Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Girls(?) Talk (2)
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With permission from Head Maid Melissa secured, everything proceeded smoothly without any delays afterward.
All that was left was to pass along the request to Katarina: on the next day off, take a stroll through the city in Blackwood territory.
Since we worked the same shift anyway, opportunities to chat with her came up endlessly.
"Katarina, senior."
"Ah, y-yes! Miss Lilith!"
"I told you to just call me Lilith."
"B-but when it's just the two of us, I have to call you miss, r-right...?"
"I've never given any such order. Whether it's just us or in front of others, treat me like any subordinate and call me Lilith casually."
"Uh, um... O-okay..."
This was starting to feel like a skit every single time.
It seemed like it would take quite a while to break her of reflexively calling me "Miss Lilith."
Anyway, taking advantage of the moment when Isabel stepped away, I smoothly made the request I'd planned to Katarina.
On the next day off, go out to the city in Blackwood territory together and have her show me around.
"Y-you want to go out to the city in Blackwood territory?"
"Yes, Katarina senior. I've only been working at the Blackwood estate for a year, so I figured you'd know a bit more about it than me."
"Ah, y-yeah! I don't know everything, but if that's what Miss Lilith... er, Lilith wants, I'll help!"
Katarina nodded enthusiastically, clearly delighted by my suggestion.
So far, Isabel's plan was working out pretty well.
"Th-thanks to Lilith, I got out of debt maid status too... So if Lilith wants, I can even guide you outside the estate..."
"...That's great news."
Though I was still stuck as a debt maid myself and couldn't go out without permission.
Come to think of it, I was the one who found Thanacia's necklace, so shouldn't they reduce my debt a little?
I couldn't shamelessly demand full forgiveness, of course, but shaving off a year or two from my contract term would be nice.
Escaping the Blackwood family early still looked like it wouldn't be easy.
"Oh, and Katarina senior."
"Yeah?"
"If it's okay with you, could we bring Isabel along on the next day off?"
"Huh? Isabel too?"
"It's a rare outing, and it'd feel bad leaving her behind while we go just the two of us. Besides, now our shift is the three of us: me, you, and Isabel."
For the record, this wasn't Isabel's idea—it was mine.
It felt wrong to head out to the city for a day off and leave her out of the fun.
Plus, wandering around as three felt a little less awkward than just two.
And Katarina probably wouldn't refuse anyway.
She had plenty of goodwill toward me, and no reason to dislike Isabel.
"Ah, yeah! Of course it's fine! I-it's Lilith asking, after all... Of course I have to say yes..."
"What do you mean 'have to'? Stop treating me so specially."
"Um..."
If only no one had found out I could use magic, I could've cleared up the misunderstandings about me being nobility long ago.
But now that it was out, I had no choice but to keep up the lie.
Objectively speaking, revealing I was a commoner who could use magic was far riskier for me.
Katarina didn't seem the type to blab my secret everywhere, but her slip-ups and timid nature made her unpredictable.
Better to share as little info as possible with someone hard to control.
"Anyway, Katarina senior."
"Yes! ...Er, yeah...!"
"You're helping me and Isabel with this outing at my request, so after this, no more trying to take my chores because you owe me or anything, okay?"
"...Huh? Yeah?"
"Not 'huh yeah.' You can't keep fussing only over my feelings forever."
"...I-I'm fine just keeping things like this from now on..."
"No more of that from now on, got it?"
"...Yeah, got it..."
It was a bit high-handed, but I managed to wrap things up by laying down the law clearly.
...Now that I'd gone this far, she wouldn't pull the same stunt again with different words, right?
I could only quietly hope it wouldn't come to that.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And three days later.
In the city of Blackwood territory's commercial district, we disembarked from the carriage one by one.
The moment I stepped down, I stretched out my slightly stiff body, letting out a natural groan.
"Ughhh...!!"
Sitting motionless in the carriage for nearly thirty minutes had left me feeling antsy all over.
In my previous life, even two or three hours in a car hadn't tired me this much.
For one, the carriage seat was infinitely harder than a car seat, aggravating my fatigue.
And the second reason my shoulders ached was Lilith's sizable chest bouncing up and down with every jolt of the not-so-small carriage.
'I really want to just cut them off. All they do is draw weird stares.'
From a man's gaze, it was an alluring, pretty body, sure—but experiencing it as Lilith even after two weeks still felt alien.
The pointless weight straining my shoulders and back, and the men's blatant stares whenever they caught the eye.
Like that coachman uncle sneaking peeks at my chest and pretending not to notice right now.
"...Ahem, ahem."
Well, thanks to him getting hooked on my chest, we got a comfy ride to the city.
In normal situations, good looks definitely had their perks.
The Blackwood family happened to have some items to pick up from the city anyway.
Since we were heading down anyway, asking him to take me and the other two cut what would've been an hour's walk in half. And sitting comfortably, no less.
Of course, on the way back, with extra luggage, we'd probably be a bit squeezed with the three of us.
"...W-well then, ladies, have a good time out. I'll head off again in half a day, so come back here and wait! Carriages have to stick to schedule, so no riding if you're late, got it?"
"Yes~!"
"Y-yes..."
"Thanks for the ride, sir."
"Yeah, yeah."
The coachman hurriedly averted his gaze the moment he realized I'd noticed and chatted as if nothing happened.
I was perceptive enough not to mention him peeking at my chest.
What was the point of making a fuss? Good things were good.
Besides, me—a guy in a past life—kicking up a storm over a little cleavage seemed pretty ridiculous anyway.
'It'd be nice if I could at least wear something less revealing.'
A debt maid like Lilith wouldn't have had proper outing clothes to begin with, and even if she did, Head Maid Melissa wouldn't have allowed it.
No matter the day off, she'd lecture about behaving as a Blackwood maid anywhere, anytime.
Thinking about it, even if I wore something else, it'd just be floaty skirts or dresses—so maybe the familiar maid outfit was better.
In this world, women wearing pants took serious guts and risk.
'Considering the stares it'd draw, pants might stand out even more than the maid uniform.'
As those thoughts crossed my mind, the coachman who'd brought us drove off into the commercial district.
The three maids left at the city entrance glanced at each other.
"S-so, where to first? Any shops you wanna hit, or food you're craving?"
"No idea, we're clueless—so lead the way, Katarina senior."
"I'll follow wherever you and Lilith go, so don't worry about me."
"Uh, um... How about we check out the market first...?"
"Sure~."
"Sure~."
Katarina guided us with a subtly confident expression.
She'd always seemed so downcast before, but taking charge in her strong suit in front of juniors brightened her up nicely.
Seeing her like this, asking her to show us around the city really was the right call.
...At that point, we had no idea.
This casual outing for a change of pace would soon lead to a little incident.