I’ll Just Hold Your Hand While We Walk

After Ethan and Karaham’s swordsmanship sparring match ended, the remaining four matches passed by in what could almost be considered the blink of an eye.

Each match was decided in less than a minute – a testament to the overwhelming skill gap between the two of them and the other examinees. It was only natural, really.

The other examinees who had watched Ethan and Karaham’s match had likely already felt intimidated before their own matches even began, which probably contributed to the quick outcomes.

In the end, while their match had taken longer, the others ended quickly enough that the overall exam time wasn’t significantly delayed.

…Though honestly, if he hadn’t been paired with Karaham, it probably would have ended much faster.

For someone from a border count’s family, you’d think he’d leisurely arrive by carriage. Why on earth did he come so early in the morning to take the entrance exam?

Not that I have room to talk, as the maid accompanying the young master of a ducal family who walked all the way from our lodging to the academy.

After the six sparring matches that comprised the swordsmanship department’s entrance exam concluded, Ethan and Karaham began having a surprisingly serious conversation outside the training grounds.

“Ahaha, I really thought I was going to die. Your skill with dual swords is truly formidable, Prince Ethan.”

“…Your sword swings were incredibly hard to parry too. I’m amazed at how you can swing such a heavy sword at that speed.”

“Haha, as you said earlier, my head is probably just full of muscle, so that’s how I can swing it like that!”

“…I apologize for that remark earlier. It seems we’ll be seeing each other often at the academy from now on.”

“Huh? Did you say something to me that requires an apology? I don’t remember, but I’ll accept it anyway, hahaha!!”

“……”

Ethan looked startled and bewildered by Karaham’s utterly unpredictable personality.

Then, as if seeking agreement, he glanced at me and cautiously assessed him.

“Now that I think about it, from a maid’s perspective, does Prince Karaham seem…?”

“…He seems to lack the ability to read people’s feelings, and for someone from a border count’s family, his manners are somewhat lacking. But he doesn’t seem like a bad person overall. When he said you looked young earlier, he probably just didn’t know the full context.”

“…I thought so.”

“Though that’s probably why he didn’t take your insult as an insult either.”

In the original game, Karaham had at least a bit more seriousness to him compared to his current carefree self who seems completely unconcerned about worldly matters.

His personality was supposed to change somewhat after Lizzy’s death, but it seems that development never happened here.

It probably wouldn’t be long before his title of “Karaham Who Lacks Awareness” gets upgraded to “Karaham Who’s Completely Oblivious.”

“Earlier too, you two seemed to be talking privately – you and your exclusive maid seem quite close, Prince Ethan!”

“…Well, naturally. By the way, come to think of it, don’t you usually have an exclusive maid, Karaham?”

“I’m not sure why, but my exclusive maids keep changing frequently! Having to introduce myself to new maids every time became such a hassle that about two years ago I stopped having one altogether!”

“……”

“But it’s fine! On days like today when I need to go out, my elder sister always takes care of everything for me!”

Ethan wore an expression that suggested he understood exactly why Karaham’s maids kept changing and responded with silence.

Meanwhile, I silently mourned Lizzy, who had been suffering outside the game’s storyline.

Karaham, who had been laughing shamelessly, suddenly furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at me and leaned in closer.

“Speaking of which, I feel like I’ve seen this maid somewhere before. The hallway was too dark earlier so I didn’t recognize her immediately…”

“…Is that so?”

“But when I met Prince Ethan at the imperial palace before, I don’t remember seeing a maid like this. Someone with such distinctive features would be hard to forget…”

“…Perhaps you’re mistaking me for someone else.”

“Is that so? But seeing you always by Prince Ethan’s side makes me feel like I should remember something…”

“…Come to think of it Karaham, didn’t you mention earlier that your sister was following in a carriage?”

“Ah, that’s right! I told my sister I’d just take the exam and return, I almost forgot about that!”

“Then you should probably hurry back.”

Thanks to Ethan’s quick thinking, Karaham – who had nearly remembered me from the masquerade – came to his senses and sheathed his sword.

Hoisting the massive sword nearly as large as himself onto his back, he bid farewell to Ethan.

“It was truly an honor crossing swords with you today, Prince Ethan! I look forward to seeing you at the academy!”

“Yes, I’ll see you…”

“My sister is waiting, so I’ll take my leave now!”

-Clatter!

“……”

Having shown nothing but rudeness and audacity to Ethan until the very end, the August prince disappeared like the wind.

All that remained was Ethan’s right hand, left hanging awkwardly in the air without anyone to shake it.

…Well, I suppose I could hold it instead.

-Tap.

“You did well, young master.”

“Maid…?”

“That was truly impressive swordsmanship. I don’t know if I’m qualified to say this, but the way you crossed swords with Prince Karaham looked even more magnificent than when you spar with the master.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Of course there’s a difference between wooden training swords and real ones, but at least from this mere maid’s perspective, that’s how it appeared.”

And honestly, watching it really drove home the reality that I was now inside the world of [Luminor Academy].

Ethan vs. Karaham – that fight was seriously epic. It actually made my chest swell with emotion.

They were at a level where they could seriously go toe-to-toe with the protagonist. Of course, that’s assuming the protagonist’s skill level was from a “normal” playthrough.

With almost no information about the protagonist yet, I’d have to wait until Part 2 of the main story begins to investigate their tendencies.

I could only hope this wasn’t one of those clichés where the protagonist doesn’t exist in this world.

“T-then maid…”

“Yes?”

“If you really thought my sparring just now looked impressive… could you do one thing for me?”

“A request?”

“…Yeah. Like when I win in sparring matches against father back at the mansion.”

“At the mansion, when the master and young master spar…”

When he mentioned that specific scenario while making his request, I naturally recalled what happened the night before last.

Feeling a sense of danger, I quickly covered my chest and took a step back.

“N-no! If it were a condition for winning against the master, maybe, but I can’t offer my chest for this match! I-I won’t deny that Prince Karaham was a formidable opponent, but…”

“T-that’s not it, maid! I wasn’t going to ask for anything weird like that!”

“…Is that so?”

“…If you think it’s strange when you hear it, you can refuse right away. At least I won’t ask for anything inappropriate like… um, touching your… that, like at the inn.”

“……”

For a moment, I thought that beating someone of Karaham’s caliber might warrant offering my chest, but I quickly dismissed that dangerous thought.

If I started loosening my boundaries like this, the line would just keep getting blurrier over time.

Offering my chest as a reward every time he beat someone like Karaham would essentially mean declaring that he could grope me regularly throughout his entire academy life.

With my regular sparring sessions with Harold nearly over, there was no need to create new excuses.

…Still, since Ethan said it wasn’t that kind of request, it was worth hearing out.

He did say I could refuse if it sounded strange.

“If you say it’s not a strange request, I’ll hear you out before deciding, young master Ethan.”

“…Remember how I said if the entrance exam ended early, we could explore the island this afternoon?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Meeting Prince Karaham delayed us a bit, but it’s still before lunch. I think we have plenty of time to look around the island – what do you think?”

“Yes. I believe we have a few hours to spare as well.”

“T-then!”

For some reason, Ethan looked extremely nervous as he stammered through his request, which made me tense up too.

But when I finally heard what he wanted to ask, I felt a bit let down.

“While we’re exploring the island together today… can we just hold hands while we walk around?”

“…Hold hands? You and me?”

“Yeah…”

“Is this some figurative expression about cooperating…?”

“…Just take it at face value.”

…What kind of request was this, suddenly asking to hold hands while sightseeing?

Well, it was certainly better than asking to grope my chest…

While the idea of holding hands while walking around wasn’t particularly appealing, there wasn’t any good reason to refuse either.

“Very well, young master. I can grant that request easily.”

“…Really, maid?”

“Yes. For men to hold ha- I mean, if simply holding my hand while walking is your request, young master, I can certainly accommodate that.”

Honestly, even if it hadn’t been a reward for beating Karaham, I probably wouldn’t have refused.

It’s not like I’m some celebrity – what’s the big deal about holding hands?

After already offering my chest, overreacting about something like hand-holding would be strange.

The fact that he was asking permission from his exclusive maid to do something as simple as hold hands was overly considerate to begin with. As my master, he could have just ordered me to do something like that.

If it were actually two men holding hands, it might have been embarrassing, but my current appearance was that of Lilith.

As long as I acted confident, it wouldn’t look strange, so without hesitation, I took Ethan’s hand and started walking.

-Tap.

“Shall we go, young master?”

“Ah, um…! A-are there any places you’d like to go, maid?”

“I’ve heard there are many good restaurants for lunch on the western streets of Knowledge Island. Now that your entrance exam is over, perhaps we should start by satisfying your hunger?”

“Y-yes. That sounds good…”

Except for times when we needed to separate our hands for meals and such, we spent the entire day touring around Knowledge Island hand-in-hand until evening.

Even though it was still winter, my face felt strangely warm the whole time.