Chapter 250: A Relaxing Hot Bath
It took quite a while for Armand to recover on the bed after eating that plate of tomato cheese pasta. Even though Evelia’s cooking didn’t actually make him sick, the burning, sour feeling in his stomach still felt a bit torturous.
But the good news was that Evelia was satisfied.
When she saw that Armand didn’t complain or pick at his food, and actually finished all the tomato sauce obediently, Evelia felt more refreshed than someone having the perfect bathroom break.
As for Armand, all that mattered to him was that Evelia was happy. And honestly, eating tomato sauce was way better than swallowing those little bitter pills. At least tomato sauce was real food. He could deal with it.
Still, even though Armand was now awake and alert, he still had to continue taking medicine. It was like the final step in “cleaning up the scene.” The poison in his body couldn’t be fully removed, so the only thing they could do was suppress it with medicine. After another two or three days, the poison would be under control, and he wouldn’t need to take the medicine anymore.
But those medicines made people sleepy. Even someone like Armand, who was usually resistant to drugs, couldn’t fight off the drowsy side effects of these alchemy-based medicines. So even though he was now awake, he’d have to sleep again soon.
Since the medicine would take a little time to kick in, Armand decided to take a hot bath to loosen up his stiff body, which had been lying in bed for days.
After all, once the medicine kicked in, he’d probably sleep straight through until the next day.
Because he mentioned wanting a bath during lunch, Evelia had already prepared the hot water for him. Armand yawned, sat up from bed, grabbed a clean bathrobe, and headed to the nearby bathroom.
This manor was a gift from the Crown Prince, fully furnished and ready to live in, so everything inside had been designed by nobles. And rich people loved turning their bathrooms into something that looked like half a swimming pool. Naturally, Armand’s manor was no exception.
When he opened the bathroom door, a wave of steam and warm humidity hit him in the face. In the center of the bathroom, a large bathtub was letting off hot steam, mist swirling into the air.
Even though Armand always wanted to complain about how these huge bathtubs weren’t much different from public bathhouses used by commoners. He still really liked soaking in them, especially now that the weather was turning cold.
Since being poisoned, his body had developed an intense sensitivity to cold, the poison liked cold and hated heat, so snowy days were like torture for him.
He often asked Luger to prepare hot baths for him. He’d soak for a while to warm up, then sit by the fireplace with a cup of hot coffee or a bowl of steaming soup.
Sometimes, he’d even wipe the frost off the window and look out at the snowy scenery.
Back in the small house he used to live in, he could see children running around in the snow wearing thick clothes, while adults were busy shoveling snow from their doorsteps.
Some neighbors would carry out vegetables stored in the cellar for winter, or bring out a few bottles of wine to drink together and chase away the cold, filling the quiet winter days with warmth and life.
There was probably nothing more romantic than that. After all, as a knight, that was exactly the kind of everyday peace he wanted to protect.
“Phew…”
No one brings a towel into the bath at home, so Armand left his bathrobe and towel neatly on a rack by the door. Then, he stepped into the hot water completely naked with a splash. He stayed underwater for a few seconds before finally coming up for air.
He had to admit, the feeling of soaking in a large tub really was amazing.
The water temperature might be a bit too hot for most people, but for Armand, it was just perfect.
No one can say no to bathwater that’s just the right temperature. Just like no one can resist soaking in it when it feels just right.
Armand let his mind go blank and simply relaxed in the warm water, enjoying the peaceful feeling of a quiet bath. He never liked bringing his worries into the bathroom. For him, this was a place just for relaxing.
The way the water wrapped around his body couldn’t be replaced by anything else. The warmth helped him relax, and the stiffness in his movements slowly melted away. He took deep breaths, stretched while soaking, then slid down a little and leaned his head back, resting his neck on a small towel he had placed beforehand.
“Ahh... As expected, soaking quietly like this really is the best... hmm...?”
He hadn’t even finished his thought when the second half of his sentence turned into a confused sound.
Leaning back, Armand was about to close his eyes and rest a little. But a shadow suddenly fell across his face, making him open his eyes in confusion.
And then, he locked eyes with Evelia, who was still wearing her maid uniform.
“—Eve?!”
Startled, Armand immediately moved away, scooting to the center of the bathtub.
“Yes, it’s me, Mr. Armand.”
Because the weather was getting cooler, Evelia had switched from her spring/summer maid outfit to the fall/winter version. But the bathroom was warm and steamy, so she had rolled up her sleeves, and a bit of sweat had formed on her forehead.
When Armand had splashed away just now, the water had soaked Evelia’s stockings. The thin white fabric quickly became see-through, revealing the skin underneath.
“No—I wasn’t asking if it was you—I mean... wait, why are you here?!”
While talking, Armand scooted even farther to the side, worried because without the steam, the water might be a little too clear.
“Because I’m here to help you bathe.”
“H-Help me bathe?! That’s not a normal thing!!”
The moment he heard that, Armand’s face turned bright red, much redder than it had been even after soaking in hot water for so long.
“Don’t you need help washing your back? As your personal maid, you can leave that to me.”
“I—No, no need! I can do it myself!”
“Can your hands really reach every part of your back?”
“...Well, that is kind of hard...”
“That’s why I’ll help. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
Evelia said this very seriously.
“N-No need, really, I’m fine!”
Armand knew that when Evelia got serious, she could be really stubborn. So he looked around, trying to think of a good excuse to get her to leave. If he had to, he’d just skip the bath altogether and get out right away.
Then his eyes landed on Evelia’s now-wet white stockings. His thoughts jumped from what he saw to what he said without thinking, and he awkwardly pointed at her stockings.
“Look, Eve, your clothes are all wet. You don’t need to stay here. Just go back and change.”
Evelia looked down at her clearly soaked stockings in silence, then nodded.
“I understand, Mr. Armand.”
“Phew... if you understand, then hurry and—”
“I understand, Mr. Armand. These clothes really aren’t suitable for wearing in the bathroom.”
“...Eh?”
As she said that, Evelia didn’t seem to care about her soaked stockings. Instead, she started untying the ribbon on the front of her maid uniform. The moment the tight fabric loosened, her figure suddenly bounced free in an exaggerated way. The opening in her neckline clearly revealed the deep curve of her chest, and even the lace edge of her white underwear could be seen.
Because of the heat in the bathroom, a few drops of sweat slid down from her collarbone into the deep and shadowy space between her breasts.
“Wait! Eve! You can’t just—”
Right as Armand saw Evelia undoing the waist of her maid uniform, looking like just a pull of the shoulder straps would take the whole thing off, he panicked. He instinctively stood up and reached out to stop her… but that’s when he felt a chill.
That’s when it hit him.
He was completely naked, sitting in a giant bath, and hadn’t been wearing anything this whole time.
“——!!”
In an instant, pure embarrassment flooded him. He squatted down in the water like his soul had left his body, his face completely red as bubbles floated up from where he hid.
“Mr. Armand, did you hurt your foot?”
But Evelia clearly didn’t think anything was strange. After all, it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen it before. Back when she—technically, he—was still in a male body, stuff like that was just part of daily life. To her, it was nothing new.
Of course, Armand had no idea Evelia used to be male. No matter how hard he thought about it, he would never imagine that. So this kind of thing felt like a major embarrassment. He even started scratching at the bottom of the bath, wishing he could dig a tunnel and escape.
“Mr. Armand?”
When he didn’t answer her, Evelia simply took off her shoes, ready to step into the bath and check what was wrong. Armand, hearing her footsteps on the wet tile, quickly poked his head out of the water.
“I’m fine—!” he blurted out when he saw Evelia’s foot already entering the water. “Cough—really, I’m fine…!”
But it was obvious he was not fine.
First, he was ashamed that she’d seen everything. Second, this was a girl who hadn’t even married yet, and now she had seen him completely exposed.
“It’s just… sorry about that.”
His eyes darted away as his neck turned red too, unable to meet her gaze.
“Hmm? What for?”
Because Armand didn’t want her to get closer, Evelia obediently sat down by the side of the bath. But his sudden apology left her confused.
“Just now… I got too flustered. Sorry you had to see something like that…”
“?”
Evelia gave a puzzled look, like a question mark had appeared above her head.
See something like that?
Was he talking about the part where he didn’t have clothes on?
What was there to be sorry about? It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen it before. Why did he suddenly hide?
Ah—maybe Armand is just really shy? Or maybe he’s not confident in himself?
But… he has a good figure. Nothing to be ashamed of at all!
“It’s okay, Mr. Armand.”
Trying to comfort him, Evelia gave him a thumbs-up and said seriously.
“You have a nice body, and the size is something to be proud of. So you don’t have to be embarrassed, Mr. Armand. I’d give you full marks.”
She looked completely serious as she said that, her expression calm and sincere.
“—I didn’t ask you to rate me…!!!”
But clearly, her attempt at comfort didn’t help Armand feel any better.