I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 252 [Crossroads (2)]

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by James B. (11/14). If you enjoy reading and are willing to help me catch up to the latest chapters faster by sponsoring bonus chapters, see my Ko-fi.

I wasn’t the only one surprised by Ethan’s excessive interest in Lilia. The others were also shocked to see Ethan casually stating Lilia’s full name.

This was because Lilia’s name was used as a comedic device throughout the game as a ‘difficult-to-remember name’. It wasn’t just difficult for players to remember; even the characters in the game found it hard to memorize.

Even I, who had played Luminor Academy 25 times, had long given up on memorizing Lilia’s name. The fact that Ethan remembered that long name after seeing her only a few times during practice matches with the Spearmanship Department could only mean one thing.

‘…Is he interested in Lilia?’

Honestly, I couldn’t think of any other reason, especially when considering Lilia’s route in Luminor Academy.

Many people think, ‘Since Lilia is in the Spearmanship Department, it would be easier to win her over by enrolling in the same department,’ but that’s only half true.

The Barbaracus tribe, where Lilia was born and raised, are barbarians who still make a living by hunting and gathering, and the most efficient means for naked barbarians to hunt wild monsters are spears and bows.

Among these, bows are difficult to make and maintain, so the Barbaracus tribe mostly fights with spears. Naturally, Lilia grew up watching not only herself but also her grandfather, father, brother, uncle, and friends all fighting with spears. [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

Therefore, while using the same weapon can be a source of familiarity, it sometimes becomes an obstacle to developing a deeper relationship. After all, one tends to be less interested in knowledge they already possess.

However, if one enrolls in the Swordsmanship Department, although they may not encounter each other as often as in the Spearmanship Department, they meet in common classes and clash in sword versus spear battles. Most importantly, using a weapon other than a spear can pique Lilia’s interest.

In other words, Ethan’s current position is the most suitable for attracting and entangling with Lilia. Moreover, the fact that Ethan knows so much about Lilia…

‘Indeed, I can’t help but think he’s interested in Lilia…’

While Lilia’s impression as a typical barbarian warrior woman was completely different from Lilith’s, that didn’t mean her appearance lacked charm.

Although her chest was a bit on the smaller side, she had a well-proportioned slender figure and was the second tallest among all the heroines. 

Above all, she had the most toned abs among all the heroines.

Moreover, she was a character who often loosened her uniform and exposed her midriff even within the academy, claiming it was stuffy. If Ethan had really fallen for Lilia’s abs…

‘Should I do some sit-ups or something…?’

Lilith’s body wasn’t particularly lacking in health appeal either. Right now, my abs were just buried under a suitable amount of flesh, but if I lost a little weight, they would undoubtedly show.

The problem was that you can’t lose weight only in desired areas, so naturally, I would lose breast fat as well, which made me wonder if I might lose Lilith’s greatest asset.

But if things stayed as they were, Ethan’s interest might really shift from me to Lilia. To prevent that, I needed to train a little…

‘No, come to think of it, it’s none of my business.’

Why am I even concerned about who Ethan likes? Whether he likes Lilia or Lara, what does it matter to me?

From the beginning, Ethan and I were in a temporary relationship.

We weren’t actually lovers, and it was a relationship that could end without looking back once we graduated from the academy. 

If Ethan became interested in another woman in the meantime, that would just be the end of it. [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

Just as I was berating myself for needlessly worrying about strange things, Agnes casually brought up the subject to Ethan.

“When did you memorize that? That long name?”

“I didn’t memorize it, I just remembered the meaning. It’s easy if you remember it using the Barbarian language.”

“Barbarian language?”

“‘Lilia’ means ‘guardian of nature’ in Barbarian. And ‘Marasendar’ means ‘sweet and beautiful flower’, ‘Galenhar Soraben’ means ‘to embrace fragrance’. And ‘Barbaracus’ is the name of Miss Lilia’s tribe, so in the end, the only thing you need to memorize is her surname, ‘Fionis’.

In other words, if you translate her name into the Barbarian language, it means ‘the guardian of nature embracing the fragrance of a sweet and beautiful flower with the surname Fionis of the Barbaracus tribe’. If you remember this, you can easily remember the name Lilia Marasendar Galenhar Soraben Fionis Barbaracus. You won’t forget it now, will you, Miss Blaze?”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The room fell silent once again at Ethan’s incredible explanation.

When did he learn the Barbarian language? No, was language something that could be learned so easily in the first place?

Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as Agnes snapped at Ethan in exasperation.

“That’s much harder than just memorizing the name! Are you joking right now?!”

“Language is ultimately a system created for communication, so it’s one of the easiest disciplines to learn. Even if the words are unfamiliar and the word order is different, you can easily understand it after learning for about a week.”

“O-One week…? You learned it in a week…?” [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…Even so, one week seems a bit unrealistic, Young Master Ethan.”

“Even I sometimes need to use the Blessing of Wisdom when conversing with Miss Lilia…”

“……”

With not just Agnes, but Gyeongmwajogyegigwat and Seriste joining in, making it 3 against 1, even Ethan seemed to realize that he was the odd one out.

‘It wasn’t that he memorized it because he was interested in Lilia, he’s just a genius.’

Come to think of it, his mother was Archmage Thanasia.

In her youth, she could handle five types of elemental magic, casting three of them simultaneously, and spoke a total of six languages including the Barbarian language. In short, she was a superhuman mage who was almost like a god, at least, in terms of language proficiency.

After all, magic itself began with learning magical languages. Even I had to cram spells that felt like they would split my head open for magic other than what I learned using skill points.

Not content with learning five such magical languages, she learned five more foreign languages. That’s just an inhuman level of comprehension.

Even though Ethan’s progress might seem slow compared to Thanasia or Harold, that’s only because those two monsters are the basis for comparison. Objectively speaking, Ethan was simply a genius.

“…Lilith, am I strange?”

“It’s not that you’re strange, Young Master Ethan… it’s just that you haven’t been able to escape the realm of ordinary people.”

“No, it’s strange. Even if the Barbarian language is relatively simple, learning it in a week is…”

“Miss Agnes, Young Master Ethan’s mother is Archmage Thanasia.”

“…I see.”

Agnes immediately backed down, overwhelmed by the weight of the name of ‘Archmage Thanasia’.

Oh, he’s the son of Archmage Thanasia. Yes, then it’s possible.

Come to think of it, his father was also Sword Master Harold. A genius born between geniuses. This was probably the thought process she used to understand.

Even for her, a genius in fire magic and the future Archmage of the Crimson Tower, once she heard about Ethan’s lineage, she had no choice but to acknowledge his innate talent.

Originally, Ethan ended up as an early villain in the game because he didn’t have the opportunity to show this talent, but it was natural that he would be recognized when given the chance like this.

Well, anyway…

‘I’m glad it wasn’t that he was particularly interested in Lilia.’

Of course, how could a guy who was getting excited over me in my underwear this morning suddenly be interested in another woman?

After all, Lilith was someone who ranked in the Top 3 in popularity polls based on pure appearance, overcoming the disadvantage of not being a virgin, lacking nothing in face or figure.

It’s not that Lilia is ugly or unattractive. It’s just that her opponent was me.

‘You really had me confused there. I worried for nothing.’

…Wait, but why was I worrying about whether Ethan was interested in Lilia…

“Anyway, so I’d like you three to help with Lara’s Witch Test in the southwestern Witch’s Forest. Let’s replace the ‘temporary companionship’ I mentioned earlier with this.”

“…What’s your true intention?”

“What do you mean by my true intention?”

“I’m asking about your true motive for suddenly giving us this errand after tying Lilith down with the excuse of ‘temporary companionship’. If this replaces the ‘temporary companionship’ you mentioned, doesn’t that mean you fail to prove the effectiveness of you and Lilith working as partners?” [Only on DarkStar Translations! / Axiomatic]

“That’s true, but if I were to go to the Witch’s Forest alone with Lilith and ask you all to go to the northeastern plains, you’d refuse, right?”

“Of course. It goes against the third condition I mentioned. If you want your neck cut, go ahead and try it.”

“…That’s why I’m doing it this way. According to the prophecy, both the events in the northeastern plains and the southwestern Witch’s Forest are important issues that need to be resolved in time. That’s why I’m asking you, whom I can somewhat trust. Lilith can start acting as my partner after we arrive, right?”

“If you dare to say it was only half a companionship and therefore insufficient…”

“I won’t say that. This will end the temporary companionship. From the beginning, it wasn’t about confirming whether Lilith is qualified as a partner, but about showing what it would look like even if she were my partner for just a day or two. As long as we can prove that Lilith acted as my partner and did something, even for just an hour or two, this temporary companionship ends there. I won’t mention it again.”

From Ethan’s perspective, this proposal would seem very suspicious no matter how you look at it, but knowing the true intention, I could roughly guess why Gyeongmwajogyegigwat was acting this way.

From the start, Gyeongmwajogyegigwat had no intention of taking me as a party member. He was just asking for my help to carry out this ‘event that requires two bodies’.

I just felt strange because the means were a bit forceful, but now that I know the truth, I feel relieved in many ways as the questions have been resolved.

“…Then, let me ask one last thing.”

“What is it?”

“What if we help that witch named ‘Lara’ pass the test before you arrive, and there’s nothing left to do?”

“It’s okay, that won’t happen.”

“Huh?”

“…The test that Lara has to take is not the kind of test that can be passed in just one to two weeks.”

…Well, that’s certainly true.