Attempted Noble Murder (3)

“M-Maid.”

When I opened the door to the exclusive maid’s waiting room as usual, what greeted me wasn’t the security guards or Harold as expected, but the disgusting face of that brat.

Seeing this bastard’s face first thing in the morning… honestly, it didn’t really matter.

After all, the first duty of an exclusive maid was waking up this little shit and cleaning his bedding.

For the past three months, this was the face I’d seen first thing every morning, so any special irritation about it had long since passed.

…Though I really didn’t want to see this bastard’s face on what might be my last day in this world.

I could roughly guess why he’d appeared before me, so I responded as calmly as possible.

I had no desire to be treated like this little shit’s plaything until the very last moment.

“M-Maid…”

“Enjoying the view?”

“H-huh?”

“Not satisfied with nearly strangling me yesterday, now you’re here to watch the maid who cursed at you being dragged to the slaughterhouse? Must be quite entertaining for you.”

“M-Maid…! N-no…! Keep your voice down!”

“……?”

Thinking he’d come to mock my final moments like Aeria and Alicia had, I’d responded as emotionlessly as possible.

But for some reason, upon hearing my words, the brat began fidgeting nervously and glancing toward the hallway leading to Harold’s room.

“Is there someone else over there?”

“N-no… D-dad probably hasn’t woken up yet… Phew…”

“……?”

…What’s suddenly up with this kid?

Normally this arrogant brat wouldn’t care about anyone’s opinion, Harold included, so why’s he suddenly being cautious about being seen?

And his fidgeting reaction when I spoke was strange too.

No matter how you looked at it, this brat was acting weird this morning.

Not that it really mattered to me, with potentially just hours left to live.

“N-not here to mock you…”

“Pardon?”

“C-came to… apologize to the maid…”

…What nonsense is this?

Given this brat’s personality, there’s no way he’d sincerely apologize to a mere maid like Lilith, so he must have some ulterior motive.

For example, pretending to bow his head in apology only to suddenly headbutt me.

Or maybe he wants to see my reaction to the apology so he can humiliate me.

Make me act all happy like I’ve been forgiven for yesterday, then crush my spirits to maximize the despair.

“……”

“M-maid…?”

…But judging by this idiot’s intelligence, I doubt he’s capable of such sophisticated torment.

Sure, he might get smarter as he grows older, but right now he’s only at elementary to middle school level intelligence.

Without proper education or essential upbringing, his actual reasoning ability is probably even lower.

I’m not taking his words at face value, but objectively speaking, it’s hard to imagine he has some deeper scheme here.

I get the strange feeling his apology might actually be sincere.

“By apology, do you mean for yesterday’s incident?”

“Y-yeah, that and… other things too…”

“Other things?”

“All the pranks I played on you… I’m sorry…”

“……”

“M-maid…?”

…Fucking hell.

If you’re going to be a little shit, stay a little shit.

Why start showing remorse now at the last moment? What am I supposed to do with this?

If I don’t accept this apology, I’ll look like the bad guy here.

It’s not like this brat’s apology will erase all the horrible things he’s done to me.

And my punishment is probably still going forward regardless.

If only he’d apologized a bit sooner, maybe I wouldn’t have tried to strangle him.

…Well, it’s all meaningless speculation now.

Objectively speaking, accepting the apology would cause the least trouble going forward.

“I understand, Young Master Ethan.”

“H-huh…?”

“Since you seem sincere in your apology to me, I have no choice but to accept it.”

For the sake of whoever might replace me as this brat’s exclusive maid, accepting his apology now would prevent future complications.

If I told him to shove his apology up his ass instead, while it might feel momentarily satisfying, it could potentially revert this brat back to his old ways.

All my suffering would have been for nothing, and the next maid might endure the same horrors.

That next maid could even be Isabelle or Katarina.

‘I’ll endure this shitty situation alone. No need to drag innocent girls into it.’

By accepting his apology, Ethan might actually grow somewhat as a person.

Maybe he won’t become the irredeemable villain from the original game.

At least there’s more chance of that than if his courageous apology had been rejected.

Hearing my response, Ethan looked up at me with slight surprise and cautiously asked:

“S-so you forgive me…?”

“Forgiveness is what superiors grant to erase their subordinates’ mistakes. In that sense, I cannot forgive you.”

“H-huh…?”

“So just understand that I’ve accepted your apology. That should be enough to ease your conscience.”

“T-then you…”

“I’ll also refrain from mentioning past incidents again. Let’s leave it at that.”

“……”

…Though it’s more likely I won’t be in any position to mention them anyway.

The dead tell no tales. The memory of how annoying and shitty Ethan was these past three months will probably die with me.

Still, this incident might have sobered up this brat somewhat, so at least he might restrain himself from tormenting my successor like he did me.

…Ah, right. I almost forgot something important again.

“…Young Master Ethan.”

“Y-yes!”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you grant me some time to say goodbye to my colleagues?”

“G-goodbye…? Where are you going…?”

“…Well, wherever it is, it won’t be pleasant.”

As far as I can guess, it’s either a shithole or the afterlife.

“Even if you’ve apologized, attempted murder of nobility is a serious crime. Especially since your father dotes on you so much – there’s no avoiding the death penalty.”

“N-no, that’s…”

“But if my colleagues hear I’ve been executed or exiled, they’ll worry unnecessarily. At least let me tell Isabelle and Katarina they don’t need to be concerned.”

“No, maid…”

“Please, Young Master Ethan. It shouldn’t take long – could you show me this mercy?”

It felt slightly ridiculous bowing my head to this brat, but it was just momentary humiliation.

If it spared Isabelle and Katarina from worrying about me, it was worth it.

And personally, I’d like to talk with the two people I’ve grown closest to in this world one last time.

I could also share some future knowledge that might help them.

All things considered, meeting them now held significant value.

“I-I didn’t tell Dad so it’s okay…!”

“Pardon?”

“Y-you’re worried I told Dad, right? If I told him you strangled me…you’d become someone I could never see again…”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“So it’s fine… I didn’t tell Dad about yesterday…”

“……What?”

…Wait, so Harold didn’t come to arrest me last night.

No guards came to kill me in my sleep or this morning.

Was it simply because this brat didn’t tell his father?

“……”

Given how in the game Ethan would go crying to Harold about anything he couldn’t handle, it’s hard to believe this kid’s claim.

Noticing my skeptical look, he urgently reiterated that he hadn’t told.

“R-really… Really didn’t tell, maid…”

“…Are you using your silence as leverage to command my obedience from now on…?”

“N-no! Just didn’t tell… Thought if I told Dad about you…I’d never see you again…”

“……”

“Didn’t want that… So I didn’t tell…”

…Should I believe this?

The lack of Blackwood guards coming for me suggests he’s telling the truth about not reporting it.

But the idea that he stayed silent purely out of concern for me… that’s hard to swallow.

…Well, whether I believe him or not doesn’t change my situation.

Rather than agonizing over what hasn’t happened yet, I might as well accept it for my own peace of mind.

“I see. Thank you for your mercy, Young Master Ethan.”

“Y-you believe me?”

“Yes. Since you say you’ll overlook my momentary mistake, I can only trust your words and express my deepest gratitude.”

“N-no… It was my fault…”

…No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem like the same Ethan I know.

Well, that’s that. The brat becoming slightly more human is nothing but good news for me.

First, I should return to the duties I abandoned yesterday to maintain appearances.

“Then I should start with cleaning your room that I couldn’t finish yesterday. May I enter your bedroom?”

“Y-yes, come in…”

…Honestly, I don’t believe people can change overnight.

This behavior might just be a temporary reaction to yesterday’s terror, and tomorrow he might revert to being the usual Ethan who makes my life hell.

If that happens…I’ll deal with it then.

I already thought I was dead once – worrying about an uncertain future seems foolish now.

For now, believing Ethan has changed slightly makes me feel better.

At least Isabelle and Katarina won’t have to worry about me for now…

“……Ah.”

“What’s wrong, maid?”

“…Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Come to think of it, just moments ago I was making a big deal about saying goodbye to them.

If I’d had that emotional farewell and then kept working here, how awkward would that have been?

Imagining that near-miss future scenario makes my face burn with embarrassment.

…Almost added another cringe-worthy memory to my collection.