I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

After hearing the story of Agnes’s first meeting with Prince Antonio, I could somewhat understand his sudden obsession with Agnes.

From Antonio’s perspective, it must have felt like a fairytale prince… no, more like a fateful encounter where someone suddenly saved him from danger and disappeared.

Agnes’s intentions didn’t matter much. In Antonio’s mind, she would remain as the woman who saved him and vanished without even revealing her name.

Even after hearing the explanation from Agnes’s perspective, who thought it wasn’t a big deal, I could understand to some extent. This suggests that from Antonio’s point of view, the memory was likely much more exaggerated.

‘Antonio isn’t really a bad person, as far as individuals go…’

Although he’s said to have no desire for greater power, it’s more that his upbringing inevitably made him that way.

He was fundamentally of gentle nature, and although he always wore an inscrutable expression with a constant smile, that suspicious expression was just a survival tactic created for personal advancement.

He never betrayed anyone in the story, and except for his slightly inferior performance, he was a good guy overall. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Even that performance aspect, when you think about it, refers to his performance in the Demon King Subjugation Party, not that he was lacking as a person. Evaluating someone solely based on combat ability wasn’t an objective criterion to begin with.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter if I evaluate Antonio now, anyway.’

Although this incident snowballed after I attended the masquerade ball with Ethan, in the end, it was an issue between two people, unrelated to either me or Ethan.

Naturally, it was up to those two to decide their future as well.

No matter how much I appealed to Antonio’s good points, it would mean nothing if Agnes didn’t like him. The reverse was true as well.

All I could do was listen to Agnes’s concerns and offer some advice.

“What do you want to do, Miss Agnes?”

“…Huh?”

“Although it was a sudden confession, a confession is still a confession. Running away doesn’t make it disappear, Miss Agnes.”

“…I know.”

Agnes leaned on the railing, looking at the scenery outside the palace with a complicated expression.

Perhaps because it was the Imperial capital with many people, lights that hadn’t gone out even after evening illuminated the darkening streets.

If she became the prince’s consort, this would be the scenery she’d see every day. It was understandable if her heart was troubled.

If I were in Agnes’s position, it would have been a very difficult problem to consider.

“First, I’m going to confirm if what he’s saying is sincere.”

“And if it is sincere?”

“…If it’s sincere, then I’ll do it.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s advantageous for the succession competition. Being engaged to a prince would fulfill most of the qualifications the old-fashioned people in my family talk about.”

…Is she factoring in her succession issues even in such an important matter?

Although I didn’t intend to interfere with her relationship with Prince Antonio, personally, I hoped Agnes would make a more careful judgment.

If Agnes accepted the engagement with Prince Antonio now simply for reasons like ‘because it’s necessary’, they might miss the opportunity to understand each other deeply.

“I understand your feelings, Miss Agnes… but don’t you think there’s no need to decide right away?”

“…Huh?”

“I know that an engagement with Prince Antonio has many advantages for you, but an engagement is still a stage before deciding on a lifelong partner. Don’t you think it’s too hasty to decide at just the second meeting?”

“…..”

“Regardless of whether you’re considering engagement with Prince Antonio, how about taking some time to get to know each other better? Prince Antonio will likely enroll in Luminor Academy next year anyway, so you’ll naturally have more opportunities to meet each other then.”

At first, Agnes looked skeptical of my words, but as she listened, she seemed to consider them quite seriously.

After all, she had already benefited from my advice once before. And advice from one of her few friends might be easier to accept.  [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Her honest desire not to miss this rare opportunity was also clearly felt in the following conversation.

“What if he gets offended when I say that and acts like the whole proposal never happened?”

“Then Prince Antonio is just that kind of man. An engagement with such a person would have only been unhappy from the start, so there’s no need to regret it.”

“…Aren’t you speaking carelessly because it’s not your story? It’s not like everyone gets the chance to be engaged to a prince.”

“The same applies to you, doesn’t it? Do you think opportunities to be engaged to the future head of the Blaze family and the future Archmage of the Crimson Tower are common?”

“F-Future head of the Blaze family… F-Future Archmage of the Crimson Tower… Yeah, you’re right. Your point makes sense too, Lilith.”

…She certainly has pride in herself.

As I’ve mentioned before, in the original game, Agnes usually ended up single unless she ended up with the Hero.

In other words, it took someone of the Hero’s caliber to be worthy of Agnes.

So objectively speaking, it was more like Antonio was the one being given an opportunity by Agnes.

This was probably the only time he could stand as an equal to her before Agnes joined the Demon King Subjugation Party and before she was officially recognized as the next head of the Blaze family.

“In love, the one who cares less always has the upper hand. If you accept a public confession like today’s without prior agreement, how do you think Prince Antonio will view you in the future?”

“…How would he view me?”

“He’d think, ‘This woman doesn’t mind even if I’m rude to her,’ and from then on, he’d act even more shamelessly. He might try to sleep with you before the official marriage, or not care about what you like when you’re spending time alone together, or even bring in several concubines besides you.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes. That’s why you need to give a clear answer, especially at times like this. First, you should firmly caution Prince Antonio for making a public confession without prior agreement, and say that you think it’s too early for an engagement, so you want to take time to get to know each other first. That way, won’t he realize? ‘This woman isn’t someone I can handle as I please,’ ‘She’s not approaching me because I’m a prince, but she’s really taking me seriously as a person.'”

“…..”

“Of course, this is just my opinion, and the decision is yours to make, Miss Agnes. If you’re going to accept the engagement just because he’s a prince, even after I’ve said all this, I won’t stop you.”  [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

I had intentionally spoken a bit extremely to Agnes to scare her a bit.

The talk about demanding to sleep together before marriage or bringing in several wives and concubines was almost impossible considering Prince Antonio’s character as I knew him in the game.

Of course, there was no harm in being cautious in advance. Human personalities are not always consistent, and we didn’t know how Prince Antonio’s personality might have changed due to meeting Agnes two years ago.

Just look at Ethan – the current Ethan and the Lout Prince in the game were so different in appearance and personality that they could be considered different people.

…In Ethan’s case, it was a change for the better, but there was no guarantee that changes would always be in that direction.

Bang!

“F-Found you! You’re here!”

“L-Lady Agnes! No, Princess Consort! You must return to the Noon Sunflower Hall quickly….”

At that moment, Palace Guards who burst into the Outdoor Garden rushed towards Agnes and me as soon as they saw us.

Judging by their exhausted appearance, they must have searched each floor from the first floor before finally reaching here.

…Well, the timing isn’t bad. We’ve already said everything that needed to be said anyway.

“Princess Consort Agnes, Prince Antonio is still in the banquet hall….”

“Don’t call me Princess Consort. Nothing has been decided yet.”

“…Pardon?”

“And don’t crowd around me. I’m not going to run away. I just needed some time to think.”

“Yes, we’re sorry!”

The guards immediately showed respect and parted to the sides at Agnes’s more resolute tone.

Although she said she wasn’t engaged to Antonio yet, the fact that she had caught Antonio’s eye remained unchanged.

I also followed her back to the Noon Sunflower Hall, and Agnes, walking beside me, looked into my eyes and mentioned the conversation we just had in the outdoor garden.

“You said that in love, the one who cares less has the upper hand, right?”

“Yes, Miss Agnes.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Since it’s your advice, Lilith.”

“Thank you, Miss Agnes.”  [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Watching you and Ethan, it doesn’t seem like wrong advice.”

“…Pardon?”

Before I could resolve my confusion about Agnes’s last words, she opened the door to the Noon Sunflower Hall and re-entered the banquet hall.

From now on, I could only quietly watch to see what decision Agnes would make.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

3 chapters will be published today to compensate for a mistake I made in yesterday’s T/N that may have led some of you to believe two chapters would be posted. For any other concerns related to this novel, feel free to join the GalaxyTL Discord and find the thread for I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince under the novel-discussions forum. Credits to Shin Orion for informing me of my mistake in that aforementioned thread.

Thanks for reading, see you in a bit!