episode_0501

“… Yeah, so you were attending the Adventurer’s Guild just the day before yesterday? ”

“Maybe…? Actually, I don’t know if it’s the assassin Lily? I’ve heard the guild staff gossiping about the increase in adventurers working during the day, and since I saw a woman with a face I’ve never seen before, I’m guessing it’s her.”

“Well, that’s good enough. Maybe that’s the person I’m looking for.”

“But why that woman all of a sudden? Did she run away after stealing your money?”

“You don’t know that much, so I’d like you to just answer my questions politely.”

Ethan flicks a silver coin at a man who asks him a question in return.

They were poor Ermia adventurers who always struggled with a lack of money. There was nothing more effective than money in stopping their useless curiosity.

“Ah, right. I asked the wrong question.”

“So, do you know anything?”

“Hmm… If I have to be picky, I guess I’ve never seen her sleep? She doesn’t seem to sleep out, but do you happen to live with some guy?”

“… What?”

“Hey, bro. Why are you being so scary? It’s just a guess, a guess. Originally, this neighborhood was for men and women, and outsiders couldn’t even get proper accommodations. It’s just a reasonable guess that came to mind.

I’ve been living in the dorms for quite some time, so I’ve gotten to know a lot of female adventurers, but I’ve never seen that assassin named Lily. I’ve never seen her sleeping outside the walls or in the adventurer’s guild. ”

“… Don’t include anything that isn’t certain, even if it’s just a guess. It’s just a joke that’s unpleasant.”

“Okay, okay. Is that girl your brother’s? If that’s the case, then I understand.”

An adventurous man who continues to do vulgar finger tricks while saying such things.

Ethan, who had been trying hard to suppress the urge to momentarily crush his face, was wasting his time gathering more information about ‘Assassin Lily’.

“… … ?”

Ethan’s eyes followed the alleyway, sensing a familiar gaze from somewhere.

“Oh, come to think of it, I think I saw that woman among the knights when we were subduing the giant hog herd last time… .”

-Tadadak!

“Okay, that’s all for now.”

“Hey, bro! Where are you going after asking me all this time?!”

Ethan’s body moved instinctively at the sound of light footsteps he had heard before.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

I realized that Ethan had followed me all the way to Ermia, so I had to go back to the church first and then leave this town quickly.

The only problem is that to get back to the church, I have to go through the same road Ethan is on… .

‘What should I do…?’

If I couldn’t get through this intersection, I would have to go around for almost 30 minutes. This was the center of Ermia, so the buildings were packed together and there were hardly any roads.

It was almost crazy to wander around the city for another 30 minutes when Ethan was still in the same town. Or else, we could just go out of the city and leave around evening time… .

‘In the end, it’s more noticeable. In the first place, you can’t even run properly at night.’

Having made up my mind, I quietly watched the conversation between Ethan and the nameless adventurer, and quickly moved forward the moment his attention waned.

“Oh, by the way, last time there was a giant hog… .”

‘Now is the time!’

-Tadadak!

“… … ?”

As soon as the adventurer started talking, I quickly ran into the opposite alley and headed towards the church without looking back.

He moved when he was most focused, and since he was carrying a silent dagger, he could probably be expected to have a stealth effect.

While thinking about that, I walked through the alleys towards the Aurelia Church.

“… Release!”

“… … ?!”

My body turned around for a moment at the sound of Ethan’s voice calling me from behind.

“Release, release, right?!”

… What, how did you notice?!

Obviously, the dagger’s stealth effect will be activated to its maximum.

Is it some kind of intuition that only I can recognize, or did he just happen to see me entering the alley?

In any case, the important thing was to quickly escape from this place. Even if I was wearing an assassin’s outfit instead of a maid’s outfit, there was no way Ethan wouldn’t recognize me.

-grasp!

“Wait, release!!”

I ignored Ethan’s voice coming from behind me and walked a little deeper into the alley.

It’s a bit of a detour to get to the church, but getting Ethan out of the way is more important right now.

And if by any chance Ethan found out that I was staying at the church, then there was a chance that escape would become truly impossible.

Because even if I just made up my mind and waited for them to come out of the church entrance, there wasn’t much I could do.

-Taat! Ta-ta-dak! Ta-at!

“Release! Oh, no, Lily!! Wait, stop! Wait!!”

Ethan seemed to be saying something behind me, but I didn’t have the time to pay attention to what he was saying right now. I was busy desperately trying to memorize the path I had taken while wandering around the alley.

During the month I spent in Ermia, my usual daily life was limited to the road to the Adventurer’s Guild and the area around the church.

I was going through the most complicated alleys possible, so it was complicated just to memorize the paths in order to shake off Ethan and escape alone.

‘When you come in, turn left, right, left in that order, and then the second alley on the right in the straight section. Go down the stairs there and enter the alley in the 7 o’clock direction, so when you come out… .’

I went deep into the alley, mentally mapping out a route back in reverse to avoid getting lost as much as possible, and somehow managed to shake off Ethan.

“Haa, Lee, Release!! Release, right?! Release!!”

“… … .”

I hid in a pile of boxes in the alley and waited quietly for Ethan to disappear somewhere else.

‘Somehow, I think I managed to shake them off.’

Yeah, that’s right. I want to see Ethan right now, but I can’t meet Ethan right now.

Ethan hasn’t been able to sort out his feelings for me, and with the baby in his stomach, meeting him now would be the worst possible time.

If I ever meet Ethan again… it will be after everything has been sorted out. After he has sorted out his obsession with me, and after I have given birth to Ethan’s child.

Of course, the child’s existence is a secret that must not be revealed until the very end, so it must be kept absolutely hidden until the very end.

… If I’m not going to go back to being Ethan’s lover, I must at least never lose this child. For that reason alone, I couldn’t meet Ethan now.

“Release… ! Where did you go, Release… !!”

I slowly caught my breath as I listened to Ethan’s voice and footsteps getting further and further away.

Now that I know I’m pregnant, I have to cut down on all the running around like this for a while.

No, it might be better to just take a break from the Adventurer’s Guild and everything else for a while, or take a year off to a town with good air and cheap prices.

…if he loses his child to something like a miscarriage, he probably won’t get a second chance to hold his child.

‘… went?’

If you’ve been hiding this long, you must be slowly turning back.

“… … Phew.”

Only after I felt that the sound of the people lingering around me had completely disappeared did I finally let out the breath I had been holding.

Now, just slowly go back the way you came, and then go back to the church by going down that road… .

“… You were hiding here, Lilith.”

“… … .”

His voice, which had clearly disappeared far away, was heard clearly from the seat right next to me.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“… You were hiding here, Lilith.”

“… … .”

“… Judging from the reaction, it seems right.”

… Finally, I found it.

Ethan has been traveling around the empire for over a month and two weeks looking for Lilith.

Ethan’s mind was filled with all sorts of emotions at finally reaching her.

“Why did you run away? You must have heard my voice.”

“… … .”

The eyes of a black-haired woman looking at him with surprised eyes like a rabbit without answering.

Even though half of his face was covered by a mask, his eyes at least showed a variety of emotions.

“Hoo, let’s go back to the mansion for now. Stop being such a ridiculous adventurer. We can slowly resolve the misunderstanding on the way back.”

“… … .”

“Isabel and Katarina are also very worried. And so are your friends at the Academy, Lilith. Oh, and your father will do something about the Academy’s unauthorized leave of absence… .”

A month and a half.

Was the problem that I was relieved to finally find the release after not being able to sleep properly and letting my guard down a little?

-Tadadak!!

“Wait, Lee, Release…! Don’t run away…!!”

The black-haired assassin was trying to avoid him and went deeper into the alley. The two of them started a second chase.