Chapter 378

Before the villa's manager guided Ethan and me to our room, she suddenly asked a rather unexpected question.

‘Are Lord Ethan and Miss Lilith in a romantic relationship? Or are you simply a noble young lord and his personal maid?’

“Well, um...”

“We're in a romantic relationship. Why does that matter?”

“...Yes, we are in a romantic relationship.”

While I was contemplating how to explain our temporary relationship, Ethan confidently declared that we were a couple. I suppose it would be strange to explain something like a “temporary relationship” to someone we just met. So, I didn’t bother to deny his words and simply nodded in agreement.

‘I apologize if my question was inappropriate. I asked because I needed to know whether to prepare one bedroom or two for the two of you.’

“One room will be fine.”

“One room, please.”

‘Understood.’

“......”

“......”

Our simultaneous responses left us both feeling a bit awkward. After all, we’d been sharing the same room, the same bed, and even the same tent for quite a while now. There was no need to suddenly use separate rooms just because there was extra space. We’d already seen everything there was to see between a man and a woman, so there was nothing to hide.

Screech.

‘Please use this room as your bedroom and resting area, Lord Ethan and Miss Lilith.’

I was slightly surprised when the manager, despite being a spirit, opened the door naturally and guided us inside. But I suppose that, too, was part of the magic that Professor Mamari had created. Thinking back to the manager from the haunted mansion episode, I remembered that they were capable of similar actions. Cautiously, Ethan and I stepped into the room.

‘...It's better than I expected.’

There was a large bed big enough for the both of us, a small table for two, a spacious desk for working, and even a wardrobe. It was definitely too nice a villa to have been left unused for years. Since Professor Mamari referred to this as her “fourth villa,” I assumed her other villas were just as well-equipped.

I still didn’t fully understand what kind of research she conducted, but I guessed it was somewhat akin to robotics, at least in this world’s terms.

‘During your stay in this villa, I will not interfere or pry into your activities in this room. Please feel free to use the space as you see fit. I also assure you that I will not intrude or eavesdrop without permission, so you can rest easy.’

“...Thank you.”

“...You don’t need to worry; nothing like that will happen.”

‘Understood. As per Lord Ethan’s instructions, I will consider that nothing happened, regardless of what takes place. The bed sheets and blankets will be changed daily, but this is simply my duty as the villa’s manager, so please don’t concern yourselves with it.’

“......”

“......”

Her polite yet roundabout phrasing was quite clear. In essence, she was saying that no matter what we did, it wouldn’t matter to her.@@novelbin@@

If we were in the middle of any other class and did something improper, we’d probably fail without being able to protest. But this villa was essentially a gift from Professor Mamari, the instructor of the necromancy class. So, even if something were to happen, it likely wouldn’t affect our grades.

‘Not that I intend for anything to happen. Nothing will happen.’

I had already decided that any intimate moments with Ethan would only take place when he scored a point against Harold, as part of his reward. Since that humiliating pet play session last time, Ethan hadn’t earned any points, so it was better for both of us to keep things restrained.

“Well, I’d like to rest now. Can you leave us? Lilith seems a little uncomfortable.”

“Oh, I’m fine, Lord Ethan. I know now that the manager isn’t a ghost.”

“...I see.”

‘Thank you for your consideration, Miss Lilith. I was planning to prepare dinner and a bath for the guests who arrived late tonight. Would you like either of those services?’

“Dinner? At this hour?”

“...A bath?”

Ethan and I both questioned the late-hour offer of dinner and a bath, but the manager remained unphased as she replied.

‘It’s quite common for guests of Professor Mamari to visit at this time. Most visitors to this undead-infested region tend to live with their days and nights reversed.’

“Well, I suppose it makes sense. There’s not much else to see around here besides undead monsters.”

Dinner this late would only cause me to gain weight, so that was out of the question, but a bath... That was starting to sound more appealing.

It seemed like Ethan was thinking along the same lines, as he carefully asked me about the manager’s offer.

“What do you think, Lilith? We did sweat quite a bit today. Plus, you drove the carriage, so you must be more tired.”

“I think it would be best to accept the bath offer. If you’re hungry, feel free to have dinner without me, Lord Ethan.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not that hungry either. So, if you don’t mind, could you please prepare just the bath for us?”

‘Understood. I will ready the bath for the two of you.’

‘...The two of us?’

It seemed the manager had assumed that, since we were sharing the same room, we’d be using the bath together as well. I considered correcting her but missed the opportunity as she slipped away into the floor before I could speak.

‘Well, it’s not like Ethan and I haven’t bathed together before.’

We’d bathed together a few times before we even had sex, so there was no need to feel embarrassed about something as simple as sharing a bath.

Although Ethan’s face seemed to flush slightly, I decided not to make a big deal out of it.

“While the manager prepares the bath, you should rest a bit, Lord Ethan. I’ll take care of organizing our belongings, and I’ll wake you once the bath is ready.”

“Isn’t that unnecessary? We could do it faster if we worked together.”

“This is part of my duties as your personal maid, Lord Ethan. Even though we’re in a different location, I have no intention of neglecting my responsibilities as your personal maid while we’re here for the academy’s class.”

“...All right, I’ll leave it to you.”

Ethan didn’t argue further and stepped back, allowing me to organize our belongings. I began hanging our sleepwear and everyday clothes neatly in the wardrobe.

‘We probably won’t need to unpack the sleeping bags or the tent.’

If it weren’t for Professor Mamari’s hospitality, we’d likely be setting up the tent right now, and after all that, we wouldn’t even have had a proper bath before going to bed. Sleeping outdoors was fun once or twice, but having to do it for nearly every class this semester was getting a bit old.

I felt a small wave of happiness wash over me just knowing that tonight, we wouldn’t have to pitch a tent or light a campfire.

“Lilith.”

“Yes, Lord Ethan?”

“I’m sorry for making you go through this class.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t realize you disliked undead monsters this much. I knew ghosts scared you, but I didn’t expect you to react like that to skeleton monsters, too.”

“Everyone has their weaknesses, don’t they?”

“But you’re always so bold, Lilith. Just the other day, during the humanities class, you fought off bandits without even flinching.”

“There’s a difference between the living, the dead, and the undead that should have stayed dead, Lord Ethan.”

“...I suppose that’s true.”

“Besides, you asked for my opinion several times when you were planning to take this necromancy class. I agreed to it, so you don’t need to feel responsible for my discomfort.”

“...You’re right, Lilith.”

...Honestly, for a duke’s son, Ethan sure is considerate of his personal maid’s feelings.

Of course, our relationship isn’t the typical one between a young lord and his maid. That’s one of the things I like about Ethan, though—he always goes out of his way to consider me, even over trivial matters.

“......”

Even though I told him I was fine, seeing Ethan look a bit down made me feel a little heavy-hearted as well.

Since I had finished organizing the clothes, I quietly approached Ethan, who was sitting on the bed, and made a small suggestion to lift his mood while we waited for the bath to be ready.

Swoosh.

“Lord Ethan.”

“...Yes?”

“Would you like to... touch my chest?”

“Cough...! Wh-What?!”

...Was that really something to be that surprised about?