I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 290 [Strong Motivation (1)]

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by Soothsayer (1/10).

Though I said I needed to make Ethan win in a duel against Harold, there was actually very little I could do to help him from my position.

After all, it was Ethan, not me, who would be crossing swords with Harold.

Also, since this was a sword-only duel without support magic, I had absolutely no means to intervene in their exchange of swords.

The most I could do would be to say to Ethan, ‘How about sparring with the master while staying at the mansion?’ but in the end, even this proved unnecessary.     

Being more diligent than necessary, Ethan had already started earnestly sparring with Harold from our first day back at the mansion without me having to tell him.

Clang! Clang! Clang.     

“Haah! Haa! Haaah!!”

This was a clash between Ethan and Harold that I had seen countless times both at the Blackwood Estate and at the academy.     

Even to someone like me with little expertise in swordsmanship, it was a clear exchange of incredibly fast sword strikes.    

One was a Sword Expert who had fully awakened a month ago, and the other had long been a Sword Master, so it was natural.

‘Their speed really is impossibly fast no matter how many times I see it.’     

As impressive as Ethan’s dual swords were, what was even more impossible was the speed at which Harold’s sword moved. 

The way he deflected both of Ethan’s swords with a single blade made me wonder if he wasn’t somehow cheating, the speed was so incredible.

Of course, wielding two swords doesn’t necessarily mean you can strike twice as fast. But even accounting for that, there was no denying that Ethan’s swords moved at a remarkable speed.     

Harold, who parried those two swords without changing his expression, was just insane. 

‘I was going to tell him if I spotted any weakness, but that’s not going to work.’

These weren’t gaps I could spot in the first place. 

Even if they existed, they would only be visible if you could split a second into about 20. 

Above all, if there were gaps that I could spot, there was no way Ethan wouldn’t notice them while crossing swords up close.

Also, at the Sword Master level, he was probably getting stronger slowly but surely, even during this exchange of swords.

This meant that even giving hints in advance probably wouldn’t have even the slightest effect on the spar.

Ethan had crossed swords with Harold as many times as Harold had crossed swords with Ethan. Like it or not, they were father and son who knew best how to deal with each other.     

In the end, all I could do was hope that Ethan would do well in the spar on his own. After all, that was currently my best way to create a plausible excuse to join bodies with Ethan.     

‘It seems impossible to weaken Harold… Is stirring up Ethan’s motivation really the only method I can use somehow?’

…It might be a bit strange for me to say this, but there are things like awakening through the power of love.     

This was actually a common theme in the original game. Well, that was natural since Luminor Academy was an adult academy harem game.

I had seen something similar when he saved me from Machart before, and when he fought the Kraken of the Abyss. In other words, awakening through love wasn’t impossible even for non-protagonists.     

Since it was confirmed that Ethan loves me, it was enough to make me think that just giving him some motivation might somehow produce results.

‘Besides, Harold tends to go a bit easy on Ethan, anyway.’     

Actually, if they were fighting at full strength, it would be historically inaccurate for a Sword Expert and a Sword Master to exchange swords for this long. That meant Harold was deliberately maintaining just enough of a skill gap to help Ethan grow.     

If Ethan could momentarily close that small gap, he could achieve victory against Harold. After all, winning even one match that way would still count as a victory.     

As I was thinking this, one of Ethan’s swords was deflected by Harold’s blade, and this spar ended in Harold’s complete victory once again.

Claaang!     

“Haah, hah, hah…”     

“Let’s end here for today. Good work, Ethan.”     

“…Thank you for the match, Father.”     

Unlike Harold who had barely broken a sweat, Ethan collapsed to his knees on the ground.

“Your stamina has increased considerably. Judging by the heavier force I felt in your swords, it seems you weren’t just playing around with your lover during the break.”     

“…There were some incidents.”     

“However, your sword path seems slightly dulled compared to before, so today, finish your training after practicing each of the fourth-level basic forms of Blackwood Swordsmanship once.”     

“…Understood, Father.”

Ethan rose from his knees, dusting them off as he answered. He truly was second to none when it came to diligence.

‘At this rate, he’ll spend all three days just getting a feel for dueling again and our summer vacation will be over.’

Well, to be honest, it wasn’t like I absolutely had to accomplish my goal during summer vacation.     

After we returned to the academy, we would continue our life of cohabitation whether we liked it or not, and there might actually be many more natural opportunities there than at the Blackwood Mansion.

In fact, Ethan and I had experienced quite a few such situations since we slept pressed against each other every day. We had done various intimate acts with various excuses, even on days when he hadn’t won a match against Harold.     

‘…Still, since it’s my first time…’

Kisses, chest fondling, fellatio… Those were acts I could give even without ‘proper rewards’ by my standards.

But sex… I wanted Ethan to properly earn my first time since becoming a woman’s body through a proper process.     

If he simply succumbed to desire and pounced on me, that would be somewhat lacking. 

…Well, since I needed to lose my virginity as soon as possible, I would accept it without much resistance even if he did pounce on me that way.     

Still, isn’t it normal for a woman to wish that her first time would be special?     

…Well, no. It’s not like I care about such things as a woman, I just want to create a situation without regrets.     

It would be good for Ethan, too. As a swordsman, there would be a certain satisfaction in proudly claiming me as a trophy after defeating his father using his full strength for the first time.     

If the Hero heard what I was thinking now, he’d probably tease me saying something like ‘What kind of troublesome woman are you?’ but this was like my last remaining pride.     

‘I guess that’s the only way to stimulate Ethan after all.’     

There was no surer way to spark a desire for achievement than stimulating lower body desires.     

In fact, this was the method I had used most often in the process of raising Ethan until now.

Five o’clock in the afternoon. The Blackwood Mansion’s main bath.

Splash.

“Phewwww…”

A young man lowered his tired body into a bath large enough to easily fit ten people with room to spare.     

Ethan Richard Blackwood. The only son of the Blackwood Ducal family.

The young man who had completed his full awakening as a Sword Expert a month ago leaned against the hot water-filled tub and quietly sank into contemplation.

‘As expected, I still have a long way to go before I can defeat Father.’

His father’s swordsmanship still felt like an enormous wall despite having fully awakened as a Sword Expert.     

His will was slightly crushed by his father’s heavy sword, to the point where he felt the gap might be even larger than before.     

Even though he could physically feel that he had grown stronger, he still couldn’t catch up to his opponent at all.     

‘I thought I could win at least one match if I clashed like crazy.’

Of course, he had won several matches in their spars until now.     

There had even been days when he won two or three matches, and sometimes even achieved complete victory in their countless exchanges.     

However, all the matches he had won until now were spars where his father had imposed some handicaps on himself. Some handicaps included using only basic forms, not using Sword Energy, or not using magic.     

Without such restrictions, crossing swords at full strength, he simply couldn’t win. No matter how much he swung his swords trying to create an opening, he just couldn’t reach the sword of Sword Master Harold.

‘I couldn’t see any openings at all. Rather, it felt like I was being led into creating openings myself.’     

After all, Ethan’s father, Harold Richard Blackwood, was a hero of the Imperial War. 

He had encountered and cut down countless swordsmen of Ethan’s level and those even stronger.     

Ethan was painfully aware that surviving such a war meant he was that much stronger.

‘They say that when he was my age, he even cut through the capital’s walls despite all their magical barriers.’

With each exchange of swords, Ethan felt himself being overwhelmed in every aspect – technique, power, and talent. 

He realized there was still an unbridgeable gap even though he thought he could at least grasp his father’s ankles by now.     

Ethan found himself needing some primal motivation to somehow defeat his father.

T/N

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!