I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

The VIP Room at the academy. Seraphine’s personal reception room.

The blonde princess sat across from two people at a table.

The pair of visitors, a man and a woman, were engaged in deep conversation with her.

After various discussions, the Third Princess, with a somewhat bitter expression, asked the two in a slightly dejected voice.

“…So, Master Ethan and Miss Lilith, you’re saying that will you only stay until this semester and then withdraw from the Student Council?”

“Yes, Princess Seraphine.”

“I also intend to follow Young Master Ethan’s opinion, Princess Seraphine.”

“…I understand. Since both of you seem firm in your decision, I suppose I can’t hold you back any longer. Everyone has different priorities, after all.”

“I feel ashamed to say this, Princess Seraphine.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…No. This is your choice. I’m just grateful that you’ll still be in charge of the financial audit and clerical work until the end of this semester.”

Despite her words, Seraphine’s heart was burning black inside, but she wasn’t foolish enough to express those feelings outwardly.

She simply nodded at Ethan and Lilith’s decision with the most composed smile she could manage.

“Thank you for telling me in advance. Thanks to this, I’ll have time to find new Student Council members.”

“…We’ll be taking our leave now, Your Highness.”

“Yes, Master Ethan. …And please keep your and Lilith’s departure a secret for now. For the sake of the atmosphere within the Student Council.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

“We wish you well, Your Highness.”

Seraphine maintained her smile until the last moment as she watched the two bow and leave her reception room.

Only after seeing Ethan and Lilith exit the VIP Room did she finally let out the sigh she had been holding back.

“Haaah…”

“Are you alright, Princess Seraphine?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“……”

“…is what I’d like to say, but this time, even for me, it’s quite a shock.”

In truth, Seraphine had somewhat anticipated this conversation even before Ethan’s visit.

She had already noticed that Ethan had been investigating Natalie and Agnes during the winter break.

It wasn’t that Seraphine had been keeping an eye on Ethan’s movements; she unavoidably found out because his investigations of Natalie and Agnes had reached her.

…And it wasn’t difficult to guess what judgment Ethan would make after learning of these connections. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Therefore, Seraphine had prepared words to persuade the two as best she could, but it wasn’t enough to convince Ethan and his exclusive maid who already showed firm resolve.

“This incident was clearly my mistake.”

“Princess Seraphine…”

“I should have acted more cautiously. I didn’t anticipate that Master Ethan would be so wary of Gyeongmwajogyegigwat.”

“…It’s not your fault, Princess Seraphine. You intended to mend the relationship between Master Ethan and Hero Gyeongmwajogyegigwat at that gathering. It’s just that the plan went awry due to unexpected circumstances…”

“In other words, it was a reckless plan that could fall apart due to such a trivial incident. I appreciate your attempt to comfort me, but the fact remains that this originated from my mistake.”

“……”

Luke couldn’t continue speaking to Seraphine, who was staring blankly out the window with a complicated expression.

He sensed that whatever he said now would only leave his mistress with regret rather than comfort.

“It takes a very long time to gather, but it scatters in an instant.”

“……”

“This must be because I’m a villainess. It’s the just consequence I should receive for trying to use others for my personal desires.”

“…Princess Seraphine, you are not a villainess. Without your grace, I wouldn’t be here in this position either.”

“No, Luke. I keep you by my side because you are useful to me. I always make friends based on mutual benefits, and I thought it was okay to damage minor personal relationships for the sake of my goal.”

“But in the end, your goal is a future necessary for everyone, isn’t it?”

“…I wonder. Not everyone would unconditionally approve of my goal. Everyone has one or two things more precious than their own life.”

Seraphine let out another sigh and quietly gazed into space, recalling what had happened at the last party.

Was the Hero’s purpose in asking her to create an opportunity to meet Lilith really to bring her into his party?

If that was the goal, why specifically target her?

Although Lilith’s magic was powerful, there was already Agnes who was far more capable in that field.

Her support magic was also somewhat lacking compared to Seriste, who was always by his side.

The only thing Lilith could be said to be overwhelmingly superior in was her undeniably impressive physical attributes.

Perhaps the Hero had a different purpose for Lilith…

‘…My thoughts just won’t settle. This doesn’t usually happen.’

It seemed that whenever it came to matters related to the Hero, Seraphine’s mind struggled to function properly. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

While feeling anxious about the increasing number of women around him, she also didn’t want to be disliked by him, so she tried her best to fulfill his requests as much as possible.

Even this hastily arranged gathering was only made because it was the Hero’s request. The usual Seraphine wouldn’t have created such a rushed event.

They say a girl in love becomes a fool.

Even the capable Seraphine was bound to be blinded by love, so, in the end… Gyeongmwajogyegigwat’s sudden request had temporarily clouded her judgment.

However, the incident at that party didn’t bring only bad news to Seraphine, and it was her secret that she felt momentarily happy upon hearing about the cracks forming in Gyeongmwajogyegigwat’s party.

‘I know I shouldn’t be happy about this, but…’

She was happy at his failure to recruit Lilith, whom she had considered potentially her strongest rival.

Seraphine felt a small joy in the fact that Natalie and Agnes had temporarily left the Hero’s party and their relationship had become awkward.

Of course, Seraphine, quickly regaining her composure, would try to bring them back into the Hero’s party, but for now, she could feel a little happiness in not having to consider Natalie and Agnes as rivals.

‘I can still make up for this. I’ll comfort Natalie for her mistake and have her rejoin the Hero’s party, and if I can persuade Agnes again…’

Awkward relationships can always be mended.

Broken relationships can be reconnected somehow.

Seraphine was confident in her ability to foster relationships between people more than anyone else, so she thought she could fully make amends if she started over from the beginning.

‘I probably won’t go to heaven even after death for playing with people’s hearts like this.’

But that didn’t matter. After all, the most important thing for Seraphine was the salvation of this world and all of humanity.

…The second most important thing was winning the heart of the Hero she adored.

One week after Ethan and I conveyed our intention to leave the Student Council to Seraphine…

With the start of the new semester at the academy, a new wind blew through.

Most of the fourth-year students who had little impact on the existing story graduated, and the enrollment of new student characters related to the protagonist began.

Although not as numerous as the current second-year students known as the “Protagonist Generation,” there were still plenty of characters among this year’s first-years who could be considered main figures in “Luminor Academy.”

Spearmanship Department, Barbarian Lilia.

Martial Arts Department, Back Alley Fighter Caniel.

Pharmacy Department, Kind Alchemist Tralia.

Technical Department, Inventor Serdic.

Among these, Lilia and Caniel were main supporting characters who could even be recruited as the protagonist’s companions later on, while Tralia and Serdic were closer to NPCs.

If we had to prioritize, the latter characters were slightly more important than the former.

‘There are Thomas and Seraphine as Spearmanship and Martial Arts companion characters, but Tralia and Serdic are the only NPCs who give medicine and tools.’

In simple terms, it was a matter of whether there were substitutes or not. Especially among the two, Serdic was slightly more important.

While Tralia’s consumable potions could be obtained from other people or NPCs after graduation, some of the items Serdic made boasted performance good enough to be carried until the ending. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

There was a moment of anxiety about whether these four people might not enroll in the academy due to the changed future, but in the end, all four safely made it onto this year’s new student list.

They proudly took first or second place in their respective departments, just like in the original storyline.

‘There were some crises, but this much is nothing.’

I also heard that Natalie, who came separately to apologize to Ethan later, safely started interacting with the Hero again along with Thomas, and I recently happened to see Seraphine meeting Agnes privately.

It wouldn’t be long before Gyeongmwajogyegigwat’s temporarily scattered Hero’s party would gather again.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel sorry for Seraphine running around here and there, going through unexpected hardships, but that was also entirely her burden to bear.

After all, it was unnecessary trouble she wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t invited the Hero’s party to the Student Council get-together.

…It was a bit strange that Seraphine made a mistake so unlike her, but it would probably be too difficult to look into it now.

‘At least it’s fortunate that she’s not clinging desperately to me and Ethan.’

Whether she fully understood that Ethan had completely given up on the Student Council, or she was temporarily turning off her interest in me and Ethan to deal with other priorities…

Either way, Seraphine wasn’t showing any particular interest in me and Ethan in the current situation.

There’s a possibility she might suddenly show interest in me and Ethan one day after seeing a future vision, but that wasn’t something I could prevent, anyway.

It would be better to enjoy the quiet days and return to ordinary daily life for a while.

…Although it was personally regrettable that we distanced ourselves from Seraphine, there weren’t only disappointing things left from last semester’s events. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

If there were connections that grew distant, there were also connections that grew closer.

Slide.

“……”

The first class of the new semester. The front door of the classroom opened, and a red-haired mage quietly entered.

As I absentmindedly fixed my gaze in her direction, my eyes quietly met with Agnes, who was looking around.

She stood still for a moment as if thinking about something, then quietly walked to where I was sitting.

Plop.

“……”

“……”

Agnes sat down next to me as if it were natural, avoiding eye contact and not saying anything.

A strangely awkward silence continued, and as I fixed my gaze on her, wondering what her purpose was…

Agnes, with her side profile slightly reddened, opened her mouth towards me as if mumbling.

“…You can call me Agnes.”

“Pardon?”

“…I-I said you can call me Agnes. …L-Lilith.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear well, could you say that one more time, Miss Blaze?”

“…I-I said you can call me Agnes!”

“Yes, yes~. So, I should call you Miss Agnes, right?”

“D-damn it…! You understood from the beginning, didn’t you?! Th-this is really…!!”

…Looking at her like this, she seems quite cute, too.

It was a moment when I thought this kind of relationship wouldn’t be too bad, either.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

See you in a bit for the bonus chapter!