Familiar Distance

Early morning. Ethan’s room.

Waking up to the now completely familiar ceiling of this room, I rose from bed as usual to prepare for work.

‘…I don’t even bother sleeping separately at Blackwood Mansion anymore.’

While sharing a bed at the academy dormitory was unavoidable, Blackwood Mansion had separate rooms for me and Isabel, so using separate rooms had been the unspoken rule.

…Not that rules really mattered. A maid who sleeps and wakes in the same bed as her master is either a secret lover or, well, a sexual service maid for more indecent purposes.

‘…Am I both?’

Fortunately, in my case, I wasn’t an official lover but a temporary one, and the sexual service maid treatment was only permitted when giving rewards, so both relationships were half-baked.

So why had I been sleeping and waking in Ethan’s room lately? Simply because I’d gotten completely used to it.

After returning from the academy, I tried sleeping alone a few times, but I often ended up restless and waking up at dawn. The academy dormitory life had gotten so ingrained that it became a bad habit.

‘…I’ll have to fix that once I leave the mansion.’

But for now, there was no urgent need to change it.

Ethan had already given permission-no, more like enthusiastically welcomed the idea-so his room had effectively become our shared space for over a month now.

Of course, all my maid essentials were still in my personal room, so I needed to go there to get ready for work.

*Snore, huuu…*

‘He’s gotten used to it too, huh. Sleeping so soundly even with me right next to him.’

Deciding to wake Ethan after officially starting work, I stepped out of his room in my nightwear to return to my own.

Before Harold sees me and wonders what kind of woman sleeps in his son’s room…

*Creeeak.*

‘…No one?’

Harold’s door was firmly shut, not a crack of light peeking through.

Just as I confirmed the coast was clear and took my first step toward my room, my plan crumbled instantly.

‘Gotta get back before Harold sees me…’

“Good morning, Lilith.”

“…?!!”

The sudden voice from behind made every hair on my body stand on end. Forcing composure, I managed the most natural morning greeting I could muster.

“G-good morning, Master.”

“I saw you coming out of Ethan’s room. Did you sleep together last night?”

Harold cut straight to the point. I answered as nonchalantly as possible, pretending it was nothing. Getting caught in this relationship would be dangerous in many ways.

If this man, who’d fake his own death for his son, found out Ethan was infatuated with me… things could get messy.

“…We shared a bed, but nothing happened last night that would concern you, Master.”

Not a lie. ‘Last night,’ we just slept-nothing else. Really.

“Concern? Why would I be concerned about you and Ethan?”

“Any noble with a grown son would worry about their precious bloodline mingling with a lowborn like me, wouldn’t they?”

“…You undervalue yourself. I’ve never once thought that way about you and Ethan.”

“…Is that so?”

Or maybe this was all a trap.

Lull me into a false sense of security, then flip the script: ‘So you were in an improper relationship with my son after all.’

With someone as inscrutable as Harold, I couldn’t let my guard down until the very end.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t care if Young Master Ethan mingled with back-alley prostitutes?”

“Hmm, that wasn’t my intention. Are you really comparing yourself to a brothel whore?”

“…Not exactly, but as an unknown commoner girl, the difference isn’t that great. You know my baronet title was just a fake to enroll in the academy.”

“Yes, I know.”

Harold nodded lightly, countering my argument.

“In other words, now that I, the head of House Blackwood, vouch for you, it’s irrelevant, isn’t it?”

“…But you still don’t know everything about me. You don’t know how I lived before being sold to House Blackwood.”

“How could I possibly know every servant’s past? Are you seriously claiming you worked in a brothel before losing your maidenhood?”

“…No, that’s not it.”

“Good. That’s all that matters. Even if you had such a past, it wouldn’t concern me. What matters is Ethan’s opinion, not mine.”

“……”

“Even if it’s just a fling, it wouldn’t be a bad experience for him… but if Ethan wants more, I won’t oppose it.”

“No, Master. As I said earlier, last night, nothing improper happened between the Young Master and m-“

Before I could finish denying, Harold cut me off and began recounting his own past out of nowhere.

“I first met Tanasia at Luminor Academy. As a swordsmanship student, I shouldn’t have crossed paths with her, a magic student, but fate kept intertwining us.”

“…Huh?”

“Listen quietly. This is just a story.”

Though it seemed an oddly long tale to tell a maid in nightwear, Harold leaned against the corridor window and mused as if reminiscing.

…As a mere maid, I had no choice but to listen.

“I first saw her in an alley between the swordsmanship and spearmanship dorms during our second year. She stood there, wand in hand, shielding a girl while facing off against senior swordsmen.”

“……”

“Later, I learned the girl’s family had bad blood with the seniors. Tanasia, ever righteous, couldn’t ignore it despite being from another department.”

“……”

“Even as a skilled mage, close combat against swords was disadvantageous. The bullies outnumbered her. She took down a few, but their leader just smirked at her.”

“……”

“What do you think I did when I saw that smirk?”

Though Harold and Tanasia’s story wasn’t covered much in *Luminor Academy*, this conversation alone gave me enough clues.

The fact that Tanasia became his wife was half the answer.

“You stepped forward and swung your sword against the seniors, didn’t you?”

“Why assume that? I’m not one to meddle unnecessarily.”

“If you hadn’t, Lady Tanasia wouldn’t be your wife now.”

“Hmm. Noble arranged marriages aren’t decided that way. Is that your only reason?”

“And… if you’d run away back then, you wouldn’t be telling me this story now.”

“Oh?”

“Men hate admitting their flaws to women. You wouldn’t recount an embarrassing past unless… *eep*.”

I clapped a hand over my mouth, realizing I’d gotten carried away, and quickly bowed.

“M-my apologies! How dare a mere maid speak so boldly to her master…!”

“It’s fine. You’re right. If it were truly embarrassing, I wouldn’t be telling you.”

“……”

“That day, I chose to save Tanasia instead of ignoring the trouble. Back then, I didn’t know why-I just acted on instinct.”

“I see…”

“It took me years to realize why. I just wanted to impress her.”

“R-really…?”

“Yes. Not some marquess or border count’s daughter, but a mere baron’s daughter from the undeveloped outskirts.”

“……”

“I never believed a duke’s son must marry within his rank, Lilith. I still don’t.”

“Ah, I see…”

After unexpectedly recounting his past, Harold naturally headed downstairs, leaving me alone in the hallway outside Ethan’s room.

I could only stare blankly at his retreating figure.

‘So… what was the point of that?’

That was the vague thought that crossed my mind as I watched Harold disappear after saying his piece.

…At least he seemed to let slide the fact that I came out of Ethan’s room.