I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 134

To be honest, security measures for camping on the roadside aren’t much to speak of.

You just drive short stakes about ankle height around the campsite and hang thin, barely visible strings on them.

In the middle of the strings, you attach security bells or objects that resonate well at intervals, and that’s it.

Just doing this much is usually enough to catch careless groups of thieves, not to mention low-intelligence monsters. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, if we were dealing with assassins who are determined to take our lives, these security measures wouldn’t mean much, but surely there’s no one bold enough to send assassins after Ethan.

“There are no forests or mountains around here, and there are no villages or territories nearby. Probably, no thieves or such will show up.”

“I think so too, but I still believe we should set up proper security measures.”

“Yeah. We should, of course. Just in case something happens.”

As Ethan said, there probably won’t be any thieves, and at most, some low-level monsters might pop up, but it’s always better to set these things up properly to avoid trouble later.

According to the ‘Security Measures Statistics’ someone posted on LuAGal, there’s a statistically significant difference in the probability of encountering danger when camping with and without security measures. Needless to say, statistically, it’s safer to have measures in place.

In other words, although it’s bothersome, setting up these security measures reduces the chance of unnecessary risks, so there’s no harm in doing it.

‘In the game, I often skipped this out of laziness.’

The act of driving stakes and tying strings and bells feels quite labor-intensive, and by the mid-game, you become strong enough that security measures become meaningless anyway.

Whether monsters or thieves appeared, it was usually quicker in terms of playtime to just fight a battle or two than to set up security stakes.

Also, defeating thieves was pretty good for farming, so I often intentionally camped without such measures. Above all, catching the named thief, ‘Elf Hunter,’ who appeared every time I camped with Selena, was efficient farming.

Of course, I had no intention of doing such life-threatening, crazy things now that this world had become a reality. Besides, Isabel, a non-combat personnel, was with us at today’s campsite.

If I didn’t set up proper security measures and Isabel was to lose her life to thieves or monsters, I probably wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

The same goes for Ethan, of course. ...Well, he’s so strong that I’m not really worried about him being attacked.

As I was driving stakes into the ground one by one, encircling the campsite like a long oval, and about to take out my dagger from my chest to cut the thin rope for tying the security devices...

Instead of the thin handle of the silver dagger I usually held, I felt a slightly thicker handle wrapped around my hand.

Wait, is this...

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong, Lilith?”

“...No, it’s nothing.”

“...Isn’t that the dagger you picked up when facing Luke in the last duel?”

“...Regrettably, it is.”

It was the dagger that Luke received as a gift from Seraphine that I had kept to provoke the former during our evaluation duel.

It was the moment when a sigh inadvertently escaped my mouth as I belatedly realized I had forgotten to return that dagger.

No, I really meant to return it. I even visited the academy branch of the church twice.

...But what could I do when they said patients in the emergency room couldn’t be visited until they fully recovered, except for guardians? [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

I couldn’t just carelessly entrust Luke’s possession and Seraphine’s gift to someone else to pass on, so in the end, I ended up keeping it and bringing it all the way here on our journey home.

‘...This makes it look like I really stole Luke’s dagger.’

I surely won’t be called a thief by Seraphine as soon as we return to the academy, right?

No, given Seraphine’s personality, she probably wouldn’t say such things, but there was still a good chance she might be disappointed.

The only option is to keep it safe and return it as soon as school returns to avoid misunderstandings.

“You’re going to return it, right, Lilith?”

“Yes, of course...”

Swish.

“...I will...”

...But it cuts well. Is it because it’s made by the princess?

Compared to the one I received from the young lady of the August family, there’s definitely a significant difference in quality...

“...You will return it, right, Lilith?”

“...Of course, Young Master Ethan.”

“If you need a new dagger, I’ll buy you one. There’s no blacksmith in the Blackwood Estate, but there are many skilled craftsmen in the nearby territories.”

“...Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

“Yes?”

“It might be a bit sensitive for you to answer right away, but...”

“......”

Why is Ethan suddenly creating a strange atmosphere again?

In an atmosphere that seemed like it would be a heroine’s confession event if this were a game, Ethan carefully asked me a question.

While I was momentarily flustered, not knowing how to respond to his reaction, only the crackling sound of the campfire tickled my ears.

“What is it you wanted to ask, Young Master Ethan?”

“...Lilith, do you perhaps still have negative feelings towards me?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, Lilith, I don’t remember leaving a good impression on you when I was young. I kept calling you when you were busy working, playing weird pranks, and doing things you hated most, like sexual harassment.”

“......”

“I was wondering if you might still be angry at me because of what I did back then.”

...And here I thought he was going to say something after setting up the mood.

I didn’t expect him to ask if I was still angry about something that happened years ago.

Needless to say, I had long forgotten about the things that happened back then. If anything, it was only when Ethan just mentioned it that I remembered, ‘Oh, that happened.’

In fact, what made me angry back then wasn’t particularly the sexual harassment. I just hated how he kept interfering with everything I did and being a nuisance.

I was already in an irritated state, and he did things like kancho *1, and then provoked me when I couldn’t even get up due to the pain, so everything I had been holding back just exploded.

It’s been several years since then, and even I could see that Ethan had reflected and grown since then, so if I still held a grudge from that time, it would be similar to me having a mental illness.

I just replied to his query by saying there was no need to worry about something from ages ago.

“No, I’m not particularly holding onto those past events in my heart anymore.”

“R-Really?!”

“It’s been several years already, hasn’t it? At the time, I certainly got angry at you often, Young Master Ethan, but not anymore.”

“I-I see... That’s a relief...”

Why is he so concerned about my feelings when he’s my master and I’m his exclusive maid?

What would he do if I was still bothered by what happened back then? Pouring out my personal grudges in front of the son of a ducal family was enough with that one time back then. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

With those thoughts, I turned my gaze back to the burning campfire and threw another piece of firewood in it when Ethan, sitting next to the campfire, called my name once again and carefully spoke.

“...Um, Lilith. I have something to say.”

“If you have something to say, please go ahead.”

“Well, I’d like you to listen a bit seriously, Lilith.”

“...Yes?”

...Wait, what? Is this really a confession?

No, that can’t be, right? Why would Ethan suddenly confess to me?

For some reason, the atmosphere seemed like it might be just that, so my heart started to race with a bit of confusion. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Not knowing whether he understood my feelings or not, Ethan took both my hands as if he was really going to confess and began to speak seriously.

“I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll say it directly.”

“...Young Master Ethan? Please calm down for a moment and organize your thoughts again...”

“Lilith. After we graduate from the academy, will you be my...”

Jingle jingle jingle.

“......”

“......”

Just as a serious conversation that seemed like it would be a turning point was about to take place, the sound of bells suddenly rang in our ears.

At this time of night, there could only be one or two reasons for the sound of bells.

In the silence filled with a strange tension, one emotion naturally arose in my mind.

‘Shit, there goes all my sleep for tonight.’

I knew something was off from the moment we’d been jinxed.