“…Yes!”

“Today’s duel ends here. When you’ve regained your strength, clean up and come inside.”

“Thank you, Father!”

 

Harold exited, discreetly placing his hand on one side of his waist, and the mansion’s healing priest quickly followed after him.

I, still at the training ground, made eye contact with Ethan who was resting and offered words of encouragement to him.

 

“Good work, Young Master Ethan.”

“Maid…”

“Today’s strike was truly impressive. …Although, since it was against the master, it probably won’t work twice.”

“…Yeah. He won’t let me hit him again. I was planning to give up on this method if I failed today.”

“Could it be that your recent fatigue was from practicing this technique?”

“…If you’re talking about the method of drawing out the second sword, then, yes, a little bit.”

 

…Your determination is really something else.

To think he would prepare a special sword and even practice how to handle it just to land one hit on Harold somehow.

Moreover, the fact that all this effort was just to touch his exclusive maid’s chest…

 

‘…Ah.’

 

…Right, I had forgotten.

From the beginning of this match, the side I should have been cheering for wasn’t Ethan’s.

That night…

After dinner ended, when it was time to prepare for bed…

Having finished bathing with a bit more care than usual, I quietly entered Ethan’s room with a slight tension.

All to fulfill the contract of that proposal I had made with Ethan prior to this.

 

‘Haa, I’m really an idiot. Why did I make such a strange proposal that day…’

 

If only I hadn’t let Ethan touch my chest due to that strange misunderstanding in the first place, this situation probably wouldn’t have occurred.

I added the additional condition of letting him touch more if he landed an effective hit in a duel with Harold to somehow cover up what had been touched then without being discovered.

My unnecessary meddling and even giving him advice about dual wielding techniques ultimately led to this result.

 

‘Well, it’s just one minute anyway.’

 

How properly could a kid without any sexual knowledge touch in just one minute of trying hard?

Last time, I only felt strange because I got unnecessarily excited due to a vague sense of crisis about possibly losing my position as exclusive maid, but if I just prepared my mind, letting my chest be touched for about a minute was really nothing.

And to be honest, I thought Ethan deserved that much as a reward. (T/N: Why?!)

Thinking deeply about it would probably just lead to strange self-rationalizations, so before any weird thoughts could arise, I knocked on Ethan’s door three times and spoke.

 

Knock, knock, knock.

 

“Young Master Ethan, may I come in?”

“…Come in.”

 

A careful reply coming back from inside the room, seemingly tinged with some tension.

I quietly entered inside, opening Ethan’s door.

 

Creeak.

 

“…”

“…”

 

The light in Ethan’s bedroom somehow felt more subtle than usual today.

He had entered first and was sitting carefully on the chair at the table, quietly avoiding my gaze.

Before entering into the main act, I carefully asked him about what state would be comfortable for him.

 

“Is it more comfortable for you to sit on the chair?”

“Uh… huh?!”

“I asked because you’re sitting at the table, not on the bed. If you think it would be more comfortable on the bed, we can move there.”

“N-no, maid. S-sitting on the chair is… I have something I need to say to you first…”

“Something you need to say first?”

“…Will you sit across from me for now?”

“…Alright.”

 

I don’t know what Ethan was trying to say, but as his exclusive maid, I obediently followed his words and sat in the opposite seat.

Sitting face to face at the table, I made eye contact with him and asked about what he said he needed to say first.

 

“What is it you want to say, Young Master Ethan?”

“W-well, I wanted to talk about that thing we were supposed to do today…”

“You mean touching my chest for one minute as a reward for landing an effective hit on Master Harold?”

“…Yeah, that.”

 

…Could it be that he wants to ask for a little more time because one minute isn’t enough, or to relax the conditions for touching my chest because they’re too strict?

Well, I can understand Ethan’s feelings of wanting to say that as a man in his prime, but of course, I had neither reason nor intention to grant his request.

If I kept making small concessions and extensions like that, I might find Ethan touching my chest without any conditions at some point.

With the courage to refuse any conditions he might propose firmly in my heart, I made eye contact with Ethan and demanded his next answer.

 

“Please speak, Young Master Ethan.”

“Um, is it really okay to touch you… maid?”

“Yes. Because that was the promise.”

“W-what about you, maid…? What do you think…?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you really want to let me touch your chest because you think I’ve gotten stronger…? Or are you here just because you wanted to keep your promise…?”

 

What nonsense is he suddenly talking about?

If he just won against Harold, that should be the end of it, why is he suddenly concerned about my feelings?

Not wanting to argue over unnecessary things, I just gave him a formal answer.

 

“That doesn’t matter, young master. You won the duel against your father, so you can touch my chest as a reward.”

“…If you’re telling me to touch even though you don’t like it, just because of the promise.”

“Yes?”

“…If it’s for that reason, you don’t have to force yourself, maid.”

“…”

“…I won’t say you didn’t keep your promise or anything like that if you do.”

 

…What is this guy babbling about now?

I’ve even prepared my mind and come to his room in the middle of the night to let him touch.

He says I don’t have to force myself? Suddenly?

Is he pitying me now?

And for something as trivial as offering my chest?

 

“…Don’t talk nonsense, Young Master Ethan.”

“M-maid?!”

“Are you saying this despite seeing all the effort you put in to defeat Master Harold?”

“…”

“I don’t go back on my word, Young Master Ethan. If you’re going to be considerate of me with such half-hearted pity, please understand that touching me confidently would be less embarrassing for me.”

 

It’s not like I’m giving him my first time or my first kiss.

I never intended to be pitied for just having my chest touched.

I dismissed Ethan’s meaningless words and simply stood up to approach him.

Because I didn’t want to become a cowardly runaway who couldn’t even give this much reward to this guy who had worked so hard for so long.