episode_0095

From the morning, the feeling that today would be a victorious day suddenly arose, and it was the afternoon when Ethan once again set a strange flag.

I found myself at the training ground once again to watch Ethan and Harold’s swordsmanship duel.

Although I heard such words in the morning, to be honest, I didn’t have high expectations.

After all, there was a precedent of Ethan losing after saying the same thing two weeks ago.

Not to mention that even with equal skills, he almost lost due to relying on a fake move and getting caught.

If he had failed miserably against Harold with similar swordsmanship skills, there was no reason to be nervous facing Ethan, who hadn’t reached that level.

So, without any expectation that Ethan would perform well today, I relaxed and watched the duel.

Beside me, as usual, were the head butler, Dietmayer, and the healing priest from Blackwood Manor waiting.

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Put more strength into your sword! It’s not just about attacking from unusual angles! Maintain speed and power no matter which direction you turn your sword!”

“Aaahh…!”

Unlike two weeks ago when he tried to fake it, Ethan’s recent duels had returned to honest, wild swings.

If he had listened to my advice and wielded dual swords, I might have had some expectations, but in the past two weeks, Ethan hadn’t shown any signs of attempting that.

Thinking that only dual swords could land a blow on Harold, I could relax and watch the duel between the two.

‘At this rate, there won’t be any incidents until he enters the academy.’

Harold, sharing his sword with his son, would gradually understand Ethan’s swordsmanship characteristics, making it naturally more difficult for Ethan to keep up.

As I pondered this, watching the somewhat boring Blackwood family’s swordsmanship, suddenly, Ethan’s awkward grip on the sword caught my eye.

‘Huh…?’

Instead of holding the sword tightly with both hands, he held it with his right and left hands quite apart.

Seeing that awkward grip, which seemed to hold the ends of the hilt, a strange question naturally popped into my mind.

‘…Could it be?’

As I focused on the sword Ethan held, wondering if my question was correct, suddenly, the handle of the sword he held began to split vertically.

I could immediately tell that it was a move to draw out another sword hidden inside the sword.

In other words, Ethan had been wielding a sheathed sword all this time.

-Swish!

“…!!”

Both Harold and I were taken aback by the sudden splitting of the sword.

Ethan, who had prepared for one last strike without showing any awkwardness until the end, wouldn’t miss that short opening.

-Wham!

“Ugh…!”

Blocking Harold’s sword with the sword in his left hand, which played the role of the sheath, and striking Harold’s side with the sword in his right hand.

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Harold bent at the waist and let out a short groan.

The gaze of me and the other spectators immediately turned to the scene.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

After that blow, Ethan, who seemed to have put all his strength into it, stood there with the sword stuck in the ground, looking at me and Dietmayer.

Dietmayer, who was still unable to grasp the situation due to the surprising sight, quickly declared Ethan’s victory.

“…It’s Lord Ethan’s victory!”

“Congratulations, Lord Ethan.”

With his victory declaration, my body automatically burst into enthusiastic applause to celebrate Ethan’s first victory.

Seeing me like that, Ethan smiled faintly and collapsed to the ground.

Harold, without saying a word, looked down at Ethan with a slightly questioning tone, asking him about the split sword.

“Splitting the sword during a duel, isn’t that a bit too much, Ethan?”

“Was it a wrong move, Father?”

“Why do you think it’s a wrong move, Ethan?”

“In a way that is not commonly used in swordsmanship, winning without proper skills is indeed a cowardly victory.”

In a situation that seemed to flow with a strangely serious atmosphere, I couldn’t help but wonder if Harold would not acknowledge the victory in a petty manner.

However, after listening to his words that followed, thankfully, such a thing did not occur.

“There is only one thing you should never do in a life-threatening match, Edan.”

“What is it?”

“The most important thing to protect your life is not to ‘lose.’ No matter what tricks you use, no matter what mindset you approach the match with, the most important thing is not to ‘lose,’ Edan.”

“….”

“You can be proud. Today, you have achieved victory against a Sword Master for a moment.”

“….Thank you.”

Seeing that Harold did not bring up the fact that this match was invalid due to the use of unfair means, it seemed that Harold was quite pleased with Edan’s growth.

It had been three and a half years since Edan started learning swordsmanship from Harold, so Harold must have felt more joy than pain or embarrassment about the blow he received today.

Anyway, it was a blow that showed clearly that my son Edan had grown.

“From the next lesson, I will teach you how to handle the long sword. Edan, it seems that you have a talent not only for the sword but also for the long sword.”

“….Yes!”

“The sparring ends here today. Gather your energy and go clean up.”

“Thank you, Father!”

Harold, who left with his hand lightly on his waist, and the quick-witted healing priestess of the mansion who followed him, exchanging glances.

And I, still in the training ground, met Edan’s eyes and offered him words of encouragement, thanking him for his hard work.

“Good job, Master Edan.”

“Maid….”

“Your blow today was really impressive. …Although you were facing the master, it seems like it won’t work a second time.”

“…Yeah. You won’t let me hit you twice. I was going to give up this method if I failed today.”

“Did you accumulate fatigue recently, or were you practicing this technique?”

“…If you’re talking about how to naturally draw a sword, a little.”

…In any case, his determination was truly remarkable.

To prepare a special sword, practice how to handle it, all to give Harold a blow once.

Even the fact that his efforts were only to touch the chest of his exclusive maid….

‘…Ah.’

…Right, I forgot.

In the first place, in this match, I should have supported Harold, not Edan.

And that night.

After finishing dinner and getting ready for bed.

I entered Edan’s room quietly, with a little more care than usual, to keep the contract of the proposal we had made before.

‘Ugh, I’m really an idiot. Why did I make that weird proposal that day…’

Even if I hadn’t made Edan touch my chest with a strange misunderstanding, this situation probably wouldn’t have happened.

To cover up what was touched back then, I added a condition to give him a valid hit during the sword duel with Harold, just to make sure he didn’t get caught.

I even gave advice on dual swordsmanship for no reason, and it all led to this result in the end.

‘Anyway, it’s just one minute.’

Even if a novice touches it diligently for a minute, how well can he really touch it.

Even if I felt excited for no reason last time because I was worried about losing my position as an exclusive maid, giving him a minute to touch my chest was really nothing.

And honestly, I thought Edan deserved that kind of reward.

If I thought deeply about it, it seemed like I would only rationalize it in a strange way, so before I had any strange thoughts, I knocked on Edan’s door three times and said.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“Master Edan, may I come in?”

“…Come in.”

A cautious response that seemed a bit tense even from inside the room.

Opening the door and stepping inside quietly, I asked him carefully what position he was comfortable in before starting the actual act.

“Are you comfortable sitting on the chair?”

“Uh, yeah?!”

“I asked you to sit at the table, not on the bed. If you think it would be more comfortable to do it on the bed, you can move over there.”

“Oh, no, Maid. I-I’m sitting on the chair because… I have something to say to the Maid first…”

“What do you need to say first?”

“…Would you mind sitting across from me?”

“…Understood.”

Not knowing what Ethan was about to say, but as his exclusive maid, I obediently followed his request and sat across from him.

Facing him at the table, I asked about what he needed to say first.

“What do you want to talk about, Master Ethan?”

“Well, I was going to talk about that thing we agreed on today…”

“As a reward for defeating Lord Harold, you want me to let you touch my chest for a minute, right?”

“…Yes, that.”

Maybe he wants to ask for a little more time to touch, or he wants to request a relaxation of the condition of touching the chest. Well, I understand that Ethan is a man who wants to say such things, but naturally, I had no intention or willingness to fulfill his request.

If I keep giving in and extending little by little, there might come a moment when Ethan is touching my chest without any further conditions.

With the determination to refuse any conditions, I met Ethan’s eyes and demanded his next response.

“Go ahead, Master Ethan.”

“Is it really okay for me to touch… the Maid?”

“Yes. It was a promise, after all.”

“How does the Maid… feel about letting me touch her chest? Does she really think I’ve become stronger and want to touch her chest, or is she just here to keep her promise?”

What nonsense is he suddenly talking about?

If he just wanted to have a match with Harold, that should have been the end of it. Why is he suddenly questioning my feelings?

Not wanting to get involved in unnecessary arguments, I simply gave him a formal response.

“That doesn’t matter, Master Ethan. Since you won against your father, touching my chest is the reward.”

“If it’s because the Maid doesn’t want to but is forced to do it because of the promise…”

“What?”

“…In that case, you don’t have to force yourself, Maid.”

“….”

“…I won’t say anything about not keeping the promise or anything like that.”

What is this guy blabbering about now?

I came to his room in the middle of the night, fully prepared to let him touch me after all the effort I put into helping him win against Harold.

I don’t have to force myself? Suddenly?

Is he trying to sympathize with me?

Is he feeling burdened by just touching my chest a little?

“Don’t be ridiculous, Master Ethan.”

“M-Maid?!”

“After witnessing all the efforts you made to defeat Lord Harold, are you really saying such things?”

“….”

“I don’t mince my words, Master Ethan. If you’re going to pity me with such nonsense, then know that confidently touching me is what will not make me feel ashamed.”

I didn’t promise to give him a first experience or a first kiss.

I never had any intention of seeking sympathy just because my chest was being touched.

I shut down Ethan’s nonsense and stood up, approaching him.

I didn’t want to be a cowardly fugitive who couldn’t even give this guy, who had worked so hard for so long, this kind of reward.