TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 206
After oversleeping, the afternoon arrived at the Young Lady’s Estate.
From the tranquil Young Lady’s Room, the sound of someone’s spirited shout echoed.
“Eeeek!”
A thunderous shout, pouring every bit of strength into it.
Perhaps because she had a late lunch, the Young Lady’s powerful shout seemed even more energetic than usual.
“Eeeek… eeeek!”
Realizing once again that people should live with exercise, I smiled as I watched the Young Lady working out while sitting on the bed.
“Come on! Just a little more effort!”
“Eeeek!”
The Young Lady was furrowing her brow, fully focused on her exercise. I had never seen her work out so passionately before; perhaps she was excited about the upcoming trip. I couldn’t help but admire her dedication.
“Eeeek… Didn’t we decide to choose where to travel after waking up?”
“We decided to decide while taking a bath.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it….”
“It’s fine. It’s the first time I didn’t hear it either.”
“Eeeek…”
“Alright! Let’s ride this momentum and do one more set.”
It wasn’t an elaborate workout.
It wasn’t anything like lifting weights or Pilates; it was merely an exercise of keeping her feet planted on the ground and engaging her core.
Should I call it a Core Strengthening Exercise? Hoping for quick improvement in the Young Lady’s Legs, I was having her wake up unused muscles through this activity.
Even if her legs healed, it would be pointless if her body couldn’t keep up.
Up until now, the Young Lady had been someone who built a wall against exercise.
She loved chocolate and lying down more than anything in the world. Honestly, she had been gaining weight lately, and her cheeks were plumper than usual.
Her muscles, essential for walking, must have stiffened from disuse. With her dislike for exercise, her physical condition had been heading toward the worst.
At this rate, it was clear she would collapse from lack of exercise before her legs even healed, so I cheered her on, hoping for a better future.
“You can do it!”
“Eeeek! Ugh… I can’t anymore…”
“You can do it.”
If the Hand of Rehabilitation could instantly heal her body and legs, there would be no need for exercise. Unfortunately, the Hand of Rehabilitation wasn’t omnipotent, and the Young Lady’s effort was necessary.
She needed to prepare supplementary elements like muscles and mental resilience herself.
The Young Lady, exercising for the first time in a long while, furrowed her brow as she looked at her feet planted on the ground.
“Eeeek! Ricardo, didn’t it just move a little?! I think I stood up for 0.1 seconds.”
“Oh…! It certainly seems so.”
I clapped my hands, exclaiming in admiration as I looked at the Young Lady’s legs, which hadn’t moved an inch. If you only use the whip, people quickly tire.
At my praise, the Young Lady lifted her head and beamed, breaking into a bashful smile.
“I’m doing well, aren’t I?”
“Yes~”
“I’m doing super, super well, right?”
“Of course. You’re doing incredibly well.”
I wiped the beads of sweat forming on her forehead with a handkerchief and showered her with more praise for her earnest effort.
Even though her lack of progress could have dampened her spirits, the Young Lady showed no sign of disappointment.
I was proud of her. Both the Young Lady working out and Gomtangi, who could sleep through loud noise while lying on the floor, were admirable.
The Young Lady’s shouts of spirit continued to echo.
*
Having completed her life-and-death exercise, the Young Lady lay on the bed, her chest heaving.
“Huff… huff… Ricardo, I think I lived too diligently today. Do you think that bearded Father you mentioned will give me a gift?”
Demanding a gift from Santa Grandpa for living diligently, I let out a small laugh as I busily prepared her bath, taking clothes from the wardrobe.
“That Father doesn’t give gifts just for living diligently.”
“Then…?”
“You have to do good deeds to receive gifts.”
“He’s so strict.”
“That Father can’t afford to make a losing deal. Besides, he only works short-term during winter.”
“Then I’ll only live kindly in winter. Living kindly every day is hard.”
“If you live like that, the gift might be smaller.”
If Santa Grandpa heard the Young Lady’s mercenary answer about being good only in winter to receive gifts, he would surely clutch his neck and collapse.
As expected of a Villainess, her cunning desire to extract benefits was remarkable.
Hearing about Santa Grandpa’s profit and loss, the Young Lady cleanly gave up on the gift and sprawled out on the bed to relieve her fatigue.
“Ugh… I don’t care!”
What might be as natural as breathing to someone else was like a grueling marathon for the Young Lady.
She had the fault of not exercising all this time, after all.
Seeing the Young Lady, who had done her best, looking admirable, I reached for the chocolate hidden in my inner pocket to give her a boost.
But my hand, reaching for the pocket, froze at the sound of an unusual noise near my ear.
-Crunch.
The sound of something being chewed was vividly audible.
‘Crunch,’ a sound that shouldn’t be happening right now—why was it happening?
I turned my head to look at the Young Lady lying on the bed, and with a dumbfounded expression, I saw her pulling chocolate from her Treasure Pouch with a hollow look on her face.
The Young Lady, with a blank expression, kept pulling chocolate from her Treasure Pouch. I let out an empty laugh as I watched chocolate endlessly emerge, wondering just how bottomless that pouch could be.
“Munch, if I don’t eat, my sugar will drop, and I’ll die.”
What a curious Villainess she was.
I carefully placed the chocolate on the table next to the Young Lady’s bed and took her hand to help her wash her sweat-soaked body.
“Let’s go for a bath.”
“Ugh…”
The Young Lady, offering no resistance, was dragged along.
She clung to the bed sheet, clearly expressing her unwillingness to leave the bed, but she couldn’t overpower the will of a busy Butler with many tasks to do.
To prepare dinner, I had to move quickly. It definitely wasn’t because I was excited about the bath for any perverted reason.
Being dragged along, the Young Lady shook her head and whined.
“I can’t move. If I move now, I’ll die.”
“It’s fine. I’m the one moving anyway.”
“…Oh.”
At my sensible reply, the Young Lady nodded, releasing her grip on the sheet. With a shout of “Hup!” as if entrusting me with a peaceful journey, she spread her arms toward me and said.
“Then carry me.”
“I’ll serve you with care.”
“You can carry me fiercely too.”
“Then let’s walk briskly today.”
“Alright.”
-Plod.
-Plod.
“Hehe… Mint Chocolate Bath Bomb.”
“Do you like it that much?”
“Yes.”
Holding the bath bomb in her hand, the Young Lady smiled brightly. Watching her, I fell into a brief thought.
It wasn’t a heavy thought.
Just a reflection on the things I had done for the Young Lady so far. For one minute, I smiled faintly as I wondered if I was doing well.
Nursing was more challenging than I thought.
Taking care of my own body was hard enough, but looking after someone else’s health was even harder. While I could endure minor inconveniences for myself, I felt like the Young Lady’s body would hurt no matter where I touched.
There was so much to protect.
I had to safeguard her self-esteem as a woman.
And I had to put effort into improving her health as a patient. If I prioritized my convenience, the Young Lady would face many discomforts.
Using diapers would make my life easier, but I thought it would deeply wound the Young Lady’s self-esteem.
Although the Young Lady’s effort to follow along was the biggest factor, there were times when my nursing approach might be wrong, so I was cautious every day. I was grateful that the Young Lady forgave my mistakes when they happened.
-Eeeek…! I don’t want to move!
-Still, it’s fine. Today, I lifted you with less pain than yesterday. I’ll forgive you.
Even if it’s troublesome and tiring.
Even if it’s inconvenient and there’s a lot to do.
If the Young Lady could smile, I could endure that much effort.
Well, since my job isn’t in healthcare, there’s not much extraordinary I can do anyway.
Before I knew it, we arrived in front of the bathroom, and I snapped out of the thoughts I had been holding onto as I heard the Young Lady’s excited cheers.
“Hooo…! A bath!”
“You also took one yesterday. Do you like it that much?”
“Yes. It feels like I’m rejuvenating when I bathe. My body goes all ‘ahhh…’ and feels relaxed.”
The Young Lady, in an excited voice, showed me the bath bomb in her hand, saying, ‘Look at this,’ with a delighted expression.
Maybe it’s fortunate that her hobby is bathing. Smiling, I opened the bathroom door and carefully set the Young Lady down on the floor.
-Swoosh. As the sound of water filling the bathtub echoed, the Young Lady, leaning her chin on the edge of the tub, watched the bath bomb dissolve while wearing her Shower Gown by herself.
Sniffing her nose, she seemed to enjoy the fresh yet sweet scent emanating from the bath bomb, though I couldn’t quite understand what was so appealing about it. But seeing her smile at the fluffy bubbles rising, I found myself smiling along with her humming.
If only it weren’t Mint Chocolate, it would’ve been better.
After dressing herself fully, the Young Lady tightly tied the belt of her Shower Gown and told me to put the bath bomb into the tub. In the echoing bathroom, her quiet voice made me smile softly as I lifted her up.
“Ricardo, you’re so strong!”
“I know.”
“Your arms are so solid too.”
“Ahem~”
“And you’ve got veins showing.”
“Ahem~!”
Indeed, the saying that praise makes even a whale dance seems to be true.
*
Darkness descended upon Darbav’s Office.
“…”
Having finished the meeting, Olivia’s Father, Darbav, sat in his Office, enveloped by the darkness.
Darbav, with a serious expression, looked at Eldest Son Kyle, who had just concluded the meeting, and asked.
“It’s been a while. I want to bathe together.”
Kyle, with a serious expression, replied.
“No.”
Today as well, Darbav missed his daughter.