I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 421

Out in the town, dressed a bit more casually than usual for a date with Ethan.

It had been a long time since I’d come out to the Blackwood estate's town. Other than today, I could probably count the times on one hand.

Of course, as a debt maid, I didn’t have the same freedoms as the other maids, and, to make matters worse, I was banned from going out by the head maid after that Hooktooth incident on my first outing.

Looking back, that was already seven years ago.

Since then, I’ve repaid all the debt placed on me and completed the seven years of service I originally agreed to. But by that point, there wasn’t much reason for me to go out into town anymore.

Being Ethan’s personal maid, it was a bit difficult to venture out here alone. Besides, I hadn’t felt a real need to leave the estate in the first place.

‘Thinking back, Ethan was quite the bratty young master back then.’

If that little pervert had grown up just as he was in the original story, there’s no way he and I would be like this now.

Now, it was actually me who asked him for a date—goes to show how unpredictable life can be.

“Master, should I return with the carriage this evening?”

“Yes, please do. We’ll probably be done after dinner, so come around then.”

“Um, Ed?”

“Hm?”

“...Would it be possible to ask you to return tomorrow morning instead?”

“...”

“...”

Ethan understood the meaning behind my words and blushed slightly, while Dietmeier, pretending not to have heard anything, averted his gaze.

After a bit of small talk, the steward took off with the carriage, leaving us with the entire evening and night ahead, just the two of us.

“Lily.”

“Yes, Ed?”@@@@

“You were the one who suggested this date, but is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“Well, honestly, even though I asked for this date, I don’t know much about the Blackwood estate. The last time I went out was years ago, just a brief outing with Isabel and Katarina.”

“Well, that makes sense. You were a debt maid, and you’ve been my personal maid for quite some time.”

I started by pretending not to know much about the estate, though I was familiar enough with Blackwood's layout.

After all, in my 25 playthroughs, I’d moved Lilith around over 15 times, so of course, I’d grown accustomed to Blackwood’s environment.

Naturally, I also knew the locations of hidden items and event triggers.

“Come to think of it, I think there’s a nice park for strolling in the town center. How about we go there, Ed?”

“If that’s what you’d like, let’s go. Today’s all about what you want to do, Lily.”

Ethan smiled, nodding, as if he had no reason to object to my suggestion.

Calling each other by nicknames, which had been awkward at first, became bearable after a few tries, so I started exploring Blackwood based on my knowledge from past lives.

Considering the original game, it was about half a year before this item would be collected, so I worried someone else might have taken it. But here it was, untouched.

To avoid raising Ethan’s suspicions, I took his hand and guided him over the fence around the cherry tree.

-Softly.

“...Lily?”

“Shh. Just follow my lead, Ed.”

With a low fence around the cherry tree, it seemed like they didn’t want people approaching, so I crept closer carefully.

We moved around the gardener, using the tree as cover.

-Sneak, sneak.

“What are you up to, Lily?”

“...I’m just a little curious.”

“About what?”

“You’ll see, Ed.”

“...”

-Softly, softly.

Dodging the gardener’s gaze, we reached the tree’s base. I quietly extracted the blue leaf from the knothole, then plucked a couple of cherries to give Ethan as a cover.

-Pluck.

“Here you go, Ed.”

“So this is what you were curious about?”

“Yes, Ed.”

“You know, I could’ve bought you cherries at the market.”

“But I wanted to know what cherries fresh off such a large tree would taste like.”

“...”

Ethan looked at me curiously but took the cherries I offered.

We each popped a cherry into our mouths, sharing a smile as the sweetness spread over our tongues.

“...Sweet and delicious.”

“Tastes like summer, Ed.”

“Hey, you two! You can’t get so close to that tree!”

“Uh-oh, we’ve been caught. Let’s go, Ed.”

“I had a feeling it would end like this...”

If anyone realized that the person trespassing in the cherry tree enclosure was the Blackwood heir, it would be a little embarrassing. Grabbing Ethan’s hand, I quickly led him back over the fence.

And as I did, Ethan followed with a sigh, smiling softly.