I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

On the morning commute to school the day after spending the night in the same bed with Ethan for the first time in a while…

“Ha, haaaaaa…”

Perhaps due to the lingering fatigue from not falling into a deep sleep all night, I inadvertently let out a yawn that escaped my lips, unlike usual.

Ethan, who quietly observed this, turned a slightly worried gaze toward me and asked.

“Lilith, are you okay? You look particularly tired today.”

“…I’m fine, Young Master Ethan. I apologize.”

“If you’re tired, how about resting for another day?”

“I appreciate your concern, but any more absence from the academy might affect my studies. Also, I wouldn’t be able to assist you properly as your exclusive maid.”

“…If that’s what you say, I won’t stop you.”

…As if he doesn’t know who’s responsible for my fatigue in the first place.

All last night, I couldn’t fall asleep easily, being conscious of Ethan sleeping in the bed next to me. Even though my body was undoubtedly tired from various events, my mind kept racing with thoughts, making it impossible to find any rest.

Until now, I could comfortably go to sleep whether Ethan or Isabel was sleeping next to me without giving it much thought. 

…But with just the addition of this temporary lover relationship, the thought that Ethan might try to pounce on me while I was asleep tormented my mind all night.

After various thoughts, I finally managed to fall asleep around three or four in the morning.

Since the wake-up time for an exclusive maid was 6 AM, two to three hours of sleep wasn’t enough to completely relieve my fatigue. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

In the midst of this, forcing myself to get up and crawl out was what happened this morning.

“……”

“Lilith, is there something on my face?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“…Then why have you been staring at my face like that?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t stare, Young Master Ethan?”

“…Huh?”

“Although temporary, aren’t we lovers now, Young Master Ethan?”

“Ah, th-that’s right… Sorry, Lilith. I asked a strange thing.”

If I were to say now that I want to use a different bed or install a partition curtain in the bed, he would undoubtedly find it suspicious.

He might even think I’m conscious of him and put on that confident expression like last time.

If I had known this would happen, I would have installed a partition curtain during the first semester when we weren’t lovers yet. There would have been a sufficient justification for my own private space then.

Back then, I didn’t realize that sharing the same bed would feel this awkward.

In the first place, I couldn’t have imagined becoming temporary lovers with Ethan until just a few days ago, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Don’t fall asleep during morning classes, Lilith. I’ll come to the Magic Department building for lunch, so wait for me there.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

My heart still seems to be mistaking the incident on the lake for feelings of love, as it continues to flutter in front of Ethan.

After parting ways at the fork in the road, I walked towards the Magic Department building with a calmer heart.

The issue with the bed, though… I’ll be able to solve it somehow as time passes.

Although the ambiguous relationship of temporary lovers was added to our current relationship, his attitude didn’t change noticeably compared to before.

We eat lunch together as usual, take light walks around the campus, and chat during the remaining time, and after all classes are over, we meet again and return to our young master and exclusive maid life.

None of the things I worried about, like suddenly trying to close the distance or surprising me with sudden skinship, happened at all.

…I had prepared myself to accept it if he acted a bit more boldly, given that we were lovers, even if temporary.

It was probably inevitable since the years we’ve spent in a master-servant relationship overwhelmingly outnumber our time as lovers. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

If we were suddenly told to act like lovers after not particularly being conscious of it until now, even I would have been flustered, let alone Ethan.

At least the Ethan of this world, from what I’ve observed, was naturally single with no dating experience, so it was natural for him to be unfamiliar with how to handle women.

Clop, clop, clop…

“Ah, Lilith. This way.”

“…Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

…Even so, he’s thoroughly maintaining the manners of a lovers’ relationship like this, which is strangely frustrating.

Ethan’s small gesture of guiding me to the inside as soon as we heard the sound of hooves and carriage wheels from behind was appreciated, but something felt off.

Isn’t this… not usually how a lover relationship works?

At this rate, it’s no different from a butler attending to his lady.

I felt oddly upset at this seemingly reversed master-servant relationship. Clearly, Ethan is my master, and I’m the exclusive maid.

I guess I’ll have to take the lead here.

I had no intention of neglecting my role as a temporary lover if only to maintain my loyalty to Ethan.

Although I had no dating experience in my previous life either, I at least had over 20 years of experience as a man.

I was well aware of the kinds of actions from women that pleased men of this age.

…But being too forward from the first day of becoming lovers might seem a bit vulgar, so I should start lightly at first.

Grab.

“…Li-Lilith?!”

“…Please don’t make such a fuss over just this much, Young Master Ethan. Isn’t holding hands a common act between lovers?”

“Ah, y-yeah. Sorry, Lilith. We’re lovers now, right, yes.”

Ethan unnecessarily raised his voice, drawing the attention of those around us.

Thanks to that, my plan to naturally slip my hand into his from below was ruined, but it would have been oddly damaging to my pride to let go of his hand now.

I deliberately held on a bit tighter to prevent him from letting go, even by accident.

Squeeze.

“……”

“……”

Perhaps because Ethan’s warmth was transmitted through our hands, I felt my face burning up strangely.

After that, Ethan and I moved toward the student council room with slow steps, not making eye contact even once.

“Welcome, Young Master Ethan. And Miss Lilith.”

“Hello, Princess Seraphine.”

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

“The weather outside must be quite cold. Both of your faces are flushed red.”

“……”

“……”

Ethan and I, having formally greeted Seraphine after a long time, stepped into the student council room.

As soon as we entered, Luke, now fully accustomed to her exclusive maid duties, handed two cups of chamomile tea to Ethan and me.

“It’s a tea that warms the body.”

“…Thank you.”

“…Thank you.”

…If I get any warmer in this situation, I might overheat.

But I couldn’t bring myself to refuse Luke’s kindness, so I quietly accepted the herbal tea she offered.

As soon as I took a sip, a pleasantly warm sensation filled my body.

“You came early today as well, Princess Seraphine, just like yesterday.”

“I just arrived too, Young Master Ethan. You two came in just as I was about to start work.”

“Should I start my General Affairs duties from today, Your Highness?”

“Yes, Miss Lilith. Come to think of it, we didn’t have a chance to greet each other properly last time, did we? Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes. I’ve improved a lot thanks to your concern.”

“It’s more thanks to Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat and Miss Seriste than me.”

Well, that’s true. If those two hadn’t been at the scene, I would have already been dead.

However, I heard later that the reason they were able to come to the lakeside in time was because they were in the middle of talking with Seraphine when they received the report of the Kraken’s appearance.

In a way, Luke and Seraphine had indirectly helped save my life as well.

“Have you been well, Miss Luke?”

“Yes, Miss Lilith.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…How is your work as the Princess’s exclusive maid? You’re not continuing because you had no choice after I refused Her Highness’s offer, are you…?”

“I’m not working as an exclusive maid for such a reason, so you don’t need to worry, Miss Lilith.”

“…Is that so?”

Considering the original storyline, Luke working as an exclusive maid now feels quite out of place.

There were a few routes in the game where her identity as a woman was revealed, but a story where Luke deliberately becomes Seraphine’s exclusive maid like this was truly rare.

I thought for a moment that Luke might be doing the exclusive maid work she didn’t want because I had messed things up.

Surprisingly, hearing her answer, it seemed she had actually come to like the work of an exclusive maid.

“I learned a lot from our battle during the evaluation match at the end of last semester, Miss Lilith. I gained many insights from observing how, despite your incredible skills, you protect your master while serving as an exclusive maid.”

“Pardon?”

“Not only do you fulfill the duties of a bodyguard, but you also take responsibility for every aspect of your master’s life by maintaining the role of an exclusive maid. I used to focus solely on hiding the weakness of being a woman, but thanks to you, Miss Lilith, I was able to correct my thinking.”

“…Pardon?”

“Until then, I was foolish and couldn’t fully understand your thoughts, but following your example, I decided to become a servant who can take responsibility for all aspects of Princess Seraphine’s life from the position of an exclusive maid. Therefore, my current position is entirely my choice.”

“Ah, y-yes… I see…”

“Although I missed the opportunity to say this earlier, I would like to apologize for that incident now, Miss Lilith.”

“Th-then I’ll accept your apology. Thank you for being honest with me, Miss Luke.”

“As expected, you have a big heart, Miss Lilith.”

It seemed she was misunderstanding several things, but given the atmosphere, I let it slide.

…Well, if she’s happy with it, there’s no need for me to interfere, right?

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Some of you may already know this, but Chapter 171 and Chapter 172 are R-19 chapters! I plan to follow my one-chapter-a-day schedule, but I plan to make an exception for this set.

There is one condition for me to post them simultaneously, so you don’t have to wait another day. Simply create a 10-comment comment chain at the comments of this chapter where you reply to the reply to the reply, etc. Doesn’t have to be unique commenters, any 10-comment comment chain will do.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow for Chapter 170!