I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 289 [The End of the Event (2)]

After the merchant carriage carrying the August siblings and Agnes departed, we boarded the remaining two carriages, dividing the remaining people into groups of four.     

Fortunately, we didn’t run short on carriages. There were people whose destinations happened to overlap or were heading in similar directions.

“See you at the academy, Hero. …And if you get too close with Miss Selena, someone might be angry when we meet again.”

“…I told you that won’t happen. Have I ever laid hands on anyone until now?”

“Hmm, you haven’t. That’s exactly the problem. Being cautious is good, but I wish you would choose someone soon if possible.”

“I’ve told you, Seraphine, I’m not in a position to be choosing anyone.”     

“Th-That’s right! You shouldn’t force the He-Hero to choose!”     

“Right. You shouldn’t do that.”     

“This is why Mother warned me not to fall for popular men… Sigh.”  

Seraphine boarded the carriage bound for the Imperial Palace with a soft sigh, along with Seriste, who was also taking the same carriage as she also had business in the capital.

Watching from the side, I almost blurted out something about this being ridiculous, but I somehow managed to hold it in. 

So this is what it feels like to watch a harem protagonist from the sidelines…

“Please give my regards to Lady Agnes, Miss Lilith.”     

“You were just talking to her, Prince Antonio.”     

“Well, even so.”     

After Prince Antonio, who had somehow gained a more relaxed expression, boarded the carriage, Knight Colt drove the three of them toward the Imperial Capital.

The last carriage to depart was the carriage with the remaining four people.     

It was a somewhat peculiar combination of the Hero, Selena, and Ethan and me.

“Sorry for imposing. No matter how I think about it, the distance to the Blackwood Estate is definitely not walkable.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. The Blackwood Estate is along the way to the World Tree Forest, anyway. Don’t think of it as imposing and just relax.”     

Though Ethan probably wasn’t happy about having to travel with the Hero, he wasn’t shameless enough to complain when he was getting a ride in someone else’s carriage.     

If it weren’t for the Hero’s consideration, we would have had to cram six people into the Imperial Carriage to return to the capital, then spend another day traveling from there to the Blackwood Estate.

By that point, our summer vacation would have been practically over, and we would have barely had time to stop by the Blackwood Mansion before returning to the academy.

Anyway, we returned to the Blackwood Estate over three days with this group of four. The Hero and I took turns driving the carriage.    

Nothing particularly special happened during those three days. We encountered a group of monsters on the first night of camping, ran into bandits on the second night, and gained lots of XP, but not quite enough to level up.     

Something noteworthy was that before departing from the Witch’s Forest, I became the recipient of the ‘Witch’s Pendant’ instead of the Hero, which was a minor issue.     

<Miss Medichilling? What is this?>

<I-It’s our clan’s pendant… Si-Since you helped us so much this time…>

<The Hero and others helped more than I did…>     

<But, but I want to give it to you, Rosewood… Pl-Please accept it…>

<…Alright. Thank you for the gift, Miss Medichilling.>     

<Y-Yes, th-thank you for ac-accepting it…!!>

That’s roughly how the final reward for the ‘Lara’s Secret’ event ended up in my possession.     

Of course, I didn’t intend to keep it, so I tried to pass it to Gyeongmwajogyegigwat during our first shift change, but he refused. He said it wouldn’t be right for him to take someone else’s gift.     

<It’s a gift given to you. How would Lara feel about me wearing something meant for you? I don’t particularly need it, so just use it yourself.>

<But isn’t the Witch’s Pendant end-game equipment? Without this, you won’t even have an item to use in the final boss fight.>     

<I have the necklace from Lilia, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, when I asked for your help this summer vacation, it wasn’t because I wanted double rewards, but because I wanted to help both Lilia and Lara. I wasn’t aiming for rewards, so I have no regrets.>     

<…Well, fine. Don’t say anything about regretting this later.>

And so, I ended up with this piece of end-game equipment, the Witch’s Pendant.

Since it had good stat bonuses, I decided to keep it for now. It seemed that accessories would provide their effects just by having them in your possession, without necessarily wearing them.     

On our first day back at the Blackwood Estate after finishing all the summer vacation events that had been packed with unprecedented density of incidents…

Before falling asleep in my room after completing all scheduled tasks, I seriously contemplated plans regarding Ethan and me.

“Now then…”

Now, how could I create the right atmosphere to have se… no, to share a bed with Ethan?     

As I’ve mentioned before, this absolutely wasn’t because I wanted to do it with Ethan. This was purely about preparing for something that I ‘had to’ do now.     

There was no longer any need to maintain the Saint’s qualifications, also, this power left in me was only binding me down. 

The power of a Saint only came with various duties and responsibilities with practically nothing gained in return.

I definitely wasn’t the type of person like Seriste who would say, “Just having the qualification to be by the Hero’s side is enough to satisfy me.”

Therefore, to eliminate the power of the Saint, I needed to remove my qualification as a Saint as soon as possible, and Ethan was the only person who met the conditions to help me remove it.     

Things like getting rid of it through self-pleasure, or throwing away my first experience with some other man, were absolutely unacceptable acts for my pride as someone who was a unicorn in their previous life.

‘The problem is the situation. I need to create a plausible and natural situation.’

I couldn’t just barge into Ethan’s bedroom without any excuse. That would be behavior unbefitting a unicorn no matter how you looked at it.     

I wanted to lose my virginity through a pure love route; not in a situation where I act like a woman in heat, desperate for sex. I rejected the idea of Ethan misunderstanding me like that.     

‘If only I had that suspicious tea we used at the annex…’     

With that, I could have naturally induced the mood to do it once, but sadly, I had drunk it all then. I should have saved some if I’d known this would happen.     

The closest thing that could give a similar effect was alcohol. This had been a frequently used ingredient for ‘reasonable excuses’ since my previous life.     

‘Should I ask Dittmeyer to secretly get me some strong liquor?’     

I could bring it to Ethan suggesting we have a drink together, then subtly act drunk and disheveled until I collapse, and maybe then Ethan wouldn’t be able to resist his desires and would try to join bodies with me.     

I briefly entertained this thought but rejected it not long after. Using alcohol for seduction didn’t seem like a good method for various reasons.     

It might be different if we had already crossed that line once, but using the power of alcohol for my first experience was a method that made me hesitate as a unicorn. 

There was a possibility that I wouldn’t properly remember that precious first moment that a virgin should absolutely cherish, due to the effects of the alcohol.     

Also, somehow, Ethan of late seemed like he would just cover me with a blanket saying “Sleep well.” rather than pounce on me even if I were drunk and disheveled, so that plan was canceled. 

If I were treated like that, I probably wouldn’t be able to get up for a while due to self-loathing.

‘To begin with, it doesn’t make sense for a servant to ask their employer to have a drink together.’

It would be an act of insubordination in many ways, so this option was also rejected.

Then, among the remaining options, there was only one decent excuse left.

‘I guess all that’s left is… offering it as a reward for Ethan winning a spar.’

I could use the excuse of offering myself as a reward for Ethan’s victory in a spar against Harold.     

This would probably work as a sufficiently plausible occasion. After all, I had often given rewards like my chest or other acts as rewards for victories against Harold.     

Moreover, it was currently summer vacation, so Harold was staying at the mansion, meaning Ethan could have multiple spars a day if he wanted.     

Ethan had already returned after gaining quite a lot of XP through numerous hunts in the Witch’s Forest. Even before that, he had nearly won one-on-one against Machart.

My guess was that even if achieving a ‘complete victory’ would be difficult, he might be able to win 1 out of 10 or 20 matches against Harold at full strength…     

‘Though it’s nonsensical to think that a second-year academy student could win even one match against a Sword Master.’

Conversely, because it’s nonsensical, it would be worth such a reward.     

Even if I said I would give him my first time as a reward for defeating his father, Ethan probably wouldn’t find it strange, either.      

“There are five days left before we return to the academy…”

Somehow, I need to make Ethan win against Harold in their spar within four, no, three days.     

There was no way I could return to the academy still carrying these troublesome Saint powers.