episode_0054

Edan suddenly called me to his room the next morning to prepare for the princess’s birthday party.

After having breakfast with Edan, I was resting in my room when a guest unexpectedly arrived.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

“Come in.”

The door creaked open.

I thought it must be Edan or Harold summoning me during peak working hours, but the person who appeared on the other side of the door was someone unexpected.

“Lilith!”

“Isabel?”

Why did Isabel suddenly visit my room?

It was peak working hours, as far as I knew.

Coming into my room at such a busy time… Could she be playing hooky?

“Isabel, are you here to play hooky confidently as an intermediate maid?”

“Huh? Oh, no! That’s not it!”

“It’s okay. If you really want to play hooky, I’ll cover for you. Edan… You can rest in my room until before lunchtime.”

“Thank you for offering, Lilith, but… I’m not really here to play hooky. I’m still working.”

“Oh, really?”

Well, our diligent Isabel wouldn’t recklessly skip work during her shift.

If Isabel were to play hooky, it would mean shirking her duties and escaping, which is unthinkable even for someone as close to me as Katrina.

Mistaking the sorrowful Isabel for playing hooky, even momentarily, was a regrettable assumption.

Reflecting on my trashy imagination, I asked her the most likely reason for her visit to my room this time.

“Is it Edan’s summons? Where is he?”

“Oh, um, it’s not that. I didn’t come here specifically because of Edan.”

“Huh?”

“I have a question.”

“A question?”

“Lilith, which dress do you prefer: sky blue, emerald green, or crimson?”

“Hmm… I’m not particularly fond of dresses in general.”

“Stop with those riddle-like answers~!”

“Was I supposed to answer seriously?”

“Of course! I need to know to prepare the rest! Quickly~!”

“Well…”

Could she want matching outfits for colleagues?

Given that there are only three colors, that possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

If we assume that, how about virtually trying them on Isabel and Katrina?

Exclude the color that suits them best when considering others.

Isabel, with her vanilla-colored hair and lively personality, might suit a fresh sky blue.

Katrina, with her pink hair and timid nature, could contrast well with an emerald green dress.

That leaves…

“Crimson?”

“You like crimson?”

“Yes. Crimson would be nice.”

“Got it! I’ll prepare your dress in crimson!”

“Wait, Isabel! But what does preparing entail…”

*Click.*

“…”

As quickly as she came to ask about the dress color, Isabel vanished like dew upon achieving her goal.

And so, in the waiting room for exclusive maids, only I, the room’s owner, remained standing alone.

I stood up from my seat for a moment, considering whether to chase after her, but I decided against it, thinking it might disrupt work hours.

“If Isabelle is really preparing something, I’ll find out later.”

…And I found out that she was indeed preparing something two days later.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And the next day.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“….?”

For the second consecutive day, a knock on the exclusive maid waiting room door.

Thinking it might be Isabelle again today, I called out her name, only to receive a response from another maid outside the door.

“…Isabelle?”

“I-It’s me…. Miss Lillis….”

“….”

Even without introducing herself by name, it wasn’t hard to figure out who was on the other side of the door.

Her timid voice, lacking confidence, was no surprise.

There was only one person in this mansion who referred to me as “Miss Lillis.”

“Come in, Katarina.”

-Click.

“I-I’ll excuse myself….”

Katarina entered my room today with an unusually demure demeanor.

For some reason, there was a sense of unease underlying her timid response.

Curious about why Katarina had visited my waiting room, I subtly probed.

“Is it about the game?”

“Yes, yes?!”

“You seem less confident today. Did you do something wrong?”

“Oh, no…! I’ve never played that game, Miss Lillis…!”

“…I told you not to call it that.”

“I-I’m sorry…. Miss….”

…Until recently, she had comfortably called me Lillis, so why was she suddenly reverting to the formal address and honorifics from two years ago?

Today’s Katarina, full of unknown uncertainties, approached me with hesitant steps, holding what looked like a thin string with markings.

“A ruler?”

Judging by the marked string, it did seem to be a ruler.

Why did she suddenly bring a ruler to my room?

Before I could ask about her purpose, Katarina approached me with the ruler in hand.

Still with her timid voice, she pushed the ruler towards my face.

“I-I apologize…. Miss Lillis….”

“….”

Suddenly, she unfolded the ruler in front of me and began jotting something down on a piece of paper she brought along.

Initially measuring various aspects of my face, she then started re-measuring different parts before finally measuring the circumference of my left ring finger and backing away from me.

“Phew, I apologize for interrupting your rest! I-I’ll take my leave now!”

“Just a moment, Katarina. What were you diligently recording with the ruler just now?”

“Goodbye, Miss Lillis!”

“Don’t address me like that…!”

-Slam!

“….”

Katarina hurriedly left the exclusive maid waiting room, seeming to feel immense fear in my presence.

…Did I do something wrong to Katarina recently? I couldn’t recall any significant mistakes that would strain our relationship.

While the misconception of me being a noble lady seemed to be fading over time, her behavior resembled Katarina’s initial reactions when she first thought of me as a noble lady.

“…I have no idea what’s going on.”

It seemed like there was a misunderstanding leading to such reactions, but I couldn’t fathom the nature of this misunderstanding.

I briefly considered following her to clear up the confusion, but considering it was still working hours for Katarina, I decided against it.

“If there’s any misunderstanding, it can be resolved later.”

…And, I found out the very next day that Katarina was indeed misunderstanding something.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And then, the following day.

After finishing breakfast as usual with Edan and during the designated personal break time.

Today, while focusing on knitting to earn independent funds, in the midst of making a wool sweater.

-Knock, knock, knock.

…Sure enough, there were three knocks on the door from outside the room, just like every other day.

“Isabel? Or is it Senior Katarina?”

“Both, Lillis!”

“…Both?”

“I’ll come in for a moment~!”

“Wait, Isabel! Before entering without permission from the young lady…!”

Along with the voices of the two people outside the door, the door to the exclusive maid waiting room opened.

Amidst the surprise of the two visitors who entered for reasons unknown,

Isabel approached me with a bright smile, coming towards me who was leisurely knitting.

…Holding a deep crimson dress that seemed fit for noble ladies in her hands.

“Isabel?”

“Come on, Lillis, why are you hesitating like that! We’re attending the banquet with the young master tonight!”

“That’s true, but… what’s with the dress in your hand?”

“Of course, it’s the dress you’ll wear today, Lillis! Hurry up, I’ll help you change!”

“Isabel…! L-Lillis is a noble lady so… n-no, Miss Lillis is a noble lady… you shouldn’t just…”

“Oh, right, that’s true! Today, Lillis is a noble lady!”

“N-No, not just today, she’s always been a noble lady….”

…There’s too much information suddenly flooding my mind, making it hard to process.

Where did things go wrong in this story?

It’s true that I’m attending the Third Princess’ birthday banquet with Edan today, but what’s with the deep crimson dress Isabel brought and why is Katarina suddenly so fixated on me being a noble lady?

And why is Isabel so casually accepting and agreeing with the notion that I’m a noble lady?

In the midst of the confusion caused by the influx of information in my head,

I could barely grasp a clue about how this situation came to be from a casual remark dropped by Isabel.

“Lillis is naturally beautiful, but since it’s a noble banquet, many even more beautiful ladies will gather. To not fall behind there, Lillis needs to start getting ready diligently now! Lillis is Edan’s partner today!”

…Partner?

Doesn’t that usually mean something else?

Like a lover or an engaged person, usually you pair up with such a person before going to a banquet.

But… am I supposed to play that role?

At the Third Princess’ birthday banquet?

As Edan’s partner?

…Isn’t that a bit strange?

“Isabel.”

“Yes?”

“Did you just say I’m Edan’s partner?”

“Yes, I did.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you, Lillis.”

“……Today?”

“Oh, come on, yes! I’ve told you several times that Lillis is the young master’s partner today!”

……….Why, though?