Had he thought calmly, Ares would have realized Endymion’s words were full of holes, but he was in no state of mind. He wanted to go straight to that maid and ask her, but Endymion’s stern rebukes left him feeling aggrieved.

Seeing Ares’s sullen face made him feel terribly sorry for lying, but this was the best he could do for now. And Endymion had never actually used the word “family,” so it was not as if he had lied to him. In this way, he had preserved their friendship as best he could.

***

Feeling a persistent, burdensome gaze, I turned around, but no one was there. Yet when I looked somewhere else, I felt eyes following me again, so I turned back several times. Only then did I realize that intense gaze belonged to Ares.

When our eyes met, he started and hid, and I worried he might have discovered I was a succubus. But when he peeked out and made a tearful face like a child who had done wrong, I knew that wasn’t it. Why on earth was he behaving so inexplicably?

After quite some time had passed, Endymion, who came by nearly every day, drove him away with a smile and came over to me, and only then, after hearing what he said, did I understand why Ares had been looking at me like that.

“He mistook me for family…?”

“I’m sorry. I lost my temper at his nonsense when you were right in front of him.”

I recalled what Endymion had said to Ares yesterday and quickly understood. It was certainly enough to invite misunderstanding. It was fortunate, at least, that he had mistaken me on his own, but Ares stood out even when he did nothing, so I was worried. Besides, I thought I knew why someone who even had trouble speaking to women would go this far, and a sigh escaped me.

“Your taste is terrible…”

To be so lacking in people to like that he developed feelings for a woman who had forced herself on him and toyed with him. I felt truly sorry and guilty. At my barely audible mutter, Endymion gave a wry smile.

“Ares is oblivious and simple, but he won’t trouble you, Miss Lily. Probably.”

“Probably…”

Hoping that would be so, I nodded. And I carefully asked Endymion for what I had thought of yesterday.

“Um, Commander Lucen. If Commander Inferno comes and talks about the ring, could you let me know?”

“Yes, of course. But do you intend not to appear as a succubus from now on?”

“I think I should, at least until we find the ring. So, um… that is…”

But I couldn’t bear to say the words outright from embarrassment. It was mortifying to make such a request myself, and as I had thought yesterday, it was no different from using his feelings for me, so my voice kept getting smaller.

Then Endymion, who had been quietly looking at me, smiled gently and said, “There is no need to worry. If Miss Lily wishes, I will attend to you anytime.”

“Th-thank you.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I lowered my head.

He gave a small laugh and replied, “Think nothing of it. More than that, Miss Lily, as I’ve said before, skipping meals is not good for you.”

The mood could have turned awkward, but at Endymion’s casual addendum, I looked up again. It was true that even now I more often went hungry than ate properly, but I had no idea how he kept knowing such things.

Tilting my head, I met his eyes in the air. I knew it wasn’t polite, but reflexively I looked at my toes. It felt too bare to stare at his face. Instead, I decided to ask what I had been wondering about.

“Um, but Commander Lucen, how do you know me so well? Including things like how much weight I’ve lost, or that my legs are more swollen than usual?”

“Ah, that…”

Endymion let his words trail off. When I lifted my head slightly, his face was flushed. Smiling with his eyes, he slowly came closer and whispered by my ear.

“When it comes to Miss Lily, I know just by looking.”

Because I like you.

At that added remark, I instinctively stepped back and covered my ears. I knew it already, but I hadn’t wanted to hear it like that. My face burned. I wanted to flee the spot, but Endymion just smiled unruffled. It seemed I really couldn’t go to him sober. Rubbing my cheek, I glanced at him sidelong. I needed to explain in advance.

“Commander, yesterday… You asked why my personality was so different. I often—no, sometimes lose my senses like that. It’s, well, you could say my personality changes…”

I had no idea how to explain reason and instinct to anyone, since I had never told another person, but fortunately Endymion did not press and simply nodded.

“Does that mean the Lily who comes to see me from now on will be the same as the succubus before?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“I see. Honestly, I think I prefer that. It’s just that… doing such things with the Lily I see every day feels a little embarrassing.”

Endymion, speaking as if embarrassed, was truly an incomprehensible person. He could be so casual about being intimate with many women, yet he had never once touched me.

“Do you have any other requests? As I said yesterday, I am always on your side.”

His voice was endlessly gentle. I didn’t know why he liked me or why he did so much for me, but I could feel that he was sincere. That was why my heart grew heavy. I was not someone worthy of receiving affection from anyone.

As he met my eyes with a soft smile, I lowered my gaze and continued, “When my personality changes, I become Lilith… Ah, that’s what I call myself as a succubus. I can no longer control her. I can’t even predict how she will act. So… if it’s all right with you, Commander, could I… change my body, so to speak, in your room?”

“……”

The smile that had been on his face the entire time froze. His slightly troubled expression made me tilt my head, wondering if I had said something strange, but then his composed reply made me reevaluate him entirely.

“Of course. In fact, I can’t finish unless I think of you, Miss Lily.”

“…What?”

His voice was so calm that for a moment I thought I had misheard, but I hadn’t. The image of him deliberately enjoying a tryst right in front of me, calling my name and becoming aroused, flashed in my mind, and my face felt like it was melting.

I deliberately avoided discussing the matter further, and Endymion didn’t press it. We continued the conversation with idle, pointless topics until lunchtime. He suggested we eat together, but I politely declined. I felt I might get indigestion if I ate with him.

He didn’t seem to have expected a positive answer anyway and didn’t mind. As he said he had work in the afternoon and was taking his leave, he spoke firmly with the same smiling face.

“If Ares comes looking for you while I’m not around, you can just ignore him. No matter what he says.”

Recalling the way he had sharply spoken to Ares before, I smiled awkwardly and nodded.

Of course, in reality, I couldn’t actually do that. Ares was a noble before being a commander, and I was a maid of the castle. But since Endymion had gone so far as to say that, and given that Ares was normally so shy, I thought I could manage to avoid him until Damian returned.

The problem I hadn’t anticipated was that Ares was far bolder and missed “Lilith” far more than either Endymion or I had imagined.

“…H-Hello. We saw each other briefly yesterday, right? Um…”

After Endymion had said that if I skipped meals again, he would drag me to the dining hall himself starting tomorrow, I quickly ate lunch and returned, only to find Ares waiting for me in the library. I hid my surprise, bowed, and greeted him.

“Ah, it’s fine!”

His face reddened as if it were burning, and he fumbled over his words. I avoided his gaze and stood silently.

“So, your name is…?”

“It’s Lily.”

“Ah, Lily. That’s a pretty name. I’m sorry for suddenly showing up like this. And sorry for making you uncomfortable this morning.”

He smiled shyly as he spoke. I was used to seeing him more flustered than I was, stammering with a red face, so I felt strangely off balance.

And no matter what he said, I could only lie. That alone was uncomfortable enough, but apart from that, Ares was slow to get to the point. Whatever it was, I wished this situation would end quickly.

I lifted my head slightly to look at him. The awkward smile and hesitant movements of his hands were more like the Ares I knew. I understood his purpose for coming, but there was nothing I could tell him.

The succubus he was looking for was me, and no matter how shameless I tried to be, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him again. I forced my voice to sound firm as I spoke.