Head Maid Melissa had given her permission, so there was no delay in the process after that.
All that was left was to invite Catherine to stroll around the Blackwoods’ town with me on the next holiday.
Since we worked in the same unit, I had countless opportunities to meet Catherine and chat.
“Senior Catherine.”
“Oh, yes, yes! Miss Lilith!”
“Just call me Lilith.”
“When it’s just the two of us, should I address you as ‘Miss,’ o-or not…?”
“I never gave such an order. Whether it’s just the two of us or in front of others, you can call me Lilith, like how you would address your junior.”
“Uh, okay… I see….”
It seemed like it would take quite some time to shake off the reflexive “Miss Lilith” from Catherine’s mouth.
Taking advantage of Isabel’s brief absence, I informed Catherine of the request I had made.
“You want to go out to the town of the Blackwood fiefdom?”
“Yes, Senior Catherine. It’s been a year since you started working at the manor, so I think you would know a bit more than me about that.”
“Oh, yes! I-I don’t know much either, b-b-but still, Miss Lilith… Oh, no, I’d love to help if you want!”
Catherine nodded vigorously as if genuinely pleased with my proposal.
So far, Isabel’s plan has progressed well.
“Thanks to you, Lilith, I’ve also managed to get rid of my debt to the maids… If you want, I can guide you outside the mansion too…”
“… That’s a good thing.”
As for me, I’m still stuck as a debt maid, so I can’t go outside without permission.
Now that I think about it, since I found Thanasia’s necklace, isn’t it fair to have some of my debt reduced?
Of course, I can’t outright ask for complete absolution, but maybe they could shorten my contract period by 1 or 2 years.
Escaping the Blackwood family earlier still seemed more challenging than expected.
“Oh, and Senior Catherine.”
“Yeah?”
“If it’s okay with you, would it be alright to bring Isabel along on the next holiday?”
“Huh? Isabel, too?”
“It’s a rare outing, and I feel kind of bad to leave just Isabel behind while just the two of us are out. Now, it wouldn’t be just Senior Catherine and me, but also Isabel, making it a group of three.”
For the record, Isabel didn’t bring up this suggestion; it was my idea first.
It felt somewhat awkward to leave just Isabel behind while we went out to town, especially since it’s a rare opportunity. Plus, having three people instead of just two would make it feel less awkward…
…and it’s highly likely that Catherine wouldn’t refuse my suggestion, either.
At least with me, she’s already built up a solid stack of goodwill, and there’s no reason for her to harbor ill feelings towards Isabel.
“Oh, yes! Of course, it’s fine! I-it’s your suggestion in the first place, Lilith… Of course, I should listen to it…”
“Stop treating me as someone special all the time.”
“Uh… yeah….”
Honestly, if only Catherine hadn’t discovered the fact that I knew how to use magic, any misunderstandings about me being a noble or something would have been cleared up quickly.
However, now that I’ve been found out, I have no choice but to maintain this lie.
Objectively speaking, the revelation that I’m a ‘commoner who can use magic’ poses a more significant risk burden for me.
Although Catherine’s mouth didn’t seem cheap enough to blurt out my secret anywhere, what made me most uneasy was her unpredictable slip-ups and fragile nature.
It’s best to give out as little information as possible if those are hard to predict.
“Anyway, Senior Catherine.”
“Yes! …Oh, no, I mean, yeah…?”
“This time, you’re helping me and Isabel with the town outing because of my request, right? So, after this, you don’t have to take over my duties and say it’s the name of repaying the favor or whatever.”
“…Uh, yeah?”
“It’s not ‘uh, yeah.’ Senior Catherine, you can’t keep living by considering my feelings forever.”
“I… I mean… I’m okay with keeping things like this in the future…”
“There’s no ‘keeping things like this’ from now on, got it?”
“…Uh, yeah, got it…”
Although it was abrupt, I managed to conclude the conversation by firmly setting the terms.
… I’ve managed to end it like this, but hopefully, there won’t be any forced attempts to revisit the issue with different words later on. I quietly hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Three days later.
We arrived at the commercial district of the Blackwood fiefdom and got off the carriage one by one.
As soon as we got off the carriage, I stretched my slightly stiff body, and a groan escaped my lips.
“Ughhh…!!”
Sitting motionless in the carriage for almost 30 minutes made me feel sore in several areas.
In my previous life, I didn’t feel this tired even after riding in a car for two or three hours.
Firstly, the carriage seats were significantly harder and way less comfortable than a sedan, enabling fatigue.
Secondly, my shoulders felt tense due to the constant shaking caused by the not-as-subtle vibrations of the carriage.
‘I really want to just rip these off. Having them doesn’t do anything but attract weird stares.’
From a man’s perspective, these ‘melons’ might be attractive and very pretty. However, Lilith’s body, particularly at my bosom, still hadn’t become familiar to me even after almost two weeks.
I’m not used to the fatigue that unnecessarily burdens my shoulders and back muscles, nor the overt stares from men whenever this chest catches their eye.
Even now, like the coachman pretending not to notice while sneakily glancing at my chest.
“…Ahem, ahem.”
Well, thanks to him getting hooked on my chest, we could comfortably make it to the town.
In many situations, having a pretty appearance definitely has its merits.
As it happened, there were a few items from the Blackwood family that needed to be brought from the town to the mansion.
Since I asked for a ride for me and the other two instead of walking, we could cut the distance we’d initially have to walk in half, comfortably sitting on the way.
Of course, we might have to squeeze in with the extra luggage on the way back.
“…So, ladies, enjoy your outing, and we’ll depart again in half a day, so wait here! Remember, the carriage has to return on time, so don’t forget that if you’re late, we won’t be able to give you a ride.”
“Yes~!”
“Yes, yes….”
“Thank you for driving, sir.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The coachman hastily averted his gaze and pretended not to notice once he realized I caught him looking.
I didn’t bother mentioning his brief glance at my chest since I was well aware of his awareness.
There’s no point in making it awkward by dissecting such things. What’s good is good.
Frankly, it was quite amusing that in my past life as a man, showing a bit of cleavage would cause such a fuss.
‘I should’ve worn something a bit more decent, even if it’s just casual clothes.’
Since Lilith is, by nature, a debt maid, she wouldn’t have had separate outfits for outings. Even if she did, it’s unlikely that Head Maid Melissa would have permitted it.
No matter how much of a holiday it is, as a maid of the Blackwood family, she must always maintain the behavior of a servant, regardless of time or place.
Well, thinking about it, even if Lilith wore different clothes, she couldn’t stray far from the realm of loose skirts or dresses. In that case, the familiar maid attire might actually be better.
For a woman to wear pants in this world required considerable courage and risk.
‘Considering the stares, my outfit might even be more noticeable than if I wore my maid’s attire.’
As I entertained such thoughts, the carriage driven by the stableman who had given us a ride had already entered the commercial district.
At the entrance to the city, the three of us looked at each other in turn.
“U-um, w-where should we go first? Do you have any specific shops you want to visit or something you want to eat?”
“Well, we don’t know much, so please guide us well, Senior Catherine.”
“I’ll just follow wherever Senior Catherine and Lilith want to go, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Uh, okay… Then, shall we start by exploring the market…?”
“Yes~.”
With a strangely confident expression, Catherine guided Isabel and me. We had only ever seen her as somewhat timid, but now, in front of her juniors, she seemed to have found her own area of confidence and appeared quite bright.
Seeing Catherine like this, asking her to guide us around the city seemed like a good choice.
…Up until that moment, we were unaware.
Little did we know that this outing for a change of pace would soon lead to a minor incident.