I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 235

The cold night air brushed past her head, bringing with it a chilling sensation that settled into her mind like a frostbite-inducing shiver.

The moment she tried to recall the conversation she had just had with Ethan in the banquet hall, her heart plummeted.

"What was that about? Why didn't you move away when that lady's lips came so close to Ethan's nose?"

"Do you prefer a smaller, more manageable chest over this annoyingly large one?"

She couldn't fathom why she had uttered such things in front of Ethan. Especially the second remark—it wasn't the suspicion of a fiancée worried about her partner’s fidelity but the irrational jealousy of a madwoman complaining about not being loved.

"Damn it. How embarrassing. Why did I even say that?"

As the night wore on and the cold air cleared her head, the shame from the conversation made her face flush, not because of the lingering summer heat but from pure embarrassment.

"Sigh... how humiliating."

She should have stuck to her original plan and just played the role of a spiteful, hysterical lady. Whether or not Ethan had any intention of avoiding that woman’s kiss—what did it matter?

Well, if she was being honest, it did matter. If Ethan's lips had touched that woman’s, it would have been awkward to kiss him again, with the image of that pale-faced wench stuck in her mind.

Given that, of course, she had to stop it. And in that sense, what Ethan did was a bit... odd.

"No, no, no, no, no."

Why was she so naturally assuming that she would be kissing Ethan again?

The frequency of their kisses had recently become unnecessarily high, and her mindset seemed to be loosening because of it.@@@@

Somehow, she had come to perceive kissing as a somewhat acceptable level of physical intimacy. But really, since when was any kind of physical contact between a man and a woman "acceptable"?

She couldn’t afford to let this kind of thinking become familiar. Otherwise, she might end up concluding, absurdly, that anything goes as long as it doesn’t involve losing her virginity.

"...Well, in the end, it’s a relief that everything went smoothly."

In the end, she had managed to create the impression that her relationship with Ethan was strained, as planned, making it clear to McHart. Although Ethan had been taken aback at first, he quickly regained his composure and played along with her performance, leading to an even more convincing display of discord between them than she had initially planned.

Now, when McHart approached her, believing she was alone, she could call in the others and swiftly deal with him. No matter how powerful McHart's demonic strength was, he wouldn’t stand a chance against a coordinated attack.

"The signaling device is prepped and ready."

The one-way, single-use signaling device had been expensive, but given the stakes, it was worth the cost. If McHart tried to attack her, she would channel her magic into the device, summoning the others from the banquet hall. With Ethan, the hero, Agnes, and Cerys, they would be more than enough to eliminate McHart before he could fully utilize his demonic powers.

Then, she would use her saintly authority to prove in front of everyone that McHart had been tainted by demonic power and disguise it as the work of Cerys. The plan she had spent over a month crafting would finally be complete, and everything would fall into place.

"It’ll work. It has to work."

If it didn’t, she would have no choice but to abandon everything and rely on the hero's party.

Even if she had spent over 2000 hours playing "Luminor Academy" in her previous life and memorized the game’s plot, that didn’t mean her strategies were infallible.

"Not really. But I can certainly make sure you don’t feel lonely anymore."

"Oh, shut up. You just show up out of nowhere the moment I start to forget about you..."

Suppressing her rapidly beating heart, she continued to act as nonchalantly as possible.

She couldn’t afford to let fear show or reveal that she was hiding something—she had to act just as she always had with him.

Any deviation from her usual behavior could tip him off, and he might flee before they had him trapped.

"So, how have you been, Lillis?"

"Don’t call me by my name. It makes me sick."

"Then how about a pet name? Lily?"

"You bastard!"

The moment "Lily" came out of his mouth, she couldn’t help but lose control of her emotions.

Calm down, calm down. Don’t let him get to you.

"I've been so lonely. Usually, when I find a woman I like, I can’t rest until I’ve gotten her into my bed within a week. But your guard is so damn high, Lily."

"Is that so?"

"You’re always being watched—by that young master you serve and by the lady of the Blaze family."

"..."

"My power isn’t exactly suited for dealing with multiple people at once... Honestly, managing the power of a demon is tricky."

McHart was now openly admitting to using demonic power, not even trying to hide it anymore.

He probably figured there was no need to hide it from someone who already knew, confident that he could silence her afterward. His arrogance was likely because there were so few people who would listen to a mere viscount’s daughter, which explained why he hadn’t been caught yet, even though nearly two months had passed since he first attacked her.

In the end, the only way to resolve this was to gather people who believed her and deal with it themselves. By now, the others should have received her signal, so she just needed to stall for time until they arrived.

"So, why are you alone now, after being so well protected? Can I take this as a sign that you’re finally opening up to me?"

"Think what you want. It’s a free world."

-Ssssshh.

"Of course, you might find that today is the last day you indulge in such foolish thoughts."

The Blackwood-engraved dagger she had hidden beneath her dress gleamed coldly.

The confrontation with McHart was about to begin, sooner than anticipated.