I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by James B. (8/14). If you enjoy reading and are willing to sponsor more bonus chapters, see my Ko-fi.

During lunch on the day I was powerlessly and hopelessly defeated in sparring with Ethan…

Perhaps because of the result of that class, Ethan kept glancing at me strangely throughout lunch.

“……”

“……”

He had been quite confident since entering Luminor Academy, so he was generally tolerable, but why was he doing such an appetite-ruining thing today of all days?

Naturally, I was the one who broke the silence first to ease the tense atmosphere at the meal caused by Ethan’s unnecessary concern. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Young Master Ethan, don’t you realize that being so concerned actually makes me feel self-conscious?”

“…Sorry, Lilith.”

“Or are you trying to make me feel self-conscious to help me quickly forget about our sparring in the Application of Magic Swordsmanship class? If so, it’s an admirable tactic.”

“Ah, no, that wasn’t my intention…”

…What’s with this reaction, as if he’d committed some crime just by winning a sparring match against his exclusive maid?

Since I had joined the ranks of the Tier 1.5 students, we would have to spar 1-2 more times this semester anyway. If he showed unnecessary concern like this every time we sparred, it would clearly be endless.

“Just in case, let me tell you that I’m not emotionally hurt by losing to you, Young Master Ethan.”

“…I know. Of course, you wouldn’t be, Lilith.”

“Are you really sure about that?”

“…But, are you really not affected at all?”

“No, I’m not affected at all. And I won’t be in the future either. I’m more worried that you might ask me to pretend to be upset because you want to savor the feeling of victory.”

“I won’t ask for anything like that, so don’t worry…”

Ethan looked at my statement as if it was ridiculous, but he still showed a slight smile.

He seemed to have finally relaxed a bit after realizing that I wasn’t bothered by the part he was most concerned about.

“Right, I was worried for nothing. Lilith, you have the strongest mind of anyone I know.”

“It’s not exactly like that, but I certainly don’t get depressed over losing a practice sparring match during class.”

“That’s good then.”

“Actually, I’d like to say something to you about today’s sparring, Young Master Ethan. What was the point of today’s match?”

“…Huh?”

Ethan’s expression, which had relaxed slightly, stiffened again as he hadn’t expected a rebuttal from me. Conversely, I continued to voice the issues I had with the recent sparring.

“What was that, Young Master Ethan? Your sword never once aimed for my body today, did it? Especially in a duel between swordsmen, shouldn’t you primarily target the wrists and waist? What are you trying to achieve by holding back?”

“Ah, no, that’s… I was worried about controlling my strength…”

“Isn’t that why senior students from the Theology Department come to cast Celestial Barriers for each sparring session? Isn’t it designed so that the Celestial Barrier breaks when you take damage equivalent to a fatal wound?”

“B-But it’s dangerous. If you take damage beyond a fatal wound, you could really get hurt, and I hate seeing you get hurt, Lilith…”

“For me, the title of a swordsman who lost despite the opponent holding back is more of a disgrace, Young Master Ethan.”

“…I’m sorry, Lilith. I lacked consideration.”

Ethan finally understood and bowed his head when I spoke with a serious face.

It was obvious to anyone that he had tried to find the safest way to subdue me out of consideration, and as a result, the sparring had been prolonged.

In fact, when I had sparred with Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, Natalie, and Caraham before, they showed no mercy, so my Celestial Barrier broke instantly and I had no choice but to lose. But in Ethan’s case, from the point where my Celestial Barrier was about half depleted, he noticeably started to subdue me with a gentler sword.

That’s why the sparring time was unnecessarily prolonged, and that’s also why there were moments when my swordsmanship seemed to be on par with Ethan’s for a brief time.

If we had fought with our true abilities, I wouldn’t have lasted even two minutes against Ethan. That was the meaning of close combat between a mage and a swordsman.

There was no way I, who used swordsmanship as a supplementary means for magic, could win against someone who used magic as a supplementary means for swordsmanship.

“Anyway, please make sure this doesn’t happen in the next sparring session, Young Master Ethan. It’s not good for my growth, and it also creates hesitation in your swordsmanship.”

“…Yeah. I’m sorry, Lilith.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Even if the Celestial Barrier breaks and I get hurt, I won’t resent you. Isn’t this an era where even if an arm is cut off, it can be reattached immediately if taken to the church?”

“…Even so, that seems like a bit of a dangerous idea.”

“I’m telling you to engage with that level of sincerity, Young Master Ethan.”

…Well, he’s still a child, now as before.

“Have a good afternoon class, and I’ll see you in the evening, Lilith.”

“I’ll see you this evening, Young Master Ethan.”

After giving Ethan something like advice for the first time in a while during lunch, we moved in opposite directions at the crossroads to attend our respective afternoon classes.

‘I feel like I spoke a bit harshly to Ethan after a long time.’

But Ethan’s condition today was so poor that I had to say something like this.

Ethan, who has wielded a sword longer than I have, should know what it means to hold back in what’s supposed to be a sparring match. In the end, if he becomes weak-hearted in such trivial matters, it could lead to decisions that cost lives later.

It’s better to hear advice from me now than to have his head fly off somewhere because he became half-hearted.

Thud, thud, thud.

‘Is there still something to talk about?’

Not long after parting with Ethan, I quietly guessed that Ethan might be coming back towards me as I sensed someone’s footsteps following me.

Unfortunately, the owner of the footsteps was not who I thought it was, but someone else.

Moreover, it was the footsteps of that bastard I absolutely didn’t want to meet within the academy if possible.

“Young Master Ethan? Do you have something to say…”

“It’s been a while, bold young lady.”

“Ah, sh…”

I barely managed to hold back the curse that almost escaped my lips, but I couldn’t hide the expression of disgust I felt. 

Instead, Machart, seeing this, smiled and leaned his head towards me.

Belatedly remembering his ability, I tried to create distance with a sudden step back, but Machart’s hand was faster in grabbing mine.

By the time I realized the danger, it was already one beat too late.

Grab!

At the same time, a curtain of darkness enveloped the two of us and stained our surroundings with dark mana.

In an instant, I was sucked into his mental space, falling victim to his ability.

Thud!

‘Shit, I let my guard down.’

I shook off his grip belatedly and created distance again, but Machart’s ‘Inner Darkness’ wasn’t a space you could escape from just like that.

…What can I do? If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me for stupidly letting my guard down and allowing the attack.

I had momentarily forgotten because days had been too peaceful lately.

Luminor Academy was an academy game about gathering a Demon King Subjugation Party to defeat demons and the Demon King, and of course, such obvious crises come in these academy genre games. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“I was worried I might have mistaken you, but it seems I found you well.”

“…I was extremely rude at the banquet hall earlier, Prince Machart Paris Valtoria.”

“There’s no need to force yourself to apologize while suppressing your true feelings. I already know your apology isn’t sincere anyway.”

“…No, I really think the verbal mistake I made earlier was rude…”

“If you truly thought that, you would have come to the VIP Building long ago. Finding my quarters as royalty within the academy is as easy as finding the Imperial Palace in the capital, isn’t it?”

“……”

Machart approached me one step at a time with a chilling smile.

The surroundings were already wrapped in a black curtain representing Machart’s domain, and only a part of the area spread around him, like a round circle, was illuminating our bodies.

…Now that he had deliberately pushed me into this space, it was meaningless to hide my true feelings and be polite.

“…Ah, fuck. You fucking bastard.”

Machart’s mouth corners quietly drew an arc.

It was a disgustingly greasy smile that made me feel like I was going to throw up the lunch I had just eaten just by making eye contact.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Ummm… Domain… Expansion…………?

See you tomorrow!