The Most Comfortable Place (3)

Blackwood Mansion. Ethan’s private room.

Ethan, who had instinctively carried Lillith, who had suddenly collapsed in the dining room, to his bedroom, had her head resting on his thigh, slowly stroking her quietly sleeping head.

‘She hasn’t slept properly for almost three days straight. It’s no wonder she’s tired.’

It was, of course, Ethan who first noticed that Lillith’s condition was worsening day by day, as he, her Exclusive Maid, spent most of his day with her.

That’s why Ethan had advised Lillith to rest from the very first day she looked a little tired, but Lillith simply hadn’t listened.

More accurately, it wasn’t that she hadn’t listened, but rather that she was in a state where she couldn’t rest anyway. However, from Ethan’s perspective, she had collapsed after overworking herself every day to perform her maid duties, so it was natural for him to feel apologetic.

The fact that he was able to catch Lillith’s body just before she collapsed at the dining table was only possible because Ethan, who had a strange premonition that day, had been following behind Lillith.

Having her head resting on his thigh like this was also just something that happened. Originally, he had intended to just let her sleep on the large bed in his room.

However, Lillith would let out pained groans and try to wake up whenever he tried to move away from her, so they eventually ended up in this position after several attempts.

‘Is she having nightmares lately?’

If she really hadn’t been able to sleep for the past few days because of nightmares, there was nothing he could do. No matter how much he loved Lillith, he couldn’t enter her dreams and protect her.

Yet, Lillith herself was able to escape her nightmares and fall into a deep sleep just by feeling Ethan’s warmth beside her, but Ethan, unable to enter her mind, had no way of knowing that.

Instead, he simply continued to stroke Lillith’s head, knowing that it helped calm her down.

Lillith’s expression as she slept soundly with the back of her head on his thigh felt incredibly lovely to Ethan.

So much so that a lewd desire to impulsively kiss her, even while she was asleep, began to bloom within him.

‘…Come to think of it, what was that just now?’

Ethan, who had deliberately averted his gaze from Lillith’s lips and shifted his thoughts in another direction, cautiously recalled what had happened in the dining room a moment ago.

After picking up the collapsed Lillith in his arms and telling the other maids present that it would be best to let her rest.

As soon as he recalled Lillith’s actions when she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him, he felt his heart, which had just calmed down, begin to pound again.

‘It definitely wasn’t a dream.’

Well, Lillith seemed to have kissed him while half-asleep or dreaming, but for Ethan, it was undeniably a kiss from Lillith’s side.

It wasn’t like usual, where he would approach her first or demand something and receive it in return; this was purely a kiss where Lillith had approached him first.

The sensation of her lips suddenly meeting his while she was in his arms must have been for only a moment, yet for some reason, it felt much longer.

‘What on earth did it mean….’

Just before the kiss, she seemed to have faintly called his name.

Lillith had made an unpleasant expression as if she were having a nightmare, then called his name, and her expression had relaxed. Then, she slowly opened her eyes and kissed him.

And that scene had been witnessed by her colleagues who were also in the dining room, so he was worried that all sorts of rumors would spread among the servants by tomorrow.

‘I did tell them to keep quiet, just in case….’

He wasn’t sure about Isabel, who had followed him all the way to the Academy to help Lillith with her duties, but he honestly didn’t have much faith in the pink-haired maid with a faint presence next to her.

In fact, Ethan didn’t really care if rumors about his and Lillith’s kiss spread. After all, if his and Lillith’s relationship became officially widespread, at least no one among the Blackwood servants would target Lillith.

More important than such minor issues was Lillith’s feelings. No matter how much he loved her, if Lillith didn’t want him, then the future he envisioned would ultimately be nothing more than a mere dream.

Ethan had been agitated just a while ago at the thought that he might have to follow the Hero if things went wrong, but after confirming Lillith’s feelings, he was once again relieved.

After all, she had willingly pressed her lips against his for his sake, forgiven his attempt to forcibly assault her, and even done something that she would never do unless they were in love… such a thing.

And even the inexplicable action from a moment ago. At any rate, it seemed certain that she harbored affection for him.

“Pwoo…. Pwoooo….”

‘She sleeps well. Was she very tired?’

“Ethan…. I told you not to press my head…”

“……!!!”

Ethan, startled by Lillith’s sleep talk, instantly withdrew the hand that was stroking her head.

At the same time, seeing Lillith, who had brought her head onto his lower body, he couldn’t help but recall Lillith’s action a few days ago when she had brought her face between his thighs.

The act Lillith had performed on him then, commonly known among nobles as ‘Wine Bottle Mouth Wrap,’ was naturally brought to mind, and Ethan’s face immediately turned bright red.

‘…I never imagined she would do something like that.’

He had thought that as his Exclusive Maid, she wouldn’t be well-versed in sexual knowledge, but seeing that she knew even such an act, was Lillith also a girl in her prime?

For a moment, he wondered if she might harbor more lewd thoughts than he did, but Ethan quickly dismissed that hypothesis, telling himself that a girl couldn’t possibly be like that.

‘Until I graduate from the Academy… I shouldn’t do it.’

The temporary lover contract stated that they would not engage in sexual relations before graduating from the Academy, and if his feelings remained unchanged after graduation, she would give him an answer then.

At one point, he had thought it was simply an answer to postpone giving him a definite reply, but after experiencing that act a while ago, he couldn’t think that way anymore.

Until now, Ethan had always harbored a corner of his mind the thought that only he held loving feelings for her, and that Lillith was merely accepting his feelings reluctantly due to their difference in status.

However, if the temporary lover contract she spoke of was truly her genuine feeling, and if she, like him, was merely ‘enduring’ physical intimacy due to her qualifications as a Saint.

Then, Ethan naturally began to wonder if perhaps, excluding that one act, he could advance their relationship in other ways.

‘What she did with her mouth didn’t seem to affect her Saint qualifications….’

If that kind of act was permitted, would other similar acts also be permitted?

Excluding explicit sexual acts that could clearly be seen as a man and woman’s relationship, would everything else be allowed?

In fact, Ethan also occasionally interacted with other noble scions at the Academy, and through them, he had picked up some rather lewd knowledge.

Including the ‘Wine Bottle Mouth Wrap (a figurative expression)’ that Lillith had performed on him recently, there were also things like ‘licking a clam soup plate (a figurative expression),’ ‘a sausage rubbing between hot dog buns (a figurative expression),’ or ‘a donut with two holes (a figurative expression).’

He couldn’t help but hear stories about the somewhat promiscuous sex lives of other noble students when engaging in noble exchanges.

No matter how much he refrained from divulging details about the acts he shared with Lillith, he couldn’t simply cover his ears when other noble young masters proudly recounted their experiences.

Of course, he only thought about it in his head and didn’t have the courage to ask her directly. Ethan didn’t want Lillith to dislike him or despise him as if he were a sexual assaulter if he brought up such topics.

‘…Should I leave her to sleep alone soon?’

It wasn’t because Lillith’s head was heavy, or because he disliked the current situation of her using his lap as a pillow.

It was because if he stayed like this, with their bodies touching, he felt like he would keep having bad thoughts. Just briefly recalling what had happened recently was enough to make his head feel hot.

-Seueuk, Seueueuk….

He carefully lifted Lillith to avoid touching any strange places, laid her on the bed, and was about to quietly leave his room when-

“E-Ethan…?”

Lillith’s faint voice reached Ethan’s ears, and immediately after, his body fell back onto the bed.

“Uhaak?!”

-Puleok.

Lillith had suddenly pulled his arm, causing Ethan to fall back onto the bed, face down. In many ways, his posture was quite embarrassing for anyone to see.

It was a posture where they were stacked one on top of the other, just like when a man and woman engage in sexual activity.

Of course, since both of them were wearing suits and maid uniforms, anyone could tell that it wasn’t such an act, but the posture itself was undeniably similar to that lewd position.

“W-wait, Lillith…. Are you awake….”

-Kkwaaak.

“Li-Lillith…?!”

Not only had Lillith pulled him back into an embarrassing position when he tried to get up, but she also wrapped her legs around his lower body. In that posture, which was truly no different from a man and woman engaging in sexual activity, Ethan was caught in a dilemma, unable to move.

‘N-no…. I have to forcefully pull away….’

At this rate, he was truly in danger of losing his patience and reason. Therefore, Ethan tried to pull her away, regardless of whether Lillith woke up or not, but-

“Ethan, don’t go….”

“…….”

He couldn’t bring himself to ignore Lillith’s somewhat pitiful voice echoing in his ears, so he ultimately gave up on escaping and quietly endured his desires while embraced in her arms.