I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

T/N: Daily chapters return! One chapter per day until Sept. 2.

After I told Ethan my answer to his confession, another awkward silence followed in the hospital room.

…I hope there wasn’t any mistake in the answer I just gave.

Conditionally accepting Ethan’s confession and agreeing to accept it if Ethan still wanted to maintain our relationship by graduation…

This should be an answer that Ethan could sufficiently understand.

Moreover, I could also maintain the loyalty between Ethan and me that had built up over five years.

Just as I was feeling a bit relieved, thinking it was quite a good answer…

Ethan asked an unexpected question in a serious voice.

“Lilith.”

“…Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

“So, when you say you’ll think of me as a lover, how far is that allowed?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, things that lovers do, like is handholding okay, or is saying ‘I love you’ okay…”

“……”

“I’m asking how far you’re allowing that.”

“Oh, th-that’s…”

…I hadn’t thought that far yet.

I had been so focused on just thinking of an answer that would maintain my loyalty to Ethan that I hadn’t considered such details.

I had only vaguely concluded that it would be fine to just act like lovers.

However, the biggest problem was that I had never had a lover in my previous life either.

There was no way I could set a standard for allowed physical contact after dating when I didn’t even know about dating.

As soon as I realized that I had boldly suggested becoming temporary lovers without actually knowing anything about it, I felt quite flustered.

“Well, you see… that…”

“……”

I desperately racked my brain while avoiding Ethan’s gaze, which seemed to be quietly waiting for my answer.

F-first, allowing handholding should be okay, right? No, no, allowing just handholding at this point seems like ridiculously minimal skinship.

After all, we’ve held hands before at the masquerade ball, and it’s a part that can be held anytime in daily life, right?

If not handholding, then hugging? But come to think of it, hugging is something that can be done even if you’re not lovers.

If, if not that, then, could it be that I should allow k-kissing…

“Ah, uh, ah, ah…”

“Lilith?! Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, should I call Saint Seriste…”

“N-no. It’s not that kind of problem, I’m fine, Young Master Ethan.”

“…Then that’s a relief.”

As soon as I imagined kissing Ethan, my brain momentarily stopped working.

My first kiss was already taken due to the artificial respiration, so why did my head start throbbing again just imagining kissing Ethan?

No, come to think of it, a kiss while unconscious doesn’t count as a first kiss, right? Not to mention, that was just a medical procedure…

‘No, when I had my first kiss isn’t what’s important right now.’

Putting aside all the distracting thoughts that kept confusing my mind, I seriously considered just how far I could allow Ethan to go.

First of all, among the skinships I’ve had with Ethan so far, the most advanced would probably be ‘touching my chest.’

Originally, I had no intention of letting him touch it at all, and even if I did allow it, I was only going to permit it on special days when Ethan beat Harold.

…But since Ethan ended up beating Harold too often, it became a regular occurrence.

The strongest skinship in our master and exclusive maid relationship was chest touching.

Then, in this one-step-closer relationship of temporary lovers, shouldn’t we take this chest touching up a notch?

…But if we’re moving to the next level after chest-touching in skinship… then the next would undoubtedly be…

“Th-th-th-that much is not allowed!!”

“Wh-what?!”

“E-even if I’ve become your temporary lover, I-I think it’s inappropriate to do that much as students, Young Master Ethan…”

“…Lilith, calm down. And when you say ‘that much’ or ‘that,’ I don’t really understand what you mean.”

“…I apologize.”

I inadvertently thought about the next step after chest touching and reacted with sudden panic.

Well, of course, Ethan wouldn’t understand if I spoke so vaguely like this.

I needed to clearly state what wasn’t allowed in specific terms that Ethan could understand… but it wasn’t easy.

Especially in a situation where I had already allowed him to touch my chest, I didn’t know how to explain to Ethan not to cross the ‘final line’ with any excuse.

…In this case, although it’s a bit of an old excuse, I have no choice but to use this method.

“Se-…”

“…Se?”

“Ah, no, sexual inter- no, I mean, cop… uh, um…”

“…It’s okay, Lilith. I roughly understand what you’re trying to say.”

“…No, I’ll say it clearly after all.”

Rather than leaving things ambiguous here and causing strange misunderstandings, it would be better to speak clearly now.

I refused to suffer any more embarrassment due to unnecessary misconceptions.

“For now, I think sexual intercourse between a man and a woman is inappropriate.”

“May I ask why? Ah, I’m not asking out of dissatisfaction with your decision.”

“That’s… because I was raised with the teaching from my mother that I should maintain premarital chastity.”

“…Premarital chastity?”

“It was my mother’s teaching since I was young. My mother was a believer in the Aurelian Church, so she made me take a vow of premarital chastity.”

“…I see. If it’s your mother’s teaching, then it can’t be helped.”

I felt a momentary aversion to my action of evading the situation with another lie, but it was an unavoidable choice.

If I hadn’t made this level of excuse, there was a real possibility that Ethan and I might suddenly cross the line at some point.

If I didn’t have the potential of a Saint, I wouldn’t have made such an excuse, but it was too precious to carelessly give up this potential that might help Ethan and me in the future.

Of course, I couldn’t just tell him ‘because I’m a Saint’ either.

“I understand. I’ll be careful about se- I mean, sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, too.”

“I appreciate your consideration, Young Master Ethan.”

Ethan, being somewhat understanding, fortunately seemed to accept the impromptu excuse of premarital chastity.

…And as soon as he gave that answer, he leaned his face a bit closer to mine.

“Young Master Ethan? You’re getting close…”

“So, is that all for the precautions, Lilith?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m asking if only sexual intercourse is not allowed and everything else is permitted, Lilith.”

“…Wh-what?”

W-wait a moment.

Come to think of it, is that really how the conversation turned out…?

No, seriously, I haven’t allowed that much yet, right?

Saying that sexual intercourse isn’t allowed was only meant to indicate the absolute final line that shouldn’t be crossed.

It didn’t mean I was allowing other acts…

“……”

“……”

Ethan drew his face so close that our noses were almost touching.

At the moment when I thought our lips might really meet at this rate…

As I closed my eyes tightly in tension, I felt something slightly hard touch my lips.

It wasn’t the feeling of lips, this sensation was probably…

“I’m joking, Lilith.”

“…Pardon?”

When I carefully opened my eyes again, what appeared before me was Ethan gently pressing my lips with one finger.

His eyes showed a calm emotion as if understanding me.

“I won’t rush things, so don’t worry.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m saying I won’t rush to progress things from the beginning, so you don’t have to worry.”

“……”

“Separate from our relationship until now, let’s start our relationship as lovers from today. That way, you’ll feel more comfortable, too, right?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

…Phew.

I was really startled, thinking I might actually get kissed like that.

It’s not that I hadn’t considered this situation since proposing to be temporary lovers to Ethan, but even so, the idea of kissing from today was bound to be surprising.

It’s still a bit too early. Still too early. If we’re going to kiss, I need some mental preparation…

“I didn’t expect you to be this nervous about just a kiss, Lilith.”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean, we’ve already done things beyond kissing several times, so it’s a bit surprising that you’re weak to just kissing.”

“……”

“Ah, I don’t mean that in a bad way, Lilith. I was also thinking I’d like to get closer to you slowly from the beginning if possible. What I meant was that I’m happy to see an unexpected side of you.”

“…Young Master Ethan.”

“Yes?”

Smooch.

Ethan’s face, smiling as if he had won, somehow made me feel annoyed.

Taking advantage of the moment Ethan turned his head, I quickly gave him a light kiss on the lips.

…Really, just a very light peck.

“……”

Ethan stared at me with a blank expression in the awkward silence.

I also felt like I wanted to run away immediately, somehow feeling my face heat up.

But having boldly initiated the kiss myself, I needed to at least pretend to be calm on the outside.

“…Don’t misunderstand, Young Master Ethan.”

“Lilith? What did you just…”

“I’m not so weak as to tremble just from a mere kiss.”

“……”

“…I, I only did it to let you know that… It doesn’t mean anything else.”

…This should be enough for him to understand.

I’m not a woman who trembles at just a kiss.

“I see, Lilith. I understand…”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“……”

“……”

In the suddenly awkward atmosphere, Lilith and Ethan could only look at each other cautiously.

For several minutes, until Seriste returned to the hospital room, Lilith and Ethan just shared the awkward space without even making eye contact.

T/N: See you tomorrow!