38. The Consolation of First Place is Hypocrisy to Second (3)
“So you’re saying I should sleep in the lobby?”
“Not what I meant…no, rather, I’ll sleep in the lobby.”
At Ivan’s words, Karla crossed her arms and shot him an irritated glance.
At the look in her eyes, Ivan instinctively shrunk back, looking puzzled. Seeing this, Karla sighed and said,
“So, you want rumors to spread that I took over a room, kicked out the rightful owner, and made them sleep in the lobby?”
Would it really come to that?
“W-Well, how about Regina’s room…”
“Sleep in a room without its owner?”
“O-Other…”
There are no girls around…
“At least people know you and I are acquainted, so it’s fine. Besides, they’re well aware you’re not the type that would pounce on me.”
“Uh, is that so…”
There’s no way out of this.
Ivan now realized there was no way he could avoid this situation.
“In light of the above, please tidy up the room as soon as possible. By tomorrow evening, perhaps?”
“I’ll do my best, Miss Karla.”
Only after receiving the supervisor’s confirmation did Karla whirl around.
Walking toward the stairs, she suddenly turned back and called out to Ivan.
“Not coming?”
“Uh, I-I’m coming. Yes.”
Ivan shot the supervisor a pleading glance, but the supervisor purposefully ignored it.
“Pretty good. This should be spacious enough to live in.”
This was Karla’s first impression upon entering Ivan’s room.
And all Ivan could do at her words was feel exasperated.
Decent enough to live in? This room is far more spacious than Ivan’s entire house. If this is a “decent” place to live by Karla’s standards…no, speculating is probably futile.
“Hey, I need to take a shower.”
Without giving Ivan a chance to interject, Karla swung open the living room door and plopped down onto the sofa, leaning her head back.
“What are you doing?”
“Hm?”
“Untie my hair. I can’t do it with just one arm.”
She showed her bare left shoulder as if to emphasize the point.
Indeed, it would be impossible to untangle her hair with one hand.
“C-Clean up?”
“Of course, how else am I supposed to sleep like this?”
Karla shrugged.
True enough, she was still wearing the very same dress from the evening banquet.
Because she had run out of the mansion in such haste, mud and dust clung to it in various places.
And surely, she must’ve broken a sweat after all that running. She wouldn’t be able to sleep like this as it stands.
“Come on, untangle my hair. You’re good at these sorts of things, right? I remember that you used to tie Regina’s hair when she was younger.”
At this point, there was no way out.
Because Ivan had a younger sister and took care of her, he had become quite skilled at handling hair — tying it up and undoing it.
With a silent sigh, Ivan approached Karla.
The braids were already coming undone, and as Ivan ran his fingers through them, they cascaded down in waves.
Her pitch-black hair made only a soft swish as it unwound. It was so smooth, brushing softly against the back of Ivan’s hand like silk.
Full-bodied, of fine texture, and incredibly soft, touching her hair was akin to brushing against silk. And with every move of his fingers, Ivan caught glimpses of Karla’s immaculately white neck.
Faint wisps of hair dotted the smooth curve of her neck.
A slender, delicate neck, unblemished, with soft-looking skin that flowed seamlessly down her elegant back.
“Done?”
“…Yeah.”
“Okay, thanks. You can relax while I take my bath.”
Standing up, Karla declared this as if it were already her room, strangely without it seeming out of place.
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Oh, over there.”
Pointing without hesitation at one door, Ivan didn’t even have to think about it.
A luxurious bathroom by Ivan’s standards, featuring a bathtub as well as a separate shower booth.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“Guide me.”
Now acting as though this was her room entirely, Ivan sighed inwardly as he led the way, and Karla followed behind with an expressionless face.
“Shower in peace.”
“Where are you going?”
“Huh?”
Turning around while pointing at her back, Karla indicated the buttons on her dress she couldn’t reach with trembling fingers.
“Can you unbutton this? I can’t do it myself.”
Ivan’s eyes clouded over.
Unbuttoning a dress, this was…
“To take off your dress, right?”
“G-Got that much, right…”
Ivan’s hand stretched toward the zipper on Karla’s back. His trembling fingers twitched uncontrollably, and unknowingly, his breathing became rough.
Every time he unbuttoned one, more of her flawless white skin was revealed.
Indeed, the daughter of an aristocratic house; there wasn’t a scar to be seen on her skin, white like snow.
Ironically, as Ivan’s calloused fingers, scarred and rough from work, touched the delicate buttons, it felt as if a black beast were leaving footprints on a pristine snowy landscape.
“Are you done?”
“Yeah.”
Clutching the front of the dress to keep it from sliding down, Karla finally entered the bathroom. Just as the door started closing with a creak before fully shutting, her face popped out.
“Should I leave the door open and shower? Or do you want to shower together?”
“Ah, no! Definitely not! Please!”
Ivan’s voice erupted in a desperate shriek, and Karla chuckled.
“Why are you so worked up? When we were young, you did all this for me, remember?”
“W-Well, back then, I thought you were a boy…”
At this, Karla’s lips tightened, her expression briefly stiffening before breaking into a smile as if nothing had happened.
“Yeah, back then, it was like that. Anyway, I get it.”
With a small click, the door closed, and only then did Ivan let out a deep sigh.
“Exhausted…”
It had been a long day.
Between Alina’s visit in the morning, meeting with Regina in the afternoon, and now the evening— it had been a long, taxing day indeed.
How much time had passed? Ivan, who had been gazing idly out the window at the night sky, then heard Karla’s voice.
—Hey, Ivan!
“Huh?!”
Startled, Ivan sat straight up.
Though something must have gone wrong, there was indeed an issue.
—Bring me your underwear and clothes to change into!
“What?!”
—Bring me underwear and clothes to change into! I don’t have anything!
“U-Underwear?!”
He immediately regretted his slip.
But it was already too late.
In a panic, Ivan rushed to the bathroom door and called out,
“Y-Your underwear is um… for men, and the clothes are… only that shirt!”
—Got it! Bring it over! Or should I come out like this?!
That wouldn’t work.
Frantically, Ivan ran to the dresser.
When he opened the drawer holding neatly folded underwear, despite them all being for men, they were at least square-cut underwear, so perhaps it would be fine. It was wishful thinking to hope for a new set of underwear right when needed.
“I-This is the cleanest one, and… the clothes… they’re…”
He had no choice.
A clean pair of underwear that hadn’t been worn too often.
A white shirt and a pair of slim pants.
With these in hand, Ivan reluctantly approached the bathroom, knocking as he called out.
“Clothes are here…”
Initially intending to place them on the floor, the door creaked open slightly, revealing an indistinct outline of Karla through the foggy steam.
Because she only had one arm, the door’s position naturally showed part of her body.
Though not entirely clear due to the thick steam, her shape was visible.
“Give it here. And wait outside; you’ll dry my hair later.”
Ivan couldn’t respond.
The moment he saw Karla’s silhouette, he had instinctively bowed his head, unable to look up or directly see her.
“Give it already? Not bringing the clothes?”
“I-I’ll give it…”
The underwear, the shirt, and the pants were quickly snatched away as the door closed. Only then did Ivan sigh deeply.
“Today was truly exhausting…”
And she said to wait.
To dry her hair…
Had his ordeal not yet ended?
Just as Ivan was lost in thought, the door slowly opened.
“K-Karla?! Where’s the pants?!”
It was Karla, clad only in the square-cut underwear and the white shirt, holding the pants in her right hand and wearing an impassive expression. Without a word, she exited the bathroom while speaking to Ivan.
“The pants are too loose; wearing them or not makes no difference. And honestly, this underwear might as well count as shorts, so it doesn’t matter. Come over here and dry my hair. With only one arm, it’s impossible for me.”
Karla swayed her flimsy sleeves lightly as she walked to the couch. With nothing else she could do, Ivan found it far too stimulating to watch her retreating back, something he couldn’t help glancing at.
For him, it was an overwhelming scene.
“Come here, dummy. Who’s really going to sleep on the floor?”
“Uh, how can two of us share a bed?”
“Well,” Karla said as she got under the cover, “it is small, true. Only half the size of the bed in my room at the Cascata mansion, but I’m not conscienceless enough to make the bed owner sleep on the hard floor.”
Mumbling about the smaller size, Karla had already laid down on the bed.
The problem arose because there was only one set of bedding.
Being a single-occupancy dorm, it followed the principle of only one person sleeping there, and there were no spare sheets.
“I don’t care how tired you are, it’s cold to sleep without covers. I don’t want any complaints about catching a cold because of me, so get in and sleep together.”
“W-O-W-H! Forget the complaints! I won’t catch a cold!”
“Really? Ohhhh…aren’t you remembering the time I caught a cold so badly?”
Karla narrowed her eyes mischievously.
Well, Ivan thought, was it really necessary to bring that up now—but, he had to admit, it wasn’t completely undeserved.
“Not that…”
“So come here, dummy. Who’s going to really sleep on the floor?”
“Still…how can it fit…it’s too narrow.”
“It will fit even if it’s narrow. I’m small, you know. This is a rare chance to sleep next to an aristocrat; consider it an honor.”
Exhaling a sigh, Ivan climbed into the bed.
As Karla grabbed and pulled the cover, she smirked.
In contrast, Ivan let out another long sigh.
Well, nothing could be done now.
With such circumstances, to keep refusing would just seem rude.
Clutching a towel as his pillow, Ivan entered the bed. The mattress swayed every time Ivan moved.
“Lie down already. You’ve done enough hard work today.”
Karla smirked at him.
And to Ivan, her smile was unmistakably Karla-like.
A short silence followed.
Karla must have fallen asleep, Ivan thought, turning his head to check. But he found her looking at him, their eyes meeting accidentally.
“Thinking about it…”
“Hm?”
Caught off guard by Karla’s sudden comment, Ivan responded instinctively.
“We used to hang out quite a lot when we were younger.”
Saying this while adjusting her cover, Karla seemed to be reminiscing.
“I used to prank you a lot back then. Now, though, I hesitate since it might seem strange.”
Ivan paused briefly, gazing at her thoughtfully.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind. No one will find it weird either.”
Karla fell silent again, but the small smile beneath the covers was visible.
“Sleep well, Karla.”
“Yeah, you too.”
This was going to be a long night.
A truly long night.
And as it turned out, it was indeed.
