episode_0230

It had been three days since I collapsed from sleep deprivation in the restaurant, and finally, the morning of the noble social gathering, the day of the long-awaited MacHeart suppression operation, dawned.

“Ugh, ugh….”

As the morning sunlight streamed in through the window, my body automatically rose up. It was a regular morning routine I had acquired from years of servant life.

In fact, until three days ago, I had been suffering day by day from not being able to sleep at night. However, recently, perhaps due to sleeping well, I was fortunate to wake up without any problems on the day of the operation. In an instant, my deteriorated condition had returned to normal.

-Swish, thud.

Since it wasn’t the academy anyway, I casually discarded the maid’s sleeping attire I had been wearing to change into clothes, as I usually did at Blackwood Manor. However, as I was about to discard it, I momentarily froze at the familiar yet unsettling sight that caught my eye.

‘Wait, this isn’t my room….’

I realized that I had woken up in Edan’s room, not mine, and although there was a brief confusion in my mind, thankfully, the bewildering feeling quickly subsided as my mind cleared with my awakening.

‘Right. I did say I would sleep here for a while.’

Due to nightmares and insomnia, I had agreed with Edan three days ago to sleep in his room until the day of the operation to regulate my condition.

I’m not sure of the exact reason, but at least if there was Edan’s warmth next to me, I wouldn’t have nightmares.

It wasn’t that I wanted to share a bed with Edan, but it was a necessary preparation for the final showdown with MacHeart. I didn’t want to risk any problems with the suppression operation due to my condition deteriorating on the day of the operation, putting not only myself but others at risk.

“Fortunately, Edan seems to still be asleep.”

I almost became a perverted maid who would have done something foolish while the owner was asleep in his underwear. Thankfully, my waking time was earlier than Edan’s, so it was a relief.

To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings with Edan, I slowly retrieved the discarded clothes.

-Swish.

As I climbed onto the bed to pick up the clothes that had flown off, I carefully moved my body to reach for the top that had flown to the other side of Edan’s body.

Carefully, slowly, so as not to break anything….

“Ugh…Lilith, wake up….”

…However, contrary to my wishes, Edan woke up shortly after I did, and unfortunately, at that moment, the position of his body and mine was not ideal.

-Thud.

“Huh?!”

As I reached out to pick up the clothes, I inadvertently ended up lying on top of him, and Edan, who had just woken up, rose with me, his face buried in my chest.

“Ugh?!”

-Thud.

And I, taken aback by the sensation, lost my balance and fell forward, ending up in a position where Edan’s face was buried in my chest from the morning.

“Uh, ugh?!”

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll excuse myself!”

“Lilith?! What just happened….”

After quickly picking up and putting on the discarded clothes, I hurried back to my room next door.

Throughout breakfast, Edan and I couldn’t bring ourselves to make eye contact.

***

Inside the carriage heading to the Star Palace, the venue for the noble social gathering, with Edan.

Perhaps because it was the first time in a long time that we were alone in the carriage, the atmosphere inside was awkward in many ways.

In fact, it wasn’t so much awkward being alone in the carriage with Ethan as it was just the ongoing awkwardness between us these days. From the events of this morning to the recent awkward situations, it just seemed to continue.

Like when I passed out during our meal at the restaurant and woke up with Ethan holding me in his arms. Or when I couldn’t sleep alone that night and went to Ethan’s room to ask if we could sleep together. And then waking up the next morning still pressed against Ethan’s body. I almost kissed his lips out of habit in my half-asleep state. With these daily occurrences repeating, Ethan and I naturally fell into this state.

So, honestly, as suffocatingly awkward as the current atmosphere is…

“Thinking about our future plans, maybe this awkwardness could actually work in our favor.”

After all, if Ethan and I don’t seem close, MacHart will feel more at ease approaching me to attack. If we’re setting a trap anyway, adding a bit of authenticity to it wouldn’t hurt.

Of course, if we appear too awkward, we might risk blowing our cover, so I should try to relax a bit.

“Ed.”

“…”

“…Ed?”

“Oh, yeah. What is it, Lillis?”

“Lil…lis?”

“Lil, Lillis…”

Whether he’s not nervous or too nervous to make such mistakes.

Realizing this couldn’t continue, I deliberately brought up the upcoming events to ease Ethan’s stiff response.

“If it’s already this awkward, how will we manage? MacHart will see right through us, won’t he?”

“…Sorry, Lillis.”

“…”

“Lil, Lillis…”

“We’ve all been preparing for this moment for a long time. Agnes even pretended to fight with me to dispel MacHart’s suspicions, and even the Celestial Maiden Serista risked herself to support me. We’ve all been planning for this moment, so we need to handle it properly.”

“Don’t worry, Lillis. I’ll do my best in the actual battle.”

If Ethan is involved, things might go better in the actual battle than they are now.

I didn’t want to doubt Ethan’s confidence, but I still wanted to be cautious.

To prevent mistakes like revealing MacHart’s anger upon meeting him, or being caught lurking near MacHart as bait and getting exposed, I wanted to take precautions.

If we made a mistake in the actual battle, the plan to defeat MacHart would be ruined. Once MacHart saw through a trap, he wouldn’t fall for the same trap again.

And if that happened, I would have to ask the Guild Master to put me in the Hero Party. Even after MacHart transformed into a true demon, being affiliated with the Blackwood Mansion meant putting many members of the Blackwood family and servants in danger.

Dragging out the battle would only tire us out, and it was my side, not MacHart, that would suffer. We had to finish it this summer vacation and establish a bond. I needed to regain my peaceful daily life at the academy next semester.

Even though Ethan wouldn’t intentionally put me in danger, I was currently receiving his help for free. As a gesture of gratitude after everything was over, it was good to share some stories that would motivate him.

“Ed.”

“Yeah, Lillis.”

“If things work out well this time and I no longer have to be threatened by Prince MacHeart, then I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Yeah, Lily… What?!”

“A wish, a wish.”

…Oh, wait. Maybe I was too hasty.

I quickly added another condition to my hastily thought-out offer to make sure Ethan wouldn’t ask me for something unreasonable.

“Of course, asking for 10,000 gold coins or something like that is definitely out of the question. It’s only a wish that I can fulfill with my abilities.”

“….”

“Your reaction is quite dull. Did you want something other than a wish, Ed?”

“Oh, no! I didn’t mean to imply that I didn’t like Lily’s suggestion.”

“Is that so?”

“If Lily can really grant it, then I thought any wish would be possible…”

“….”

Anyway, it’s ominous.

It seems like he really liked what I said a week ago. He couldn’t hide his true feelings so blatantly.

If we can really defeat MacHeart safely, then there’s no reason why I wouldn’t do what I promised back then. It might be a bit uncomfortable for my throat and mouth, but honestly, it’s a much better deal compared to my life.

And Ethan was risking his life for me without any ulterior motives, so if he wanted something like that as a reward, I could easily grant it.

“Do as you wish. Of course, it’ll be after this mission is over and I’m still alive.”

“…I’ll definitely protect you, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll leave it to you, Ed.”

I thought at that time that I could easily fulfill a request like asking for something to be said again, but I had no idea what Ethan would ask for as a reward for defeating MacHeart.