I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

The journey from Ironhold to Ermia turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

Aside from Mirif, everyone was unfamiliar to her, and she had expected things to feel awkward. Yet it wasn’t as uncomfortable as she thought it would be. Most of her traveling companions were priests by nature, and their presence was imbued with a natural sense of consideration.

“So, Sister Lily, did you defeat the Hooked Fang right after learning assassination techniques as a child?”

“...Yes.”

“That’s incredible. Assassins typically hesitate to face large monsters due to the short range of their weapons, but you must be quite skilled, Sister Lily.”

“And I heard that Sister Lily can take down three goblins in one stroke!”

“If Sister Lily had devoted herself to the Aurelia Church, she might have already earned a title as a holy knight by now, haha!”

“...Yes.”

Although this sort of overdone flattery was a bit overwhelming, it was still preferable to the awkwardness of letting conversations fall silent due to not knowing what to say.

Corrupt or dubious priests were usually figures in high positions; these lower-ranking priests here held a basic sense of duty and service, so there was no need to worry about such issues.

Normally, I would have to lead my second Jerahon, but Holy Knight Poldragon had secured another spot for it on the carriage. Inside, I relaxed with treats like cookies from Senior Priestess Kiara or herbal tea from Priest Verus, chatting with Mirif about our shared experiences as adventurers.

To think that my connection with her would continue from our encounter during the E-rank adventurer promotion test. It really is more enjoyable when life’s events can’t be entirely predicted.

‘What lingers on my mind, though, is that Sei hasn’t returned yet...’

The wind spirit had vanished, angered that I hadn’t heeded her in the goblin cave.

At least, the spirit contract with her remained intact. Though her presence felt somewhat diminished compared to when she was constantly by my side, my mana still flowed to her.

Apparently, Sei continued conversing with Sally. Sally seemed to have a rough idea of Sei’s whereabouts, but, out of some spirit-to-spirit loyalty, she wouldn’t disclose it to me.

‘...Well, if I wait a month or two, Sei will probably come back on her own.’

In truth, if a spirit decides to disappear, there’s no way a human like me could find her. In these cases, it’s best to stay calm and wait for her to return rather than force her away.

“Sister Lily.”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t have a specific place to go once we reach Ermia, how about staying at the church’s lodging for female clerics for a while?”

“...Huh?”

“The church in Ermia currently has a few vacant private rooms, thanks to a shortage of clergy. Since Ermia has a rather high cost of living, I thought perhaps Sister Lily, who’s a benefactor to Sister Mirif, might save a bit on lodging.”

“...Is that really okay? I’m not a priestess, after all.”

“Of course. The Aurelia Church welcomes righteous people like Sister Lily anytime.”

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“I think it would be good for Sister Lily to stay at the church too. I still haven’t fully repaid the kindness you showed me last time.”

“Indeed. I agree with Sister Kiara’s suggestion.”

With Kiara and Mirif suggesting that I lodge with them and Verus nodding in agreement beside them, I felt no particular reason to refuse, even though I wasn’t exactly short on money from what I’d gotten from the adventurers’ guild.

“All right, then. I’ll be in your debt for a while.”

“Yes, Sister Lily!”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

A month had already passed since the day Lilith left the Blackwood estate.

In that time, the Blackwood heir had searched nearly every major area in the empire, but he now found himself heading back, empty-handed and dispirited.

“Where could you possibly have gone, Lilith...?”

It was as though she had disappeared into thin air or sunk into the ground. Every trace of her was gone.

Ethan was well aware that scouring the empire with only a horse and no clues was a fool’s errand from the beginning.

Although he knew he couldn’t let his impatience get the better of him in just a month...

“Wherever you are, please, just be safe...”

He couldn’t help but worry about her facing danger without him there. The thought that she could have encountered a dangerous monster, or worse, fallen prey to some cruel, black-hearted individual, haunted him. Considering her propensity to get tangled up in perilous situations, she could have even ended up as a target in some dark mage’s plot.

These worries gnawed at Ethan’s mind each night, wearing down his reason and leaving him vulnerable to his emotions.

Just a month without Lilith by his side.

Since the first day they’d been intimate.

Since their first kiss.

Since the day she became his exclusive maid. Ethan had never been separated from her for this long.

He had never doubted that she would always be by his side.

The idea of her vanishing without a word had never crossed his mind.

The more he thought about it, the more he ached for her, like realizing the preciousness of water and air only once deprived of them.

“If I find her this time, I’ll keep her so she can never run away again. Or... no, I shouldn’t do anything she would hate...”

Clutching his head as two conflicting emotions clashed within him, Ethan reluctantly returned home.

It had been a month since he left Blackwood Manor, and even if he had no leads, he needed to return to the estate at least once a month.

...If only ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to hold onto the slim hope that Lilith might have returned of her own accord to await him there.

Creak.

“Young master, you’ve returned!”

“...Yes, I’m back.”

After a day spent riding, he first had to shake off the fatigue in his body.

Handing over his sword and coat to Dietmeyer, the head butler who had quickly come to greet him, Ethan retreated alone to the bath to soak away his exhaustion.

With plans to rest fully for a day before setting out again the morning after tomorrow, Ethan took his bath, had his meal, and finally lay down to sleep.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The next morning.

*To Duke Blackwood.

From Patrick, Guild Master of the Ironhold Adventurers’ Guild.*

“...”

Ethan, seated in Blackwood Manor’s study with a brief break before his departure, was puzzled to see this strange letter on his desk so early in the morning.

“That’s unusual.”

Ironhold? The Blackwood family had no particular connections to that village.

Of course, letters sent to Blackwood Manor didn’t always come from nobles or those associated with the family. Since the recipient was unknown until the letter was opened, all letters were received first.

Besides, letters didn’t only come for the head of the Blackwood family; sometimes they were mistakenly sent to someone else or even addressed to the staff. For noble correspondence or important content, the head butler would filter them out, and for letters sent to servants or wrongly addressed ones, the head maid sorted them.

So, the fact that this letter was on his study desk meant Dietmeyer had identified it as important. Ethan called for him to explain.

“Dietmeyer, what is this letter? Does the Blackwood family have any dealings with the Ironhold Adventurers’ Guild I’m unaware of?”

“No, sir, but this letter arrived with an item.”

“...An item?”

“Yes, here it is.”

Anticipating that Ethan would inquire about the letter, Dietmeyer presented the accompanying item—a jingling pouch of coins placed on the desk, sparking Ethan’s curiosity even further.

Clink.

“...Is this the item that came with it?”

“Yes. It contained exactly ten gold coins.”

“Ten gold coins...?”

A bribe to sway the Blackwood family? But why Ironhold, and why target the powerful Blackwood Ducal House?

Ethan didn’t dwell on the thought for long; he was planning to address some matters before departing anyway, so he nodded.

“I suppose I should read the contents of this letter. The letter is unopened, yes?”

“Yes, none of our staff checked its contents, nor does anyone else know of the item besides me.”

“...Not that I doubted you. You’ve always served diligently.”

If this was some frivolous request, he’d have to send a reply.

Opening the sealed letter and looking at its contents...

“To Duke Blackwood, and to the young lady of the Blackwood family, the ‘assassin Lily’...”

Ethan’s confusion only deepened as he read the opening line.