I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 284

『Lilith has reached level 23!』

『Lilith has reached level 24!』

『Lilith has reached level 25!』

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The battle Ethan, Karaham, and I fought somehow ended in victory for the three of us.

On the surface, it might have seemed like the battle was easily won, but it was truly a fight for our lives. Dodging that agile bear’s attacks while stacking spells and countering its lightning strike at the perfect moment was no easy feat.

If I had swung my spells even a fraction too fast or too slow, I would have been the one hit and paralyzed by the lightning instead of the Roaring Crescent Bear. Had that happened, Ethan and Karaham would’ve had to fight an already difficult opponent while carrying dead weight.

‘That's why I wanted to play it safe....’

But there was no choice but to abandon the safer approach. Fortunately, my level was decently high, and my luck stat wasn’t low either.

Still, as someone who likes certainty, I would prefer to avoid such battles. Unlike in games where I could reload a save or revive in a nearby town, in this world, I only had one life.

After dragging the body of the Roaring Crescent Bear back to the witch's village from the western forest altar, the first ones to join us were Agnes and the two others (Prince Antonio and Sir Colt) who had been stationed at the eastern lake.

In truth, Agnes and the others had been excluded from the hero’s plan from the start. Agnes’s fire magic was deemed too unpredictable and dangerous in the Witch’s Forest.

As for Antonio, he was too weak, so he was excluded. Sir Colt, on the other hand, was a variable that didn’t appear in the original story, and he was there to protect Antonio in case of an emergency.

In other words, it was like exiling Agnes and Colt to the eastern lake just to protect the powerless royal, Antonio. Yet, ironically, the most injured person among the three when we reunited was none other than Prince Antonio.

“P-Prince Antonio?!”

“...Are you alright?”

“Ah, you all made it back... and judging by the size of your prey, it seems you had quite the fight....”

Despite his words, Antonio was the most injured among us. It was surprising, especially since we had considered the lake to be the safest area. I couldn’t help but be shocked by his condition.

After hearing the details, I learned that Agnes’s group had also been in battle around the same time as us. They had faced a three-headed Hydra that emerged from the lake.

“I’m sorry. It was due to my incompetence that the prince was injured! I’ll take full responsibility for this with my life...!”

“Sir Colt! You can’t be so rash!”

“...I-It’s alright... I wasn’t that seriously injured... It was partly my fault for being careless....”

“.......”

Sir Colt, as a royal knight, felt responsible, while Agnes, for some reason, looked deeply troubled and couldn’t say anything. I didn’t ask for more details, as it felt like prying. Instead, I simply used my powers as a Saintess to keep Prince Antonio’s injuries from worsening.

Luckily, we had Serista, the true Saintess, with us in the forest. She immediately used her holy powers to heal Antonio’s wounds upon our return.

The atmosphere fell silent as the red-haired magician’s sudden statement caught everyone off guard.

No one had expected such words from Agnes, so naturally, all eyes were on her. The first to break the silence was Antonio himself.

“...You don’t have to feel responsible for my injury, Lady Agnes. It was due to my lack of skill....”

“Quiet. I said I’ll do it. Or do you have a problem with me?”

“N-No... Of course not, but...”

“Then don’t assign the task to someone else. I’m responsible for your injury, so I’ll take care of it. And it’s only for three days, anyway.”

“Ah, yes... I-I’ll leave it to you then, Lady Agnes....”

“.......”

Agnes, with a somewhat troubled expression, insisted on taking responsibility for Antonio’s care, and Antonio, though hesitant, nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t hard to guess that something had transpired between the two.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After the commotion following Agnes’s declaration to care for Antonio, we all sat down for a meal to restore our strength after the battle.

There were generally two types of meals in the Witch’s Forest: traditional vegetarian dishes made from vegetables and spices that grew in the forest, and meat dishes using monsters hunted within the forest.

Since we had hunted both Moonlight Wolves and a Roaring Crescent Bear that day, it was naturally a feast of meat.

‘This feels like a Korean barbecue party.’

Of course, the meat we were grilling now tasted more like hamstring or round cuts rather than pork belly. Wild monster meat tends to be lean like that.

But it didn’t matter. Grilling meat always created a good mood. After all, meat is always the right choice.

‘If only we had some grilled kimchi... or even some ssamjang....’

Once the thought crossed my mind, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the craving for Korean food. It had been so many years since I’d had a proper Korean meal.

It had been about seven years since I regained the memories of my previous life, so I hadn’t had Korean food for that long.

...Well, it couldn’t be helped. Even thinking about eating Korean food in this world felt like a luxury.

As I settled for dipping the grilled meat in salt, imagining it was in sesame oil with salt, a familiar-looking dish was suddenly placed on the table in front of me and Ethan.

“Doesn’t this feel like a Korean barbecue party with all this grilled meat?”

“......”

People really do think alike. Maybe it’s because we’re both Korean.