TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 26
The Young Lady is acting strange.
Ever since she returned from her outing, she’s been glaring at me strangely and blatantly scanning my body, which made me feel quite peculiar.
‘What is this?’
It felt like being sexually harassed on the subway.
Is it because a pretty woman is staring?
Oddly enough, it felt good.
-Softly.
I casually waved my hand.
The Young Lady moved her face to follow my hand gestures.
‘Oh…!’
I discovered something amusing.
When I spun my hand side to side, the Young Lady moved her head to follow, and when I moved it up and down, she nodded her head.
‘Down. Up. Left. Right. Again.’
I must have repeated it dozens of times.
“Damn it!”
The Young Lady threw the fork she was holding at me. Why is she staring at someone else’s body anyway? I dodged it lightly and handed her a new fork.
“Young Lady.”
“What?”
“Why are you staring like that? It’s unsettling.”
“I’m not unsettled.”
“No, but I feel unsettled.”
The Young Lady looked up at me.
Sitting on the bed, she glanced at me briefly before nodding her head.
“I’m fine.”
I wasn’t asking about her feelings.
“Take responsibility for my wounded heart.”
The Young Lady didn’t even reply.
She kept staring at my wrist. If her gaze had a temperature, my wrist might have sustained a third-degree burn by now due to her intense stare.
Normally, we would have spent a happy time with her throwing her fork and knife in anger over paprika being on the dinner menu, but today, she seemed more curious about me than the food.
To be prioritized over food.
Am I finally ascending to the ranks of a successful Butler?
I felt oddly happy in a strange way.
Even while I was setting up the table on the bed and serving the food, the Young Lady’s gaze stayed fixed on my wrist.
The Young Lady even tilted her head to peek inside my sleeve.
I lightly curled my fingers and flicked her forehead.
“Ack!”
The Young Lady clenched her fist.
“That hurt!”
“I hit you because I wanted it to hurt.”
“Why did you hit me!”
“Because you kept staring.”
“I wasn’t staring.”
“Liar.”
The Young Lady sharply turned her head toward the window, avoiding eye contact.
“I wasn’t staring!”
She had always looked at the window when lying, both then and now.
“What do you mean you weren’t staring? You were staring so much that my sleeve nearly caught fire. I thought I was going to burn to death.”
“It wasn’t hot. I was looking at you so coldly.”
“So you admit you were staring.”
The Young Lady couldn’t say anything.
She tightly shut her lips.
The Young Lady poked at the stew.
“Why is there no meat in this damn stew! This is meat abuse. It’s disrespectful to the meat!”
“But it’s healthy.”
“I don’t accept that.”
I ended the dinner by putting a piece of paprika into the Young Lady’s mouth.
Today, I should rest in my room too.
That’s when it happened.
The Young Lady drank milk and, with a satisfied “Ah,” proceeded to assign me overtime. My heart, which was waiting for the end of my workday, froze.
“Ah, Ricardo, I’m going to take a bath.”
“What?”
What on earth is this woman saying?
Taking a bath after the Maid has gone off duty? A huge bomb dropped on the heart of this Confucian Boy, and my shoulders flinched.
The Young Lady looked up at me.
With cat-like eyes, she stared at me. Her round, wide eyes sent a strong threat, declaring that she would go on a hunger strike if I refused.
This time, I turned my head toward the window.
“Don’t look away.”
“I’m not. The sun is just too bright.”
“It’s 9 PM right now. How is the sun still out!”
“It could happen sometimes, couldn’t it? Even the moon might get tired once in a while.”
“Nonsense!”
“Woof.”
The Young Lady loved baths.
To the extent that she would pass out in the tub.
She loved soaking in hot water.
When submerged in the tub, she would murmur “Hoee” like a slime, and when it was time to get out, she would groan “Eugh!” in protest, showing her deep passion for baths.
To the point where collecting bath bombs became her hobby.
It was a clean and refreshing hobby, which was nice, but the Young Lady took it too far.
A Mint-Scented Bath Bomb.
A Beef-Scented Bath Bomb.
A Lamb-Scented Bath Bomb.
She collected bizarre bath bombs.
After Becoming a Beggar, she gave up on her strange hobby, but the Young Lady still hadn’t let go of her yearning for bath bombs.
‘Maybe I should make bath bombs with the Young Lady when I have time.’
I felt proud thinking of ways to play with the Young Lady, but when I recalled her peculiar Bathing Philosophy, my shoulders shivered again.
When the Young Lady was 10 years old.
She took off her clothes at the valley and said this.
-You see, bathing is done naked! Bathing with clothes on is just doing laundry. Got it, Beggar!
-Just put some clothes on.
-No!
The Young Lady insisted on bathing naked. Knowing the Young Lady, who believed that bathing with clothes on was no different from doing laundry, I asked her nervously.
“You’re saying you want to bathe now?”
To confirm, the Young Lady replied with a short but decisive answer.
“Yeah. I’m all sticky from sweating.”
“You won’t die if you skip a bath for just one day.”
“No, I might.”
“Then I’ll bring a warmed wet towel.”
The Young Lady firmly said.
“I’m going to soak in warm water.”
Adding conditions.
“Completely naked.”
Oh my, oh my. What is this woman saying right now? Is she really suggesting this in front of a fully grown The Man?
Contrary to my bold thoughts, my pupils wavered greatly. Be it in my Previous Life or Current Life, I was a Handsome Man, but I was also an inexperienced fool with no experience with women.
An awkward atmosphere flowed.
Between the Young Lady, who loved baths.
And the Butler, trying to protect The Man’s dignity.
“I refuse.”
“Why…”
“Well, because I am The Man, am I not? And a perfectly Handsome one at that.”
“You’re not handsome.”
“Stop lying.”
“…I’m serious.”
The Young Lady puffed her cheeks.
The Butler, who refused despite her insistence, must have seemed hateful to her. My resolve weakened, but since ancient times, the principle of gender propriety must not be abandoned, and I could not bend this belief.
“Hmm.”
The Young Lady glared at me again.
This time, she looked at my sleeve and body, then began to smirk.
She truly looked like a Pervert.
“Hehe.”
“What is that laugh about?”
“Nothing.”
Even as she said that, the Young Lady’s gaze was directed toward the Window.
“Then let’s do this….”
“Take that!”
I abruptly tossed the Young Lady into the Bathhouse. With a splash, she fell into the bathtub.
Soaked from head to toe, the Young Lady glared at me with a resentful look, and I felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
“Hehe.”
When I showed her a bright Smile with a refreshed expression, the Young Lady threw Soap at my face.
“A feeble attack like that won’t hit me, not even in a hundred years.”
“Hmph.”
The Young Lady turned her head with a sharp motion.
I felt the urge to pinch her Puffed Cheeks.
I dipped a finger into the bathtub where the Young Lady was steeping.
‘It’s warm.’
The water wasn’t too hot or too cold. It was the perfect temperature that the Young Lady would like.
“How’s the water temperature?”
I asked the Young Lady to confirm.
“Hmm. It feels like I’m being boiled like pork.”
The Young Lady replied that she liked it.
In the Young Lady’s language, cold water was ‘pig trotters,’ and warm water was ‘boiled pork.’ It seemed today’s water temperature was just right.
“Phew.”
The Young Lady was wearing clothes.
In response to my firm refusal, the Young Lady had reluctantly taken a step back.
-Then let’s do this. I’ll wear clothes, but a Bathrobe should be enough, right?
The Young Lady, wearing a white Bathrobe and pouting her lips, splashed water at me while muttering.
“This isn’t a bath.”
“That’s correct.”
“No, this is laundry.”
“Then let’s do laundry.”
I applied shampoo to my hands and began washing the Young Lady’s Hair.
As I demonstrated a Fantasy Scalp Massage, the Young Lady, unable to focus, let out a small moan.
“Ugh… I’m being laundered.”
“Be quiet. You’re distracting me.”
“Huuuh.”
The Young Lady couldn’t pull herself together.
As time went by and the bath approached its conclusion.
I spoke to the Young Lady.
“Young Lady.”
The Young Lady, sitting in the bathtub and eating snacks, slightly turned her head at my question.
“Huh?”
“I might need to be away for two days next week. Is that alright?”
“Why? Are you going Bug Hunting again?”
“No. It’s something similar, but different.”
I need to collect some Fortuitous Encounters.
In two weeks, at the summit of the Havel Mountain Range, an Undiscovered Dungeon would be revealed by a Knight.
That’s how it was in the Novel.
It was an epic Dungeon, where many Adventurers gathered, and various Artifacts and Gold Coins lay dormant in the Ancient Maze Dungeon.
It was also a significant Episode where the Heroine and Ruin participated in the dungeon exploration.
During this process, the Heroine and Ruin would have a Conflict with Heretics, but that was their problem to resolve.
Ultimately, I planned to sort out the Fortuitous Encounters that Ruin and Yuria would claim.
Leaving behind what’s necessary for the Story.
While taking what wasn’t strictly needed for myself.
Before too many people could get their hands on it, I intended to claim any usable Fortuitous Encounters.
With my Swordsmanship level now at Lv. 6, I didn’t need to worry about dying even if I encountered Heretics in the dungeon. On the contrary, it was a great chance for Farming.
I could prepare a sword for Hanna and an Elixir to send to Malik, and while at it, I could loot treasures as well.
So when the time came to ask for permission,
I wanted to get the Young Lady’s approval.
The Young Lady contemplated.
“Is it Dangerous Work?”
“No. I’m just going for some leisure.”
“Really?”
The Young Lady’s expression wasn’t good.
She seemed to misunderstand, thinking I was doing something difficult, just like with the last Bug Hunting.
To ease the Young Lady’s worries, I mixed truth with lies.
“I’m just going to gather some herbs in the mountains. Since it’s getting cold, I thought I’d prepare some tonic medicine.”
“Hmm.”
After a long time of deliberation, the Young Lady nodded, giving her approval.
“But don’t bring back anything too bitter. Only bring back herbs that taste like Chocolate.”
“Where in the world would I find something like that?”
“It might exist somewhere.”
When the Honorable Maid comes in tomorrow, I’ll ask her to adjust her schedule and stay at the house for two days.
“But, Ricardo.”
“Yes?”
As I was lost in thought for a moment,
The Young Lady looked at my hand and spoke.
“Why is your forearm so dark?”
From my wet shirt, my blackened forearm was faintly visible.