episode_0034

“…Perhaps that scumbag Hyumdahn didn’t know something from the start and was just assisting Rilis.”

After firmly deciding to act as Edan’s exclusive maid and fortifying her resolve, this was the first conclusion she reached.

Although this pig had been assisting Rilis since she was nineteen, it was speculated that it wasn’t initially started with some sexual intent.

In fact, when occasionally recalling scenes from playing the game before, the level of harassment tended to worsen and become more obscene as Hyumdahn aged.

Given that, regardless of age in the setting, mentally subtracting five years, Hyumdahn at present would possess knowledge and culture akin to that of an elementary or middle school student at best.

It was unlikely that this seemingly foolish pig had significantly expanded their sexual knowledge.

It would be reasonable to assume that what began as an interest in Rilis eventually transformed into sexual harassment due to some trigger.

Or perhaps naturally awakening to sexuality as they aged, they started treating Rilis, who happened to be a good subject, as their sexual slave.

If Edan received absolutely no response to his actions from the beginning?

Typically, drawing someone’s interest made one more eager if the other responded well.

Conversely, by completely ignoring him, Edan’s attempts to draw attention through harassment would likely quickly fade away.

If she endured the initial few times, the failed attempt at piquing interest might lead him to try capturing her attention through different means, and responding appropriately around that time might prevent Hyumdahn from growing into a complete trash like in the “original game.”

“For now, let’s try to ignore him as much as possible.”

At this point, there was no way for her to resign from her position as Edan’s exclusive maid.

Therefore, she had no choice but to proceed in a direction that could be as peaceful and smoothly resolved as possible.

While I would probably win if it came down to a physical confrontation with that idiot Edan, considering the power of the Blackwood family and Harold, I had no room to handle the aftermath on my side.

My goal wasn’t to reform that scumbag Hyumdahn. Whatever he grows into is none of my concern.

It’s just advantageous for my survival if he grows even slightly decent, so I’ll give it a try.

Moreover, there was also his testimony in front of the disciplinary committee with Aeria for me, and surprisingly, upon closer inspection, maybe he wasn’t fundamentally trash after all.

…When I first accepted the position as that damned Hyumdahn’s exclusive maid, I had such comfortable thoughts.

It took barely a month for my complacent thoughts to do a complete 180.

***

A week had passed since succumbing to Harold’s pressure and reluctantly taking on the role of Edan’s exclusive maid.

In the game world, Rilis Rosewood finally celebrated her 19th birthday and officially reached an age where she could be called an adult.

Just like Edan, who had his birthday about ten days earlier.

“Damn it.”

And naturally, becoming an adult in this game world as Rilis held no pleasant implications.

For characters other than Rilis, turning ‘legally adult’ meant a predetermined future, much like what awaited her.

For me now, aging only served to further remind me that it was no longer safe.

Both Edan and Rilis had surpassed the age where they could be considered ‘children or adolescents.’

With Rilis reaching adulthood, Edan’s sinister intentions were bound to extend further.

“I need to stay alert. If I mess up, I might end up walking through the mansion naked with a noose around my neck.”

It was entirely possible in the world of espionage. Of course, if such a situation were to arise, I wouldn’t just stand by idly.

The somewhat good news was that over the past week, there had been hardly any encounters with Edan.

Normally, the position of head maid involved selecting a few candidates from among the maids, completing specialized training for the chosen maid, and then assigning them to their role.

However, due to the rushed nature of this personnel transfer, the process was expedited, with the head maid position being filled first, followed by training.

During the week, while receiving special training from Melissa, I had already acquired the necessary knowledge as Edan’s head maid.

Having at least some basic knowledge in advance would prevent any potential mishaps later on.

Even if things worked out well and I managed to escape from being Edan’s assistant, there was still a possibility of retaining the head maid position.

Knowing basic information about the illegitimate son of Blackwood Manor wouldn’t hurt.

Unfortunately, Lelis was still a debt maid, and it would take over six more years to legitimately escape from Blackwood Manor.

“Sigh.”

Anyway, excluding the maid manager’s training period, today was effectively my first day facing Edan and working with him.

After taking a deep breath in front of Edan’s room, I knocked on the door three times to coincide with Edan’s morning wake-up time.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“Master Edan.”

“….”

“Master Edan? Are you inside?”

“….”

There seemed to be movement inside, but well, considering Edan’s personality, it wasn’t unusual for him to laze around until the afternoon.

Undoubtedly, he was probably still buried lazily in bed.

Typically, when a maid or butler working in the manor visited a noble’s room, they could only enter after receiving a response following a knock.

Except for the head maid, head butler, maid manager, and butler manager.

In the case of Lelis, the head maid who needed to enter Edan’s room for tasks like cleaning or laundry, she had the authority to enter without permission.

Regardless of whether there was a response from inside, I entered Edan’s room without much thought.

-Click.

“Master Edan, it’s time to wake up…”

“Ahh!!”

“Eek?!”

Without any warning, a sudden scream echoed from beside the door as soon as I entered Edan’s room.

Caught off guard by the unexpected voice, I stumbled back in surprise.

When I regained my composure, I found myself face to face with a mischievous child splitting with laughter.

“Haha! Maid, did I startle you?”

“…Master Edan?”

“If you get startled and fall over so easily, what will you do? Silly maid.”

“….”

‘Damn, I want to strangle him.’

Seeing Edan laugh at startling me and making fun of me, a wave of discomfort surged through my mind.

My initial resolve to handle things calmly almost wavered on the first day.

‘He’s still just a kid. This is just typical behavior for boys his age. Stay calm, stay calm…’

Boys of his age seeking attention through pranks was not an uncommon occurrence.

While such behavior might be unacceptable for peers from noble families, for someone like Edan, lacking in refinement, it was entirely plausible and remained.

Barely managing this much work, it seems I won’t be able to properly handle being a full-time maid in the future.

Reacting angrily to such jokes was probably the reaction that kid most desired deep down.

Deliberately pretending nonchalance, I got up from my seat as calmly as possible and responded casually.

“Master Edan.”

“Yeah?”

“Because it’s dangerous, please refrain from these risky jokes next time.”

“No way!”

…I knew he would stubbornly say that.

***

It had been about a month since I started my official duties as Edan’s exclusive maid.

From the first day, the challenging tasks expected of Edan’s exclusive maid began to test my mental strength as the month passed by.

The reason was undoubtedly the damn daily encounters with him.

“I want to smack him.”

Being an exclusive maid didn’t mean being glued to him 24/7 as commonly perceived.

If one were to stick around like that all the time, who would do the cleaning, laundry, or manage meal and sleep times?

There were three main situations when an exclusive maid had to be by the noble’s side:

1. When the noble was having a meal.

2. When the noble was engaging in external activities.

3. When the noble directly called for the exclusive servant.

Apart from these three instances, there was no need for the exclusive maid, but in those cases, they had to be present without fail unless given specific orders not to.

While such cases were irrelevant to me as Edan’s exclusive maid, contrary to my wishes, Edan frequently summoned me using the exclusive maid call function.

“Lilith, Master was looking for you earlier, right?”

“L-Lilith…. Master Edan is calling you…”

“Lilith Rosewood, a message from Master Edan.”

…This damn brat, really.

Despite my desire not to get involved as much as possible, this nuisance almost called me every hour for nearly three weeks.

It was enough time to break my initial resolve to handle things well.

Even to the extent of constantly opening the door and barging into the adjacent room where the exclusive maids waited.

Whether taking laundry from his room to the laundry maid or fetching cleaning tools to clean his room, he persistently interrupted my work by calling me.

If he called me to have even a slightly meaningful conversation, that would be different.

But all he did was play childish pranks like hiding behind doors to startle me or sneakily tripping me up, making the victim feel miserable.

Indulging this childish brat’s antics was truly unbearable.

It wasn’t just once or twice but several times a day, every day of the week, engaging in such nonsense made it impossible not to lose my temper.

‘I shouldn’t have shown a surprised reaction on the first day.’

I shouldn’t have exaggerated and fallen backward; I shouldn’t have looked at that annoying brat so triumphantly after his second or third round of nonsense.

…What can I do? I should blame my own foolishness for entering Edan’s room on the first day without much thought.

As a commoner maid facing this noble brat, I couldn’t just crush his arrogance.

“Sigh….”

With a quiet determination in my heart, I let out a sigh filled with tension.

Adhering to the basic courtesy expected of a maid, I stepped into Edan’s room.

“What brings you here this time, sir?”

“……”

“……?”

I had anticipated Edan’s sudden appearance as soon as I opened the door, but to my surprise, even after entering the room, there was no sign of him.

Instead of revealing himself by making a fuss as I scanned the room, he seemed to have completely disappeared without a trace.

Could it be that he called me here as a prank and then forgot about it, wandering off somewhere?

The absurdity of Edan, my exclusive maid, pulling a no-show left me dumbfounded for a moment.

Suddenly, I felt a sensation akin to someone touching my buttocks from behind the door.

– Bang!

“……Huh?!”

“I let my guard down! I was careless!”

Startled by the hand that momentarily crept beneath my skirt, I instinctively let out a scream resembling that of a girl.

Edan, the culprit who had struck my buttocks, was already fleeing downstairs to escape me.

“……Damn.”

…Seriously, that damn brat.