I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

That evening, after returning from chatting with Agnes about recent events and Prince Antonio’s birthday banquet, among other topics…

Ethan asked me an unexpected question after we finished dinner in the Dormitory Cafeteria and returned to our individual rooms.

“Lilith, have you prepared for the banquet in two weeks?”

“Pardon?”

“The birthday banquet for Prince Antonio at the Imperial Palace in two weeks… You didn’t forget about it, did you?”

“Ah, no… Of course, I remember the contents of the letter….”

How could I forget when I was the one who handed that letter, which had been sent to Luminor Academy, to Ethan? [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

I had already prepared a few outfit options for Ethan to wear in two weeks. If necessary, I could purchase something from the shops under the academy and make some alterations.

Originally, since he was the one attending the banquet anyway, why was he suddenly asking about my intentions…

‘…Wait a moment. This pattern…’

I had a sudden intuition that if I casually dismissed this conversation like before, it would undoubtedly become troublesome later.

At this point, I confirmed the true meaning of Ethan’s question, which he had deliberately posed to me.

“By any chance, am I also attending this banquet?”

“…Huh? Of course, you are.”

“…..”

“…Don’t tell me you thought I was going alone all this time?”

“…Yes.”

When I nodded cautiously, Ethan looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

And Isabel, who had been observing our conversation, was also looking at me with a strangely pitying gaze.

Of course, I had my reasons for assuming that Ethan wouldn’t take me along.

Since external servants were not allowed inside the Imperial Palace’s banquet hall in principle, to bring me along, he would have to introduce me as his fiancée or betrothed.

If this were before I entered the Luminor Academy when I didn’t know anyone, it might have been different, but now if I were to attend an external event, about half of the academy students would recognize me.

Unlike Princess Seraphine’s previous Masquerade Ball, this could really block Ethan’s marriage prospects if we weren’t careful. Moreover, this wasn’t even like that ball where I could hide my face.

In short, I was just trying to distinguish between where I should and shouldn’t insert myself.

“Are you sure it’s alright? This time, quite a few people might really misunderstand that I’m your fiancée, Young Master Ethan.”

“It doesn’t matter. That’s what I’ve been hoping for, anyway. It’s much better than having women only interested in political marriages clinging to the Blackwood family.”

“But what about Master Harold…?”

“I’ve already got permission from Father, of course. I asked if I could bring you along in the position of my fiancée, and he said I could do as I pleased.”

…Well, come to think of it, Harold was originally a doting father.

From the moment Ethan expressed his intention to bring me along as his fiancée to the banquet, Harold’s opinion was essentially meaningless.

Recently, I had only seen the Harold who mercilessly beat Ethan with a sword in the game, so I had momentarily forgotten about the doting Harold.

“…Are you worried about yourself rather than me, Lilith?”

“Pardon?”

“Since our temporary romantic relationship is only while attending the academy, are you concerned that stories about being my fiancée might circulate after you graduate?”

“Is there any reason to worry about that now? With everything that’s happened at the academy so far, those rumors are already unstoppable.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“To begin with, I’ve never really thought about marrying a man other than you, Young Master Ethan, so you needn’t be concerned about that.”

“…What.”

“…Huh.”

…Did I say something strange?

I had just expressed my honest feelings, but Ethan and Isabel showed surprisingly startled reactions.

Come to think of it, it is a bit odd. The idea of marrying a man.

Although I’m a woman now, I still have memories of being a man in my previous life, so I couldn’t really imagine a happy future living harmoniously with a man. It was as if my brain itself rejected such a terrible imagination. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

But even though my body was of a female’s, I didn’t particularly have any romantic feelings towards women, either.

Ethan was just the baseline among men because I was familiar with him and had received favors from him a few times. With any other man, forget about marriage, even holding hands would probably make me feel indescribably uncomfortable.

“Did I say something strange?”

“Ah, no, Lilith. I was just a bit surprised. I didn’t realize on the surface that you felt that way, too.”

“…You seem to be bold sometimes, Lilith, even though you usually seem foolish. Like the sounds I sometimes hear through the wall at night.”

“Hm? What do you hear at night?”

“Huh?! W-What did I just say? I suddenly can’t remember….”

As I was questioning Isabel, who was suddenly flustered and watching my reaction, Ethan looked at me again and continued our earlier conversation.

“Anyway, if that’s how you feel, Lilith, then it’s fine. Even if you attend as my fiancée.”

“Yes. I certainly don’t mind, but….”

“Isabel has already prepared the dress, so you don’t need to worry about it, Lilith. It’s the same dress you wore at Princess Seraphine’s birthday.”

…Is he talking about that crimson dress?

Although I can’t say it holds entirely good memories because of the incident with Lizzy, I did like the design itself.

Above all, the dark yet eye-catching color gave it a villainous feel, which seemed to match well when standing next to Ethan.

I hadn’t particularly paid attention to that aspect before, but if I was going to act as his fiancée anyway, that would probably be the best choice.

“If you think that dress color is too dark, should I prepare something in a lighter shade?

“No, it’s fine. The darker shade will suit me better standing next to you, Young Master Ethan, so I’ll go with that.”

“…I-If that’s what you think, Lilith.”

…Come to think of it, if we’re going to act as fiancés, we should probably return to the way we addressed each other back then.

Although it felt strangely embarrassing to call him by that name after nearly a few years, I deliberately tried to act nonchalant to hide that emotion and called out to him once.

“Since we’re attending as fiancés, I’ll use the same form of address as back then at the banquet hall in two weeks.”

“The same form of address as back then…?”

“…It’s been a while since we’ve appeared together at a banquet hall, Ed. May I ask for your escort once again?”

“…..”

“…Like this, Young Master Ethan.”

“Ah… T-That’s what you mean….”

Ethan was visibly flustered and blushed at hearing his nickname for the first time in years.

Then, recalling the memory from that time, Ethan carefully addressed me with the name he had used then.

“Right. I-I’ll be counting on you this time too… Lili.”

“…Yes, Ed.”

…I don’t know why my face is suddenly feeling so hot over this.

Two weeks passed since the day I decided to attend Fifth Prince Antonio’s Birthday Banquet.

Timed appropriately to coincide with the end of the midterm exams, Ethan and I found ourselves entering the Imperial Palace for the birthday banquet.

‘The last time we were here was when we attended Seraphine’s Masquerade Ball… so it’s been almost three years.’

The Imperial Palace, which I hadn’t visited in a long time, had changed quite a bit compared to before.

Among the most notable changes were probably the security and defense facilities.

Likely in response to the terrorist attack that occurred during Seraphine’s Masquerade Ball, there were now twice as many guards stationed as before. Moreover, I could sense that all sorts of defensive magic circles had been plastered all over the palace during the repair process of the damaged areas.

‘I guess once we’re inside, we won’t be able to use any magic.’

More precisely, the moment even a small spell is cast, it would be immediately reported to the Palace Guards. Even defensive magic circles couldn’t predict and defend against all types of magic.

Of course, that alone would be enough to detect disguise or invisibility magic from outsiders trying to enter the palace recklessly, so it was sufficient as a countermeasure against terrorism.

‘This time, I really need to refrain from doing anything that stands out.’

As this was the first official event held since the terrorist attack by the Dark Cult during the Masquerade Ball, they would undoubtedly be paying utmost attention to any suspicious individuals entering.

I needed to refrain as much as possible from actions that might appear suspicious to others.

…For example, acting as if I knew the palace structure intimately and making my way to the banquet hall on my own after only my second visit.

“The banquet hall is in the Noon Sunflower Hall. Do you know how to get there, Lili?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean, Ed.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Huh? But last time at Princess Seraphine’s Masquerade Ball….”

“There are so many maids at the entrance, why should we wander around trying to find our way? That person over there looks free, so let’s ask for guidance.”

“…..”

Then, guided by one of the maids to the Noon Sunflower Hall, we found that some young nobles from aristocratic families who had arrived early were already engaged in scattered conversations inside.

Perhaps taking my joking request for an escort seriously, Ethan began to look after me attentively.

“It’s still a bit quiet.”

“We left early to account for possible carriage traffic. We still have time, so let’s wait leisurely, Ed.”

“Alright, Lili. Shall I bring you a drink? Is there anything you’d like?”

“Anything cold would be fine.”

“Okay, got it. Wait here for a moment.”

Nodding at my words, Ethan made his way to the self-service bar set up for the early arriving guests.

As I quietly watched his retreating figure, I felt someone gently tugging at the hem of my dress from behind.

When I turned my head, there was a red-haired mage, barely reaching my chest in height, looking up at me.

“…Lilith?”

“Are you well, Miss Agnes?”

“…What’s this? I thought you weren’t attending today.”

…Come to think of it, I forgot to correct that information.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Thanks for reading, see you in a bit for the bonus chapter!