Ethan quietly thought of a way to improve Lilith’s mood.

Before taking any serious action, the first thing he did was to send Isabel, who shared the room, to the servants’ quarters. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Even though Isabel was currently serving as the exclusive maid for both him and Lilith, he didn’t want her to witness their ‘evening activities.’

 

“Isabel.”

“Yes, young master.”

“I’ll comfort Lilith, so why don’t you go to bed early tonight?”

“…Pardon?”

“…If possible, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come out of the servants’ quarters until late at night.”

“Ah….”

 

Thanks to her experience as a maid, Isabel was quick to read between the lines, and she knew Ethan and Lilith’s relationship better than anyone.

Having vaguely understood the meaning of Ethan’s words, she simply bowed and entered the servants’ quarters.

 

“Yes, young master. Then I’ll sleep soundly in my room from now until my wake-up time tomorrow morning.”

“…Very well, Isabel.”

“Please, enjoy your time with Lilith.”

Click.

“……”

 

The vanilla-haired maid quietly entered the servants’ quarters first with a goodnight greeting.

Ethan felt embarrassed as if his future actions had been discovered, but apart from that, he felt quite grateful to the perceptive Isabel.

He carefully approached Lilith, who was still sitting on the bed, unable to shake off her depression.

He wasn’t yet sure if this method would work well to comfort her in her depressed state.

At least, in that moment when he saw her, Lilith had an expression of happiness that he rarely saw.

If that could improve her mood, he was willing to endure being seen as the foolish young master of the Blackwood family.

…The only worry was whether this action would make Lilith judge him as she had before.

That’s why Ethan started by asking for Lilith’s permission in a way that wouldn’t make her despise him.

If she developed negative feelings towards him because of his actions, which were motivated by not wanting to see her depressed face, it would only worsen the situation instead of improving her mood.

 

“Lilith.”

“Ah, Young Master Ethan. Are you planning to sleep now?”

“No, I think I need to talk to you about something more important than sleep first.”

“Pardon?”

 

Ethan steeled his nerves as Lilith tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what he was about to say.

He then lowered his body and bowed deeply towards Lilith, who was sitting on the bed.

 

“Y-Young Master Ethan?!”

“Lilith, I have a request!”

“W-Wait a moment, Young Master Ethan! For the young master of the Blackwood family to show such a posture to an exclusive maid…” [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

“I’m begging you, Lilith! Please let me touch you for just one minute tonight!”

“Get up right no… What?”

 

Lilith reacted and questioned him after hearing the request to touch her chest while trying to make him stand up.

…And it didn’t even take a few seconds for her reaction to turn into contempt.

 

“Really, just one minute is enough! Just this once today…”

“Are you in your right mind, Young Master Ethan?”

“Well…”

“…I’m truly disappointed. I’m sure I clearly told you that I would let you touch my chest when you won a match against Master Harold.”

“……”

“Did you lose your self-control just two weeks after coming to the academy? I couldn’t even imagine that you, Young Master Ethan, would be such a low-level beast…”

 

As expected, Lilith’s cold contempt returned.

Although he had somewhat anticipated this reaction, he couldn’t take back the words he had already spoken.

Ethan tried to use his own logic to not offend her feelings and still be able to touch her chest.

 

“I-I’ll win two matches!”

“…Pardon?”

“I-In the next duel with Father, I’ll win a total of two matches!”

“…Two matches?”

“The condition for you to let me touch your chest is that I win one match against Father each time. And as I take the Basics of Magic Swordsmanship lecture, I’ll soon have chances to duel with Father, so I’ll have at least ten opportunities to cross swords during one semester.”

“…Well, go on, keep babb- I mean, please continue speaking.”

“I haven’t had a chance to duel with Father yet, so I haven’t won any matches, but starting next week, there will be dates set for weekly duels with him. So, I’ll win two matches in total during the upcoming period. Please let me touch you just once now, Lilith.”

“……”

 

After his desperate persuasion, Ethan bowed his head again on the floor, waiting for Lilith’s answer.

He was already aware that his request was unreasonable even to himself, but his goal was to touch Lilith’s chest without offending her.

Ethan quietly bowed his head as if he was guilty, waiting for Lilith’s next words.

On the other hand, Lilith was stroking her chin on the bed, making her own calculations.

 

‘Changing from letting him touch once per match to once per two matches, it doesn’t seem like I’m losing anything… Given Ethan’s skill, he should naturally be able to win two matches during the semester…’

 

As soon as she heard Ethan’s proposal, Lilith started calculating the pros and cons of letting him touch now versus refusing. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

The displeasure she felt towards Ethan for suddenly asking to touch her chest had already taken a backseat, and she was now coldly calculating her own benefits as an exclusive maid.

She asked Ethan a question, who was lying face down on the floor, considering whether to withdraw his request, saying he had thought wrong.

 

“…Are you certain you can win two matches against the master?”

“Y-Yes…! Of course!”

“Then why are you asking to touch my chest now, incurring a debt equivalent to two matches, instead of asking after you’ve won the matches?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

 

He couldn’t say that it was because Lilith seemed so depressed today, and he wanted to touch her to cheer her up.

If he said that, he would surely incur Lilith’s antipathy, and she probably wouldn’t have given permission in the first place.

If she allowed it for that reason, it would be tantamount to confessing that being touched made her feel better, and Lilith, being a woman, would naturally want to conceal her desires.

It goes without saying that this would make her despise him even more.

To protect her honor and pride, Ethan chose a slightly different approach.

He made it appear as if he was requesting it simply because he wanted to touch it, regardless of Lilith’s feelings.

 

“I-I really can’t hold back anymore…”

“Pardon?”

“I-If we were still using different rooms in the mansion, it might be different, but n-now, L-lilith, you sleep and wake up in the same bed with me every day. Moreover, you sometimes cling to my body in your sleep due to your sleeping habits. Living like that every day, I just can’t hold back anymore…”

“……”

“So I couldn’t wait until I win the next match… That’s why I’m begging like this…”

 

A lie. Ethan created an excuse through a lie mixed with a bit of truth.

Although Ethan had blurted out what came to mind at the moment, he immediately regretted it after saying those words.

Once he actually said it out loud, it seemed to shamelessly reveal the desires of a young man in his prime. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Ethan had tried to maintain a gentlemanly attitude in front of Lilith in other aspects, but even he thought that what he had just done was quite vulgar.

It was only after his head cooled down a bit that Ethan finally realized that what he had just done was somehow wrong.

 

“W-Well, I guess it’s not possible after all, right?! T-Then let’s just forget about it…”

 

With his mind in turmoil, the desire not to be hated by Lilith grew stronger again, and Ethan tried to salvage his unsightly behavior, albeit belatedly.

However, Lilith, who understood the sexual desires of a man in his early twenties well in many ways, gave an answer that was closer to affirmation rather than disgust.

 

“…You must definitely win two matches.”

“…U-Um?”

“Didn’t you just say it with your own mouth, Young Master Ethan? That you’ll win two more matches against Master Harold in the future, so you’re asking to touch my chest now?”

“…T-That’s right. But if you feel uncomfortable, Lilith, you can refuse…”

“…Just this once.”

“…Huh?”

 

Ethan responded with a foolish expression to Lilith’s unexpected permission.

Lilith simply repeated what she had just said to Ethan.

 

“I said just this once, Young Master Ethan. If you mention wanting to touch again in the future because you can’t control your urges, I will firmly refuse.”

“Then today…”

“After hearing your words, I thought there was certainly some reason to them. I understand that you, Young Master Ethan, are also a man in his prime, so I can comprehend why you might get excited by the fact that I sleep next to you every night.”

“……”

“So, I’ll give you one chance as an exception. I’ll grant your sudden request just this once… But from now on, you’ll have to learn how to control your urges properly.”

“Th-Thank you, Lilith.”

 

Although they had taken a roundabout way to hide their true feelings from each other, Lilith had finally given permission for him to touch her chest.

While the result was a bit sudden, that’s how their ‘evening activities’ began.

That relationship had been formed while hiding their true feelings from each other and misunderstanding the other’s true intentions.