Although Ian felt that the Aetherinra and Elise in front of him seemed a bit strange, he didn’t dwell on it.
He turned around and walked out the door.
He needed to find Lilian as soon as possible and finalize the plan to seize the food.
He had complete confidence that Lilian would help him.
After all, he had previously saved Lilith.
That should be a huge favor in Lilian’s eyes.
Moreover, the ones who turned Lilian and her sister into demons and killed their parents were people within the Demon Race.
Whether out of gratitude or hatred toward the demons,
Lilian had no reason to refuse him, right?
‘Having made up his mind, Ian began searching for Lilian in the Duke’s Mansion.’
But after searching for a long time, he couldn’t find her anywhere.
“Elise, have you seen that maid we met earlier?”
With no other choice, Ian asked Elise.
“Which maid?”
Hearing Ian’s question, Elise was a bit confused.
There were so many maids in the Duke’s Mansion; she didn’t know all of them.
“The one I met after I woke up from fainting earlier.”
Ian explained further to Elise.
“Oh, you mean the maid with white hair?”
Because of Lilian’s distinctive appearance, Elise had a very deep impression of her.
“Yes, yes, that’s her. Can you tell me where she went?”
Hearing Elise describe the appearance Lilian had when she disguised herself as a maid, Ian asked her excitedly.
“As for her, she took the day off today. She said she was going to celebrate her younger sister’s birthday.” Elise said thoughtfully.
As Ian’s personal maid, Elise’s status in the Duke’s Mansion had also risen.
Her authority among the maids was now second only to Head Maid Annie.
So when Head Maid Annie was away, other maids would ask Elise for leave.
And just this morning, Lilian had asked Elise for a day off.
The reason was to celebrate Lilith’s birthday.
Thinking it was a normal reason, Elise agreed without a second thought.
“What’s wrong, Young Master? Do you need her for something?”
Elise asked with confusion.
“No, nothing. I was just asking.”
Hearing Elise’s question, Ian instinctively denied it.
Since Lilian’s identity was special, Ian didn’t want others to notice her.
Now that he had learned about Lilian from Elise, Ian guessed where she might be.
‘She must be at that wooden cabin where she took me to treat Lilith, right?’
Ian thought to himself.
Now he just had to go to that cabin and find Lilian.
With that in mind, Ian spoke to Elise.
“I’ve asked everything I wanted to. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian turned and ran off.
Leaving Elise standing there, bewildered.
Watching Ian’s retreating figure, Elise thought to herself.
‘Is the Young Master a bit strange?’
‘Why is he so concerned about a maid?’
‘Could it be…?’
A bad thought crossed Elise’s mind.
‘Has the Young Master fallen for that maid?’
Elise admitted that the maid was one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen.
She was no less beautiful than the Young Lady herself.
That was the root of Elise’s suspicion.
After all, who could remain unmoved by such beauty?
Elise had imagined before: what if the Young Master fell for a maid by his side?
But the maid she had imagined was herself!
How could the Young Master fall for another maid?
She had been there first!
Thinking this, Elise couldn’t stay still.
She got up and tried to follow Ian, tailing him.
But just as she was about to follow Ian, a voice from behind stopped her.
“Elise, wait a moment. I need your help with something.”
It was Aetherinra who had called her.
“What is it, Young Lady?”
Stopped by Aetherinra, Elise asked.
“Can you find something for this little guy to eat?”
Aetherinra pointed to her shoulder.
On it was a creature that looked like a bird but wasn’t quite a bird.
“What is that? So cute.”
Seeing the bird-like creature, Elise couldn’t help but reach out and pet it.
“I don’t know what kind of creature it is either. All I know is that after I cleared the Labyrinth, it started following me.”
“Since its body is red, I named it Little Red.”
Aetherinra explained to Elise.
“Little Red? That’s a fitting name.”
Elise stroked Little Red’s head and continued.
“Maybe it eats birdseed? I’ll prepare some birdseed for it.”
“Mm, thank you. But you looked like you were about to go out just now. Why were you in such a rush?”
Aetherinra asked after getting Elise’s reply.
Reminded by Aetherinra, Elise realized she had to go follow Ian.
“Yes, Young Lady. I have other matters to attend to. As for the birdseed, I’ll have another maid prepare it.”
“Can you tell me what it is?”
“After all, your matters are my matters. We should help each other.”
After their life-and-death battle in the Labyrinth, Aetherinra and Elise had become even closer.
They were as close as real sisters.
Hearing Aetherinra’s question, Elise hesitated.
She wasn’t sure whether to tell Aetherinra about this.
After an internal struggle, Elise decided to share her suspicions with Aetherinra.
“Young Lady, I’m going to follow the Young Master.”
“Follow Ian? Why?”
Hearing Elise’s words, Aetherinra looked puzzled.
As Ian’s personal maid, why would Elise follow him?
“The Young Master has fallen for another maid in the Duke’s Mansion.”
Elise said through gritted teeth, emphasizing each word.
She absolutely could not accept Ian’s “infidelity.”
When Aetherinra heard Elise’s words, her hands stiffened, and the light in her eyes faded.
“Ian has fallen for a maid in the Duke’s Mansion?”
“Yes, Young Lady. Though I can hardly believe it myself, it’s the truth.”
Even without direct evidence, Elise had already made up her mind that Ian had fallen for Lilian.
‘He said he liked me… how could he?’
Aetherinra muttered softly.
“Young Lady, what did you say?”
Because Aetherinra’s voice was too soft, Elise didn’t catch it.
“No, nothing.”
Aetherinra quickly pulled herself out of that dazed feeling.
She showed Elise a smile.
“Elise, let’s go follow Ian together!”