episode_0121

Quietly thinking of a way to cheer up Lily in his mind, Ethan came up with a plan. Before he could put his plan into action, the first thing he did was to push Isabelle, who shared the same room, into the servant’s quarters.

No matter how Isabelle was currently in charge of being the exclusive maid for both him and Lily, he didn’t want her to witness any intimate moments between the two of them.

“Isabelle.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I will take care of Lily’s mood, so how about you go to bed early tonight and stay in your room until late at night?”

“…Excuse me?”

“…I would appreciate it if you didn’t come out of the servant’s quarters until tomorrow morning.”

“Ah…”

Due to her long experience as a maid, Isabelle was quick to pick up on other people’s cues, and she knew better than anyone about the relationship between Ethan and Lily. Understanding the meaning behind Ethan’s words vaguely, she simply went into the servant’s quarters with a bow.

“Yes, Master. I will sleep in my room until tomorrow morning as you wish.”

“Very well, Isabelle.”

“Please, have a good time with Lily.”

-Click.

Silently entering the servant’s quarters first with a bedtime greeting, the maid with vanilla-colored hair, Ethan felt embarrassed as if he had been caught doing something wrong, but he also felt a sense of gratitude towards the observant Isabelle.

Approaching Lily, who was still sitting on the bed, unable to shake off her melancholy, Ethan cautiously moved closer.

He wasn’t sure if his method of comforting her would work, but at least at that moment, Lily seemed to be smiling a happy smile that he hadn’t seen before.

If he could lift her spirits with this method, he was willing to endure being the naive sage of the Blackwood family.

However, what worried him was that his actions might change Lily’s opinion of him, and he didn’t want to make the situation worse by causing her to resent him.

“Lily.”

“Ah, Master Ethan. Are you planning to go to sleep now?”

“No, there’s something important I need to tell you before you go to sleep.”

“What?”

Seeing her tilt her head as if she didn’t know what he was going to say, Ethan took a deep breath and lowered himself towards Lily, who was still sitting on the bed.

“E-Ethan, Master?!”

“Lily, please!”

“W-Wait, Master Ethan! If the noble sage of the Blackwood family shows such behavior to his exclusive maid…”

“I’m begging you, Lily! Just let me touch your chest for one minute tonight!”

“Are you out of your mind…? Master Ethan?”

“Please…”

“…I’m truly disappointed. I clearly told you that I would allow you to touch my chest only when you defeat Lord Harold, didn’t I?”

“…”

“Have you lost your self-control after just two weeks at the academy? I couldn’t even imagine that Master Ethan would be at such a low level…as a beast.”

As expected, Lily’s cold disdain returned. While he had anticipated some degree of this reaction, he couldn’t take back the words he had already spoken.

Ethan tried to persuade Lillis with his own logic, trying not to upset her and to be able to touch her chest.

“I, I’ll win two rounds!”

“…What?”

“In the upcoming duel with my father, I’ll win two rounds!”

“…Two rounds?”

“Lillis said she’ll let me touch her chest every time I win a round against my father. And since I’ll have the opportunity to duel with my father soon during the basic magic swordsmanship class, at least once a semester, I’ll have about ten chances to spar with him.”

“….Please continue.”

“I haven’t had the chance to win a round against my father yet, but starting next week, I’ll have a duel with him every week. So, I’ll accumulate two wins during the upcoming period. Just let me touch it once, Lillis.”

After desperately persuading her, Ethan lowered his head to the ground again, waiting for Lillis’ response.

He already knew it was a forced request, but his goal was to touch her chest without upsetting her.

With a sense of guilt, Ethan quietly waited for Lillis’ response.

On the other hand, Lillis was calculating in her mind, stroking her chin on the bed.

‘He used to touch me once per round, now he’s demanding it once every two rounds. It doesn’t seem like I’ll be at a loss… And if Ethan’s skills are as good as they seem, he should be able to win at least two rounds during the semester…’

Upon hearing Ethan’s proposal, Lillis started calculating the pros and cons of letting him touch her chest or refusing.

Without realizing it, she was already calculating the profit and loss in her mind, considering Ethan’s sudden request to touch her chest.

The discomfort she felt towards Ethan’s sudden request to touch her chest had turned into a cold calculation of her own benefits, showing her as a calculating maid who was considering her own gains.

As Ethan lay on the ground, contemplating whether he should retract his request, he asked her a question.

“Do you really have the confidence to win two rounds against your father?”

“Y-yes…! Of course!”

“Then why are you insisting on touching my chest now, even going so far as to incur a debt, instead of waiting to win a round against me?”

“T-that’s…”

Seeing that Lillis seemed particularly gloomy today, Ethan couldn’t tell her that he wanted to touch her to cheer her up.

If he did, he would undoubtedly provoke her resentment, especially since she hadn’t even given permission to touch her in the first place.

If he allowed it, it would be like confessing that touching her chest made him feel good, and Lillis, being a woman, would naturally hide her desires.

This would only lead to more contempt towards himself.

To protect her honor and pride, Ethan chose a slightly different approach.

To make it seem like he was just demanding to touch her because he wanted to.

“I, really, I can’t wait any longer….”

“What?”

“Back when we used different rooms in the mansion, it was different, but now we sleep and wake up together in the same bed every day. And sometimes you even cling to me in your sleep. After spending every day like that, I just couldn’t wait until I won the next round…. So that’s why I’m asking like this….”

A lie. A lie mixed with a bit of truth, creating an excuse for Ethan.

He blurted out the content that came to his mind momentarily, but immediately regretted it.

Once he said it out loud, it seemed like he was revealing his desires as a young boy without any restraint.

Until now, Edan had tried to maintain a dignified attitude in front of Release, but the action he had just taken was quite embarrassing even in his own eyes.

It was only after his head cooled down a bit that Edan could barely realize that his recent actions were wrong.

“Ah, it’s really not good, right?! Then, let’s just forget about it….”

In the midst of his confused emotions, the desire not to be hated by Release grew again, and Edan, trying to rectify the shameful act he had just committed, was too late.

In many ways, the words that came out of Release’s mouth, who knew well the sexual desires of a young man in his early twenties, were a response that was closer to affirmation than disappointment.

“…You must win two rounds decisively.”

“…Uh, what?”

“Didn’t you just speak those words to me, Lord Edan? You asked me to let you touch my chest in exchange for winning two more rounds for Master Harold, didn’t you?”

“…Right. But if Release feels uncomfortable, you can refuse….”

“…This is only for this one time.”

“….Huh?”

With Release’s unexpected permission, Edan momentarily looked like a fool.

Facing Edan in that state, Release simply reiterated the words that had come out of his own mouth.

“I said this is only for this one time, Lord Edan. If you bring up something like touching again in the future, I will firmly refuse.”

“Then today….”

“After hearing Lord Edan’s words, I realized that they were indeed reasonable. Since Lord Edan is also a man in his prime, it’s not unreasonable for you to be excited about sleeping next to me every night.”

“….”

“So, I will give you a grace period for this one time. I will allow Lord Edan’s sudden request this time, but…. From now on, you must learn how to control your desires.”

“Thank you, Release.”

Although they had taken a long road to hide their true feelings from each other, in the end, it was Release who allowed Edan to touch his chest.

It was a somewhat sudden outcome, but that’s how the ‘night work’ between the two began.

A relationship where they hide their true feelings from each other and misunderstand each other’s intentions.