Subtle Date (2)

Ethan and I went on a date in town wearing slightly more comfortable clothes than usual.

It had been quite a while since we last came out to the downtown area of the Blackwood Territory. Excluding today’s outing, it would’ve been at most two or three times in my entire life.

Even without considering that I was a debt maid, making free activities impossible like other maids, I was placed under an outing ban by the head maid after the Hook Fang Incident during my first outing.

Looking back, that was already seven years ago.

In the meantime, I had fully repaid the debt imposed on me and completed the originally agreed seven-year service period, but around that time, I no longer had any reason to come downtown.

Being Ethan’s exclusive maid made it somewhat difficult to go out alone this far, and frankly, I didn’t feel the need to come downtown in the first place.

‘Come to think of it, Ethan back then was truly a scoundrel prince.’

If that pig-like harassing brat had grown up exactly as in the original story, the current relationship between Ethan and me wouldn’t have been possible.

Now, it’s even reached the point where I’m the one asking him out on dates-truly, human affairs are unpredictable.

“Young Master, shall I have the carriage come back to pick you up in the evening?”

“Yes, please. It’ll probably be after dinner, so around that time…”

“Um, Ed.”

“Hmm?”

“…Instead of evening, could you ask them to come tomorrow morning?”

“……”

“……”

Ethan, understanding the implication of my words, blushed slightly, while Dietmeyer pretended not to hear and averted his gaze.

After roughly this exchange, the head butler took the carriage back to the mansion, meaning from now until tomorrow morning, it would be just Ethan and me.

“Lily.”

“Yes, Ed.”

“Since today’s date was your idea, is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“Well… I did suggest the date, but I don’t know much about the Blackwood Territory. The only time I’ve been out was a brief outing with Isabel and Katarina years ago.”

“…Right, you were a debt maid. And you’ve been my exclusive maid for a long time.”

At first, I pretended not to know much about the Blackwood Territory, but in reality, I was quite familiar with its geography.

Having played through 25 loops, with over 15 of them involving Lillith, I naturally became accustomed to the Blackwood Territory’s layout.

Of course, I also memorized the locations of hidden items and event triggers as needed.

“Come to think of it, I think there’s a nice park for strolling in the downtown area. Could we go there, Ed?”

“If Lily wants to, then let’s do that. Today’s date was your idea, after all.”

Ethan nodded with a smile, as if he wouldn’t object to my suggestion.

Calling each other by nicknames was awkward at first, but after a few times, it became bearable, so I cautiously began exploring the Blackwood Territory using my past-life knowledge.

…Though the main purpose was a date with Ethan, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up a few things along the way.

‘From what I remember, Gyeotmwa hasn’t visited the Blackwood Territory in this loop.’

Following the original story, he should’ve visited around last winter break, but that was only if Ethan remained the pig-like prince from the original.

In this timeline, Ethan is fine, and I didn’t become a virginity-taking maid, so he had no reason to visit the Blackwood Territory to “save” me.

…Though in this timeline, I did end up becoming something similar to a virginity-taking maid. But since it’s by my own choice, well…

Anyway, the fact that the hero hasn’t visited the Blackwood Territory means he hasn’t collected any hidden items here. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to gather those items while exploring with Ethan.

If those items are just going to be left unused, it’s better for Ethan and me to take them.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The park in downtown Blackwood is famous for being exceptionally well-maintained.

Hedges adorned with various flowering trees, wooden benches scattered about for leisurely rests, and at the center, a large cherry blossom tree enclosed by a low fence.

In spring, the fully bloomed cherry blossoms are said to be breathtaking, but I’ve only seen them from afar while traveling through the territory. Now, in summer, the flowers are gone, leaving only clusters of fruit.

“A bit disappointing, Lily. It would’ve been nicer in spring.”

“True, Ed. But spring is during the school term, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Ethan muttered something similar to my thoughts as he looked at the cherry blossom tree at the park’s center.

I nodded slightly in agreement and slowly walked around the tree.

“It’s a shame there are no cherry blossoms, but the tree itself is beautiful. It even gives off a slightly sweet scent.”

“It’s July, so it’s peak fruiting season. A tree this big would naturally bear a lot of fruit.”

“That makes sense.”

‘I think the “Whispering Leaf” is hidden somewhere near this cherry blossom tree…’

The Whispering Leaf, a minor but useful navigation item in the game.

It’s used to find specific objects or people. Holding it while thinking of a target makes the leaf’s tip point toward their location.

Newbies often use it to locate characters-like finding a combat-favorable character or tracking someone who suddenly disappears in an event.

It doesn’t work for unknown objects or people, so it’s not useful for discovering new items. Thus, it’s not particularly sought-after if you know the game well, but it could be quite handy for me now.

With this, I could track Ethan, Agnes, or other characters around the academy.

While searching the tree’s surroundings for the leaf, Ethan shared some trivia about the park.

“While working on paperwork recently, I learned that this cherry blossom tree is maintained by my father.”

“Your father… you mean Master Harold?”

“Yes. My mother loved this park, so they often had dates here. Especially in spring when the cherry blossoms bloomed-they’d always make time to see them for a day or two.”

“Master Harold must’ve loved Lady Tanathia deeply.”

“Contrary to appearances, right? That’s probably why he keeps maintaining this tree. A tree this big would rot and wither if left alone.”

Given how Harold’s eyes change whenever Tanathia is mentioned, this story is entirely plausible. He dotes on his son Ethan so much-imagine how he was with his wife.

Feeling like I’d uncovered some hidden game lore, I inspected the tree and soon found a vivid blue leaf tucked into a small knot just big enough for a fist.

‘…Found it.’

Considering that in the original game, the Whispering Leaf was obtained about half a year ago, there was a chance someone else might’ve taken it. Fortunately, it was still there.

To avoid raising Ethan’s suspicions, I held his hand and slowly stepped over the low fence surrounding the tree.

-Step.

“…Lily?”

“Shh. Follow me quietly, Ed.”

The low fence suggested we weren’t supposed to approach the tree, so we moved cautiously.

With the gardener on the other side of the tree, Ethan and I carefully approached the trunk.

-Creak, creak.

“What are you doing, Lily?”

“…Just curious.”

“About what?”

“You’ll see if you follow me, Ed.”

“……”

-Rustle, rustle.

Dodging the gardener’s gaze, we eventually reached the tree’s trunk. I discreetly plucked the blue leaf I’d spotted earlier, then picked a pair of cherries as an excuse to show Ethan.

-Pluck.

“Here, Ed.”

“This is what you were curious about?”

“Yes, Ed.”

“You could buy cherries at any fruit shop.”

“I wanted to try freshly picked ones. And I wondered how cherries from such a big tree would taste.”

“……”

Though he still seemed doubtful, Ethan obediently took the cherries. We each popped one into our mouths, and a sweet flavor spread.

“…Sweet and delicious.”

“Tastes like summer, Ed.”

“Hey, you there! Don’t go near that tree!”

“We’ve been caught. Let’s run, Ed.”

“I had a feeling this would happen…”

If it got out that the person who entered the cherry blossom tree’s fence was the Blackwood prince, things would get awkward. So I grabbed Ethan’s hand and quickly fled.

Ethan sighed with a faint smile as he watched me.