The End of the Event (2)

Even after the merchant carriage carrying the August siblings and Agnes departed, we divided the remaining people into groups of four and boarded two separate carriages.

Fortunately, there weren’t too few carriages. It just so happened that some people were heading to similar destinations or in the same direction.

“See you at the academy, Hero. …And if you get too close to Silena, I might get angry when we meet again.”

“…I told you that won’t happen. Have I ever laid a hand on anyone so far?”

“Hmm, you haven’t. That’s exactly the problem. Being cautious is good, but I wish you’d choose someone soon.”

“I’m in no position to choose anyone, Seraphine.”

“Y-yes! You shouldn’t keep pressuring the Hero to choose!”

“Right. You shouldn’t.”

“This is why Mother told me not to fall for popular men… *sigh*.”

With a quiet sigh, Seraphine boarded the carriage heading to the imperial palace, along with Celista, who also had business in the imperial capital.

Watching from the side, I almost blurted out something vulgar but managed to hold it back. So this is what it feels like to witness a harem protagonist firsthand.

“Please send my regards to Agnes, Lilith.”

“You were just talking to her, Prince Antonio.”

“Well, even so.”

After Prince Antonio, now oddly more relaxed, boarded the carriage, the carriage led by Sir Colt headed for the imperial capital.

Lastly, the remaining four of us boarded the final carriage.

A somewhat peculiar combination-Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, Silena, me, and Ethan.

“Sorry for the trouble. No matter how I think about it, walking to the Blackwood territory is impossible.”

“It’s fine, really. The Blackwood territory is on the way to the Forest of the World Tree anyway. Don’t think of it as a burden.”

Though Ethan clearly wasn’t thrilled about traveling with the Hero, he wasn’t shameless enough to complain while hitching a ride.

If not for Gyeotmwa Josyegigot’s consideration, we would’ve had to squeeze into the imperial palace carriage with six people, then travel another day from the capital to the Blackwood territory.

By then, summer vacation would’ve effectively ended, and we’d have to head straight back to the academy after a brief stop at the mansion.

In any case, the four of us returned to the Blackwood territory after three days, taking turns as coachmen.

Nothing particularly eventful happened during those three days. We encountered a monster horde on the first night, a band of thieves on the second, and gained plenty of experience-though not enough to level up.

The only notable exception was that, before leaving the Witch’s Forest, I-not Gyeotmwa Josyegigot-received the “Witch’s Pendant.”

“Miss Maychilling? What’s this?”

“I-it’s our clan’s pendant… S-since we received so much help from Rosewood this time…”

“The Hero or the others did more than I-“

“B-but I want to give it to Rosewood… P-please accept it…”

“…Alright. Thank you for the gift, Miss Maychilling.”

“Y-yes, th-thank you for accepting it…!!”

And so, the final reward of the “Lara’s Secret” event ended up in my hands.

Of course, I had no intention of keeping it. I tried to hand it over to Gyeotmwa during the first night’s watch, but he refused. He said it wasn’t right to take someone else’s gift.

“It’s a gift for you. If I wear it, what would Lara think of us? I don’t need it, so just keep it.”

“But the Witch’s Pendant is endgame-tier equipment. Without it, you won’t have any decent gear for the final boss fight.”

“I still have the necklace from Lilia, so it’s fine. Besides, the reason I asked for your help this summer wasn’t to double my rewards-it was to help both Lilia and Lara. I wasn’t after compensation, so I have no regrets.”

“…Fine. Don’t complain later.”

And so, I ended up with the endgame-tier Witch’s Pendant.

The stat bonuses weren’t bad, so I decided to keep it. Apparently, accessories didn’t need to be worn-just owning them granted their effects.

On the first day back at the Blackwood mansion after the event-packed summer vacation, I lay in bed, seriously contemplating my next steps regarding Ethan.

“So, now…”

How could I create the right atmosphere to… sleep with Ethan?

As I’ve said before, this wasn’t something I wanted to do. It was purely out of necessity.

I no longer needed to maintain my status as a saintess. In fact, the power I held now only bound me with obligations and responsibilities, offering nothing in return.

I was nothing like Celista, who would say, “Just being by the Hero’s side is enough for me.”

So, to rid myself of the saintess’s power, I needed to lose my virginity as soon as possible-and Ethan was the only one who fit the criteria.

Doing it myself or with another man was out of the question. As someone who had been a unicorn in my past life, my pride wouldn’t allow it.

‘The problem is the situation. I need to make it as natural and plausible as possible.’

I couldn’t just barge into Ethan’s room without an excuse. That would be far too unbecoming of a “virgin.”

I wanted to lose my virginity in a pure love route, not as some desperate woman. The last thing I wanted was for Ethan to misunderstand me.

‘If only I still had that tea from the royal annex…’

That would’ve made it easy to set the mood, but unfortunately, I drank it all. I should’ve saved some.

The closest alternative was alcohol-a common excuse in my past life.

‘Should I ask Dietmeyer to sneak me some strong liquor?’

I could invite Ethan for a drink, then pretend to get tipsy and collapse, hoping he’d lose control and take me.

But I quickly dismissed the idea. Using alcohol as a lure didn’t sit right with me.

For someone who’d already crossed that line, maybe. But losing my first time to drunkenness? As a unicorn, I couldn’t bear the thought of not remembering it clearly.

Besides, given how Ethan was lately, he’d probably just tuck me in and leave. If that happened, I’d be crushed by self-loathing for days.

‘And it’s not like it makes sense for a servant to invite her employer for drinks anyway.’

That would be outright insubordination, so I scrapped that idea.

That left only one plausible excuse.

‘Rewarding Ethan for winning a sparring match… That’s the only option left.’

If Ethan defeated Harold in a duel, I could offer myself as a reward.

That seemed plausible enough. I’d already used “rewards” for things like letting him touch my chest before.

Plus, since it was summer vacation, Harold was at the mansion, meaning Ethan could spar with him multiple times a day.

After all the hunting in the Witch’s Forest, Ethan had gained a fair amount of experience. He’d even nearly beaten Machart one-on-one before.

Even if a complete victory was unlikely, maybe he could win one out of ten or twenty matches against Harold.

‘Though a second-year academy student beating a Sword Master is absurd to begin with.’

But precisely because it was absurd, the reward would be justified.

Ethan probably wouldn’t question it. If he defeated his father, offering my first time as a prize wouldn’t seem strange.

“We return to the academy in five days…”

Somehow, in the next four-no, three-days, I had to ensure Ethan defeated Harold in a duel.

I couldn’t possibly return to the academy still bearing this troublesome saintess label.