“Where did you go?”
“……!”
Ethan’s voice whispered into my right ear, clear and cold. The mont those words reached , the exhaustion clouding my mind instantly vanished.
‘He wasn’t sleeping…?’
I thought sothing was off with his sleep talking tonight. His voice, filled with emotion, left montarily unable to think clearly. As my mind raced to figure out how to respond, Ethan’s voice whispered in my ear again.
“Lillis, I’m asking where you went.”
“…I’m sorry, Master Ethan.”
“Yes, you should be sorry. A personal maid sneaking out in the middle of the night without her master’s permission?”
“…….”
I had no excuse. What I did was clearly a breach of my duties as Ethan’s personal maid. While I might have had reasons, such as not wanting to disturb Ethan with unnecessary worries or not wanting to wake him up to take him all the way to the edge of the dark forest with , the fact remained that I had overstepped my role.
“So.”
“…….”
“Are you not going to tell where you went?”
Thump.
Ethan’s voice wrapped around , squeezing my heart until it pounded in my chest. Was it the guilt of betraying his trust? The sha of failing in my duty? Or just fear of this situation where Ethan seed to be doubting ?
“I went to the Dark Forest… and then ca back.”
“…The Dark Forest?”
“Yes, Master Ethan.”
“Were you training at this late hour?”
“…No, it wasn’t for training.”
“Then?”
“…I had soone to et.”
Squeeze.
“Ow….”
The mont I ntioned eting soone, the grip on my wrist tightened significantly. The pressure and anxiety radiating through my wrist made my voice tremble.
“…Who?”
“…Pardon?”
“Who called you out in the middle of the night?”
“N-no one… It wasn’t like that. We had an agreent….”
“An agreent? Was it Princess Seraphine? Or that girl from the Auguste family?”
“No… It wasn’t them….”
“…Don’t tell it was that cursed Hero.”
Squeeze!
“N-no… Master Ethan….”
The pressure on my wrist increased further, reaching a point where it started to hurt. I had a bad feeling that if I didn’t explain things properly, this situation could spiral out of control.
Before the atmosphere grew any more tense, I hurriedly explained to Ethan about my spirit communication class, my connection with Agnes, the once-in-a-century planetary alignnt, and her need to contract a spirit.
“…So, I just finished helping Miss Blaze contract a lower fire spirit and ca back, Master Ethan. I didn’t stray or leave the area at any point.”
“…Really?”
“If you don’t believe , you can ask Miss Blaze herself. I can even introduce you if necessary.”
“…….”
Ethan seed to find my explanation sowhat satisfactory, as the grip on my wrist loosened slightly. The intense pressure I felt earlier had eased, and Ethan asked again, as if to confirm.
“I see… So, you didn’t et with the Princess or Miss Auguste….”
“…That’s correct, Master Ethan.”
“And you didn’t go to et that Hero who’s always surrounded by won….”
“I swear to the Goddess, I didn’t et anyone else but Miss Blaze. The only other person I encountered was the dormitory warden.”
Sigh.
Finally, Ethan let go of my wrist, seemingly reassured by my repeated explanations. The murderous aura that had been emanating from him earlier seed to calm down. Although he still pinned down on the bed, making it impossible for to escape.
“So, Lillis.”
“Yes, Master Ethan.”
“Putting aside who you t, why didn’t you tell you were sneaking out in the middle of the night?”
“I understand this might sound strange to you, but….”
“…Go on. I’ll judge whether it’s strange or not after hearing it.”
“I didn’t want to trouble you or make you worry, Master Ethan.”
“…….”
The mont I uttered the first sentence, Ethan’s face hardened again. Even in the darkness, I could clearly see the change in his expression.
Despite noticing this change, I continued to convey my thoughts and the reasoning behind my actions to Ethan.
“I was afraid you might worry and forbid from going out alone at night, or worse, that you would be troubled enough to accompany . That’s why I decided not to say anything.”
“…So you knew.”
“…Master Ethan?”
“You knew, and yet you still went out alone without telling , Lillis?”
“…….”
Ethan’s face drew closer to mine, his voice thick with anger. Even in the dim light, I could see his expression clearly as he leaned in. At that mont, I realized that keeping this secret and sneaking out was a grave mistake.
“Lillis.”
Thump.
“…Y-yes, Master Ethan.”
“Are you testing , Lillis?”
Thump, thump.
“T-testing you? I would never dare….”
“Then why do you keep provoking like this? Always acting so secretive, constantly putting yourself in potential danger.”
“…It was just a night out, Master Ethan. As you know, I’m capable of handling a few thugs….”
“I’m speaking to you, Lillis.”
Thump, thump, thump.
“I-I’m sorry….”
Ethan was genuinely angry this ti, his face serious as he berated . His commanding tone sent my heart racing wildly in my chest.
‘I know I did sothing wrong….’
My intention had been to avoid causing Ethan unnecessary worry. If I had told him, he might have banned from going out at night, which would have prevented from keeping my promise to Agnes.
So, to handle the matter smoothly, I decided to sneak out while Ethan was asleep.
But now, seeing how things had turned out, it seed like I should have told him upfront.
‘A simple apology won’t be enough to smooth this over….’
As I tried to think of a way to calm Ethan down, a rumor I once heard on an online community suddenly popped into my head.
Hoping to defuse the situation, I looked Ethan in the eye and cautiously suggested sothing.
“If more than just a few thugs attacked, what would you have done? There are plenty of people here at the Academy who are stronger than you.”
“…….”
“And have you already forgotten about what happened at the lake? The thought of nearly losing you still wakes up in the middle of the night….”
“M-Master Ethan.”
“I’m not done talking, Lillis.”
“…W-would you like to touch my chest…?”
“Tou….”
Ethan, who had been ranting about my nightti escapade, suddenly stopped mid-sentence and stared at , clearly shocked by my suggestion.
‘Could this actually work?’
“…Lillis, are you joking in this situation…?”
“N-no… I didn’t an it as a joke, or as a way to ask for forgiveness.”
“…Then what?”
“I-I read sowhere that when n touch a woman’s chest, it releases calming hormones in the brain….”
“…Hormones?”
“Yes, so I thought maybe instead of getting worked up, you could touch my chest and calm down a little, Master Ethan. That’s all I ant.”
“…….”
“And of course, this offer is only for you, Master Ethan.”
Will this work?
I really hoped this would help diffuse the tension. It wasn’t easy for to suggest sothing so embarrassing. Even asking if he wanted to touch my chest was a mortifying thing to do.
But this was clearly my fault, and Ethan’s anger was justified.
If letting him touch my chest would help calm him down, it was a small price to pay.
…Though I was unsure of what to do if this didn’t work.
“…….”
“…….”
No matter how angry he was, Ethan was still a young man in his pri.
He hesitated, clearly conflicted, as I offered him this option. Finally, deciding to go all in, I took one of Ethan’s hands and placed it on my chest.
Caught off guard by my bold move, Ethan’s face betrayed his emotions as he realized what he was doing.
Soft.
“…Lillis.”
“Are you feeling a little calr now, Master Ethan?”
“…….”
Ethan, who had been montarily dazed by my unexpected offer, regained his senses, his hand still resting on my chest.
His eyes, glowing in the darkness, t mine.
After a mont of silence, Ethan’s face slowly drew closer to mine.
In the faint light, our lips t quietly.
Reviews
All reviews (0)