[Evening Festival (3)]

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat’s expression stiffened slightly after hearing Lilith’s words. His expression suggested he hadn’t expected what came out of her mouth.

Feeling a sense of crisis, wondering if the Hero’s expression indicated displeasure, Lilith hurriedly elaborated on what she had just said.

“I-I mean the heroines you’re planning to abandon. To be honest, they’re all characters I care about. I told you, right? That I’ve seen 24 endings in my past life.”

“Yes, you mentioned that.”

“While I might not know about the male characters, I’ve seen at least one solo ending for each of the female characters. From my perspective, every single one of them deserves to be happy. 

But I just can’t bear to see them swooning and struggling over you, only to end up heartbroken. It’s not in my nature to watch them hang onto a love that will never be reciprocated.”

“…”

“I’ll connect them with others without affecting the main storyline too much. After all, your party for defeating the Demon King is already essentially complete. No matter how much you’re the protagonist, I c-can’t tolerate you treating the heroines like garbage anymore.”

Though she spoke with a certain determination, Lilith became a bit frightened after actually saying it.

She was cautiously on guard, worried that the Hero might view her as an obstacle to the story and harm her, but fortunately, Gyeongmwajogyegigwat’s response was affirming.

“Sure, go ahead then.”

“…Huh?”

“Now that I hear it, I actually want to ask you to do it. I wonder why I never thought of this before.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I don’t plan to be with any of this world’s heroines, anyway. If there’s a way for them to be happy after I’m gone, that’s something I would actually prefer.”

Lilith’s tension dissolved at this much more anticlimactic response than she had expected, and at the same time, a strange anger toward the Hero welled up inside her.

It was now confirmed that he treated the interest from other heroines as merely ‘annoying’ in a situation where someone like her would have been overjoyed.

“Fine, do whatever you want. Then I’ll do whatever I want, too.”

“Yes. I’m counting on you, LilGirlChang.”

“…Tch.”

Lilith stood up, unable to hide her displeasure.

“For now, I’m giving up on the three main heroines since they’re already beyond my reach. Separating them from you at this point would only create resentment and negatively impact the story progression.”

“Right, that can’t be helped.”

“But from now on, know that I won’t let any of the remaining girls fall for you.”

“Got it, LilGirlChang. Good luck with that.”

“…Ah, damn it.”

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat was left at the table with just one drunk person after Lilith departed with a curse.

Looking at Selena, who had collapsed after drinking alcohol like water while saying things like elves don’t get drunk, Gyeongmwajogyegigwat quietly muttered:

“Mmmmm, Hero… I’m an elf… elves never lose in the forest…”

“…I’ve never actually treated my relationships with them like garbage.”

Rather, they had become so precious to him that he was preparing for a farewell that would hurt them as little as possible.

The resolution of this misunderstanding between the two would be a story for a distant future, not now.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The morning after the Evening Festival, inside the Blackwood Family Carriage…

About 30 minutes after boarding the carriage, Isabel, sitting across from Ethan and me, carefully examined my expression.

“Lilith, are you feeling unwell?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve looked uncomfortable for a while now… are you getting motion sickness for the first time in ages?”

“Have you, Lilith?”

The conversation I had with Gyeongmwajogyegigwat the previous night had left me in a somewhat sullen mood, and it seemed I had failed to manage my facial expressions because of it.

Judging by the way Isabel was watching me with that expression, it probably wasn’t a pleasant face to look at. Even Ethan was belatedly checking on my mood.

“No, Young Master Ethan. It’s just that last night…”

“Last night? Did something happen?”

“…I think I may have had too much to drink. It’s nothing else.”

I couldn’t possibly reveal that I had met the Hero and talked about my knowledge from my past life, so I just made up a convenient excuse.

“Really? Feeling sick? Should we stop the carriage and rest for a bit?”

“It’s not that serious. The distance from Luminor Academy to the Blackwood Estate is quite far, so if we rest now, we’ll be getting home late. Besides, we already had an incident once before when we were camping out on our own.”

“Huh? An incident? Did something happen while I was asleep that night, Lilith?”

“…”

“…T-The campfire went out once. We hurriedly lit it again, though.”

“Losing warmth in the cold dawn is serious. That’s all I meant.”

“Ah, I see. That’s right, maintaining warmth is important when camping outdoors…”

Ethan and I had decided not to talk about how we had eliminated the bandits who attacked our tent, so we quickly changed the subject.

In truth, it probably wouldn’t shock Isabel much if we revealed it now since it was all in the past, but I still wanted her to remain innocent until the end if possible.

It might seem contradictory to say this after bringing her to an academy where violence, power struggles, bloodshed, and occasionally murder occur, but that’s how I felt.

“If you’re tired from motion sickness, you can lean on my shoulder, Lilith.”

“No, it’s not motion sickness, and I’m not that tired.”

“If my shoulder isn’t good enough, would you like to lie on my lap?”

“What?”

“Father isn’t here today, anyway. The carriage is a bit cramped, but there should be enough room for you to lie down.”

“…”

After momentarily suppressing the sudden desire to lie down, I shook my head.

Even though Ethan and I had crossed certain boundaries in our relationship, acting according to my desires so openly in this situation… was still a bit embarrassing.

“I-I’m fine, Young Master Ethan. You don’t need to worry about me that much.”

“Actually, it doesn’t matter if it’s not motion sickness or a hangover. You can lie on my lap if you want to.”

“…What?”

“Personally, I’d prefer if you did. It takes a long time to get to the Blackwood Estate anyway, right? I thought it would be nice if we could spend time like this.”

“…”

“There’s no need to be shy anymore, Lilith. We’ve been walking around the Academy holding hands and linking arms.”

“That’s true, but…”

Well, I can’t argue with that.

It was undeniable that I had indulged in my personal desires with Ethan quite a bit over the past semester.

Since I would only be able to stay by Ethan’s side for about two and a half more years at most, I had the desire to try various things during the time I remained as his lover. Even though my body had become female, the desire for romance doesn’t easily fade away.

But that was something I could only do boldly when in front of an unspecified crowd; it was a bit burdensome to do such things inside a carriage where Isabel was watching us directly.

“…It’s fine, Young Master Ethan. If you and I engage in displays of affection, Isabel might feel uncomfortable sharing the same space.”

“Huh, me? N-No! I don’t mind at all, so don’t worry about me! You can snuggle up with Young Master Ethan!”

“See, Isabel says she’s fine with it, too, Lilith.”

“N-No… Still, it’s a bit embarrassing for me to be seen by Isabel…”

“Lilith, I’ve closed my eyes! I’ll keep them closed like this!”

“Are you still uncomfortable with being seen, Lilith?”

“…”

Really, I don’t understand why they only get along so well at times like this. Someone might think Isabel was Ethan’s exclusive maid.

Of course, I know that Isabel’s reaction is entirely for my sake.

Even in the game, Isabel was a character who would betray the Blackwood family, risking her own safety, if it meant Lilith’s happiness.

And now, Isabel is probably acting this way because she thinks my being with Ethan will make me happy.

While I appreciated her consideration, it was also strangely embarrassing. It felt like I was reporting to her that I was finding happiness in displays of affection with Ethan.

“Lilith? I told you I closed my eyes!”

“Lilith, come over here and lie down.”

“…”

In the end, unable to resist the pressure from both of them—or more accurately, ‘pretending to be unable to resist’—I quietly rested my head on Ethan’s lap according to my desires.

A lap pillow between lovers.

Somehow, it feels subtly different from what I had imagined in my past life… but I accepted it because it wasn’t bad.

The person I was in my previous life is separate from who I am now, and while my consciousness and memories remain, my current physical reality is that of a woman’s body.

“Wowww… This is, so, so, s-so, wowww…”

“…Isabel, are you sure your eyes are closed?”

“Ah, y-yes! I’m keeping them properly closed, so don’t worry, Lilith!”

Her reaction suggested she was squinting at Ethan and me, but her answer was shamelessly bold.

Until we paused conversation to rest, I lay with my head on Ethan’s lap, working through my sullen mood, and during that time, I made eye contact with Isabel sitting across from us about five times.