episode_0192

“I thought Lillis wasn’t coming today.”

Agnes, who seemed to have arrived at the banquet hall first, approached me, grabbing the hem of my clothes and striking up a conversation.

I explained the process of how I ended up participating, as she seemed to want some kind of explanation.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to correct it last time. Agnes, I also thought I wasn’t participating, but Ed requested that I join him, so here I am.”

“…Is that really it? You didn’t tell me for some other reason?”

“Another reason? Is there a reason why I wouldn’t tell Agnes about my participation?”

“…Just. Didn’t want to pretend to know each other at the banquet.”

“Ah….”

…I felt like I had done something really wrong by saying that.

I didn’t want to create unnecessary misunderstandings with a friend I had recently made, so I quickly clarified the part that Agnes was worried about.

“There’s no way. I really just forgot.”

“…Really?”

“In fact, there’s hardly anyone in the academy I can call a friend like Agnes. Do I really need to lie to Agnes, who is my only friend?”

“I have a lot of friends, you know? There’s Seraphine, and Natalie…. Oh, no, maybe not yet….”

“Yes, yes. But thank you for being my friend, Agnes.”

“…It feels like you’re teasing me.”

Even though she gave me a strange look, once she realized that I didn’t have any ulterior motives for not telling her about my attendance, her expression softened.

I didn’t expect her to think so much just because I mentioned my attendance a little late.

It’s fortunate that Agnes isn’t the type to scheme behind people’s backs like other noble ladies. If it was someone else, there could have been unnecessary rumors spreading around.

“It’s fortunate that Agnes is honest. I almost caused unnecessary misunderstandings over a trivial matter.”

“…By the way, what’s with the way you’ve been talking since earlier? You didn’t talk like that before.”

“It’s about adjusting behavior and mindset according to the situation and role. Since I’m Ed’s fiancée now, I need to act accordingly.”

“…Ed? Are you calling Ethan Ed?”

“Yes. There’s no better expression to emphasize intimacy than a nickname.”

Although Agnes frowned at the title I used for Ethan, it was just that.

Anyway, since I was here in place of Ethan’s fiancée, I was just fulfilling my role, and it had nothing to do with Agnes.

“So, in the end, are you going to get engaged?”

“No, that’s not it. Ed said I can prevent other noble ladies from approaching if I’m by his side.”

“…Just for that reason? Even if he’s a man, what about you when you get married later?”

“I haven’t thought about marrying anyone other than Ed. I can just live alone without getting married.”

“….”

As soon as she heard my words, Agnes frowned as if she didn’t like something, and then suddenly muttered something while looking at the self-serve bar where Ethan was.

“Don’t you have something to say? Can you bear that? Will you be able to endure being used and then discarded by that man’s political intentions?”

“What? I never had any thoughts of marriage to begin with. It’s not like my path is blocked by such things, so it doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t know. He’ll just use you to his heart’s content and then discard you without a care.”

“I’m not being used, right?”

…No, but come to think of it, was it right? Anyway, pretending to be engaged and participating in official events was not within the realm of a full-time maid.

Just like at the previous masquerade ball, it seemed like she was pushing the boundaries a bit for a maid.

Still…now she was also playing the role of Edan’s temporary lover, so she could still graciously interact with him out of courtesy.

“I’m back, Lily.”

“Oh, good job, Ed.”

With a cold type of cocktail in both hands, Edan appeared, offering me one of the glasses and exchanging a brief greeting with Agnes who was behind him.

“Blaze’s darling? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah.”

“It seemed like Lily often talked about you. I hope you two can continue to get along well in the future.”

“….”

It was a moment when two people who had only known each other’s existence in passing finally had a proper conversation. Edan, who usually looked at people around him with a somewhat unfriendly gaze, had a slightly unexpected reaction.

If his gaze when looking at Regina Serafin was subtly fierce, his gaze towards Agnes was definitely more gentle.

…However, it seemed that Agnes didn’t harbor particularly good feelings towards Edan.

“Do as you please.”

“…Huh?”

“Use me as you please and then discard me when you’re done. I won’t stay quiet then.”

“…It seems like you’re misunderstanding something, but at least I promise that the things you’re worried about won’t happen.”

“…Hmph.”

Despite receiving what seemed like a threatening remark from a nobleman, Edan responded calmly with a smile. Agnes, who observed this, made a displeased expression, turned her head sharply, and walked away.

“Where are you going, Agnes?”

“I’m just going to say hello to Serafin.”

“Ah, I see. See you later.”

There didn’t seem to be anyone else to talk to besides Serafin, so it was clear that she would eventually return to my side as the party progressed.

“Good friend, Lily.”

“Huh? Agnes?”

“At least better than Auguste or the princess. Lily is someone who looks at you directly without any pretense or ulterior motives.”

“Well, if Ed says so, then I guess that’s it. Among the friends I have at the academy, Lily is the least burdensome.”

“…Even though I’m a bit reluctant to reluctantly join the party of that flashy hero, that’s Blaze’s personal matter.”

Muttered words while watching the arrival of the party guests, Cerista and Gethmujoshegi, and Serafin chatting with them.

It seemed that Edan’s wariness towards the hero had intensified even more due to the previous incident at the afterparty.

I wanted to somehow contact Gethmujoshegi and have a conversation with him at least once, but with Edan’s reaction like this, it seemed quite difficult.

Since Edan himself had directly told me not to mix hero and talk, I couldn’t approach him first. Even if it wasn’t for the incident that Natalie caused at the afterparty, there might have been a chance to talk to him at least once.

I had no interest in demon subjugation or the main story, so I had already let more than a year pass without delivering the message to recruit other characters.

“There will be demon subjugation candidate characters coming in until next year, so it’s not too late yet.”

Still, it was better to deliver this information quickly.

On the hero’s side, it was necessary to prepare for the possibility of Lillis not joining the plan they had set up, as they couldn’t know what plans they were making.

Thinking about that, I was tilting the cocktail glass in front of Edan when the noisy voices of young ladies started to be heard at the entrance of the banquet hall.

With this level of decibels and crowd, the person who was probably entering right now was…

“Kyaa! It’s Prince Machart!”

“M-Machart Prince! A-Are you well…?!”

“Thank you, miss. If you’re okay, would you like to dance with me later?”

“R-Really, Prince?!”

“Of course, I can accompany you around the eleventh turn or so. Today, I have a lot of reservations…”

“If I can dance with you, even the hundredth turn would be fine!”

“M-Machart Prince! H-How have you been…? I, I saw you at the academy before…”

“I’m sorry. I’m not good at remembering flower names. Instead, I feel like I’ve met a beautiful lady with a new feeling, so please forgive me?”

“Yes, yes! Anytime!”

Woosh, gulp.

Wow, crazy… It felt like I was going to vomit, seeing it up close instead of just in the game…

That pig-headed… I mean, seeing Edan, the pig-headed character from the original game, was a different kind of discomfort.

When playing the game, it didn’t have much impact as it only appeared in cutscenes, but seeing that greasy face up close and hearing the cringeworthy words, it felt like the lunch I had was going to come back up.

Instead of looking over there and seeing the uncomfortable sight of that guy, I quickly turned my body away from the entrance commotion.

Yeah, in fact, terms like scoundrel or pervert should be attached to that guy, not to the hero.

That guy probably had a number of young ladies devoured like snack wrappers at the academy, even if it wasn’t in the double digits. I didn’t really care since they were all just extras or supporting characters anyway.

A disgusting guy who only trusts his face and flirts with all the female characters, including Cerista and Agnes.

He was truly a villain, which was fortunate. If there was a route to recruit that guy as a companion in “Luminor Academy,” the genre would definitely have changed.

“Let’s change the location, Ed.”

“…Yes, Lilli. It’s better if the Fourth Prince doesn’t notice us.”

As Edan and I quietly exchanged opinions and started to move away from that guy cautiously, the moment I was about to take a step in the opposite direction…

I felt a shiver down my spine as that guy’s voice called out to me from behind.

“…Wait a minute. You, the lady in the crimson dress.”

‘…Ah, damn it.’

As soon as the entrance of the banquet hall became noisy, I should have moved to a different place immediately.

But I got distracted and ended up looking at that Machart guy.

Since I couldn’t move my feet anymore after being called by the royal family, I cautiously turned my head towards that greasy guy.

“Just by looking at your back, you are truly beautiful… Oh, oh… How can there be such a perfect lady like you?”

“….”

‘Don’t you have eyes in your chest?’

“Since we’ve met like this, how about we exchange names, beautiful lady?”

‘Are you talking about exchanging names, Prince Machart?’

“…Get lost, damn it.”

“….What?”

Ah, I made a mistake.