Chapter 63

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by Kaden K. (9/14) See my Ko-fi if you want more bonus chapters.

Meeting Princess Seraphine as the commoner maid Lilith was a situation that inevitably made me very nervous in every way.

Of course, the biggest reason I couldn’t control my nerves wasn’t because Seraphine was a princess, but rather because she was a main character from my favorite game.

No matter how much of a cancerous character she played in the story of Luminor Academy, that was only because she interfered with the “progression of the story.”

Looking at Seraphine from a step back like this, as someone unrelated to my fate, I couldn’t harbor any ill feelings towards her. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Just as I was able to lessen my previous anxiety towards Ethan once I became certain his romantic interest in me had waned.

So, facing Seraphine while setting aside personal emotions, she was no different from the main character in my favorite game.

I tried my best to maintain a calm expression as if nothing was out of the ordinary, as if I were meeting a game character at a fan meeting.

…More precisely, I made a diligent effort to do so.

“Are you enjoying the ball, young lady?”

“Yes, th-thanks to… Ah, no… I-I’m enjoying it well…?”

“You don’t need to be so nervous. I’m also just one of the guests participating in the masquerade ball.”

“I-I’m not nervous at all…?! I-I never thought of you as the pr-princess… Ah, no no no… I mean…”

After making a slip of the tongue due to nervousness, I kept blurting out disorganized words in the next conversation as well.

The aura emanating from Seraphine in front of my eyes was making my heart pound too much.

Moreover, Seraphine, whom I faced in person, was so beautiful that it took my breath away.

As long as she’s not a cancerous character, it’s not for nothing that she’s ranked first in popularity polls. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

If this is her appearance with a mask covering the area around her eyes, how beautiful of a face must be hidden behind that mask?

It didn’t make sense to say I wasn’t nervous while seeing such a person in front of me in the flesh.

…But I need to calm down. If I make more of a fuss here, it will make Seraphine uncomfortable, and above all, it will inconvenience Ethan, who brought me as his partner.

“Sssss, haaaaa, phew…”

After somehow calming my racing heart by placing a hand on my chest,

I made eye contact with Seraphine with the calmest expression possible and calmly continued my “noble lady act.”

“I apologize for showing you an embarrassing sight, young lady. I couldn’t help but get nervous from your beauty that could be noticed even under the mask.”

“…Oh my?”

“I’m having a great time with my partner. It’s my first time visiting the Imperial Palace, but it’s so pretty and beautiful that I lose track of time just looking around. Right, Ed?”

“…Li-Lili?”

At the end, I linked arms with Ethan and added a natural smile.

As if I really became “Ethan’s fiancée” and a “noble lady.” Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“…I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself to your heart’s content.”

After observing my appearance and making eye contact with me once, Seraphine conversed a bit more with Ed before disappearing into the crowd.

Surprisingly, the encounter itself was really just a short conversation with nothing much.

First of all, her status as a princess made her too busy to leisurely converse.

As the host of the masquerade ball, she probably couldn’t just talk with us the whole time.

To begin with, it was an exceptional case for her, as a princess, to even speak to me, a mere maid.

Of course, for me, who knew her personality, it felt like an extremely natural behavior.

Anyway, if it weren’t for this special situation, I would have been grateful to see her from afar, so just directly conversing with her like this was a situation I was deeply grateful for.

As I took a breath again after she disappeared, Ethan spoke to me.

“Lili, were you nervous?”

“Not at all, Ed.”

“For someone who wasn’t, you seemed to stammer awkwardly in front of Her Highness.”

“Wouldn’t anyone do that when a commoner has a one-on-one conversation with royalty? Even if you ordered me to act as your fiancée, Ed, you’re expecting too much from a mere commoner debt-ridden maid.”

“…That means you were nervous.”

“I said I wasn’t. More importantly, how long are you going to keep linking arms even after Her Highness left?”

“You’re the one who came and grabbed it…”

I maintained a brazen attitude as much as possible, not wanting to get caught being nervous in front of the princess by Ethan.

Ethan also seemed to have no intention of further pursuing the matter and changed the topic.

“Still, it’s amazing that Lili recognized Her Highness instantly. Have you seen her before, even from afar?”

“Her aura just emitted the energy of a person of high status. Her elegance, her appearance, and various other aspects.”

“Being able to recognize that at once seems like an incredible talent. Could it be that Lili actually has an aptitude for playing the role of a noble lady?”

“Who’s going to let me do that even if I want to? You know best that it’s nonsense.”

“…If Lili really wants to become a noble lady, it’s not like it’s impossible.”

“I’m sorry, Ed. I didn’t hear that well, could you say it again?”

“…No, it was just me talking to myself.”

How bland.

Putting aside Ethan, who turned his head away, not making eye contact with me for some reason…

I once again searched the crowd with my gaze for the presence of “Hellfire Agnes.”

Although conversing with Princess Seraphine, who could be considered the biggest figure, was already enough…

I still felt that if I came all the way here, I could return more satisfied if I confirmed Agnes’ existence in person as well. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Agnes herself probably thought she was called for a bothersome event and would want to avoid standing out as much as possible, so she was likely hiding in a corner somewhere rather than the center stage.

…Or she may be waiting for this banquet to end while looking outside on a terrace or something.

Perhaps she completely hid her identity with a mask that covered her entire face…

‘…Ah.’

The moment my thoughts reached there, I realized how foolish I had been.

Right, there’s no way that Agnes would attend an event like a masquerade ball with just a single mask dangling.

No matter how much of a “Hellfire” Agnes was, the magic she could handle wasn’t limited to just fire magic.

Among them was Agnes’ specialty magic, which was used a few times in the story to easily conceal her identity.

‘The premise itself was wrong from the beginning.’

Agnes was probably hiding somewhere in this ballroom, quietly waiting for this event to end.

She’d be wearing a mediocre mask that covers the eyes like everyone else but with a different face using “transformation magic” under that mask.

She disliked unnecessarily standing out and conversing with others.

For her, who had outstanding magical talent even before enrolling in the academy, transformation magic that changes appearance would be the basics of the basics.

In fact, it was one of the magic spells that could be used when taking Agnes as a companion in the game.

Of course, it had no use in battle so it couldn’t be used, and it was a story-based magic that occasionally popped up in the middle of episodes.

‘Then… it’s practically impossible to find her.’

Unless her mask was taken off, it was nonsense to try to find Agnes with just other characteristics in a situation where she was wearing both transformation magic and a mask.

Moreover, since I was attending as Ethan’s partner today, I couldn’t freely wander around observing here and there. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

It can’t be helped. I’ll have to be satisfied with just meeting Seraphine today.

With that thought, my gaze naturally shifted to the nobles dancing in the center of the ballroom.

It was a viewing experience that wasn’t too boring to pass the remaining time.

‘Still, as expected of nobles invited by the imperial family, their dance moves are quite alive.’

High-ranking nobles have probably been frequenting these social circles from the beginning, so they would have no hesitation in their dancing sense as well.

Lower-ranking nobles, in their own way, would have practiced dancing as much as possible since they were invited to such a precious occasion.

They probably thought that the only way to clearly show their charm when interacting with high-ranking nobles while hiding their identity with a mask was through dancing.

‘In reality, it’s all just a pre-arranged social gathering.’

I wondered how many viscounts and lower-ranking nobles had diligently practiced dancing to catch the eyes of the high-ranking nobles.

As I was thinking that in my head and watching the nobles dancing in the ballroom, Ethan’s voice calling me was heard again.

“Lili, would it be alright to finish the conversation we couldn’t earlier?”

“Huh? What were you talking about?”

“It’s nothing, really, I was just wondering if you’d like to dance together if it’s okay with you, Lili.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah.”

“With Ed?”

“…Yeah.”

“Hmm…”

…What should I do? I’m not very confident in dancing.

I participated in this event to act as Ethan’s fiancée, not to actually learn the etiquette of a noble lady.

To begin with, I only found out about the fact that I would be participating in this ball about 12 hours ago.

During that time, when I was busy getting dressed and riding the carriage, there was no way I properly learned something like the dances nobles do.

I shook my head to express my refusal, thinking I would only embarrass myself if I went out carelessly.

“Forget it. If I go out to dance, I’ll definitely just become a laughingstock.”

“It’s fine. They already know that Lili is my fiancée, so they can’t really ridicule you even if you can’t dance well.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. Don’t get your feet stepped on by going with me, and if you really want to dance, why don’t you find other young ladies?”

“Well, I think I prefer dancing with Lili over other ladies.”

“……”

Well, considering the reason why Ethan brought me to the ballroom today, it makes sense.

To begin with, the fact that he brought me to the masquerade ball and even had me act as his fiancée means that he has the will to fend off the bothersome forces rushing for the position of his fiancée.

In the midst of this, if he is caught dancing with another lady while leaving his partner behind, all the build-up he has accumulated so far will crumble in vain. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Once he starts dancing with one lady, it wouldn’t be strange for that number to increase to five or ten, given Ed’s status as the young master of the Blackwood family.

Anyway, even in choosing a dance partner, he has to be mindful of other people’s gazes due to his status.

Being a noble in a medieval fantasy world was indeed a bothersome position.

“Really, no interest?”

“Hmm…”

Seeing him persistently asking like that, it seems he really genuinely wants to dance but has no partner, so he’s trying to coax me.

Well, considering how he had been pushing himself and growing to the point of almost only looking forward for the past year, Ethan must have inevitably accumulated a lot of stress, knowingly or unknowingly. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

If he changed from a fat pig to having some muscle in just a little over a year, the amount of effort he put in couldn’t be underestimated.

If dancing in a place like this could relieve some of that accumulated stress, there was no reason not to go along with it.

After all, I was Ethan’s exclusive maid, and I had to work under the Blackwood family for the next 3 years.

If Ethan were to collapse from stress one day and return to his original state, it would only be my loss.

There’s also a saying that weight lost in a short period of time comes back easily.

“Alright. Let’s dance together, Ed.”

“…Really?”

“Only if you can lead me, a complete beginner who knows absolutely nothing about dancing.”

“…That’s fine. I learned properly from the head maid. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic] Lili, you can just leave your body to me and follow along.”

“Just to let you know, I’m not saying this because I particularly want to dance. I’m only going along with it because Ed really wants to dance but has no suitable partner other than me.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“As long as you understand.”

And so, after confirming each other’s intentions, we moved our steps together towards the center stage of the ballroom in time for the start of the next song.

We began moving our bodies to the flowing music and beat, holding each other’s hands.

…It was only a moment later that I realized that time was the calm before the storm.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Ethan is cooking tonight!

Thanks for reading; see you tomorrow!