Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Masquerade Ball (1)
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Ethan had suddenly summoned me to his room and ordered me to prepare for the Third Princess's birthday banquet. It was the next morning after that.
After Ethan's breakfast, as I was resting in the lounge, a visitor unexpectedly showed up at my room.
-Knock, knock, knock.
"...Come in."
Click. The door swung open inward.
I figured it had to be Ethan or Harold calling me during work hours, but the person who appeared from behind the door was someone completely unexpected.
"Lilith!"
"...Isabel?"
What was Isabel doing, suddenly barging into my room?
As far as I knew, it was prime work hours right now.
For her to charge into my room like this during shift time... no way, was she slacking off?
"Isabel, now that you're an intermediate maid, you gonna boldly slack off like that?"
"Huh? Oh, no! It's not like that!"
"It's fine. If you really wanna slack, I'll cover for you. You can chill in my room until lunchtime before Ethan... Young Master notices."
"I'm truly grateful for the offer, Lilith... but I'm really not slacking off. I'm still on the clock."
"...Really?"
Of course. Our ever-diligent Isabel wouldn't just ditch work hours for something like slacking.
Doing so would basically mean dumping her tasks on Katarina and bolting, which was unthinkable for her.
Especially since Isabel had built a long friendship with both me and Katarina.
I felt ashamed for even briefly suspecting our kind-hearted Isabel, who no one could rival in goodness, of slacking.
Reflecting on my crappy imagination, I asked about the most likely reason for her visit.
"Then is it a summons from Young Master? Where is he?"
"Ah, n-no, nothing like that. It's not like I came specifically to get you."
"Huh?"
"I, um, have a question."
"A question?"
"Out of sky blue, emerald green, and dark red—which dress do you like?"
"Huh...?"
What kind of random talk was this, so out of character for Isabel?
I locked eyes with her as she abruptly dove into girl talk upon entering my room, tilting my head in total confusion.
Isabel, on the other hand, looked baffled by my reaction and pressed me for an answer.
"Lilith, quick. Sky blue, emerald green, or dark red—which one?"
"...Well, I don't really like dresses in the first place."
"No cryptic answers like that~!"
"...Was I supposed to answer seriously?"
"Obviously! Gotta tell me fast so I can prep the rest! Come on~!"
"Um..."
...Maybe she wanted to make matching outfits with the other maids.
There were exactly three colors, so it wasn't out of the question.
If that was the case, I could just picture them on Isabel and Katarina and pick accordingly.
Go with the color that wouldn't suit the others best.
Isabel had vanilla-colored hair and a bubbly personality, so fresh sky blue would look great on her.
Katarina's pink hair and shy nature would contrast nicely with emerald green.
That naturally left...
"...Dark red?"
"You like dark red?"
"Yeah. Dark red sounds good."
"Got it! I'll have a dark red dress tailored for you, Lilith!"
"W-Wait, Isabel! What do you mean 'tailored'..."
-Click.
"......"
She'd swept in like the wind to ask about the dress color, accomplished her goal, and vanished like morning dew.
Left alone in the now-empty exclusive maid lounge.
I considered chasing after her, but decided against it since it'd just disrupt work hours.
"If she's really prepping something, I'll find out eventually."
...And that's exactly how I learned she was preparing something—two days later.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And then, the very next day.
-Knock, knock, knock.
"...?"
Two days in a row now—someone knocking on the exclusive maid lounge door.
Figuring it might be Isabel again, I called out her name tentatively. But the reply from beyond the door came from a different maid.
"...Isabel?"
"I-It’s me... Miss Lilith...."
"......"
I didn't even need the name to know who it was. That timid, lacking-confidence voice gave it away easily enough.
Besides, she was the only one in the mansion who called me "Miss Lilith."
"Come in, Senior Katarina."
-Click.
"E-Excuse me...."
Katarina slunk into my room today, looking even more dejected than usual.
I couldn't pinpoint why, but her timid vibe sparked an inexplicable unease.
Just in case, I gently probed the reason for her visit.
"Slacking off?"
"Y-Yes?!"
"You seem extra lacking in confidence today. Thought maybe you'd done something wrong."
"N-No...! I've never slacked off, Miss Lilith...!"
"...I told you not to call me that."
"S-Sorry.... Miss...."
...She'd been casually calling me Lilith lately, so why revert to that two-year-old formal title and speech?
Today's Katarina was utterly baffling in every way. She shuffled toward me with timid steps matching her voice.
In her hand was a thin strip marked with measurements—like a tape measure.
'Tape measure?'
It sure looked like one, with all those little markings.
Why bring a tape measure to my room out of nowhere?
Before I could even ask her purpose, Katarina stepped forward with the tape and held it up to my face.
Still in that timid voice.
"E-Excuse me.... Miss Lilith...."
"......"
Then, without warning, she stretched the tape horizontally in front of my eyes and started jotting something down on a notepad she'd brought.
At first, she measured the length and width of my face from various angles.
Then she suddenly dropped to measure various parts of my feet.
Finally, after circling my left ring finger, she backed away from me.
"Whew, sorry to disturb your rest! I-I'll be going now!"
"Hold on, Senior Katarina. What exactly were you measuring so intently just now..."
"G-Goodbye, Miss Lilith!"
"I said not to call me..."
-Bang!
"......"
Katarina bolted from the exclusive maid lounge as if she'd seen something terrifying about me.
...Had I done anything wrong to Katarina lately? I couldn't recall messing up our relationship that badly.
The noble lady misunderstanding had been fading over time, but this reaction was straight out of her first-day panic.
"...No clue what’s going on."
It felt like some misunderstanding was causing this, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what.
I briefly considered chasing her to clear it up, but she was still on the clock, so I let it go.
"If it's a misunderstanding, I can sort it out later."
...And that's how I found out Katarina really did have some wild misunderstanding about me—the very next day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And then, the next day again.
As usual, after Ethan's breakfast during my personal break time.
I was focused on knitting a wool sweater as a side gig to build my independent fund.
-Knock, knock, knock.
...Right on cue. Sure enough, three knocks echoed from outside the lounge door.
"Isabel? Or Senior Katarina?"
"Both of us, Lilith!"
"...Both?"
"Coming in for a sec~!"
"W-Wait, Isabel! You can't just barge in without the lady's permission...!"
The door to the exclusive maid lounge swung open amid their voices from outside.
Before I could process why both had shown up, Isabel approached me—grinning brightly as I sat knitting leisurely.
...Holding what looked like a dark red dress straight out of a noble lady's wardrobe.
"...Isabel?"
"Come on, Lilith, quit dawdling! You're attending the banquet with Young Master tonight, right?"
"Yeah, that's true... but what's that dress in your hand?"
"Duh, it's what you're wearing tonight! Up you go, Lilith! I'll help you change!"
"I-Isabel...! L-Lilith is a noble lady.... N-No, Miss Lilith is a noble lady.... Y-You can't just call her like that...!"
"Oh yeah, that's right! Lilith's a noble lady today!"
"N-Not just today, she's always been..."
...So much info flooding in at once. My brain couldn't sort it.
Where exactly had things gone off the rails?
I was indeed going to the Third Princess's birthday banquet with Ethan tonight.
But what was this dark red dress Isabel brought, claiming it was for me?
Katarina's noble lady mix-up wasn't new, but why was she suddenly hyper-aware of it since yesterday?
And why was Isabel casually agreeing and not batting an eye at calling me a noble lady?
As my head spun from the overload,
One offhand comment from Isabel finally gave me the clue to this mess.
"You're pretty as always, Lilith, but noble banquets are packed with even prettier ladies. To hold your own there, we gotta glam you up starting now! You're Ethan's partner tonight, after all!"
...Partner?
Partner—as in, the usual meaning, right?
Like a lover or fiancée, pre-paired for the event.
And I was supposed to be that partner?
For the Third Princess's birthday banquet?
Ethan's partner?
...Isn't that seriously weird?
"...Isabel."
"Yeah?"
"You just said... Ethan's partner?"
"Yup, I did."
"...Me?"
"Yup, you, Lilith."
"......Tonight?"
"Argh, yes already! I've said it a million times—you're Young Master's banquet partner tonight!"
.........
......Why on earth?