Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Pig Prince Ethan (1)
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"P-Put that thing down! You're our house maid, right?! I-I'm telling Dad?!"
"……."
In the darkness, the vaguely visible repulsive silhouette made a torrent of curses flash through my mind.
Pig Prince Ethan. Nicknamed Disgusting Ethan.
True to his title, the moment I laid eyes on his pudgy body—plump since childhood—instinctive disgust formed in my head.
Unlike our first meeting, I wasn't passed out this time, so I had to face Ethan's mug head-on and endure the revulsion.
Separate from his steamed bun-exploded face, his cramped, stuffy features were clustered tightly in the center.
His short stature matched by the sideways sprawl of his gut.
Given the exaggerated style of the game Luminor Academy, some parts were probably amped up, but even accounting for that, his appearance was undeniably unpleasant up close.
Having been forced to confront that face multiple times while conquering the Lilith route in my past life, I harbored personal malice too.
'Should I just kill him?'
The murderous impulse that rose so naturally—even surprising me—felt all too instinctive.
This bastard had wasted my 500 hours on nothing, and thinking back on how he betrayed me by preventing a virgin Lilith ending at the last moment, killing him wouldn't even be satisfaction enough.
Lilith, the main heroine who wasn't a virgin, pissed me off too, but the one I hated most in the game was this damn Ethan.
If he hadn't stolen Lilith's virginity every single route, I wouldn't have wasted all that time seeing her ending nearly thirty times.
On top of that, I wouldn't have posted that ongoing thread on Lua Gallery calling Lilith a filthy slut whore, or possessed this tragic character in this godforsaken game.
And I sure as hell wouldn't be up two hours early chomping raw garlic.
Essentially, he was the root cause of all the suffering I've endured.
Conveniently, I had a knife in hand, the warehouse's only exit was the door behind me, and it was the dead of night—handle it cleanly, and I might even escape.
...Of course, if Harold unleashed the full guard afterward and caught me, the punishment wouldn't stop at execution.
If there was a branching point like in the game, now—right this instant—was the time to decide.
A pivotal moment that could upend my entire life, and I finally reached a bold conclusion amid a whirlwind of thoughts.
'...Fine, whatever. What wrong has this kid even done yet?'
Instead of killing this damn Ethan right here, I'd let him be for now.
I hated Ethan because of my past-life memories, but that was the 'Pig Prince Ethan' who'd deflowered Lilith and ruined my clears back then.
It was weird to hold murderous intent toward a kid freshly awakened from a curse.
No matter what, executing him for crimes he hadn't committed yet was just too pitiful.
If I could escape this guy cleanly, maybe he wouldn't turn into the irredeemable trash from Luminor Academy.
...People's core nature doesn't just vanish, so I couldn't be sure.
Facing the crossroads that would define my life's path, I wrestled through every thought and barely settled on a decision deep in my heart.
Suppressing the sudden killing urge, I pulled the paring knife back behind me.
"T-Take that away quick! H-How dare you point a blade at your master...."
"My apologies, Young Master Ethan. In my terror and ignorance, I made a foolish mistake."
"......Huh?"
"I feared some intruder had breached the great Blackwood Family, so I thought to resist with my feeble strength. But it's truly fortunate that it was you, Young Master Ethan."
"Uh, y-yeah...."
"This blunder stems from the foolish maid's ignorance, so won't you graciously forgive me? In return, I'll completely forget about Young Master Ethan sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night tonight."
"O-Okay.... I forgive you...."
Honestly, that excuse wouldn't fly on anyone even moderately mature.
Especially since I hadn't dropped the weapon the moment I realized he was nobility.
Anyone with the intelligence of a 17- or 18-year-old would've sensed the split-second killing intent I harbored, and even if not now, my head would roll later somehow.
But the Ethan before me was 18 in name only—not technically—so my smooth talk worked, thankfully.
18... no, 18 but not really: he'd been cursed at 13 and slept for five years.
The curse Ethan endured for those five years was the Erosion Curse.
If left alone, it rapidly eroded the body and claimed life after a year—a brutal curse.
In-game, it was implemented enough that getting it in battle required a special item to cure immediately.
Neglecting a cursed character led to them leaving mid-story or dying—a fearsome mechanic.
'And in my past life, I used it to eliminate rival male characters.'
Some heroines couldn't be conquered as virgins without removing rivals (childhood friends, brothers, fiancés), so I'd slipped the curse in battles and killed them more than once.
I'm not feeling guilty about it now—just saying the Erosion Curse was that dangerous, even for major characters.
So how did this kid—whose width seemed greater than his height—survive five years? Duke Harold's ancient magic artifact, Eterna's Pocket Watch.
A time artifact that halted the user's bodily time for up to five years: Eterna's Pocket Watch.
The moment he confirmed his son had the Erosion Curse, Harold used it on Ethan.
During those five years Ethan slept, Harold gathered curse-lifting items relentlessly from everywhere.
And the instant the artifact's effect ended and Ethan woke, he lifted the curse, saving his son.
'Honestly, I don't think he's worth that much effort.'
Quibbling over game character lore is pointless anyway, so I'll skip that. What I mean is, regarding Ethan's 'five years under the curse.'
While using Eterna's Pocket Watch, physical age doesn't advance. It's a complete stasis.
Thus, this 18-year-old by birth is mentally and physically just 13.
Elementary school level, by past-life standards.
No noble 13-year-old could detect my brief killing intent.
He wouldn't want to tell Daddy about sneaking into the kitchen hungry at night either.
"It's late, Young Master Ethan. Back to bed."
"……."
"If the dark hallway frightens you, I can escort you."
"...It's not that."
-Grrrrrrumble.
The moment Ethan's words ended, a belly-growl presumed from someone's stomach.
Not from Lilith, who hadn't eaten three square meals on schedule in over a year, so easy to guess the owner.
"I said I came 'cause I'm hungry! What's weird about that?!"
'Piglet.'
"Nothing strange, Young Master. You're growing, so it's natural to get hungry in the night."
True to the Pig Prince, brazen even about raiding the kitchen depths at night.
This situation let me infer how Lilith and Ethan met in the original story.
Not in official settings from the devs, but if Luminor Academy was based on this world...
Their first encounter was probably much like this.
Lilith's looks shifted her from guest service to kitchen duty, and seniority sent her alone to early-morning shifts.
Ethan, sneaking in at dawn for food, would've chatted and learned of Lilith that way.
Of course, game Lilith wouldn't wield a paring knife at him or Clean-spell veggies while munching garlic.
"I'm hungry... No leftover food or anything?"
'You think?'
"The Blackwood Family principle is to consume the day's cooking that day, so regrettably, nothing fit for you remains."
"I-I'm hungry!"
'Deal with it. Starve to death for all I care.'
18 or 13, Ethan was Ethan. His ugly mug and actions reignited my killing urge.
Problem: I couldn't proceed with tonight's task until shooing this brat out.
Even at 13, he'd know common sense: only nobles use magic.
Couldn't leave him in the kitchen, so feeding him something and sending him up was the smoothest fix.
"If you're that hungry, sit in the dining room. I'll whip up a simple snack."
"Huh? Maids can cook too?"
"Not complicated stuff. But you're hungry, so no choice."
"Yay!"
"Finish it all, then back to your room."
"Yeah!"
A week after deciding to escape Ethan, here I was babysitting him.
I questioned if this was proper handling at all.