I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 234

"Answer me seriously, Ed."

"..."

Ethan Richard Blackwood was flustered.

First, because Lillis had brought up something completely different from the conversation they had originally planned to have in this situation, and second, because there was something chilling about the way she was suddenly interrogating him.

'This wasn’t what we originally planned to talk about...'

As far as he remembered, the content of their planned argument was nothing like this.

The plan was for Lillis to chase away the girl who approached him, then compare herself to that girl while getting angry, and for Ethan to rebut her as if he was tired of her behavior. It was supposed to give the impression that there had been growing tension between them for a while (though there hadn't been) and that this tension was finally exploding at this noble gathering.

If things didn’t go well and no other woman approached him, they had planned to repeat a conversation similar to the one they had at the Academy church. Ethan had prepared for both scenarios, but he hadn’t anticipated the question Lillis had just asked, so he didn’t have an immediate answer.

"Ed. I’m asking you."

"Lillis... Are you angry right now...?"

"I’m asking you why you didn’t move when that girl’s lips were getting closer to yours. I’m really curious."

A chill ran down his spine, and he felt a cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck.

Even though he knew this was part of the operation, Ethan had the strange feeling that if he didn’t answer this question properly, it might make things awkward between him and Lillis in the future.

"...I was going to move."

"But you didn’t."

"If she had gotten any closer, I would have moved. But since you stepped in, I didn’t need to, so I didn’t."

"..."

Her expression was ambiguous. It seemed like she was both angry and not fully convinced by his words.

Ethan felt incredibly frustrated. The reason he had pretended to be unfazed until the girl’s lips almost touched his was solely to avoid disrupting the plan he and Lillis had devised.

Ethan cherished and loved Lillis more than anyone, and he didn’t want to ruin the operation because of his actions.

If he had obviously tried to avoid the girl, it would have been like openly admitting that his relationship with Lillis was still strong. That would have disrupted the plan, and the McHart subjugation operation they had spent nearly a month planning would have failed.

That’s why Ethan couldn’t understand why Lillis was asking this question now. The Lillis he knew was always the one to make the right decisions and guide him to make wise choices.

Even when she acted on impulse, things always seemed to turn out for the best.@@@@

‘...Unless, maybe...’

What if Lillis’s angry question was actually part of the performance to start a fight with him?

Thinking that way, everything made sense. Of course, Lillis wouldn’t ask a question that would put him in a difficult position without a reason.

It seemed that Lillis intended to paint herself as the “possessive fiancée” at this noble gathering. The impulsive kiss they shared earlier was probably just groundwork for this plan.

It would have been strange for Lillis to suddenly kiss him in front of so many people without any ulterior motive. From Ethan’s perspective, Lillis wasn’t the type of woman to be overly possessive.

Besides, he didn’t want to discuss Lillis’s body, especially in front of other people, including men.

To Ethan, Lillis’s body belonged entirely to him, from head to toe. He had always thought that one day he wanted to have both her body and heart completely to himself, so he didn’t want to evaluate her in front of others.

‘Maybe I could... change the subject...?’

Ethan thought it might be better to steer the conversation in a different direction, one that didn’t involve commenting on her appearance or body.

...He didn’t anticipate how Lillis would take his next words.

"So you really do agree with her?! That’s why you didn’t try to avoid her and let her get so close! Now, you’re taking her side instead of listening to me!"

"...You’re just a baronet’s daughter. Isn’t it presumptuous of you to act this way, especially as a member of the Blackwood family’s branch?"

"...What?"

"Did you think you were something special just because you got engaged to a duke’s heir? If you weren’t my fiancée, you’d be nothing more than a lower-ranking noblewoman with no real backing."

"..."

Ethan didn’t want to bring this up, but it was preferable to degrading Lillis’s body in front of others.

Arguments based on social rank differences often ended badly. It was the perfect way to make it seem like their relationship was already falling apart.

Lillis had originally been a commoner, so he didn’t think she would take offense to being called a lower-ranking noblewoman. From Ethan’s perspective, this topic was a safe choice...

"...Sob."

‘...Tears?’

Lillis began to cry for the first time since the argument started, and Ethan was taken aback.

Her unsettling response and the words that followed left him even more shaken.

"So you really did think that way."

"Wait, Lillis..."

"I apologize for acting so arrogantly, given my lowly status as a lower-ranking noblewoman. Goodbye."

Wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes, Lillis quickly fled toward the back exit of the palace. Ethan could only think to himself:

Please, let that reaction just be part of her realistic performance.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

In the garden connected to the back entrance of the palace annex, a black-haired baronet’s daughter walked alone after the dramatic confrontation with Ethan.

"...Oh."

Lillis let out a single word laden with meaning as she looked up at the night sky. It was dark, without even a sliver of the moon in sight.

The cold night air calmed her heated emotions, the sharp edge of the brandy’s alcohol began to fade, and the excitement she had felt earlier subsided. Lillis covered her face with both hands and let out a deep sigh from the depths of her chest.

"Haah, this is so embarrassing..."