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.

The date was the main purpose, of course, but if I could gain something along the way, that would be even better.

‘If I recall correctly, the hero hasn’t visited Blackwood in this playthrough.’

In the original story, he would have visited around last winter break, but that was when Ethan was still the same brat from the story.

Now, Ethan was different, and I wasn’t some disgraced maid either, so he had no reason to come to Blackwood to ‘rescue’ me.

...Though, I guess even in this timeline, I’d become something like a disgraced maid. But, hey, this time, I was doing it on my own terms.

Anyway, since the hero hadn’t been to Blackwood, it meant he hadn’t collected the hidden items here. It wasn’t a bad idea to gather those items with Ethan while we were out.

If those items were just going to be left abandoned, it was better that Ethan and I made use of them.

? ? ?

The park in Blackwood’s town center was famous for being well-maintained.

Hedges adorned with various flowering trees, benches scattered around, and a massive cherry blossom tree stood in the center, surrounded by a low fence.

They say the cherry blossom blooms are stunning in spring, almost like a painting, but I’d only seen it from afar while passing through. Today, it was summer, so the blossoms were gone, replaced by an abundance of cherries.

“It’s a bit of a shame, Lily. It would’ve been lovely to see the blossoms.”

“You’re right, Ed. But with spring being during the semester, it couldn’t be helped.”

Ethan muttered, looking at the tree, and I quietly agreed, strolling around the cherry blossom tree.

“It’s a shame there aren’t any blossoms, but it’s still a beautiful tree. And I think I can smell something sweet.”

“In July, it’s just about cherry season. A tree this big would bear plenty of fruit.”

“That’s true.”

‘I think I remember a ‘Whispering Leaf’ hidden around this cherry tree…’

The Whispering Leaf was a small item that could help with quests, used to locate objects or people. When held, it would point its tip toward whatever you were thinking about.

Mostly, beginners used it to track down specific characters for events or battles.

It couldn’t locate unknown objects or people, so it wasn’t too useful if you already knew what to look for. But right now, it would be pretty handy.

With it, I could figure out where Ethan, Agnes, or other characters were in the Academy at any given time.

Thinking about this, I subtly began scanning the area around the cherry tree for the Whispering Leaf. Ethan, meanwhile, started talking about the tree’s history.

“While I was doing some paperwork recently, I found out this cherry tree was actually managed by my father.”

“By your father, Lord Harold?”

“Yes. My mother loved this park, so they often came here to spend time together, especially when the blossoms were in bloom. He would always make time for a day or two to come see the flowers with her.”

“Lord Harold certainly loved Lady Tanacia deeply.”

“Doesn’t quite match his tough exterior, right? Maybe that’s why he’s kept this tree so well-maintained. You never know when a big tree like this might start to rot.”

Harold always changed his expression when talking about Tanacia, so it made sense. He doted on Ethan, so I could only imagine how he treated his wife.

I continued to circle the tree until I finally spotted the vivid blue leaf I’d been searching for, tucked in a small knothole just big enough to fit a fist.

‘…Found it.’

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.