Cold (1)

Winter break had arrived, and I returned to Blackwood Mansion after several months.

Having grown more familiar with this space than even the homes I’d lived in during my past life or as Rilith, I found myself unable to sleep properly from the very first night back. Eventually, I woke up earlier than usual from my bed.

“……”

Judging by the faint number ‘4’ displayed on the Time Stone, it was roughly around 3:30 AM.

Considering I had only arrived at the mansion late last night, had a simple meal, washed up, and gone to bed, I’d barely slept for three hours.

‘…Can’t sleep.’

Perhaps it was because I’d taken a nap leaning against Ethan’s lap in the carriage. Or maybe my body felt uncomfortable from the unfamiliar sleeping arrangements after so long.

Or… perhaps it was simply because the familiar warmth wasn’t beside me.

I silently wished it wasn’t the last reason. If I got too used to having Ethan by my side every night, it would only make leaving this mansion in the future even harder.

Truthfully, even if I didn’t end up marrying Ethan, there wasn’t necessarily a need to leave Blackwood Mansion. But staying here wouldn’t do me any good either.

If I remained in this mansion and continued working as a maid, I’d just keep witnessing Ethan and his future wife’s affectionate displays-something that would only twist my heart further.

It was better to just follow the contract I’d made with Harold and leave for somewhere far away once my four years at the academy were over.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

Since I was already awake, lying in bed any longer wouldn’t do anything, so I decided to start my day a little early.

Back when I was an ordinary maid, waking up at 4 or 5 AM was common. Thinking of this as just waking up a bit earlier than that made it easier to accept.

After brushing my hair, dressing in my maid uniform, and adjusting my headdress, I stepped out of the exclusive maid’s waiting room with quiet footsteps, careful not to wake Ethan sleeping in the next room.

‘…Since I can’t sleep, maybe I should take a walk.’

As an exclusive maid, going too far wasn’t an option, but a stroll around the mansion grounds should be fine.

With that thought, I descended the mansion’s stairs to the first-floor lobby, where I spotted Dietmeyer busily moving about even at this early hour.

“Miss Lillith?”

“Good morning, Head Butler Destroyer-nim.”

“…It’s Dietmeyer Colin Evercroft. It’s been a while since I’ve had to remind you of that.”

“Yes. I actually know. I was just joking since it’s been so long.”

“……?”

For a moment, Dietmeyer’s expression twisted in confusion, as if a question mark had appeared above his head, before he quickly composed himself and offered a compliment-or something vaguely resembling one.

“You’ve truly become a refined lady, Miss Lillith.”

“…Is that a compliment, Head Butler-nim?”

“In other words, it means you resemble a noble lady, so I wouldn’t call it an insult.”

Seeing Dietmeyer respond so naturally, it was clear why he was the head butler.

As I quietly pondered the meaning behind his words about me becoming a “refined lady,” Dietmeyer smoothly continued his explanation.

“Becoming more like a noble lady is a good thing, Miss Lillith. While I highly commend your attitude in fulfilling your duties as a maid, you can’t remain in a subordinate position forever, can you?”

“…Huh?”

“After all, in a few years, you’ll find yourself in a position opposite to that of a maid… Ah, ahem.”

“What? What do you mean by that, Head Butler-nim?”

“No, nothing at all. Please forget I said anything, Miss Lillith.”

“……”

Dietmeyer awkwardly cleared his throat and brushed off his own words.

Seeing the head butler employ one of the two most infuriating conversational tactics in the world made me want to press him for answers even more.

“Head Butler-nim? Why do you say something so intriguing only to stop halfway?”

“…I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re referring to, Miss Lillith.”

“You just said it to me. That I’ll be in a position opposite to a maid’s duties in a few years. Is there some personnel change planned for me?”

“I’m quite busy, so I’ll take my leave for now. We can talk another time, Miss Lillith.”

“Wait-“

Before I could stop him, Dietmeyer dashed up the stairs and disappeared to another floor with lightning speed.

Once he fled like that, there was no way for a mere maid like me to chase after him. Even with my quasi-noble status, the head butler of Blackwood Mansion generally held a higher position.

As I watched Dietmeyer flee, leaving only questions behind, I mulled over the meaning of his last words.

‘Does he know I’ll be leaving the mansion in two years?’

That was the only explanation I could think of. It wasn’t like I, an exclusive maid, would be promoted to something like a head maid or anything.

The real question was how the butler had figured out my post-Blackwood graduation plans. I hadn’t even mentioned them to Isabelle or Katarina-it was something I’d been planning alone.

Well, dwelling on this now wouldn’t get me anywhere. A head butler probably had a rough idea of how long the servants under him would stay in the mansion.

The best way to shake off these complicated thoughts, along with the lingering drowsiness, was still a walk.

-Whoosh.

“…Huu.”

The early winter morning air was a bit chilly, but wearing my winter maid uniform kept me from feeling too cold. Besides, wrapping myself in mana was enough to withstand the cold to some extent.

The temperature was bearable once my body warmed up from moving around-perfect for waking myself up.

Thus, with my winter maid uniform as the first layer of warmth and mana as the second, I leisurely strolled around the perimeter of Blackwood Mansion.

‘Come to think of it…’

If I had faithfully fulfilled my debt maid contract, I probably wouldn’t even be in this mansion right now.

It had been about eight years since I was first sold to this mansion and seven since I regained my past life’s memories.

Of course, even after paying off my debt, I could have chosen to stay at Blackwood Mansion and continue working. In fact, that’s exactly what I was doing now.

If Ethan had remained the same as he was seven years ago, I would have fled this mansion without looking back the moment my contract ended. But the reason I stayed was because Ethan had changed so much.

…In a way, seeing him gradually transform into someone different from the original story gave me a strange sense of fulfillment. After all, the most positive change I’d brought to this world by reincarnating was none other than Ethan himself.

‘If it weren’t for me, Ethan would be preparing to fight Gyeotmwa Josyegigot’s invasion this winter break instead of resting.’

If Gyeotmwa Josyegigot were to invade the mansion now as in the original story, could Ethan and I win against him together?

In a 1v2 fight like the original, it didn’t seem entirely impossible. After all, in actual 1v1 spars, Ethan occasionally managed to win against Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, so their skills were fairly matched.

With my buffs and support, we could probably subdue him. …Well, it was a meaningless hypothetical at this point.

As I entertained these pointless thoughts while leisurely circling three-fourths of the mansion, I spotted a figure wielding a sword in the training grounds-the silhouette of the second most familiar man in this world to me.

-Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Hmm?”

The person swinging his sword with such sharpness that one might mistake it for the winter morning wind was none other than Harold.

True to his title as Sword Master, the head of the Blackwood family noticed my approach immediately and turned to face me.

“Hmm, it’s you.”

“Did you sleep well, Master?”

“You’re up early. Here for training?”

…Seriously? I’m not even a swordswoman.

Shaking my head slowly at Harold, who seemed to think I was like him for being up this early to train, I replied.

“I just woke up a bit early and decided to take a walk, Master.”

“I see. I was going to ask you to spar if you were here for training.”

“I appreciate the offer, but you know my skills are nowhere near yours, Master.”

Truthfully, throughout the entire last semester, I hadn’t managed to win a single match against Harold in swordsmanship class.

Of course, the curriculum had become more difficult compared to the previous year, and the desperate feint tactic I’d used back then wasn’t something I could pull off twice.

Even assuming equal skill, a longsword held many advantages over a dagger, so even if Harold used only one hand, victory would still be far from guaranteed.

“Fair point. How about a handicap, then? I’ll use only one hand.”

“Huh?”

“You use both hands, I’ll use one. That should be a decent handicap. What do you say?”

“…No, even with one hand, there’s no way I could win against you-“

“If you manage to land even one hit on me while I’m using one hand, I’ll raise your last semester’s grade from a C+ to a B+.”

“Assume your stance, Master. No take-backs.”

“I truly admire that attitude of yours.”

And so, the sudden early-morning spar with Harold began.

Starting at 4 AM, our duel lasted nearly an hour, and the result of my attempt to raise my grade by facing a Sword Master at dawn was…

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

The very next day, it became the reason I spent the entire day bedridden.