It has been three days since I arrived at Selian’s mansion. Time sure flies.
“Did you throw away the torn school uniform then?”
“Why would I keep a torn uniform for no reason?”
To begin with, it’s not like I did that, and since the uniform somehow got replaced at some point, I’m not entirely sure. But obviously, it was thrown away. What would I possibly do with someone else’s torn uniform?
“No, but if I were you…”
“Oh, that’s right. If it had been Selian, you might have mended it and used it again.”
Selian, the cherished daughter of a marquess’ house with plenty of financial ease, does sometimes show a frugal side. It’s definitely a plausible scenario.
“Yeah! That’s correct!”
“I should’ve asked Yuli as well. If it had just been a small tear, I could have had her mend it and continued using it.”
Why didn’t I think of that back then? I’m not someone who fusses over clothes, and a small tear might have been fine to use without mending it.
Yuli probably gave me a practically new uniform out of guilt. Given her somewhat timid nature, it seems like a reasonable assumption.
What can be done now? My original uniform is probably already buried in some trash bin somewhere.
There’s no need to bring up the topic of uniforms when I meet her later. It would be ridiculous acting clingy about past events, and besides, if I bring it up, Yuli might feel guilty again.
“Anyway, Selian?”
“Yes, what is it?”
Selian replied innocently while sitting in my room, right beside me.
“Uh… are you going to stay there?”
“Hmm?”
I’m hinting subtly, but I’m issuing Selian an expulsion order. Even if this is technically my room currently, the actual owner of the house is Selian. To some listeners, this might come across as an uncomfortable statement.
But I don’t have much of a choice given the situation.
“I’m going to take a shower, I sweat a lot from the training earlier. Didn’t you sweat too?”
After talking to Selian while returning from the morning training, she had naturally followed me back into my room.
It wasn’t until I gathered my underwear to change into for the shower that I noticed she was still there.
“Ah… right.”
It seemed like Selian only realized after looking at the underwear in my hand. However, she still hadn’t moved, just standing quietly as if deep in thought.
“Shower…”
“Selian?”
“Yes, I’ll see you a bit later. I’ll go take a shower too and change my clothes before coming back.”
She finally left the room after I called her name again.
Once I made sure Selian had gone, I entered the dressing room and stripped my clothes, tossing them into the laundry basket.
Living in the dormitory meant I had to do my own laundry, which was a hassle, but here in this noble mansion, the maids collect and neatly return the laundry clean, so it’s a far more convenient setup.
I laid my clean clothes on the side and headed into the shower. The shower area was decently large, with a personal bathtub on one side. I wasn’t planning to take a full bath, just to wash off the sweat.
Indulging in warm water was an unimaginable luxury from my assassin days. Reaching for the body wash, I pumped a few times.
I suddenly realized that the body wash was the same one I used in the dormitory. Even the bottle beside it turned out to be the same shampoo I regularly used.
Wow, it’s this familiar even in taste. It’s beyond surprising—it feels like pure luck.
Still, wasn’t this shampoo supposedly a Pelches regional exclusive when I bought it? Seems like the seller’s claim was just a marketing trick to sell more.
Anyway, limited editions tend to attract people regardless of their initial intent.
I also fell for the term “limited edition” and ended up buying it instead of going for something generic.
Although I’ve had no complaints about the product itself—I’ve kept using it because I like the scent—so I have no intention of confronting the seller for this. He probably needed to make a living, so I’ll let it slide.
While I was musing, the water on my skin was drying off.
Enough of these trivialities. I washed my body, familiar again in its new form.
I dried my body with a towel and walked back into the dressing room. Here, I don’t have anyone telling me to stop dripping water and walk properly.
Still, there’s no point in making the floor wet, so I wiped it with a towel that I threw away afterward before placing it back into the laundry basket with my dirty clothes and underwear.
“Hmm?”
My underwear and clothes that I placed in the basket were nowhere to be seen. One of the maids responsible for laundry must have quietly collected them while I was showering. It was curious, though…
“When did they come and go?”
They must have been considerate enough to notice I was showering and acted accordingly, but I didn’t sense a thing during the entire process—not even the sound of the door opening.
If they can move that quietly, they’d make excellent assassins, not just maids.
Given the skill level of this marquis’ housemaids, I wonder if the maids in a duke’s house or in the royal palace are so advanced that they start emitting aura from their swords?
“Achoo!”
I caught a chill standing around in the nude after my shower as I got carried away with thoughts. Originally, thanks to auric training, catching a cold shouldn’t be possible, but with my now more sensitive female body, I can’t be entirely sure.
I rubbed my arms roughly with both hands and quickly changed into the clothes I had brought.
Ding, ding…
The grandfather clock in the corner of the living room announced it was noon.
“Hmm?”
After sending Selian out and taking my shower, it was natural for her to take longer.
She had said she’d come back to my room after showering, so I decided to read one of the books on the shelf while waiting.
Losing myself in reading a novel, I didn’t notice the time, and it was almost twelve o’clock. It had been over two hours since I finished my shower.
While I knew that women usually spend more time showering and grooming, two hours still felt like a stretch.
I still had the book to keep me occupied, but for some reason, I closed it and stood up.
I knew where Selian’s room was. Standing around waiting felt pointless, so I thought finding her would be better.
I reached Selian’s door after climbing the stairs and knocked lightly, but there was no answer.
When I tentatively turned the door handle, perhaps because it was her own house, it wasn’t locked and opened smoothly.
I entered the room and looked around, but Selian was nowhere to be seen. However, the faint sound of water suggested she was still in the shower.
Deciding to go back to my room to wait while she finished, I suddenly thought:
Could something have happened while she was showering?
No matter how strong Selian is, accidents can happen. She might have suffered a sudden bout of anemia and fainted, or slipped and hit her head.
If that were the case, there’s no time to waste.
I moved toward where the water sound was coming from and opened the dressing room door.
Once inside the dressing room, the water sound became clearer.
“…”
I faintly heard Selian humming a tune. It appeared that she hadn’t fallen or anything during the shower. However, just in case, I knocked lightly on the shower door to check.
Knock, knock.
“Selian?”
“Ah! Eek!?”
Even though I had been cautious, she clearly hadn’t expected anyone to come during her shower, judging by the startled scream.
Perhaps realizing it was me and not an intruder, the shower turned off immediately, with only the sound of water dripping remaining.
“Ah, sorry. It’s me, me. Elise.”
“El…?”
“I got worried when you didn’t come back after waiting, so I came to check. I thought you might’ve fallen or something in the shower.”
Selian remained silent for a moment, possibly trying to calm herself down.
After a brief silence, she finally responded.
“…Yes. N-no… nothing happened… ye-yeah!”
“Thank goodness. Anyway, it’s been two hours already. You should wrap up soon and let’s eat.”
“Yes… I’ll finish soon… hehe.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes! It’s just… I dropped my shower sponge…”
Occasionally, the sound of wet scrubbing could be heard quietly in the now silent shower room.
Strangely, even though nothing was wrong, her voice sounded unusually alluring through the door.
“Alright, then I’ll head back to my room and wait. Come and fetch me once you’re done.”
“Y-yes…”
Realizing that Selian was fine, I quickly decided to leave the dressing room before inappropriate thoughts crept in.
Back in my room, I tried to continue reading the novel, but I couldn’t concentrate.
…I’ll just use the restroom for a bit.
*
Selian returned around twenty minutes after I had used the restroom.
