The Familiar Sense of Disconnection

The morning commute after spending the night in the same bed with Ethan for the first time in a while.

“Haah, hmm…”

Perhaps due to lingering fatigue from being unable to fall into deep sleep all night, I unconsciously let out a yawn that was different from usual.

Ethan, who had been quietly observing this, turned a slightly worried gaze toward me and asked:

“Lilith, are you okay? You look especially tired today.”

“…I’m fine, Young Master Ethan. My apologies.”

“How about taking one more day off if you’re tired?”

“I appreciate the concern, but taking more time off from the academy could interfere with my studies. Also, as your exclusive maid, I wouldn’t be able to assist you properly.”

“…If Lilith says so, I won’t insist.”

…As if he knows who’s really responsible for my fatigue.

All night long, I couldn’t sleep easily because I was conscious of Ethan sleeping right beside me. Despite being physically exhausted from various matters.

Until recently, I could go to bed comfortably whether Ethan or Isabelle slept next to me without giving it much thought.

But just because we’ve added the temporary label of “lovers,” thoughts like “what if Ethan tries to assault me in my sleep?” tormented me all night.

After all these thoughts, I finally managed to fall asleep around 3-4 AM.

Since an exclusive maid’s wake-up time is 6 AM, two or three hours of sleep wasn’t enough to fully recover my fatigue.

And so, forcing myself awake and dragging myself outside was what happened this morning.

“……”

“Lilith, is there something on my face?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“…Then why have you been staring at me like that since earlier?”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t stare at you, Young Master Ethan?”

“……Huh?”

“Though temporary, aren’t we currently in a romantic relationship?”

“Ah, r-right… Sorry, Lilith. That was a strange question.”

If I were to suggest using separate beds now or installing a partition curtain, he’d undoubtedly find it suspicious.

He might even misinterpret it as me being conscious of him and start making that smug face again like before.

Had I known this would happen, I should’ve installed a partition curtain back in the first semester when we weren’t lovers yet. At that time, I had the perfect excuse of securing privacy.

Back then, I didn’t realize sharing a bed would feel this awkward.

Of course, until just a few days ago, I never imagined Ethan and I would become temporary lovers, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Don’t fall asleep during morning classes, Lilith. I’ll come to the Magic Department building for lunch, so wait for me there.”

“…Yes, understood.”

My heart still seems to be mistaking what happened at the lake for feelings of love, as it continues to race uncontrollably in Ethan’s presence.

After parting ways at the crossroads, I walked toward the Magic Department building with a slightly calmer heart.

The bed situation… I’ll figure something out with time.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Although the awkward label of “temporary lovers” has been added between Ethan and me, his attitude hasn’t noticeably changed compared to before.

We still have lunch together as usual, take light walks around campus during spare time to chat, and after all classes end, we meet again to return to our roles as young master and exclusive maid.

None of the things I worried about-like him suddenly trying to forcibly close the distance or surprising me with sudden physical contact-have happened at all.

…Even as temporary lovers, I was prepared to accept him being somewhat bolder with me.

But given that our master-servant relationship has lasted overwhelmingly longer than any romantic one, this was inevitable.

If someone who never consciously thought of themselves as a lover was suddenly told to act like one overnight, even I would be flustered.

At least in this world, based on what I’ve observed, Ethan is a lifelong single with zero dating experience, so it’s only natural he’s not used to handling women.

-Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop…

“Ah, Lilith. This way.”

“…Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

…Yet he meticulously follows all these little romantic mannerisms, which is strangely frustrating.

The moment the sound of hooves and carriage wheels came from behind, Ethan guided me to the inner side of the path. While I appreciated this small courtesy, something about it felt off.

Isn’t this… not how lovers usually act?

This feels no different from how a butler would escort his lady.

The oddly reversed master-servant dynamic left me inexplicably irritated. After all, Ethan is clearly my master, and I’m his exclusive maid.

I guess I’ll have to take the lead here.

For Ethan’s sake, I had no intention of neglecting my duties as a temporary lover either.

Though I’ve never been in a relationship in my past life either, I at least have over 20 years of experience being male.

I know perfectly well what kind of behavior would make a guy this age happy.

…But going all out from the first day as lovers would seem a bit crude, so I’ll start lightly for now.

-Tap.

“…Li-Lilith?!”

“…Must you make such a fuss over something so trivial, Young Master Ethan? Holding hands is common among lovers, isn’t it?”

“Ah, uh. Sorry, Lilith. Right, we’re lovers now, yeah.”

Ethan needlessly raised his voice, drawing unwanted attention.

This ruined my plan to casually grab his hand from below, but letting go now would feel like a blow to my pride.

So I gripped his hand a little tighter to ensure he wouldn’t pull away in surprise.

-Squeeze.

“……”

“……”

Whether it was Ethan’s warmth transmitted through our hands or something else, my face felt strangely hot.

After that, Ethan and I walked slowly to the student council room without making eye contact even once.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Welcome, Prince Ethan. And Miss Lilith.”

“Good day, Princess Seraphine.”

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

“The weather outside must be quite cold. Both of you have such flushed faces.”

“……”

“……”

After formally greeting Seraphine for the first time in a while, Ethan and I entered the student council room.

As soon as we stepped inside, Luke-now fully accustomed to exclusive maid duties-handed us two cups of chamomile tea.

“Tea to warm you up.”

“…Thanks.”

“…Thank you.”

…At this rate, getting any warmer might actually make me overheat.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse Luke’s kindness, so I quietly accepted the herbal tea.

After one sip, a pleasant warmth spread through my body.

“You came early again today, Princess Seraphine.”

“I just arrived too, Prince Ethan. You two came in just as I was about to start work.”

“Should I begin with administrative tasks today, Your Highness?”

“Yes, Miss Lilith. Come to think of it, we didn’t have time to properly greet each other last time. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes. Thanks to your concern, I’ve recovered well.”

“More so thanks to Hero Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt and Miss Celista than me.”

Well, that’s true. Without those two being there, I’d be dead by now.

Though I later heard they could arrive at the lakeside in time because they were in the middle of talking with Seraphine when the kraken appeared, allowing them to receive the report quickly.

So in a way, Luke and Seraphine indirectly helped save my life too.

“Have you been well too, Miss Luke?”

“Yes, Miss Lilith.”

“…How are you handling the exclusive maid duties for Her Highness? Are you continuing just because I declined the princess’s offer…?”

“That’s not why I’m serving as an exclusive maid, so please don’t worry, Miss Lilith.”

“…Is that so?”

Considering the original story, Luke serving as an exclusive maid now feels oddly out of place.

There were a few routes in the game where Luke’s identity as a woman was revealed, but none where she deliberately became Seraphine’s exclusive maid like this.

So I wondered if my interference had forced Luke into unwanted maid duties, but…

Surprisingly, her response suggested she’s actually come to enjoy the role.

“During last semester’s evaluation match, I learned a lot from my battle with you, Miss Lilith. Especially how you protected your master from your position as an exclusive maid despite having such formidable skills. It was eye-opening.”

“Huh?”

“Not just as a bodyguard, but taking responsibility for every little detail of your master’s life while maintaining your position as an exclusive maid… I was only focused on hiding my weakness as a woman, but you helped me correct my perspective.”

“……What?”

“Back then, I was too foolish to understand your thinking, but inspired by you, I resolved to become a servant who could take full responsibility for every aspect of Princess Seraphine’s life as her exclusive maid. So my current position is entirely my choice.”

“Ah, yes, yes… I see…”

“Though I missed the chance to say it earlier, I’d like to apologize now, Miss Lilith.”

“I-I’ll accept your apology then. Thank you for being honest, Miss Luke.”

“As expected, Miss Lilith is magnanimous too.”

She seemed to have some major misunderstandings, but the atmosphere wasn’t right to correct her.

…Well, if she’s happy with it, who am I to interfere?