I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince-Chapter 451: Responsibility for changes (2)

As I tried to head back to the maid café to meet Seraphine, Ethan suddenly blocked my way.

His expression was slightly different from usual, and I found myself shrinking back a bit.

"What do you mean, Master Ethan?"

"I can't let you go. You should just stay here and rest for today. Don't wander around."

"I can't do that, Master Ethan. There's still work to be done."

"...What kind of work?"

"First, I need to return to the maid café and report everything to Princess Seraphine. Since we've rescued Princess Mezzlen, we need to detain the fake princess at the café immediately. The fact that she appeared looking exactly like Princess Mezzlen suggests she might be capable of using dark magic. We need to imprison her in a secure facility where not even a bug can get in."

"...Fine. Do that, but leave the rest to Princess Seraphine..."

"No, I can't do that."

"..."

"After detaining the fake princess, we need to catch the remaining culprits behind Princess Mezzlen's kidnapping. There's no way only one person was behind a plan to abduct a royal. We need to capture them before they can blend into the crowd after the festival and escape the academy."

"...I don’t get it. Why does Lillith need to do all that?"

"Because I’m the one who created the situation that led to Princess Mezzlen participating in the maid café, which ultimately caused the kidnapping. If it weren’t for me, Princess Mezzlen wouldn’t have been kidnapped. So, it’s my responsibility to make sure this is resolved."

"You're overthinking this. The kidnapping happened because those guys planned it from the start. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But if I had just stopped Princess Mezzlen from leaving early that night, this wouldn’t have—"

"By that logic, shouldn’t I or someone else who was out front be more responsible than you, who was in the kitchen? And even if she'd left on time, do you really think that would have stopped the kidnappers?"

"...I, I still contributed to Princess Mezzlen almost losing her life. That doesn’t change."

"That’s enough!! Why do you keep blaming yourself?!"

"...!"

Ethan shouted angrily and slammed his fist into the wall right next to my face.

...This was the first time I had seen Ethan this furious—especially at me.

"Even if Princess Mezzlen hadn’t joined the festival with us and had done something else, do you think she wouldn’t have been targeted?"

"...But she has Kate, her skilled bodyguard maid, by her side at all times. If she hadn’t been with us, she wouldn’t have gone out alone—"

"Does that even matter if multiple people were involved in the kidnapping? If they had truly intended to abduct her, the result wouldn’t have been much different. It’s not your fault, so stop thinking it is."

"..."

"When you rushed at that guy in the underground facility, do you have any idea how scared I was? It worked out in the end, sure, but what if Princess Mezzlen hadn’t regained consciousness?"

"...It was a gamble worth taking if it meant rescuing Princess Mezzlen, even at the cost of one of my shoulders. At least that was better than letting that man stall for time with a hostage situation."

"And how were you so sure it would only cost you a shoulder? What if he had put the blade to your neck? What if you got hurt or worse? Then what?"

"...But in the end, it worked out, so it was the right decision..."

"What? What did you just say, Lillith?"

"...Nothing."

Ethan’s voice grew cold, piercing through me and making me instinctively shut my mouth.

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...Trying to argue that everything turned out okay would only provoke him further.

"Princess Mezzlen’s life is important, sure. But the most important thing to me is your life, Lillith. So please, stop here. Leave the rest to Princess Seraphine and the hero’s party."

"But—"

"This conversation is over. You don’t need to take responsibility or feel guilty. If you keep insisting like this, I won’t be able to hold back anymore."

...If you look at it objectively, Ethan is right.

But I know better than anyone that Princess Mezzlen being kidnapped, tortured, and brought to the brink of death is something that would never happen in the original storyline.

Although I couldn’t explain this to Ethan, one thing was clear: this happened because I interfered with the story.

And since it was my interference that caused this, I still believed it was my responsibility to finish it.

"No. I have to take responsibility."

"..."

"At the very least, I have to see this incident with Princess Mezzlen through to the end."

"...You really don’t listen, do you?"

"We don’t have time to waste. If we don’t act quickly, the people who kidnapped Princess Mezzlen might strike again—"

"...Huh?"

I heard a sound like something locking in place, followed by an uncomfortable pressure around my neck.

Looking down, I realized there was now a metal collar fastened around my neck—one I vaguely recognized from before.

"I listened to what that woman said and prepared this just in case, but I didn’t think I’d need to use it again so soon. I guess witches really are something special, huh?"

"...Master Ethan?"

"Lillith, from today—no, until this incident is resolved—you’re under house arrest in the dormitory."

With those words, Ethan began pulling me by the chain attached to the metal collar. Still confused about how things had escalated to this point, I found myself being forcibly dragged along.

"Master Ethan! Please, take this off! I didn’t give you permission for this—"

"Complain all you want later. I’m not listening right now."

"I-I understand! But at least take it off until we get to the dormitory! If someone sees you leading me around by a collar like this, your reputation—"

"I don’t care. What’s important to me right now is stopping you from doing something reckless."

"Ugh, M-Master Ethan!!"

Ignoring any concerns about what others might think, Ethan dragged me outside, pulling me by the collar. I had no choice but to follow, stumbling behind him, still unsure of what had made him so angry.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Inside the academy dormitory shared by Lillith, Ethan, and another maid, the sudden appearance of Ethan leading a collared Lillith left Isabel momentarily stunned. After sending the blonde maid outside, Ethan dragged Lillith over to the table.

"Sit."

"Master Ethan? Shouldn’t we go to Princess Seraphine first and report that we rescued Princess Mezzlen—"

"I said sit."

"..."

Under the pressure of Ethan’s unusually commanding tone, Lillith hesitated but eventually sat down. Her confused expression seemed to say she still didn’t understand why she was being reprimanded.

"Lillith."

"...Yes?"

"I understand that you feel responsible for what happened to Princess Mezzlen. I don’t think you need to, but I can’t stop you from feeling that way."

"...I understand."

Ethan continued speaking, ignoring the dissatisfaction on Lillith’s face.

"I don’t expect you to understand my reasoning. But as I said earlier, you’re staying in this room until this incident is over."

"W-What?!"

Without responding further, Ethan rose from his seat, tying the chain from the collar securely around the table leg.

"Wait, Master Ethan! We don’t have time for this—"

"Just so you know, don’t bother trying to escape. You can’t unlock it yourself anyway."

"At least tell me why you’re so angry! I need to know what I did wrong—"

"You’ll have enough room to walk around the room, so it won’t be too uncomfortable. If you need anything, ask Isabel."

"Master Ethan! At least take this off and—"

"I’ll go report to Princess Seraphine. Stay put. If you try anything while I’m gone, I’ll lock you in a real cell when I return."

"W-What do you mean—"

Before she could finish, Ethan left the dormitory, leaving Lillith bewildered and still chained to the table.