episode_0002

Ji Hwan Lee, an ordinary South Korean male college student.

That was my identity in the past life that I remember.

I didn’t live a spectacular life where I could remember every detail from childhood to college.

Just studying through middle and high school like everyone else, getting into a decent university in Seoul, and spending my college years there.

Although I never had a relationship for various reasons, I had a normal life planned out—making a few friends, getting decent grades in college, and entering a decent company upon graduation.

Looking back, living a life so extraordinary as to be transmigrated into a game was certainly not something I had experienced.

If there was anything related, it was that Luminaire Academy was my life game, and I had invested close to 2,000 hours of playtime in it.

…And writing steadily in the Luminaire Academy gallery, known as LuaGal, as a release ragpicker.

Fortunately, at the point when I regained my memory, the release was still a ragpicker… no, a pure body untouched by male experiences.

If I had been transmigrated while being a complete ragpicker to that son of a b*tch Hyundan, I would have really wanted to bite my tongue and commit suicide.

“Still, if I’m going to be transmigrated, I’d rather have been transmigrated before being sold to this house.”

Getting a job at Blackwood Manor and only regaining my memory after a year felt like a subtly malicious way of doing things.

It was like feeling trapped in a steamer where you couldn’t escape, slowly suffocating like a crab dying in hot water.

If things continued in the same way as the original game, the future I was going to face would be equally dreadful and predictable.

To summarize the situation I found myself in, for the next 7 years, I was destined to work as a maid for the Blackwood family.

As a condition to pay off my father’s gambling debts, working as a maid for the Blackwood family for 8 years was the choice made by me, ‘Rilis Rosewood,’ before regaining my memory.

Even excluding the past year, for the next 7 years, I was fated to work as a servant in this mansion without any chance of escape.

Perhaps there might be an opportunity to escape somehow after working for 7 years, but in the first place, this world was not an easy place to navigate as just an ordinary girl.

Trying to make enemies with a noble family like the Blackwoods and then fleeing was realistically an implausible story.

The Blackwood family is a prestigious aristocratic family.

Even if by some stroke of luck I managed to escape from the Blackwood estate, it wouldn’t be too difficult for the Blackwoods to capture an unknown common girl again.

Of course, mobilizing armed forces to capture one girl wouldn’t make sense, so they would probably let me go once I successfully escaped beyond their territory.

But when, in some way, I got entangled with the Blackwood family again, what awaited was a terrible doom from which there was no escape.

Turning me into a practical manual to show the consequences of insulting an aristocratic family.

It seemed better not to even think about reaching a future where I would be better off being Hyundan’s assistant as originally planned.

With the abilities Rilis possessed, simply living the life of an adventurer in a decent guild would probably suffice, but ultimately, being an adventurer meant accepting commissions from nobles to survive.

Even if I wanted to find a different stable job, there were probably very few places willing to hire an unknown woman without conditions, maybe just some shady establishments at best.

Therefore, escaping from Blackwood Manor and living in a different way was put on hold for now. Escaping in the first place wasn’t an easy task.

The most realistic approach was to fulfill the remaining 7 years of the mandatory contract and then gain independence, which seemed like the most ideal solution.

Another option was to receive “salvation” from the “protagonist” at Luminaire Academy and escape, but that also led to a shitty ending…

Using the ending where the protagonist saves you to escape from the Blackwood family posed two major issues.

One was that in order to meet the protagonist, one had to first accept the position of Ethan’s exclusive maid at Luminaire Academy.

The other was that after being saved by the protagonist, one had to stick with the protagonist throughout the story until reaching the ending.

In summary, it meant going through various ordeals with the villain before switching roles to become the protagonist and repeating the same role again.

Following the detestable release route of the game, Lily Rosewood’s story, was what was implied.

“Damn. That’s just not right…”

To escape from the villain, one had to become the villain’s exclusive maid and stay committed until entering the academy? It was absurd.

Moreover, after escaping from that bastard, one had to live as one of the other girls until the ending?

And if by some chance you entered a harem route or a release individual route as the protagonist, there was even a possibility that those few years could turn into a lifetime.

Instinctively shaking my head to dispel the repulsive methods, I muttered, “Let’s play it safe, let’s play it safe.”

Seven years may not be an incredibly short time, but it wasn’t an unbearable period either.

Just working as a maid for the Blackwood family provided a certain level of security, much safer than venturing out as an adventurer.

Moreover, Lily’s abilities were more suited for party hunting rather than solo activities, making it difficult to progress as a solo adventurer.

“Close my eyes for 7 years. Once the contract period is over, I’ll be in my mid-20s as Lily. If I diligently save money during this time, I should be able to gain independence somehow. Maybe settle down in a quiet rural village, start farming, or open a small shop in a small town…”

It was a story of the distant future that hadn’t arrived yet, but thinking about a future that would somehow work out didn’t seem so bad after all.

Just entering the world of Luminaire Academy, my favorite game, brought me unparalleled joy.

Except for the fact that I had transmigrated into this damn character, Lily, a clingy maid.

***

It had been exactly four days since I remembered my past life and lay on the bed.

“Lily, how are you feeling?”

“Oh, Isabelle…”

The colleague maid approaching me with a smile and speaking beside me was named Isabelle.

As mentioned before, she was a fellow maid who joined Blackwood Manor with me about a year ago.

Of course, back then, I hadn’t regained my memories from my past life, so our relationship must have been built when I was just Lily Rosewood.

Even though my memories from my past life had returned, I had no intention of treating Isabelle as a stranger.

Isabelle, who quickly learned maid duties due to her similar occupation background, had been a great help to me over the past year.

As mentioned before, the 18 years of life I’ve lived as Release did not completely disappear from two days ago.

Suddenly, memories of my previous life flooded in, adding about 20 more years of the past, making it feel like an impression rather than a complete loss.

So, at this moment, I was akin to a hybrid possessing the memories of 18-year-old Release Rosewood and 26-year-old Lee Ji-hwan.

Perhaps if I had reincarnated with the memory of being a boy since infancy, things might have been slightly better. As 18 years passed, I gradually accepted the reality of being a woman.

…No, if I had memories from that time, perhaps I wouldn’t have let my father fall into gambling debts or been sold as a maid to the Blackwood family.

No matter how much I think about it, the timing of this possession was absurd. If only I had regained my memories just a year earlier, things might have been much better now.

If the trigger for regaining memories was seeing Ethan’s face, then that couldn’t be helped.

“Release.”

“But it’s not too late yet. If we can endure for just seven more years, we can bid farewell to the Blackwoods forever. Then, in a distant city where there’s no Ethan or anyone else…”

“Release!”

“Ahh! You scared me!”

Isabel’s voice suddenly beside my right ear caused me to fall backward, clutching my buttocks.

Turning my gaze, I saw Isabel looking more surprised than I had expected, almost flustered.

“Are you okay, Release?!”

“Ow… it hurts so much…”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know you’d be this startled…”

With hands neatly folded, Isabel bowed her head, sincerely apologizing.

Seeing her face, I felt no inclination to get angry, so I quickly got up and dusted off my rear.

I must admit, it was partly my fault for getting lost in my own thoughts while conversing with her.

“It’s okay. It was my fault for zoning out during our conversation.”

“Are you really okay?”

“I am. My strength has always been my physical resilience, at least to the point where I won’t get hurt easily.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that…”

…Come to think of it, physical resilience was an advantage from my past life.

Moreover, considering I died in an accident in my previous life, it wasn’t even an advantage.

Of course, pondering over that now seemed pointless.

“But Release, why were you so deep in thought instead of cleaning all of a sudden? Even when I called you next to me…”

“It’s nothing important, so you don’t need to worry…”

“And since the day before yesterday, you seem off… Could you still be in pain?”

“It’s nothing like that. My body is perfectly fine.”

My body may be fine, but my mind is worn out, which is the real issue.

There are countless problems ahead, yet nothing has been resolved, causing my anxiety to grow.

Fortunately, I managed to regain memories from my past life before becoming Ethan’s exclusive maid, providing a means to prepare, but as a mere servant bound by debt, there was little I could do immediately.

Especially since I was forbidden from leaving the mansion due to being a long-term contract servant sold into servitude, with no one lower in status within the mansion except for me, a common maid.

Among the maids, there was no room for casual treatment towards senior maids.

Ultimately, when scrutinized, the only person within this mansion with whom I could truly maneuver was Isabelle.

“….”

“Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden, Lillis?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Of course, just because I could maneuver in some way didn’t mean I would take advantage of her. Even though I had to struggle to break free from the fate of being a full-time maid due to memories from my past life, I would never consider throwing Isabelle into that hell in my place.

I wasn’t ungrateful enough to forget the friendship of the past year or the favors she did for me as a senior during my training period.

The knowledge she imparted back then allowed me to perform even simple maid duties now.

If Isabelle hadn’t taught me those work skills during our training days in the same dormitory, I might have served salad and soup in reverse order this morning.

I might have ironed clothes incorrectly or not learned proper maid etiquette.

Drawing attention from the family members in the current situation was undesirable in many ways, so I had to avoid standing out until a situation arose where I could do something.

Isabelle, who had shaped me into who I am now, was someone to repay, not someone to betray and sacrifice in my place.

“Ugh, why am I worrying about anyone right now…?”

If I were suddenly told tomorrow morning to become Ethan’s exclusive maid, I would have to accept it without a word, as if my life depended on it, unexpectedly owing someone a favor or something…

Being a maid at the bottom of a noble family was more exhausting than one could imagine.

I just hoped that the next seven years would pass without any incidents.