Motivation (2)

After finishing the harsh task of two thousand swings instead of his afternoon sparring with his father.

Ethan Richard Blackwood walked up to the 4th floor where his private room was, clutching his arms that ached with muscle pain.

After performing the task his father had given him to properly control his mind, he felt his mind had calmed down to some extent.

Of course, this too only seemed like a temporary calm; once evening came and he faced his exclusive maid again, it would become meaningless, but for now, he could somehow hide his chaotic feelings with fatigue.

“……”

…That day, three days ago, when Lilith told him to touch her chest, was it truly just because she needed the exclusive maid position?

Perhaps, even a little, Lilith also felt romantic feelings for him, and that’s why she allowed it?

Is that why, even after becoming a noble lady, she kept approaching him, saying she wanted to be his exclusive maid?

If he hadn’t stopped touching her chest midway, what would have happened afterwards?

Perhaps that relationship might have gone beyond simply touching her chest….

‘Ah, no…. I don’t want to build a relationship with Lilith in that way….’

Lately, if his brain rested even for a moment, it seemed to always return to the memory of that moment, so he had to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Now that others were slowly starting to notice his strangeness, what if it were revealed that the reason he became like this was because of Lilith, his exclusive maid?

He thought his father might separate Lilith from him for his education.

Because of thinking about the person he liked, there was nothing as foolish as becoming distant from the person he liked most, so even to prevent it in advance, Ethan had to somehow erase the scene of that day from his mind, but.

For a man in his prime, full of vigor, it was naturally not an easy process.

Would he be able to forget it tonight? Would he be able to shake it off by tomorrow? With such thoughts filling his mind, Ethan entered his room, and.

In his own private space, where he had entered to find peace of mind, Ethan couldn’t help but feel his heart pound once again.

“Is your training finished, Young Master?”

“Ma-Maid?!”

His exclusive maid, who hadn’t left his mind all day and had been confusing him, was waiting for him in his room.

Separately from him, who couldn’t hide his embarrassment, Exclusive Maid Lilith simply continued the conversation with Ethan with a calm expression.

“I have something to tell Young Master, could you spare a moment to talk?”

“…Is it something that must be discussed right now?”

“I will only inform you in advance that it’s better to tell you sooner.”

“…Yes, Maid. If that’s the case, let’s sit and talk first.”

If it was a story she waited for him to return to tell, it must have been important from a maid’s perspective, at least.

Ethan nodded at her question and simply sat down opposite the table.

-Scrape.

“……”

Sitting opposite each other at the same table, Lilith’s chest couldn’t help but catch his eye even more.

Why is a maid uniform a garment that particularly stimulates a man’s gaze?

Because his gaze seemed to keep going to that outfit, which he couldn’t avoid even if he wanted to, Ethan deliberately turned his body, pretending to be calm, and rested one arm on the table.

Of course, Lilith, who even had memories of being a man in her previous life, completely understood the meaning of that gaze and his feigned calmness.

“So… what did you want to talk about, Maid?”

“I intend to speak about what happened between Young Master and me three days ago.”

“……Th-the exclusive maid matter was all resolved, wasn’t it? The Maid will continue to be my exclusive maid even after entering the Academy, and Isabel was decided to assist the Maid as her helper, wasn’t she…?”

“Not that matter, but about Young Master touching my chest.”

“Cough, cough, cough…!”

Thinking it might be a trap, Ethan deliberately pretended to forget and calmly brought up another topic, but Lilith, on the other hand, boldly mentioned the events of that day.

That brazen attitude was enough to make Ethan so flustered that he choked just by swallowing a few drops of saliva.

“B-but the Maid told me to forget about that time, didn’t she…?”

“But you haven’t forgotten at all, have you?”

“…Sorry, Maid. It’s not easy at all….”

“It doesn’t matter, Young Master. From now on, you don’t particularly need to try to forget.”

“Huh…?”

“After all, it was an unreasonable request from the start. At the time, I also had no time to spare, so I did ask you to forget it, but for Young Master, a man in his prime, it must be difficult to forget that moment.”

At Lilith’s half-resigned words, Ethan became troubled, not knowing how to respond.

Should he ask for another chance, saying he would try again, or should he just move on as Lilith said, instead of trying to forget?

While he was agonizing over such thoughts and hesitating without being able to answer her words, Lilith continued with the proposal she had prepared for Ethan, and.

The Noble Young Master of the Blackwood Family became increasingly engulfed in confusing emotions every time he heard her speak.

“Regardless of whether Young Master tries to forget that incident from back then or not, if things continue like this, Young Master will undoubtedly find it difficult to live his daily life. Isn’t that right?”

“…No, it’s fine. I think I can manage somehow by steeling my resolve.”

“…Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes. So the Maid doesn’t need to worry.”

“Understood. Since Young Master said he doesn’t particularly need my help, you may listen to what I say from now on seriously, or you may simply dismiss it as the nonsense of a mere maid.”

“Maid…?”

-Scrape.

With the sound of the chair scraping on the floor, Lilith rose from her seat.

And then, she boldly walked towards Ethan, who had deliberately turned his body, and.

As if deliberately emphasizing her large and beautiful chest, she leaned forward slightly and opened her mouth.

“Ma-Maid?!”

“This chest that Young Master cannot forget and keeps recalling, I will continue to let you touch it in the future.”

“W-what are you saying…! The Maid needs to value her body a little more….”

“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll let you touch it without any reason. I am not a prostitute from a brothel, so how could I treat my body so carelessly? Therefore, only when Young Master Ethan satisfies a certain condition will I permit you to touch my chest.”

“Co-condition…?”

“…Seeing you show interest as soon as you heard about a ‘condition,’ Young Master Ethan is indeed a man after all.”

“……!!”

As Lilith said, Ethan, who instinctively felt interested in the ‘condition’ to touch her chest, felt considerable embarrassment, and.

Regardless of whether he showed a bewildered expression or not, Lilith simply continued to deliver her intended message calmly.

“Young Master Ethan, every third and sixth day of the week, has swordsmanship sparring with Master. Isn’t that right?”

“…Uh, yes.”

“Therefore, if Young Master, during swordsmanship sparring with Master, can land an effective blow on Master, then for that night, I will permit Young Master to touch my chest.”

“……!!!”

“…Not for long. Exactly one minute. And that too, only for a moment before you fall asleep.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

At Lilith’s captivating proposal, Ethan could no longer suppress his pounding heart.

Although it was a difficult condition, yet a strangely not impossible proposal, his chest began to burn with all sorts of emotions.

If Lilith had made a proposal like ‘defeat your father,’ he might have just despaired.

Even though it was a mock sparring match using a wooden sword, to win against his father, a Sword Master, was essentially telling him to become a Sword Master himself.

For now, it felt like a story too far in the distant future, so it would have practically sounded like she was just teasing him, but.  

After hearing that it was about landing one effective blow, for some reason, the condition began to feel very realistic.

Just landing one blow seemed to show a strange possibility that it might somehow be possible.

In reality, in all his sparring matches so far, he had never landed a proper blow on his father, yet.

No matter that his father was a Sword Master, he was also human after all, so if he, who inherited his blood, attacked with all his might, touching his body with the sword just once….

“For someone who said he didn’t need it, you’re quite seriously considering it, Young Master Ethan.”

“…Ah, no! I wasn’t seriously considering it, it’s just…!”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. On the contrary, it’s a proposal I gave you to seriously consider.”

“……”

“Rather than blindly trying to control your complicated feelings and force yourself to forget them, wouldn’t it be better to use that power as a driving force for your development, Young Master?”

It was as Lilith said.

He, as he was now, was so caught up in the shocking memory of merely touching a chest once that he couldn’t even properly live his daily life.

If he poured this concentration directly into swordsmanship, it would rather become a good driving force.

…Even if it originated from the impure intention of wanting to touch his exclusive maid’s chest.

‘But….’

To simply accept Lilith’s proposal at face value, there was something unsettling about it.

It was because he couldn’t grasp why she, who was merely an exclusive maid, had set the condition on his swordsmanship skill improving.

Therefore, Ethan couldn’t help but cautiously ask Lilith about the reason.

“Maid, I have one question.”

“What is it, Young Master?”

“Why is me landing an effective blow in swordsmanship sparring with my father the condition for the Maid to let me touch her chest?”

“Huh…?”

“Letting me touch your chest because my swordsmanship skill improves doesn’t seem to be included in an exclusive maid’s duties. After all, it’s an act that brings no benefit to the Maid.”

“……”

“Is there perhaps something that benefits the Maid if my swordsmanship skill improves?”

At Ethan’s sharp question, which came in an unexpected situation, Lilith froze, unable to answer for a moment.

Seeing his exclusive maid unable to answer immediately, the Noble Young Master of Blackwood grew even more doubtful, and.

Before Ethan, sensing something suspicious, could open his mouth to ask again, Lilith Rosewood barely managed to come up with a plausible answer to give him.

“Perhaps the Maid, me….”

“…That is because I simply like strong people.”

“…You like strong people?”

“Personally, rather than weak or passive people who are protected by others, I tend to be more attracted to people who are stronger than others and have potential for growth. And among the people I have met so far, the strongest person I can say is probably my Master, Harold Gazu-nim.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Therefore, if Young Master, whom I serve, can even slightly catch up to Master’s strength, I simply thought it would be acceptable to offer my body a little.”

“……”

“…Is this answer sufficient?”

“…Yes, for now.”

Because it was an answer that seemed to have nothing particularly strange about it at first glance, Ethan quietly nodded, and.

Lilith, whose heart was pounding in a different sense than his, clutched her chest inwardly and cautiously announced her departure.

“Then, so Young Master can rest, I will return to the next room, Young Master Ethan.”

“…Yes, Maid. See you at dinner.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

-Click.

With an awkward smile, the maid closed the door and returned to her room.

Looking at the spot where she had just been, Ethan was engulfed in complex thoughts of a different kind.

It was the moment Lilith, the person he harbored personal feelings for, had just seriously made him ponder about her ideal type.

“The Maid’s preference is, strong people….”

The naive Young Master of the Blackwood Family still didn’t know that it was merely an excuse she blurted out to evade a sudden question.