Dormitory Commotion (2)

“Are you in your right mind, Young Master Ethan?”

As soon as I heard Ethan’s declaration that he would invade the narrow servants’ waiting room instead of using the perfectly good large bed, those blunt words automatically flew out of my mouth toward him.

Surprisingly, the first to react to my words wasn’t Ethan but rather Isabelle.

“Lillith?!”

“Even if I am using the marriage/engagement dormitory with Young Master Ethan, that doesn’t change the fact that you are the highest-ranking person here. Yet you’re saying you’ll crawl into the cramped room meant for servants instead of taking the best sleeping quarters? I can’t possibly believe these are the words of someone in their right mind.”

“Lillith! Y-you can’t speak to the Young Master like that…!”

“…No, it’s fine. I’ll talk with Lillith, Isabelle. You step aside for now.”

“Y-yes…”

With Ethan’s words telling her not to interfere, Isabelle cautiously stepped back from between me and Ethan.

In the ensuing face-off, Ethan responded to my blunt remark.

“I can understand why you’d say that, Lillith. It must seem strange to you, my personal maid, that I’d choose to live in the servants’ waiting room.”

“Strange doesn’t even begin to cover it. This isn’t something that should even be considered. How could someone like Young Master Ethan even suggest such eccentric behavior…?”

“But before we’re nobles and servants, you and I are a man and a woman. Naturally, living spaces between genders should be separated.”

“You and Isabelle can use the servants’ waiting room, while you, Young Master, can use the spacious room alone. That solves the problem.”

“…Lillith, you just said it yourself. The ‘cramped’ room meant for servants. Do you really think two people can live together in a tiny room with only one single bed?”

“Well…”

Since Ethan was also making a valid point, I momentarily stumbled over my words, unable to respond immediately.

Seizing the opportunity, Ethan casually dropped the absurd statement that he should use the servants’ waiting room.

“Think of it simply, Lillith. It’s just a matter of a single room and a double room. And as the man, I’ll take the single room alone.”

“…No, even if it’s a bit cramped, it’s more appropriate for Isabelle and me to use the single room. Isabelle already agreed to follow me to the academy, fully prepared for this. Right, Isabelle?”

“M-me?!”

“……”

“……”

“I’ve shared small rooms with Lillith since my days as a junior maid, so I don’t mind sharing a cramped space with her…”

“You heard her, didn’t you, Young Master? Isabelle agrees with my opinion-“

“…But even so, since you’re the highest-ranking person here, Young Master, the final decision still rests with you.”

“…So you say, Lillith.”

“……”

“…I’m sorry, Lillith.”

With Isabelle’s unexpected betrayal, the debate shifted to a 2 vs. 1 atmosphere.

Well, strictly speaking, as a servant of the Blackwood family, Isabelle had no choice but to quietly follow whatever decision Ethan made.

In any case, if I couldn’t convince Ethan himself, he wouldn’t back down in this argument. If this continued, Ethan might actually end up moving into the servants’ waiting room.

Pushing the young master I serve into the servants’ quarters while two maids laugh and live comfortably in the spacious room? What kind of nonsense is that?

No matter how much I act based on my survival and self-interest, I still had at least a shred of conscience.

No matter how much Ethan insisted on moving into the servants’ waiting room, I wasn’t rotten enough to take his words at face value.

“Even if Isabelle says she’ll follow your decision, my opinion remains unchanged, Young Master Ethan.”

“…Lillith.”

“As the future heir of the Blackwood family, it’s only right for you to use the spacious room. As someone who has taken on the role of your personal maid for the four years you’ll be at the academy, this is something I absolutely cannot compromise on.”

“…Then what about the two people using the single room? One of them would have to sleep on the floor, wouldn’t they?”

“If necessary, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“…No, I can’t allow Lillith to sleep on the floor. That’s why I want you to use the bed outside. I can’t accept anything less than that.”

In the midst of this sharp standoff where neither of us would yield, Ethan and I continued our conversation while glaring at each other.

Watching our exchange, Isabelle cautiously interjected with a suggestion.

“…I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, Young Master and Lillith, but may I make one suggestion?”

“Huh?”

“A suggestion?”

“First, Young Master, you can’t bear the thought of Lillith possibly having to sleep on the floor, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And Lillith, you can’t compromise on the Young Master living in a cramped room?”

“Yes.”

“Then, wouldn’t it solve the problem if the two of you-the Young Master and Lillith-shared the spacious room together?”

“……Huh?”

“……Eh?”

Wait, now that I think about it, wouldn’t that actually work?

After all, the thing I couldn’t compromise on was Ethan living in worse conditions than me, his personal maid. If he just moved into the larger room, I wouldn’t have any complaints.

And the reason Ethan was being so stubborn was because he was worried about Isabelle and me taking turns sleeping on the floor in a cramped room.

In the end, the solution was simple: Isabelle would use the single room, and Ethan and I would share the double room.

As expected of clever Isabelle. She’s sharp when it comes to things like this.

“Since the dormitory room was originally approved for use by the Young Master and Lillith as a marriage/engagement couple, it’s actually more appropriate for the two of you to share the spacious room.”

“…Wait a minute.”

“Isabelle makes a valid point, Young Master. I cannot compromise on you using the servants’ waiting room, and you cannot accept Isabelle and me using the single room. This seems like the perfect solution.”

“W-wait, Lillith. Are you really okay with this?”

“Huh?”

“Are you really fine with concluding that you and I will share the same room?”

“……?”

Why is he suddenly making such a fuss over something as simple as sharing a room?

It’s not like this would be our first time living in the same room. Just ten days ago, we shared an inn room for four nights.

Since he already said earlier that there was no ulterior meaning behind the dormitory application, it’s unlikely he’s overthinking this just because we’re sharing a room.

As for any other motives Ethan might have… surely not…

“Young Master Ethan, surely you’re not…”

“N-no, Lillith. What I’m worried about is just…”

“…planning from the very beginning to share a room with Isabelle instead of me…”

“No, that’s not it, Lillith.”

“I don’t think that’s the case either, Lillith.”

“……Right.”

…Well, if that had been his goal from the start, he wouldn’t have taken me on as his personal maid in the first place.

Fortunately, thanks to their calm reactions, the strange misunderstanding didn’t deepen like last time. As I fell silent, Ethan continued the conversation.

“What I’m worried about is that Lillith might feel uncomfortable under the gaze of a man like me.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Even though we’ve lived in the same space before, that was only for three or four days, wasn’t it? A semester at the academy lasts at least three or four months. Can you really guarantee that nothing awkward will happen between us living in the same room for that long?”

“Awkward how?”

“You know, the kind of accidents that can happen when men and women live together in the same room.”

“…I’m sorry. I don’t understand, Young Master Ethan.”

“…For example, imagine if, while sharing a room with me, I accidentally saw you changing clothes. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing for you?”

“……Ah.”

“Of course, we can reduce the chances of something like that happening if we’re careful, but we can’t eliminate it entirely. What I’m saying is that it would be better to prevent such possibilities from the start.”

Ethan’s words did make some sense.

No, more than just making sense, they were oddly persuasive-especially from the perspective of someone who had played 『Luminor Academy』 for 2,000 hours in my past life.

Usually, the first event CG you unlock when using the “couple dormitory” is the very scenario Ethan just described-accidentally seeing the heroine changing clothes.

After all, when living in the same room, it’s only natural that you might catch glimpses of each other’s bare skin. And for setting up that kind of situation, there’s no better scene than this.

Of course, unlike the protagonist who uses the couple dormitory with heroines for lewd purposes, Ethan and I were in this situation due to mutual interests. Still, as he said, accidentally seeing each other changing clothes was a common occurrence.

Ethan had insisted on using the single-room servants’ waiting room to prevent such embarrassing situations from happening in the first place.

‘Given that reasoning, I can understand why he reacted like that.’

Now I finally understood why Ethan was so adamant about taking the single room instead of the double.

Given Ethan’s current personality, he would undoubtedly feel guilty if he accidentally saw me changing clothes.

Of course, I didn’t particularly want Ethan to accidentally see Isabelle changing clothes-or vice versa.

…But if it was me being seen instead of Isabelle, that was just barely within acceptable limits.

“It doesn’t matter, Young Master Ethan.”

“…What?”

“…Lillith?”

“Even if you accidentally see me changing clothes, it doesn’t bother me. There’s no need for me to get worked up over an unintentional accident.”

“Are you serious, Lillith?”

“I’m always serious, Young Master Ethan.”

It would be ridiculous for me-a former man in my past life-to be so afraid of a man’s gaze that I couldn’t even change clothes.

Besides, since it was Ethan, I didn’t feel particularly resistant to the idea.

I’d already shown him my chest multiple times in the past, so there was no reason to feel embarrassed about being seen in my underwear now.

The time for feeling shame over something like that had long passed. …Though it wasn’t exactly by my own choice.

More importantly, if I acted like I didn’t care, the issue of dividing the living spaces between the three of us would be resolved smoothly.

That’s why I deliberately answered with shameless indifference.

“I didn’t expect Young Master Ethan, who has already seen my chest, to fuss over something like this.”

“…That’s a different matter. When you showed me your chest before, it was with your permission. This is about the possibility of seeing you without your consent…”

“Yes. Even if it’s against my will, I won’t mind. …If you find that hard to believe, I can show you right here.”

-Ziiip.

“W-wait, Lillith! What are you doing?!”

“L-Lillith?!”

Ignoring Ethan and Isabelle’s shock, I simply unzipped the back of my maid dress and let the clothes I was wearing slide down.

In an instant, the maid dress that had been covering my body pooled at my feet.

“Kyaaah?! L-Lillith?!”

“How about it, Young Master Ethan? Haven’t you already seen this body of mine many times in your room? Even if you see me like this, I won’t mind in the slightest.”

“O-okay, I get it! Just put your clothes back on, Lillith!”

“Unless you agree to share the double room with me, I have no choice but to prove it like this. …If you still don’t believe my resolve, I can even strip down to my underwear right here to prove that I truly don’t-“

“O-okay, Lillith! I believe you! We’ll share the room! Just put your clothes back on already!”

Struggling between instinct and reason, Ethan desperately averted his gaze and ordered me to get dressed.

Now that I’d achieved my goal, there was no reason for me to parade around in my underwear like some shameless woman.

Since I had planned to change into sleepwear anyway, I simply took out the clothes I’d brought and changed into them.

“Y-you’re too bold, Lillith… Haaah…”

…Ethan’s reaction was understandable, but why was Isabelle-another girl-acting so embarrassed?

In any case, thanks to my bold decision, the issue of who would stay in which room was resolved.

Ethan and I would share the spacious room, while Isabelle would use the servants’ waiting room alone.

…Thank goodness he gave in before I had to strip down to my underwear.

Even I would feel a little embarrassed doing something that shameless.