I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 281 [The Roaring Crescent Bear (1)]

Regardless of how I was contemplating the way to have my first time with Ethan, the final event in the Witch’s Forest was steadily approaching.

In recent days, higher-level monsters have been appearing near the altar more frequently compared to the earlier weeks. Well, it made sense that the monsters’ levels would increase since this was an XP event.

One thing was certain: we needed to complete the final battle that would definitively occur just before Lara’s witch trial ended to see the ending of this ‘Lara’s Secret’ event.

Two main types of monsters could appear as boss monsters in this event.

The first was a pair of ‘Moonlight Wolves’ that appeared in the deep northern part of the altar, and the second was a single ‘Roaring Crescent Bear’ that appeared in the west of the altar, opposite to the direction of the lake.

While their difficulty levels were similar, the Moonlight Wolves were slightly more challenging. If we were to estimate the Roaring Crescent Bear’s combat power at 2,000, then the Moonlight Wolves would be something like 1,500+1,500.

‘Actually, when doing the Lara’s Secret episode, the probability of Moonlight Wolves appearing increases with more party members.’

So, it was pretty much established that the Moonlight Wolves were the more dangerous of the two monsters, and I remember writing that in the guide I wrote in my previous life.

Since Gyeongmwajogyegigwat had read my guide without missing a single word, I could roughly predict how he would position himself.

“…That Hero guy suggested we should defend both sides where the two monsters appear. He said it could be dangerous for Lady Lara and Lady August if we engage in combat after they’ve already reached the altar.”

“That’s correct. If we carelessly start a fight near the altar, we might end up threatening Lady Lara or Lady Lizzy.”

Of course, this was probably just an excuse to avoid suspicion, and in reality, it was more likely that Gyeongmwajogyegigwat didn’t want to fight near the altar.

Fighting near the altar would mean inevitably witnessing Lara and Lizzy sitting naked on the altar, and depending on the situation, they might have to carry or escape with the girls while their trial wasn’t even finished.

This choice was inevitable for him, as it would contradict his earlier statement about ‘not doing anything he couldn’t take responsibility for.’

“I’m a bit worried about being confident that the monsters will only appear from either the north or west. If they appear from a different direction, our response might be even more delayed.”

“…Your concerns are probably right, Ed. In the future I saw with my powers, I witnessed a scene of a pair of wolves appearing from the north.”

“What about the Crescent Bear in the west?”

“…I can’t be certain about that one yet. While I can clearly see the most likely future, I can’t predict all other possibilities.”

“I see…”

“Anyway, the possibility with the highest probability is that it will be a pair of Moonlight Wolves appearing from the north.”

When I added that we couldn’t rule out the possibility of the Crescent Bear appearing in the west, Ethan quietly nodded.

“Well, that works out.”

“Pardon?”

“Defending against the Crescent Bear in the west will be your role and mine, Lili. Though it won’t be just us two; Caraham agreed to go that way, too.”

“…Ah. Well, Master August is somewhat reliable.”

“I was worried that the Hero might have assigned you a more dangerous task than himself, but it seems that’s not the case.”

…Just how much does Ethan dislike the Hero to be this suspicious of him?

Well, considering what that guy has done so far, I could understand Ethan’s unfavorable reaction to some extent, but it didn’t seem like it warranted this level of suspicion.

Besides, we received his help recently with the Machart Subjugation case… 

Although he only made up for his lateness to the main battle by killing Evelyn, we couldn’t deny the fact that he had helped us regardless.

‘The only real reason for Ethan to be angry would be that one time when he prevented me from transferring my qualifications as a Saint.’

Because of that, we’re now here on an unplanned tour of the Witch’s Forest, consuming about half of our summer vacation.

Hmm, thinking about it seriously again, I suppose that’s enough reason to be angry. After all, we were essentially wasting a precious month here together because of the Hero’s stubbornness.

And if I think about what happened before we came here, when Ethan and I had that one time to release our desires in the annex… 

Yeah. Ethan’s reaction made sense.

If it hadn’t been for that guy’s suggestion, Ethan and I would have definitely crossed the line that day, not caring about being a Saint or anything else. It would have been after I had already passed my Saint’s power to Seriste.

We’d done ‘clam soup licking’ and ‘snake tail biting,’ but we ended up stopping right before the main event, so in a way, Gyeongmwajogyegigwat had prevented Ethan and me from having sex with just one word.

‘…Thinking about it this way, I’m getting a bit angry, too.’

If Seriste was going to awaken as a Saint without my help anyway, we could have just done it that day. We should have just not held back.

Then, I wouldn’t have to worry about how to have my first time like this now. If we had crossed the line that day, it would have meant we could do it however we wanted at any suitable opportunity afterward.

Crossing the line for the first time is only difficult once; it gets easier after that. If the constraint of the ‘qualification of a Saint’ that stood between Ethan and me, and the psychological Maginot Line *1 of us both being virgins disappeared, after that, neither of us would have to exercise restraint…

‘No, no, nooo!!’

Haah, damn. That was dangerous again. Why does the conversation keep flowing in this direction?

Sure, I’m currently worried about having to exchange my first time with Ethan, but that doesn’t mean I was planning to mix our bodies without restraint afterward.

Doing it with Ethan would only be when he won a match against Harold.

…Although this rule hasn’t been followed much lately, we still needed some level of restraint rather than mindlessly mixing our bodies according to our desires for both Ethan’s and my sake.

‘Even though Luminor Academy is an adult game, it’s not one of those power-fantasy games where you level up and gain enlightenment by doing lewd things.’

For Ethan’s sake, who would inherit the Blackwood family in the future, I couldn’t let him become a corrupted man.

His father, Harold, was skilled enough to be one of the Emperor’s Three Swords among Sword Masters, so Ethan needed to reach at least the level of a Sword Master as well.

For that to happen, I needed to continue my role as a catalyst for Ethan to focus on his training…

Tap.

“Eeeek?!”

“Hey, Lili. Are you tired these days?”

“Wh-What?! N-No?!”

My voice awkwardly rose in response to Ethan’s sudden question as he grabbed my shoulder.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly at my answer, which anyone could tell was a lie.

“You seemed spaced out during the meeting earlier, too. What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Ah, no… It’s… It’s nothing, really…”

“…Could it be that you’re worried about growing distant from the Hero if you lose your Saint qualification?”

“…That’s definitely not it…”

“Then, what is it? What are you thinking about that keeps making you drift off into your own world? Is it something so secret you can’t tell me?”

“W-Well…”

Obviously, I couldn’t tell this story to Ethan straight out. If I mentioned that I was worried about how and when to do lewd things in the future, Ethan would definitely see me as some perverted maid.

“Don’t lie. Lili, your lies are always obvious. If you not only drift off into other thoughts while talking to me but also lie about it, then I’ll get really angry.”

“……”

I couldn’t make up another excuse in front of Ethan who said he’d get angry if I lied.

The claim that he could tell when I was lying was probably just a bluff, but somehow, just him saying that made me feel like I shouldn’t lie.

‘Without lying, while also not admitting to having perverted thoughts…’

After removing the lewd parts from the complicated worries that had been filling my head until just now, there was only one word left, so I carefully blurted out the cause of my concerns with an ‘oh whatever’ mindset.

“I, I was thinking about you, Ed…”

“…Huh?”

“I, I was th-thinking about you… N-Not in any weird way…”

“……”

“I… It might sound strange… that I’m thinking about you while you’re right in front of me… but… it’s true…”

“…Well, judging by your reaction, it doesn’t seem like a lie.”

My brazen answer seemed to work somewhat, as Ethan backed off without further suspicion.

I hadn’t lied. After all, it was true that my head had been full of thoughts about Ethan both earlier and just now.

…Although I felt a bit embarrassed about actually saying this out loud, it was still better than trying to gloss over it with lies.

“Oh, s-sorry for misunderstanding, Lili…”

“No… If anything, it’s my fault for not being able to focus on what you were saying, Ed. Now that I think I don’t need to be bound by things like Saint qualifications anymore, I keep thinking about you, Ed…”

“I see. So that’s why you’ve been thinking about me ever since we heard that Saint Seriste became a real Saint… Wait, what?”

“…Wh-Why, what’s wrong, Ed? Did I say something strange?”

“……”

Ethan, who seemed to have realized something after hearing my answer, stared at me intently.

As I nervously met his gaze that was fixed on my eyes, he suddenly showed a relieved expression and smiled at me.

“No. It’s nothing, Lili.”

“…Pardon?”

“Yes, so that’s what you were worried about. Now that I hear it, I feel relieved.”

“…You did hear me correctly, right? You’re not misunderstanding something, are you, Ed?”

“I understand. And you don’t need to worry about that. It’s something that I, as a man, should worry about rather than you, Lili.”

“……”

It felt like a somewhat unsettling answer. I couldn’t tell if it was an answer given with a true understanding of what I was worried about or an answer given without knowing.

One thing was certain: whether Ethan knew the content of my worries or not, this wasn’t turning into a very good situation.

T/N

1. The Maginot Line was a massive line of fortifications built by France along its eastern border in the 1930s to defend against a potential German invasion. It was heavily fortified with bunkers, artillery, and underground facilities but left gaps along the Belgian border. During World War II, Germany bypassed the line by invading Belgium, rendering it ineffective in stopping the invasion.

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!