Chapter 3

Seeing a building that I had only seen in a game was truly a strange experience—at least for Lilian. It was a bit amusing to watch Catherine, with her forehead pressed and looking exasperated as she repeatedly asked about the dining room.

How did I end up going with Catherine anyway? I couldn’t shake the thought that, since we were in this situation, avoiding the original story might be impossible. But after getting into the carriage with her alone, that thought vanished completely.

‘If I can keep seeing this face, maybe not escaping the original story wouldn’t be so bad.’

Lilian found herself genuinely thinking this. And why wouldn’t she? She was a hopeless romantic. In fact, she liked Lilian more than the protagonist of the original story.

‘Because Lilian is prettier.’

The original protagonist was beautiful too, but her overly gentle demeanor just wasn’t to her taste. Lilian’s static yet always regal smile was far more appealing compared to the protagonist’s sunshiny beauty with slightly droopy eyes.

Lilian’s nearly silvery hair and her lake-like eyes accentuated her stunning appearance.

‘Now that I think about it, they are completely opposite colors to Catherine.’

Lilian glanced at Catherine’s neatly tied black hair as if trying to decipher it. The stark black hair paired with her blood-red eyes gave off a dangerous yet mysterious vibe. Add in her porcelain-like skin that looked like it had never done a day of hard labor, and she had the feel of a fragile flower petal.

So, when Catherine grabbed her hand, Lilian was quite shocked. Unlike the cold touch of a vampire, it was warm like a human’s. Of course, this was a small shock for Lilian. Her heart started thumping loudly.

‘No, no way, right?’

Even if she was a hopeless romantic, she couldn’t possibly have a crush on a soulless-looking maid. Lilian shook her head internally. Yeah, it was just surprising to her that Catherine, who looked like a pale, expressionless vampire, was actually human.

At least that’s what she thought.

#

After having a light snack in the dining room, Lilian hummed and patted her belly. Thankfully, no one was around as graduation day approached; otherwise, this would have been quite an unrefined act, prompting me to stifle a sigh.

“…Young lady.”

“Eh, there’s no one here.”

“Aren’t I someone?”

“Catherine is Catherine.”

Lilian flashed a grin that seemed to trust me, and I subtly averted my gaze and handed her a handkerchief.

“Oh, thank you—”

“…What’s ‘thank you’?”

“Huh? Oh, I mean, thanks.”

What on earth is going through this girl’s mind? There’s no way ‘thank you’ exists in this world! I was momentarily flustered but handled it calmly, sighing again. Of all people, I had to be stuck in the body of someone so air-headed. Still, I could tell where she was from: Earth. The place where I had lived my entire previous life.

As I observed her completely untrustworthy demeanor, I decided to lead her to the auditorium.

The auditorium wasn’t far away. Lilian looked at me with surprise and smiled slightly as I confidently walked in its direction.

“Catherine, do you know the way?”

“Yes. I just memorized it all.”

“…Really? Then, where’s the dormitory?”

“Just go straight that way and turn right.”

I had no idea why she was asking such a thing suddenly, but after answering straightforwardly, her eyes widened. It was a bit amusing to see her expression change, especially since my young lady typically had very few expressions. Of course, remembering that the person in front of me was not actually my lady made it not so amusing anymore.

“Isn’t the academy where Catherine should enroll?”

“…Stop spouting nonsense and go in. I can’t go any further.”

When I pointed to the gigantic door, Lilian gasped.

“Oh? What? We’ve already arrived.”

“Yes, my lady. Please maintain your dignity.”

“Got it. I’ll behave so Catherine won’t worry.”

Since I had the same idea, I muttered as Lilian entered the auditorium. As I quietly watched her behind slowly disappearing through the closing door, I quietly picked up the bags she had been holding. They weren’t heavy. My body was trained sufficiently.

The dormitory. The lady’s dormitory must be… 303. Being on the third floor, my lady wouldn’t have liked it if she had to climb too many stairs.

Since it didn’t concern her, I slowly made my way to the dormitory. The entrance ceremony would last about an hour. I planned to have all the luggage sorted out before then.

#

“Lilian Beon Portus… Room 303. Here’s a layout of the dormitory. If you can’t find your way, just come to me.”

“Yes.”

The matron, who seemed to be in charge of the dormitory, winked at me with a smile. I slightly nodded in response and headed straight up the stairs.

Room 303… Is it here? I unlocked the door with the key the matron had given me. As expected for a place where the highest nobles enter, the dormitory was quite luxurious. While I was admiring the room, which was as nice as a high-end hotel, I began unpacking.

The bags I brought from the House of Portus mainly contained my lady’s dresses, a couple of spare maid outfits, and a few undergarments for both of us. I hadn’t brought much since I could buy anything else around here.

I quickly organized the underwear and placed my lady’s dresses in the dress room. Then I searched the other rooms to find a place for my maid outfit. However, I couldn’t seem to find a spare room anywhere.

What’s going on? This is odd. They wouldn’t have people live here and then force the maids to share a room, and there shouldn’t be a separate maid’s quarter. After pondering for a moment, I tossed my maid’s outfit casually in and headed back down.

“Matron.”

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Where’s the maid’s quarter?”

After no luck in finding a sleeping area for the servants, I asked the matron, and she grinned.

“It should be attached to the room, right? Oh wait, wasn’t 303 the one?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Well, room 303 was recently remodeled. The original spare room turned into a dress room. But it should have two beds instead, right?”

“You mean I’m supposed to sleep in the same room as my lady? Even that….”

As I hesitated, the matron smiled broadly.

“Well, I can change your room if needed. But you know the maid who serves the expressionless lady from the House of Portus is rather famous. Sleeping together wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, right?”

“I don’t mind, but my lady might.”

My lady had always disliked sharing a room with me even when she was at the breastfeeding stage. And as she grew up, that preference only got stronger. Having her expression muscles totally deadpan made it a bit inconvenient to handle my embarrassment when I was put in this situation.

“In that case, consult with your lady. If it’s really not okay, I can change the rooms, but honestly, if you guys don’t take that room, a different noble will have to forgo it.”

Stifling a sigh, I replied that I understood and made my way back to the auditorium. Since it seemed like Lilian was already on guard around me, I guessed she’d likely refuse.

“Eh? I’m okay with it.”

“…My lady? Didn’t you say you disliked sharing a room with me?”

“Uh? Oh, um… Ah! Yeah. It wouldn’t be great for another noble to not get to use the dormitory, right?”

Since you suddenly became such a kind person, I felt those words rising in my throat, but since she’s my lady, I bit my tongue and nodded.

“So what happened?”

“My lady says she will use that room.”

“Hehe, I knew it.”

“Wow, so this is a dormitory.”

I gently pulled the deeply gazing lady and led her to room 303. Other nobles would surely gossip about us not maintaining proper decorum, but there was no other choice.

“Oooh— it’s like a five-star hotel—”

Pretending I didn’t hear Lilian’s murmuring, I organized my maid outfit in the dress room and then asked her.

“My lady, did the entrance ceremony go well?”

“Yes. Nothing to worry about for Catherine, right?”

“Then I’m relieved.”

“Oh, they said the entrance party will be tonight. You need to come with me, so help out.”

“Yes, understood. Speaking of which, have you met your fiancé?”

At the very mention of ‘fiancé,’ Lilian shivered slightly. Then her neck slowly tilted towards me.

“Fiancé?”

“Yes, your fiancé.”

Lilian’s fiancé, Prince Bellus Jacques Endain, was seeking a political marriage with her. While she didn’t appear too thrilled about this arrangement, she nodded with a wistful smile as if it were her destiny.

Until now, they had only communicated through a few letters, but Prince Bellus was quite the gentleman.

“Hmm, about that fiancé…”

“Yes, the fiancé.”

“I haven’t seen him!”

“…I see.”

Well, it was something that could wait. It would be quite risky to push Lilian in front of the prince in her current state. Nodding readily, I saw that she sighed in relief. Although her state seemed a bit unusual, it was time to prepare for the party tonight.

“My lady.”

“Huh? Huh? Catherine, you look scary…”

“Remember the dance?”

“Uh? Yup, of course. I could grab Catherine and dance right now!”

That was a relief. If I had to teach her the dance from scratch, time would have been tight.

“Then it’s about time to get ready. Since there are no other maids, it’ll take some time.”

“Huh? Already? We still have about 5 hours left!”

“It’s only 5 hours, my lady.”

“Huh? Huh?”

As I held onto the flustered Lilian’s outfit, I sternly urged her.

“Let’s take this off first.”

“Whoa?”

Growing frustrated at her slow responses today, I swiftly stripped her outfit away. In an instant, Lilian was left in just her corset and undergarments. Her face turned bright red.

“Eh?!”

“What are you so surprised about? Let’s hurry up and get ready.”

Like a carnivore preparing to devour herbivore prey, I moved towards her.