I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince-Chapter 480: Preparing for a breakup (3)

"Yes, Young Master Ethan."

"Just out of curiosity... if Queen Rainy were to ask you again to join her as a maid, would you..."

"You don’t need to worry. I have no plans to defect to Defrin Kingdom, Young Master."

"...Thank you."

As we traveled back to the Argentia Empire from Defrin Kingdom, Ethan continued to bring up Queen Rainy’s offer, clearly unsettled, seeking my reassurance repeatedly.

‘Judging by how much he’s come to rely on me, I’ll definitely need to leave by the end of winter break.’

Though I never intended to defect, I had no reason to abandon the plan I’d made months ago to eventually part ways with him. Spending time with Isabelle and Katarina back at Blackwood Mansion, reminiscing and sharing stories, and spending my last few days with Ethan as a final farewell seemed appropriate.

⁎ {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} ⁎ ⁎

A month passed since our return to Blackwood Mansion.

Most of that time was spent assisting Ethan with his duties, helping him in administrative tasks while he received his inheritance lessons from Harold. Though I thought he should be handling these responsibilities alone, Harold didn’t stop me from assisting, perhaps assuming I’d remain Ethan’s personal maid indefinitely.

‘I’ll have to leave in secret, especially so Harold doesn’t notice. If he decides to keep me here permanently, escape might become impossible.’

Late at night, once everyone was asleep, would be the best time to make my escape.

During the month, I tried to keep a low profile, living a normal routine—chatting with Isabelle and Katarina during breaks, sometimes strolling into town together.

"Haah!"

-Clang!

"...Your skills are improving, Ethan. Well done."

Whenever Ethan managed to win a match against Harold, I would reward him that evening. I half-expected him to bring out something like the collar and plug from before, but nothing went that far. Thankfully, there were no instances of the bizarre scenarios I’d seen in my dreams, like nude walks with a leash or outdoor scenes.

‘Considering the Ethan I know now, it would make no sense for him to do those things.’

As winter break wound down to a close, with only a week left, the time had finally come to enact my plan.

"Sigh..."

I prepared a small travel bag, packing lightly as if I were preparing for the academy, and checked over the most important items one last time.

"100, 200, 300... all accounted for."

Over the years, I’d accumulated this amount from my salary as Blackwood’s personal maid, additional side earnings from my time at the academy, rewards from guarding Queen Rainy, and payments from the nobles for various pieces of information. Altogether, I had almost 300 gold coins—a considerable amount.

Since a single gold coin was worth about three million won in real currency, I now had nearly nine hundred million won at my disposal.

‘It really was worth saving every bit.’

Half of this came from the Defrin Kingdom mission, which truly turned out to be a lucrative quest. Even without that, my savings would have been around 140 gold coins, more than enough for independence, but having more money would only make life easier. As long as I didn’t flaunt it, I’d avoid becoming a target for robbers or scammers.

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‘I’m leaving a lot behind, but there’s no other choice.’

The original plan had been to leave a year ago. I’d just delayed it due to various events, but I couldn’t postpone it any longer.

"Oh, and I should write a letter..."

Leaving without a word could lead to misunderstandings—they might think I’d gone missing or been kidnapped. Leaving a letter seemed wise. I wasn’t sure if Ethan would “turn dark” and come after me like in that dream, but better safe than sorry.

"Dear Young Master Ethan... No, that’s too much."

It felt excessive to address him so affectionately when I was leaving. Adding “love” would make it seem like I had lingering feelings, which would only encourage him to hold onto me if he noticed. I needed to keep it simple while conveying the reason for my departure clearly.

‘...I’m leaving the Blackwood family to live a quiet life...’

As I wrote, tears kept smudging the ink, forcing me to rewrite the letter over and over.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

"Lilith, are you feeling okay?"

"...Huh?"

"Your eyes look a bit red. Did you not sleep well last night?"

Isabelle’s concern caught me off guard as she noticed my tear-stained eyes. Katarina also looked at me with a worried expression after hearing Isabelle’s comment.

"A-Are you unwell? Perhaps you should inform the Master or Young Master and take a rest today..."

"No, Katarina, I’m just a bit tired."

"You really should rest, though. With the academy starting soon, you wouldn’t want to be exhausted."

"I’m fine. And right now, I just want to spend as much time as possible with you and Isabelle before... Ah."

"Before... what?" Isabelle asked.

"I just want to talk with you both as much as possible before heading back to the academy. We won’t have time to chat there."

I almost let it slip. That was close.

Ethan, Harold, and even these two couldn’t know I was planning to leave Blackwood Mansion. If they did, it wouldn’t be an escape anymore; it’d turn into an outright prison break.

"Well, I’ll go check on Young Master Ethan. I need to help him with his lessons."

"Alright, but make sure to rest if you’re feeling tired, Lilith..."

"Don’t worry about me."

...In a way, I was lucky Isabelle noticed first.

I quickly washed my face, hoping the swelling around my eyes would go down before I went to meet Ethan and Harold in the study.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

"Phew... finally done."

"Thank you, Young Master Ethan."

"Yeah, you too, Lilith."

Late at night, in Blackwood Mansion’s study, Ethan stretched, a look of relief on his face, while I quietly massaged his shoulders.

"You’ve worked hard this past month, Young Master."

"It wasn’t hard. If I want to inherit the estate, I need to learn. If anything, you’ve worked harder, helping me out."

"As your personal maid, it’s only natural that I assist you."

"Somehow, I knew you’d say that."

As he leaned back and looked up at me, our eyes met, and I froze momentarily at the warmth in his smile.

"Let’s call it a night. It’s getting late."

"...Yes, Young Master."

"Would you like to go on a date tomorrow? Today was the last of my lessons with Father, so I’ll have some free time."

"...Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Is that okay? Or did you have plans with Isabelle or Katarina?"

"No, I don’t have any particular plans..."

The issue wasn’t with Isabelle or Katarina; it was that, starting tomorrow, I wouldn’t be here in Blackwood Mansion.

Suppressing the pang of pain in my chest, I looked away from Ethan’s gaze.

"Lilith?"

"...Yes?!"

"You’re acting strange. Is something on your mind?"

"N-No, nothing’s wrong. I’m completely fine...!"

"Doesn’t seem that way. Do you not want to go on a date with me?"

...There was no reason I wouldn’t want to go on a date with Ethan.

But delaying even a day would mean I’d miss the ideal time to leave. Tomorrow was the last day before the carriage left for Luminar Academy, making tonight the perfect time to go.

But his invitation was hard to refuse. If he’d asked a day earlier, I would have agreed without hesitation.

Caught between leaving at the ideal time and creating one last memory with Ethan, I carefully made a suggestion.

"Instead of tomorrow..."

"Hm?"

"...Could we go tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight."

...Leaving him one last memory before I departed wouldn’t hurt, would it?