episode_0480

About a month had passed since we returned to Blackwood Manor.

Most of what I did for a month was assisting Ethan with his work. I was just helping him out as an administrative assistant while he was taking classes for the Blackwood Successor from Harold.

Actually, since it was a successor class, I thought it would be better to let Ethan do it alone, but Harold didn’t really stop me from helping him.

… Maybe Harold also thinks that I might remain Ethan’s exclusive maid forever.

‘I don’t know about anyone else, but I have to sneak out without being caught by Harold.’

If he really decided to hire me for life, there’s probably no way out.

As late at night as possible. It seemed best to sneak away when everyone was asleep.

Anyway, for a month, I lived a normal life, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. During my free time, I would meet up with Isabel and Katharina and chat, and sometimes when I had to go out to the village, the three of us would go for a walk together.

“Haaap!!”

-Chaeaeaaeng!!

“… Your skills are improving day by day, Ethan. Good job.”

… if Ethan wins a game against Harold or something, we give him a reward that night.

I wondered if maybe she was going to do something weird like last time with a leash and anal plug, but it never got that far. Same with the naked leash walks and outdoor pee play I saw in my dreams.

‘… Thinking about Ethan now, it doesn’t make sense that he would do something like that to me.’

And then, some more time passed and there was about a week left until the end of winter vacation.

In about three days, the carriage heading to the academy would depart from here, so it was time to start planning the operation.

“Hoooo… .”

A small suitcase made separately while pretending to pack to leave for the academy.

I double-checked the contents of the box I was going to put in it one last time to make sure it was the most important thing.

“100, 200, 300… . They’re all there.”

Up until now, the salary I had earned working as a full-time maid at Blackwood Manor, the side income I had accumulated in various ways while attending the academy, and recently, the reward for an escort mission from Queen Raini and the money I had earned by giving information to the nobles of the kingdom.

When I gathered all the money I had saved over the past few years in one place, I realized that the amount was considerable. In terms of monetary value alone, it was equivalent to nearly 300 gold coins.

Considering that one gold coin is worth about 3 million won in real money, I had almost 900 million won in front of me.

‘It was really worth gritting my teeth and saving up.’

Considering that about half of this was money earned from visiting the Kingdom of Deprin, the mission to escort Princess Raini was definitely a sweet quest.

Of course, even excluding that, the money I had saved up so far was around 140 gold coins, so it wasn’t particularly lacking in the stimulation of independence, but still, the more money you have, the better.

If you don’t show off that you have a lot of money, you won’t become a target for robbers or scammers, so from now on, you can live your second life while keeping this money safe.

‘It’s a shame that there are so many things left behind, but there’s nothing I can do about it.’

And come to think of it, the original plan was to leave about a year ago.

Let’s just think of it as a plan that was delayed by about a year due to one reason or another.

“Ah, I have to write a letter too… .”

If I leave without saying anything, they might misunderstand that I’ve gone missing or been kidnapped, so it would be right to leave a letter. If I leave without leaving a letter, Ethan, who has turned evil like in the dream I had that time, might come and catch me.

I don’t think the dream I had back then was a precognitive dream, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

“Dear Master Ethan… Ah, no, I think this is exaggerating… .”

In the first place, it seems a bit strange to use words like love or something like that when you’re leaving everything behind. If I write it like this, it’ll sound like I still have some lingering attachment to Ethan.

Of course, it would be a lie if I said there weren’t any left, but I can’t let Ethan know. If he becomes convinced that I have feelings for him, he might really capture me like in a dream.

I wrote my farewell letter to Ethan from top to bottom, as calmly as possible, but also making sure he knew the reason why I was leaving.

“… That’s why I left the Blackwood family and lived the life of an ordinary person… sigh.”

…I had to rewrite it several times because the writing kept getting smudged by tear stains.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Release, where does it hurt?”

“… Huh, yeah?”

“Your eyes look strangely red. Did you not sleep well last night?”

Isabel asked cautiously as if she was worried about something after seeing my reddened eyes. And Katharina, who heard her words, also belatedly checked my face and made a worried expression.

“Ho, are you sick…? Tell your master or young master and rest today… .”

“… That’s not it, Katarina-senpai. I’m just a little tired. ”

“But I think it would be better to rest. I have to go to the academy tomorrow or the day after. What if I ruin my condition and have a hard time when I go back to school?”

“I said it’s okay. And now, I want to spend one more day with Isabel or Katarina-senpai… … Ah.”

“Huh? Why me and my senior?”

“… I want the three of us to talk a little more before we go back to the academy. After we go to Luminor Academy, we won’t be able to talk to Senior Katarina for a while. ”

… I almost made my habitual slip of the tongue again. That was dangerous.

It had to be kept a secret from both Ethan and Harold, as well as from them, until the very end that I was leaving Blackwood Manor.

If either of us had told anyone else in the mansion that I was leaving, then it could have really become an escape, not a getaway.

“Ah, anyway, I’ll go to Master Ethan. I have to help the master train his successor today too.”

“Yeah, release… . If you’re tired, you really need to rest… ?”

“Don’t worry about it… .”

… I guess I should be thankful that I was caught by Isabelle first and not Ethan.

As soon as I broke up with the two of them, I snuck to the bathroom and washed my face until the puffiness around my eyes went down before heading to the office where Ethan and Harold were.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Whew, finally finished… .”

“Thank you for your hard work, Master Ethan.”

“Yeah. The release was hard too.”

Late at night, in the office of Blackwood Manor.

Unlike Harold, who had already returned to his bedroom, Ethan, who had stayed in his office late into the night, finally finished his work and stretched, and I quietly rubbed his shoulders.

“Thank you for your hard work for the past month, Ethan.”

“What’s the hardship? You have to learn it anyway to inherit the territory. Rather, it was Lilith who suffered a lot by helping you.”

“I was just doing what I had to do as Master Ethan’s exclusive maid.”

“I guess that’s what you’d say if it was a release.”

Ethan suddenly met my eyes as I leaned back and rubbed his shoulder with those words. My body froze as if frozen in the moment at his sudden smile.

“Let’s go in now. It’s late at night.”

“… Yes, Master Ethan.”

“Do you want to go on a date tomorrow for the first time in a while? Since today is the last day of my father’s education, I think I’ll have a day or so of free time tomorrow.”

“… Tomorrow, you say?”

“Yeah. Do you have time? If you’re going to play with Isabelle or Katarina, then there’s nothing you can do.”

“No. I don’t have any plans with those two people… .”

… The problem isn’t Isabel or Katarina, it’s just that from tomorrow onwards I won’t be at Blackwood Manor.

I avoided Ethan’s gaze, enduring the strange pain that felt like stabbing my chest.

“Release?”

“… Yes, yes?!”

“Why are you reacting like that? As if you have some worries.”

“… Ah, no. I, I’m not really any different than usual… .”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re any different than usual. Is there a reason you don’t want to date me?”

… there’s no reason why I wouldn’t want to date Ethan.

But if we delay our schedule even by one more day here, we will completely miss the time to leave.

The night before boarding the carriage to Luminor Academy. If I were to choose to distance myself from Ethan, tonight would be the perfect night.

But Ethan’s last date proposal was hard to ignore, no matter how much I thought about it. If his proposal had come even a day earlier, I would have accepted it without a second thought.

As I pondered over the best date to leave Blackwood Manor and the last memories I could make with Ethan, I cautiously brought up a new proposal to him.

“Not tomorrow… .”

“Huh?”

“… Starting tonight, can’t you?”

“Tonight…?”

“… Yes, tonight.”

…Before we part ways, I think it would be okay to leave behind one last dreamlike memory.