Chapter Index

    “Alright!”

    As Lilith Rosewood quietly sang a hymn of victory in her heart after receiving permission from Ethan to participate in the mock combat training.

    “….”

    “….”

    Just as there is light, there is darkness; two individuals were not pleased with the current situation.

    Ethan Richard Blackwood and Emilia Reinhardt, excluding Lilith among the three.

    The two, especially Ethan, Lilith’s master, were not at all comfortable with the current situation. Ethan’s mind was consumed with worry that she might get hurt.

    No matter how he thought about it, the fact that this training session was happening did not sit well with him.

    “A mock combat with soldiers… No matter how I look at it, it’s dangerous…”

    Just hearing the story about her defeating Gargoyles inside the carriage today made his heart sink.

    To boldly step forward to engage in a mock combat with soldiers without fear this time was surprising.

    Of course, if looked at simply from a perspective of danger, facing off against Gargoyles one-on-one a year ago was much more reckless and perilous, but…

    Even with that experience, Ethan couldn’t completely shake off his worries for Lilith.

    Her battle a year ago was merely an ‘experience’ of defeating Gargoyles, not necessarily proving her ‘ability’ to overpower rookie soldiers.

    “The maid wouldn’t lie, and probably the story of her defeating Gargoyles is true, but…”

    Even if she didn’t lose in the combat, there was still a possibility of getting injured, and the methods of facing humans and monsters differed significantly, introducing potential variables.

    In other words, just by participating in this mock combat, she was at risk of getting injured.

    Therefore, Ethan, genuinely worried about Lilith, tried to prevent her from participating in the mock combat in any way possible.

    “Indeed, it seems you also don’t trust me. As much as my record of defeating Gargoyles.”

    “Just a moment ago, you seemed to consider me your most trusted servant, but it seems I misunderstood.”

    Seeing Lilith speak with such coldness in her eyes towards himself, Ethan had no choice but to grant her request for the combat.

    He didn’t want to see Lilith get hurt, but being resented by her even more was even worse.

    Ethan clearly understood that his foolish actions in the past had left unhealable scars on her heart.

    Therefore, he felt grateful to Lilith for awakening him from his foolish past, and at the same time, he resolved not to hurt her anymore in the future.

    However, he couldn’t understand why she would willingly throw herself into dangerous situations like this.

    Of course, understanding the method of the mock training and assessing the abilities of rookie soldiers could be helpful for his territory patrols.

    If he did only that, the story of him patrolling the territory would not likely spread later.

    But from the moment he brought Lilith here, Ethan’s purpose was not really about territory patrol.

    He simply took Lilith outside the mansion because she expressed a desire to visit the territory guard, and he was curious about Ser Blacksong, whom Lilith wanted to meet.

    Naturally, for Ethan, ensuring Lilith remained uninjured was more important than successfully completing the territory patrol.

    Until the very end, her attitude remained firm, and ultimately, Edan couldn’t resist the pressure and had no choice but to accept Lilith’s proposal.

    “To ensure that maids can participate in mock battles with new recruits, provide them with proper equipment and protective gear.”

    Not only had she done things to earn Lilith’s resentment, but she had also been evaluated by her own mouth as ‘the worst among all men in the world.’

    Any possibility of earning Lilith’s resentment was something Edan wanted to avoid as much as possible.

    …And on the other hand.

    The person who was burning inside due to this situation, Emilia Reinhardt, was no different.

    ‘I should have listened to Sir Ser’s words, what a mistake….’

    Emilia, tormented by the situation she had caused, felt a different kind of burning compared to Edan.

    Initially, she had thought that she had instigated the incident because she believed that somewhere, a careless commander had once again let slip her achievements.

    But upon opening the lid, Emilia found herself in a situation she had never anticipated, involving political movements she had not foreseen.

    ‘Could it be that the maid Sir Ser yielded his achievements to was the concubine of the Blackwood noble….’

    It was a simple suspicion that perhaps the maid, with her ambiguous expression and ample bosom, had seduced the commander and seized his achievements.

    The idea that the maid was the concubine of the Blackwood noble, and that Sir Ser had yielded his achievements for political reasons, was a situation that Emilia had never imagined.

    Of course, Lilith was neither Edan’s concubine nor had she ever seduced Sir Ser to seize his achievements. However, no matter how you looked at it, in Emilia’s eyes, the situation seemed to be just that.

    The nobleman who, upon uttering insulting words towards Lilith, glared as if ready to kill himself.

    And the maid who, with an ignorant expression, casually asked to participate in the mock battle.

    Considering all these circumstances, Emilia’s suspicions had already turned into certainty.

    The only person capable of handling the Blackwood family’s nobleman was his concubine, Lilith.

    “It seems like Edan has changed lately, maybe he just wanted to impress his concubine….”

    After confirming the truth behind the rumors with her own eyes, there was a sense of emptiness.

    The problem was that even this emptiness could not be properly felt, as her situation was deteriorating rapidly.

    Once the mock battle began, the defeat of the maid Lilith was as good as certain.

    Even though they were new recruits, they were adult men who had passed basic strength and endurance tests and were selected individuals.

    Moreover, having been in the guard unit for over half a year, they had received basic training in the guard unit.

    Was it a believable story that a maid with a large, seemingly dull chest would face off against such soldiers?

    Looking at her chest, which seemed incapable of wielding a sword properly, Emilia cursed inwardly with all sorts of curses.

    Surely, when seducing Edan, that chest must have played a significant role.

    When seizing achievements, she must have tempted Sir Ser with that chaotic lump of flesh.

    Despite carrying around a chest that seemed more hindrance than help in wielding a sword, she dared to participate in the mock battle.

    Thinking that area would be much more useful for handling a man’s sword than a neck sword, Emilia internally berated herself for what she lacked.

    Of course, even if she criticized Lilith’s chest now, it wouldn’t improve her situation in any way.

    Under Ethan Gongja’s permission, when Lillis mentioned participating in the training, it seemed that a dreadful future awaited Emilia.

    As the maid faced rookie soldiers, victory seemed unattainable, and given their novice status, adjusting strength while treating them appropriately was impossible.

    Ultimately, it was a foregone conclusion that she would sustain injuries during the training process.

    The issue was that once the maid got injured, Ethan Gongja wouldn’t likely stay silent.

    Her uneasy premonition didn’t take long to materialize.

    “Emilia.”

    “…Yes, my lord.”

    “Because of your reckless actions, endangering my maid due to your protruding bangs, be prepared to take responsibility if anything goes wrong.”

    “…Understood.”

    “If by any chance the maid receives even a minor injury, I will ensure a permanent scar in the same spot on your body that will never heal.”

    “…Yes.”

    Ethan’s voice quietly delivered an irresistible threat to Emilia from a distance, making her silently pray.

    Please, even if Lillis loses, let her not get hurt beyond repair, was the desperate hope she harbored.

    ***

    With Ethan’s approval, right after the completion of the training session with the rookie soldiers.

    Due to Ethan’s order to provide proper equipment and protective gear, I moved with Emilia to the training preparation room adjacent to the training ground.

    It was a small storage-like place where armor with traces of time, helmets, weapons like swords and spears were gathered.

    The armors for men and women were distinctly separated, and all weapons had blunt ends to prevent fatalities.

    Perhaps the blunt tips touching the body determined the outcome of the training.

    If one were to strike, it could lead to a serious accident, so they were designed to cause pain but not severe harm.

    “We will conduct the mock training experience while wearing full upper and lower body armor, helmets, gloves, and boots. This is to prevent injuries to Miss Lillis, so please understand our approach.”

    “Ah, yes….”

    Emilia nodded slightly with a somewhat tired expression, perhaps due to my unreasonable request.

    I wanted to ask to minimize unnecessary gear, but I refrained, sensing that such a request might prolong the conversation.

    I reluctantly accepted Emilia’s proposal.

    ‘…Well, even if I lose in training, I’ll still gain experience points.’

    Although I strongly desired to win for more experience points, knowing that losing would still grant me experience made it acceptable.

    Having sturdy armor meant I could endure a few attacks and continue the training until the end.

    Even if defeated, sustaining minor injuries would allow me to request another training session as a pretext.

    ‘I need to reach level 6. Just hitting level 6 should suffice…’

    Since the level of soldiers wasn’t fixed, I wasn’t sure how many low-ranking soldiers I needed to face to reach level 6.

    But if determined, I could potentially raise a level within these few mock battles.

    With these thoughts in mind, as Emilia handed me the armor, I began preparing for the training, one piece at a time.

    “…Oh.”

    As I tried to put on the upper body armor, I felt a large lump of fat hanging around my chest area.

    “…Um, Miss Emilia?”

    “Yes.”

    “This breastplate… It’s a bit small, so could you change it for me?”

    “Huh? I’m pretty sure I gave you one that fits Lily’s size.”

    “It fits her size, but… it’s a bit tight around the chest…”

    “… ”

    With a cold gaze, Emilia alternated between looking at my chest and upper body armor in response to my words.

    Without saying anything, she silently brought out a different chest plate and pushed it towards me.

    “It’s a size larger, so you can wear this one instead.”

    “Yes, thank you.”

    “… ”

    … For some reason, in the final glance she gave me, I felt a hint of jealousy or resentment, but well, maybe it was just my imagination.

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