Chapter 81

Thank you for the bookmark evaluation m(_ _)m

“Eh, Lily…? W, where are you…?”

I hurriedly got up from the bed and searched the entire room.

Starting from under the bed, under the desk, behind the curtains, I searched every possible place in the room.

But still, I couldn’t find Lily.

“What should I do…?”

Maybe she just went outside the room for a little while.

After all, it is her home…

Maybe I’ll hear her footsteps from the other side of the door at any moment.

*Tap tap*

Just as I was hoping, I really did hear footsteps from the other side of the door.

I felt relieved, thinking it must be Lily.

When she comes back, I should probably give her a little warning.

*Tap tap, tap…*

The footsteps stopped, probably in front of the door.

*Knock knock*

Then, the person on the other side of the door knocked lightly twice.

“…?”

I felt a bit puzzled.

Would Lily really need to knock on the door to this room?

There’s no reason for her to do that.

Then, who knocked on the door just now?

*Click*

As if to show me the answer, the door opened.

And the person who opened the door and entered the room was—

—a maid.

“Good morning.”

With her usual expressionless face, she greeted me.

“Ah, good morning.”

Although I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t Lily, I returned the greeting.

Still, she must have some business here.

But it’s too early for breakfast, and the maid isn’t carrying anything.

“Master Anest, you have an audience with the Demon King this evening, but before that, you will meet the Demon King’s daughter, Princess Parfait.”

“…Huh?”

Well, that’s fine, but what’s the sudden change?

“Then, I’ll wait outside the room. Please let me know when you’re ready.”

The maid said this and left the room.

The sound of the door closing echoed unpleasantly in the room.

“…What about Lily?”

If I’m meeting the Demon King’s daughter while Lily is away, she might panic when she comes back and finds me gone.

There are other worries, but right now, I need to change my clothes quickly.

The maid is waiting outside, so it would be a bother if I take too long.

I hurriedly changed into the formal attire I brought from the capital.

“…Alright, um, I’m ready.”

I checked the mirror to make sure everything was in order and called out to the maid who should be waiting outside.

“Understood, let’s go to the prepared room.”

The maid opened the door and told me, then started walking in front to guide me.

“…”

We walked in silence, and after a while, the maid stopped in front of a slightly larger door.

“Here it is.”

The maid pointed to the door matter-of-factly and told me to enter the room.

“Um, excuse me?”

I’m not used to this kind of situation, so I’m not sure what to do next.

For now, I followed the maid’s instructions, slowly opened the door, and entered the room.

“Um, you can sit in that chair.”

“Ah, yes.”

In the room, there was the woman I saw yesterday when searching for Aura, the one who had a nosebleed.

She’s beautiful, but the shock of seeing her with a nosebleed was so strong that I had to resist the urge to stare at her nose.

I sat in the chair the woman offered and faced her.

“First, you may know, but my name is Parfait.”

“Ah, I’m Anest. Nice to meet you.”

I managed to say it without stumbling and sighed in relief.

“Um, so why am I here…?”

Originally, I wasn’t supposed to meet Princess Parfait; I was supposed to meet the Demon King.

Since I was called here, there must be some reason.

“Yes, I have one question for you.”

“A question…?”

I’ve never had the opportunity to meet Princess Parfait before, so what could she want to ask me?

We don’t have any connection.

“You—”

As I was thinking this, Princess Parfait spoke.

That’s when I realized something.

We don’t have any connection, right?

No way.

Think about it.

There is one, just one connection between me and Princess Parfait—

“You’ve been hiding Lily, haven’t you?”

That’s right, it’s undoubtedly about Lily—.