I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 205

As soon as we entered the temporary meeting room in Celesta’s dormitory, an oddly awkward atmosphere hung over the entire space. Celesta looked startled when our eyes met, and for some reason, Agnes was quietly staring off into the distance, avoiding eye contact.

Ethan, well, he still blushed whenever our eyes met, so it didn’t seem too different from usual.

I wondered if it was just me sensing something off, so I subtly glanced at Bolt’s expression, and it seemed he had noticed the strange atmosphere as well.

“What happened? Why does everyone seem so uncomfortable...?”

“...There’s more important work to do first. What about verifying the truth of what Lillis said?”

“Oh, that? It was all true. Prince McHart did indeed attack Lillis, and he is truly connected to the demons.”

“I see....”

“...So it was true after all.”

Celesta and Agnes, who still harbored some doubts, nodded as if Bolt’s statement had confirmed everything for them.

Given that Bolt had confidently taken me outside to verify the truth with his “holy sword,” it might seem like a natural conclusion. But the fact that neither Celesta nor Agnes noticed that the story about the holy sword was a lie just showed how naive they were.

Or perhaps the idea of lying in the presence of a weapon blessed by the gods was so irreverent that it never crossed their minds. Of course, Bolt, who had lied to me without a shred of guilt, clearly had no such reservations.

“Honestly, Lillis never struck me as someone who would lie. Still, I felt it was worth confirming, just in case. Lillis doesn’t seem like the type to lie, after all.”

“...If you’re trying to win Lillis over with obvious flattery, I’d suggest you stop. Claiming you trusted her all along after supposedly verifying it with your holy sword only makes you look foolish. I never once doubted Lillis.”

“Lord Ethan?”

“...Ahem.”

Ethan’s response seemed more guarded than before, though I couldn’t quite understand why.

“So, what do we do now?”

“What else? There’s only one conclusion to draw.”

“We’ll have to fight Prince McHart, won’t we....”

Celesta, who had no qualms about confronting monsters or demons, didn’t look pleased at the thought of fighting a human, especially a prince.

In the standard storyline, most of the enemies were either monsters or demons, and there were only one or two human villains. For someone as gentle as Celesta, it was natural to react this way when it came to the idea of killing a human, especially a prince.

However, we couldn’t afford to exclude Celesta from the upcoming battle with McHart, as we’d need all available forces. I’d have to leave it to Bolt to comfort her later after we dealt with the immediate threat.

“It seems it would be difficult to use in the middle of a battle, then. Offering your wrist to your opponent during a fight is practically an admission of defeat.”

“Yes. But it’s undeniably dangerous magic for assassination or one-on-one situations. He can pull someone into his domain as long as he grabs their wrist.”

“It might not be easy to use in a general fight, but I imagine McHart could easily take advantage of his status and appearance to use it.”

Once the discussion shifted to magic, Agnes enthusiastically shared her expertise, with Bolt smoothly jumping in to keep the conversation on track.

Of course, Bolt already knew about McHart’s abilities and how to counter them, so he was now subtly dropping hints for the others, pretending to piece it together.

If Bolt really was ‘PureLoveSavior,’ as he claimed, he would have already completed the McHart battle guide.

“The problem is proving that Prince McHart is using demonic power. Even if we succeed in taking him down, if we can’t prove his connection to the demons, we’ll be branded as traitors.”

“...I’ve heard that there are ways to extract evidence of demonic power from a demon’s corpse, but would that work?”

“It seems that McHart hasn’t fully transformed into a demon yet. The time it takes for a person’s body to fully assimilate with demonic power varies. We have two options. One is to wait until his body fully assimilates with demonic power, and the other...”

The discussion about how to take down McHart and prove his demonic ties continued for quite some time. During the three-hour-long meeting, Ethan absentmindedly looked at me and muttered quietly.

“Now that I think about it... it’s possible that the recently missing noblewomen are related to him too.”

“...You’re right. We might be able to find their whereabouts after dealing with Prince McHart.”

“......”

“L-Lord Ethan?”

While discussing the missing noblewomen, Ethan suddenly looked at me with a sorrowful gaze. Then, as if overcome with emotion, he took my hand tightly and quietly sobbed.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Lillis.”

“Yes, thank you...”

“I swear, I’ll tear that McHart scum limb from limb. I’ll expose all his ties to the demons and destroy his reputation.”

“Um, could you please let go of my hand now? The others are watching...”

Especially since Bolt is watching.

As Ethan tightly held my hands and cried, seemingly genuinely worried about me, Bolt stood off to the side with a smug grin, as if he were watching an amusing spectacle.

...If he weren’t the hero, I’d seriously punch him in the face.