Excuse (2)

“Maid, are you perhaps a young lady born of noble blood from somewhere?”

A question that suddenly came up during the conversation with Ethan, one that could be considered utterly obvious.

Well, it was the first conversation after I had used such magic, so it was only natural that such a question would arise.

In this world, commoners who can use magic don’t exist, and if such a case were to occur, its meaning would almost always lead to one conclusion.

That they are not commoners who can use magic, but rather illegitimate children who inherited noble blood from somewhere.

In this world, a family’s bloodline magic was an element that directly signified that family’s status and power.

Because of this, each family had a marriage culture where only nobles married each other to ensure their bloodline magic would never leak out. If, by chance, a child was born between a commoner and a noble, it was standard practice to take them in as a concubine, if nothing else, to prevent the bloodline magic from leaking outside.

No, it would even be fortunate if they were taken in as a concubine.

There were countless cases where they would brand them with a Slave Contract to prevent them from escaping with the seed, then imprison them somewhere in the mansion forever, or even kill them to prevent the illegitimate child from being born.

And those who were born, having escaped a life-threatening crisis in such a way, were the ‘commoners who could use magic’.

For various reasons, the reason why I shouldn’t reveal that I can use magic was, of course, here.

Because the moment a rumor spread that I was someone’s illegitimate child, even if no one knew whose, I might become a target for ‘nobles with something to hide’.

‘Of course, Lilith is a special case entirely, so she has no relation to noble illegitimate children at all, but….’

Regardless of whether there was a relation or not, simply letting that fact be known would bring no good whatsoever.

If this were to become known, it would be such a dangerous truth that I would truly be forced to live as a Maid in the Blackwood Territory for the rest of my life.

The moment I became a free person from the Blackwood affiliation, some unknown noble would surely come after me, solely because I could use magic.

In that sense, revealing the truth to Ethan and asking for his cooperation might be a better choice.

The problem was that the truth itself was even more difficult to reveal to Ethan.

That’s because the reason Lilith Rosewood could use magic was that this character was the ‘Saint’ of this generation.

‘It’s hard enough to believe I’m a noble’s illegitimate child, but claiming to be the Saint is definitely crossing the line.’

In this world, there were only two individuals in the entire world who could use magic without being from a noble or imperial family.

The two beings born with mysterious powers at the time of the Demon King’s revival: the Hero and the Saint.

The Hero, of course, referred to the protagonist character in this 『Luminor Academy』 game.

And the other one, the ‘Saint’, was none other than this Lilith Rosewood.

Of course, my claiming to be the Saint would be an even more preposterous answer than saying I was an illegitimate child from somewhere, so there was no way Ethan would believe it.

Moreover, Lilith, regardless of being the Saint, couldn’t even recognize the fact that she was the Saint herself.

Because the Saint of 『Luminor Academy』 wasn’t a character who could prophesy her own sainthood.

The process by which Lilith was officially recognized as the Saint by the Aurelia Church must have followed these steps:

Tracking down Saint Lilith according to the oracle received from the Aurelia Church, and then confirming that the discovered Lilith possessed the qualifications of a Saint.

Only after realizing she was the Saint would she have been moved to the Aurelia Main Church.

The reason for this assumption was none other than the fact that, both in my current situation and in the original storyline, the truth of Lilith being the Saint was not revealed until the very late stages of the story.

This was all thanks to the unprecedented troll move committed by Lilith’s father just before he died of alcoholism.

The cause was that, just before the priests of the Aurelia Church discovered Lilith, her father sold his daughter due to gambling debts.

‘In fact, he’s the number one reason Lilith’s life became so tragic.’

Thanks to that foolish act, Lilith’s fate, which was originally supposed to be one of being revered and blessed by other priests in the Aurelia Church, plummeted to the bottom as the Sexual Service Maid of Ethan, the Pig Prince of the Blackwood Ducal Family.

What’s more, the father who sold his daughter died alone from alcoholism within a few days, so it truly was a tragic story.

It was the worst possible incident, befitting a character with single-digit luck.

Actually, hints about Lilith being the Saint could be found sufficiently within the game’s elements.

Why, despite being a Mage, her offensive magic barely hit anything, while her support magic was excessively efficient.

Why, among her various stats, only her charm, which attracted people, was unnecessarily high.

And various hints obtained as the game progressed gradually revealed the clue that Lilith was the Saint.

Furthermore, one of the crucial hints was that Lilith was the only ‘non-virgin’ character among all the heroines. …Though it’s a setting I don’t particularly like.

The Saint’s Authority was a unique power that only the Saint could use. Just like Princess Seraphine of the Moonlight Shadow, who used Lunar Power.

And there was one more condition for using that authority besides being the Saint: it could only be used when the Saint was a ‘pure virgin’.

At the start of the Academy story in Part 2, Lilith, having already become Ethan’s sex slave, naturally could not use that authority.

The very fact that none of the main characters could use the Saint’s Authority was practically a groundbreaking hint.

However, in the final chapter of the work, Lilith awakens and somehow manages to use her authority.

‘Actually, by that point, it wouldn’t be particularly special for any character to awaken, not just Lilith.’

That’s why I said that conquering the Demon King wouldn’t be impossible even without Lilith.

My explanation about my identity has dragged on, but the conclusion is this:

As I am now, I cannot reveal to Ethan why I can use magic.

Revealing why I can use magic would mean revealing that I am the Saint.

Revealing that I am the Saint would mean revealing that I know what is happening in this world.

And revealing that would mean revealing that I was a being from another world.

Rather than revealing all of this, simply keeping my mouth shut and pretending not to know was the most correct choice.

Even if the price was being misunderstood by Ethan as an illegitimate child of some unknown noble.

For a moment, the thought that perhaps I could reveal to him that I was the Saint briefly crossed my mind.

But ultimately, the conclusion I reached in my heart was that I still couldn’t reveal it to Ethan.

So, from now on, it was time to simply play the role of ‘Lilith, the naive Maid’.

“Actually, I don’t know, Young Master.”

“…You don’t know?”

“It first started when I saw a noble using magic in my hometown long ago, and I casually felt interested and tried to imitate it. At that time, I was young, had no knowledge of magic, and didn’t even know that magic was the exclusive property of nobles.”

“……”

“Perhaps a normal child would have just pretended to use magic and nothing would have happened. However, magic that should never have come out burst from my hands with a strange sensation, and I found it fascinating, so I told my mother.”

“…Your mother must have, of course, forbidden you from using magic when she saw that.”

“…That’s right.”

It was a lie.

In fact, even in my memories from when I was Lilith, my mother barely left an impression.

Because she passed away from tuberculosis less than three years after I was born.

And the first time I used magic wasn’t in my childhood, but the first Clean magic I used after becoming a Maid.

I felt a little sorry for selling out my deceased mother, but surviving was the most important thing right now.

So I shamelessly played the part of ‘innocent Maid Lilith’ and glossed over my magic.

“But, being immature, I didn’t understand my mother’s prohibition against using magic, and I secretly practiced magic where no one else could see.”

It was a lie.

“Of course, that was only before I was sold to the Blackwood Territory, and I haven’t used it once since I started working as a Maid at Blackwood Mansion.”

Naturally, it was a lie.

“The magic I used when facing the King Serpent was also like that. Princess Seraphine suddenly took me to the Imperial Palace West Gate, saying she witnessed me using magic to defeat a monster… For some reason, I wanted to live up to the Princess’s expectations, and while concentrating, it just happened to come out by chance.”

This, too, was, of course, a lie.

I don’t even know anymore. Why is it that the more plausible I try to sound, the more I can only tell lies?

If I were a lying puppet made of wood, by now, just cutting off my nose would have provided enough firewood to warm the entire Blackwood Mansion.

It wasn’t that I wanted to tell so many lies. It was just that the truth I had to hide was too massive, so I had no choice but to fabricate an entirely different story.

I wasn’t entirely without the desire to go to the Aurelia Church, reveal that I was the Saint, and seek the Church’s protection, but considering the original story of the work, even that was an impossible situation.

Ultimately, this was the only way to survive as Lilith.

To hide the fact that I could use magic as much as possible, and if caught, to pretend to be an illegitimate child of some unknown noble instead.

That was, by far, the best method.

“Hmm…”

Ethan, listening to my words, let out a hum, seemingly deep in thought with his head bowed.

Perhaps he had found something to doubt in the excuse I had just given.

After all, the excuse I had just presented to Ethan was entirely a hastily concocted story to act as an ‘illegitimate child of a noble’.

If Ethan were to seriously investigate my background, it wouldn’t be difficult to expose my story as a lie.

Facts like my mother in this world having died in my childhood, meaning I had no opportunity to see her use magic, or that my father was merely a commoner farmer and not a noble, could be uncovered with just a little investigation.

Perhaps, Ethan might even already know these facts.

But there was nothing I could do. For now, giving a hastily made excuse was still the best option.

…Of course. That was also only true on the premise that ‘Ethan would keep my secret’.

“Alright, Maid.”

“Yes?”

“So, you’ve known how to use magic since you were little, but you’ve been hiding it all this time because you’re a commoner, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I understand. Now that I know you have such a concern, I’ll take care of it somehow.”

“……Yes?”

…What exactly does he mean by ‘take care of it somehow’?

His tone of voice, at least, sounded as if he intended to be cooperative with me.

Could it be that he meant he would continue to keep my ability to use magic a secret?

“Young Master. Do those words mean that you will continue to conceal the fact that I am a commoner who can use magic?”

“…Huh? Ah, for now, yes. Of course, for what happens after that, I’ll probably have to talk to Princess Seraphine first.”

“…You don’t have to worry about Princess Seraphine. She also said she knows my secret and will keep it.”

“That’s good then. If the Princess cooperates, it’ll be a bit easier to resolve.”

“…Thank you very much, Young Master.”

…To think that I would live to see the day I received such help from Ethan.

Of course, the current Ethan had grown up properly, unlike the Ethan from the bad ending, so this kind of humanity wasn’t particularly surprising.

But I had never expected him to show such loyalty to a mere Maid like me.

‘Well, this must be proof that I’ve gotten along with Ethan quite well all this time.’

I decided to believe that the bond I had built with Ethan had moved his heart and prompted him to help me at the right moment.

After all, the only direct witnesses to that incident were Ethan and Seraphine.

If only those two guaranteed my secret, there was no reason for me to be in danger.

It’s truly fortunate that things seem to have worked out somehow.

Thanks to Ethan’s single promise to keep my secret, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief and calm my anxious heart.

Having cast aside all my worries, I immediately returned to my duties as Ethan’s ‘Exclusive Maid’.

“Time has flown by while we were talking. It would be best to go for breakfast before it gets too late, Young Master.”

“Yes, Maid. If we’re too late, Father will scold me again.”

Ethan Richard Blackwood, listening to my words, descended the stairs with me, heading towards the dining room.

I, too, followed behind him, moving to the first floor to fulfill my duties as his Exclusive Maid.

However, at that time, I still had no idea.

That what he meant by ‘take care of it somehow’ was not merely a promise to keep a secret.