Academy Entrance Exam (2)

An awkward silence hung in the carriage due to what had happened last night.

Hiding my chest-which still felt strangely sensitive-from Ethan, I quietly recalled the events that had transpired so far in my mind.

The first signs of Ethan seriously wielding dual swords appeared about three months ago.

It had been two months since Ethan began formally learning dual-wielding swordsmanship from Harold.

After the day Ethan first demonstrated dual-wielding to Harold, Harold began teaching him how to fight with two swords in earnest.

While it was surprising that Harold could teach Ethan dual-wielding, what was even more shocking was the speed at which Ethan learned.

Perhaps because he already had a foundation in single-sword combat, Ethan showed even more effective growth in handling dual swords.

Eventually, two months ago, Ethan won his first match against Harold using dual swords.

A pure swordsmanship duel-no tricks or clumsy techniques involved.

“E-Ethan Young Master wins!”

“Huh…?”

At the moment Ethan secured his first proper victory, I was so dumbfounded that my mind went blank.

I had thought things would end here without any further physical contact until his academy enrollment, but who could have imagined he’d win another match just three months after starting dual-wielding?

The biggest problem was that he had won purely through skill-no tricks or gimmicks.

Harold wasn’t foolish enough to fall for the same trick more than once, so feints and techniques could only be used effectively once.

But a victory achieved purely through swordplay, speed, and his own movements and judgment only increased the likelihood of future wins.

And, as expected, my ominous prediction came true.

Twice, three times, four times.

Including yesterday’s match, Ethan had now secured five victories against Harold through “pure skill.”

As the number of his legitimate wins increased, so did the frequency of my late-night visits to his room.

And with each time I let him touch my chest, his actions grew increasingly bold.

Lately, it felt like he was focusing less on his own satisfaction and more on pleasuring me-to the point where even I could tell.

“Maid, do you prefer it a bit rougher like this? Or gentler?”

“I-I don’t… know…”

“Or maybe like this, focusing on a smaller area…”

“Nngh, ah…! Haaah…!”

“Yeah, this is definitely your weak spot, Maid.”

“N-No… It’s not a weak… ngh, haaah…!!”

The events of last night flashed through my mind, making it harder to face Ethan.

In fact, his recent behavior had crossed the line from cheeky to downright shameless.

The “one-minute rule” had long since become meaningless.

No, had it ever been properly followed even once?

Even when I tried to strictly time it to one minute, I’d snap back to reality only to find five or ten minutes had already passed.

…Well, if I had to blame someone, it was my own damn fault.

If I hadn’t carelessly provoked him that day and told him to touch my chest, things wouldn’t have spiraled this far.

But really, who could have predicted this?

After nearly two years of not winning a single match against Harold, who would have thought Ethan would win six times in just half a year?

I made the right call. This was all Harold’s fault for letting his son beat him up periodically.

You damn Sword Master title-holding idiot.

Anyway, after letting Ethan touch my chest roughly once every two weeks for the past two months, I’d recently started feeling a strange flutter in my chest whenever I saw him.

Lately, I’d been expending considerable mental energy just to keep this traitorous body under control.

Just to be clear-this was absolutely not some cringey romantic feeling.

It was just that Ethan was good with his hands, and my body reacted accordingly. That’s all.

If this counted as love, then prostitutes and AV actresses would all be in octopus-style relationships. Not that this world had AV actresses, of course.

Besides, having Ethan touch my chest wasn’t enough to threaten my unshakable masculinity.

Guys in my past life would proudly show off their well-built bodies to girls and invite them to touch, right?

This was just the reverse of that.

Lilith’s body was exceptionally well-made as a female form, so it wasn’t much different from a muscular male body.

…Not that I was letting Ethan touch me to show off or anything.

As I absentmindedly stared out the window at the passing scenery, Ethan cautiously called out to me.

“M-Maid.”

“…What do you need, Young Master Ethan?”

“Are you… mad about last night?”

…So he does feel guilty about playing with my chest so enthusiastically yesterday.

Of course, as a servant, I couldn’t glare or nod in agreement. The most resistance I could muster was denying it while avoiding eye contact.

“…No, Young Master. Not at all.”

“S-Sorry, Maid. I just really wanted to see you looking more pleased… I got carried away thinking only about my own satisfaction and went too far…”

“……”

As soon as he sensed my discomfort, Ethan-ever perceptive-immediately apologized.

This was exactly the kind of thing that messed with my head.

Whenever I acted awkward or uncomfortable about “what happened at night,” the ever-earnest Blackwood heir would always apologize the next day.

What the hell? If he apologizes first like this, how am I supposed to react?

If I keep sulking, I’ll just look like the unreasonable bitch here.

If he had been as shameless and disgusting as the original game’s Ethan, spouting crap like, “What’s wrong with doing whatever I want with my property?” I could have at least held onto my resentment.

But this Ethan was far too kind and earnest compared to the original.

…To the point where I felt disgusted with myself for even comparing him to that trash.

“No, Young Master. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. You earned the right to touch my chest as a reward for defeating Master Harold. What you do with that is entirely your prerogative.”

“Maid…”

“…And though it shames me to say this, how could I resent you when I reached pleasure under your touch? You need not dwell on what happened last night.”

“…Okay, I understand. Thank you for being honest, Maid.”

I only said this because Ethan feeling guilty made me even more uncomfortable.

Honest my ass-I was absolutely not fine with it.

Well, it wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, but I never wanted to feel pleasure from it in the first place.

I never wanted Ethan to touch my chest, nor did I ever expect to derive pleasure from it.

This was an immutable truth that wouldn’t change even after four years of academy graduation.

Anyway, once we entered the academy, there would be no more sparring matches between Ethan and Harold, so this bizarre relationship would finally end.

As I blankly stared out the window with these thoughts, Ethan hesitantly spoke up again.

“I’m really looking forward to the academy, Maid.”

“Is that so.”

“…Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“…No. I am looking forward to it as well.”

The main storyline of Luminor Academy, magic classes as Lilith, and the second life awaiting me after graduation.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t be excited about all that?

Thinking about it made the humiliation of last night’s chest-groping fade away easily.

“…There’s only one room left?”

…At least, until we faced a new problem at the inn where Ethan and I were supposed to stay that evening.