episode_0136

“Lilith has reached level 11!”

During our camping trip, we encountered thieves in the middle of the night, and the next morning after Edan and I cooperated to defeat them.

The sudden midnight attack thankfully ended after that one time, and I didn’t have to wake up again to kill thieves and clean up corpses.

…No matter who I am, I couldn’t kill people without feeling anything, so my sleep was a bit restless. More than that, I was more tired, so I eventually sighed and got up after sleeping a bit.

If it was just killing monsters, it wouldn’t matter much, but this was the first time I had killed living humans. Even though these guys were like monsters disguised as humans, they were still humans.

Fortunately, it wasn’t just bad news, there was also good news. My experience points that were slightly left over were filled up through the battle with the thieves, resulting in a level up.

I was too tired last night to check, but when I woke up in the morning and checked my information window, I had already reached level 11, and I could easily see that my other stats had also grown slightly.

“Name: Lilith Rosewood

Title: Edan Richard Blackwood’s Exclusive Maid

Current Level: 10 → 11

Attack: 28 → 31

Defense: 41 → 45

Intelligence: 31 → 34

Charm: 89 → 98

Luck: 9 → 10

Current Health: 113 / 113 → 124 / 124

Current Mana: 2033 / 2033 → 2236 / 2236”

Since I had only gained about 1,000 experience points from the evaluation battle with Luke, I had already left just a little bit for the next level up.

Thanks to the battle with the thieves last night, I could easily leap to the next level.

Thanks to those thieves, I could finally say goodbye to the single-digit luck. Of course, it still couldn’t be considered a high number.

And for some reason, my title had changed from ‘Brave Exclusive Maid’ to ‘Edan Richard Blackwood’s Exclusive Maid.’

…This was probably just a temporary phenomenon.

Anyway, since it was a fact that I was Edan’s exclusive maid right now, it didn’t bother me much. Once I graduate from the academy and become independent, the title of exclusive maid attached to me will change to something else.

On the other hand, if I were to describe Edan’s current state after fighting with the thieves and handling the corpses with me last night…

“Young master, aren’t you tired? You didn’t seem to have slept a wink since we switched.”

“I’m fine. I slept well before the switch, so I’m not that tired.”

“I see… I understand…”

He was sitting by the campfire with slightly darker circles under his eyes and a tired look in his eyes.

It was understandable that he was tired. The incident wasn’t something he could just easily overlook.

Perhaps last night was essentially his first murder, and judging by his appearance, he had been on guard duty even during Isabelle’s night shift.

It was probably because he had experienced such an event that even though it was morning, Isabelle alone taking the night shift made him a little uneasy.

It was a reasonable decision when thinking logically. If I had stood guard for Edan’s turn, I would have had similar thoughts.

For Edan to rest, we needed to return to the mansion as soon as possible, even if it was just to fill our hunger and leave.

“Let’s just fill our hunger quickly and head out, Young Master Edan. It would be best to have a proper meal and rest at Blackwood Mansion.”

“…Yes, let’s do that.”

Between the toasted bread, a slice of ham marinated in brine was inserted to create a simple sandwich. After finishing the meal with a warm glass of milk, which contained its own warmth and care, I started to feel somewhat energized.

The final stretch of the journey home felt much longer than usual, and it concluded with me driving the carriage.

…Camping on the road is no easy task.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Thank you, Lord Ethan. And Miss Lillis and Miss Isabelle.”

Upon our return to the mansion, thanks to Dietermayer coming out to greet Ethan, we were able to start unpacking without much effort. Even though Isabelle and I had quite a bit of luggage to move on our own, as the head butler, he had already prepared manpower to help us move everything. Thanks to that, Isabelle and I were able to reduce our workload by more than half just by handing out the luggage from the carriage to the servants.

Most of the mansion’s servants were similar to when we left, giving us the feeling of finally coming home after a long time. However, seeing a few newcomers among them made it quite clear that four months had passed.

While Isabelle and I continued to unpack with the other servants, Dietermayer greeted Ethan.

“Have you been well, Lord Ethan?”

“Yeah, I’ve been well. Was there any trouble at the mansion?”

“There weren’t any major issues. There are quite a few documents that need your signature now that you’re back, but I’ll set them aside for you to look at before your father returns.”

“Leave the ones I can sign on your behalf. I’ll take a look at them briefly before my father returns.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Even in small details like his manner of speaking, Ethan seemed to be resembling Harold more and more. Dietermayer asked Ethan another question about the journey.

“Did everything go smoothly on the way back?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary… well, there was something.”

In fact, there was something out of the ordinary. The fact that a group of bandits attacked us while we were camping for the night, even though we managed to deal with them without any harm and cleaned up without a trace, meant that we had experienced some threat to our safety.

However, Ethan seemed to avoid mentioning that part and I also excluded the part about the bandits, only explaining to Dietermayer about our overnight camping experience.

“There was an incident where my inexperienced carriage driving caused Lord Ethan to have an uncomfortable night’s sleep.”

“That’s alright, Lillis.”

“As Lord Ethan said, it’s fine. It was your first time driving a carriage all the way from the Island of Knowledge to here, which is quite an achievement.”

“I learned everything from the head butler.”

“Since you must be tired from driving, it would be best for you to rest early today, Isabelle. It has been a challenging day in many ways, so you can use the grand bath later. Of course, after Lord Ethan has had a chance to relax first.”

“…Thank you, Head Butler.”

…Is this really Dietermayer? Was he always this kind?

It felt strangely comforting to hear warm greetings and words of understanding from him as soon as we met again, especially after encountering all sorts of annoying people at the academy. Maybe my perception of Dietermayer had been adjusted in my mind as a decent guy, considering all the troublesome individuals I had encountered.

There were certainly many things that happened. There were tiring moments, but also many things gained.

“Harold-nim has spent several weeks camping in the cold Silverwood while wielding his sword on the battlefield, so I’m sure you can handle a day or two of camping as well, young master.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“And unless we encounter a band of thieves, there shouldn’t be any major issues. Hahaha.”

“…Y-yes, that’s true.”

“Right, indeed….”

It seemed like a joke about our appearance, but Edan and I found it difficult to react.

Meanwhile, Isabelle, unaware that we had been attacked by a band of thieves, continued to laugh along, breaking the awkward atmosphere with the sudden appearance of the pink-haired, lively maid.

“Lilith Miss! Isabelle!”

“Katarina senpai!”

Upon reuniting, Isabelle and Katarina embraced each other warmly, the sight of the two pretty and cute girls hugging each other still pleasing even if their genders were reversed.

…I felt a bit embarrassed to interrupt, so I walked slowly to join them.

“It’s been a while, Katarina senpai.”

“Did you enjoy the academy, Lilith Miss?”

“Yes, I did. There were many things going on. Your expression seems to have improved, Katarina senpai.”

“Yes. I can’t rely on Lilith Miss and Isabelle forever.”

Katarina had visibly changed since the tearful parting a few months ago. She seemed almost unrecognizable from the girl who used to tremble in fear at the slightest noise in the kitchen at dawn.

I had been worried about her departure for various reasons, but seeing her growth put my mind at ease.

“Would you like to gather in Katarina’s room later for a chat? I brought some snacks and tea as gifts.”

“I’m all for it, Lilith Miss!”

“You can call me Lilith if you’d like.”

…Even though her personality had changed, the title of Miss still seemed to hold weight.

Still, she definitely seemed better than the timid girl she used to be. I’m not sure what exactly caused her change of heart.

Many things had changed at the Blackwood Manor, but one thing was certain as soon as I arrived.

At least for me, there was no place as comfortable as this one.