Chapter Seventy-Two: Do You Like Me?
Suddenly, I felt really sad.
The forced smile that had just been plastered on my face quickly faded after a brief pause. My previously anxious nerves were drowned out by this lump of sadness stuck in my throat.
I suddenly wanted to touch her wounds and say something comforting that might ease her heart.
Very beautiful…
Or, actually not ugly at all.
A bunch of such comforting words sprang to mind, but in the end, none of them made it out… because in front of me was not just anyone, she was Victoria.
Victoria didn’t need such pleasant-sounding words that actually did nothing but let people wallow in false and fleeting lies, only to wake up from them shortly. Such words might work for ordinary women, but Victoria was not an ordinary woman. She wouldn’t feel pleased hearing such weak, meaningless pity, nor would she find comfort in it.
In her world, there were probably only problems and solutions to those problems.
So I suppressed the urge to touch her scars and tried to respond from her perspective: “Is there a way to get rid of them?”
“Not for now.”
Victoria pushed the water aside with her hands and slowly moved closer to me.
“The fact that it looks like this is already a first-class miracle of healing; otherwise, it’d be much more obvious.”
She came closer, standing right in front of me. Her soaked golden hair spread out behind her, her smooth, fragrant shoulders floated above the waterline, and her eyes fixed on my face.
“Is… is that the assassin?”
I forced myself to ask calmly, tightly gripping the akri fruit in my hand. I wanted to eat it but didn’t dare to, instinctively blocking it in front of me, as if it provided some small sense of security.
“Most of them are. Some aren’t, like here.”
With a splash, Victoria raised her left arm out of the water and pointed at the scar on her arm: “This was from a fight with a monster not long ago, and there are two on my leg and waist. Since the miracle was cast by Her Holiness herself, it looks a bit faded.”
Even if it was done by Margaret herself, the scars wouldn’t just disappear, right?
“Herbs or something… is there no way?”
I remembered Daisy had taken a course in herbalism, which involved memorizing a ton of names and effects. I wasn’t cut out for it, but I’d occasionally heard the girls in the dorm rambling about healing and scar-removing terms… what were they called again?
Victoria shook her head gently: “I’ve consulted famous doctors, but they don’t have any particularly good methods. It’s just like this; I honestly don’t mind much…”
Splash, splash.
The water rippled as Victoria once again moved closer to me, almost within half a step, her stunning face leaned in, brows raised, with those golden eyes brimming with intensity.
“Do you care?”
The mingled scent of strong alcohol rushed into my nose, causing my breath to stutter, and my heart seemed to skip a beat.
Then, it felt like it wanted to leap out of my chest, contracting violently.
Thump, thump, thump!
“No, I don’t care…” That simple phrase was stuck in my throat. My feet were paddling nervously against the smooth bottom of the bathtub, wanting to retreat but already leaning back against the tub’s edge, making me more anxious, my hand gripping the akri fruit tightening—pop!
The fruit exploded, startling both me and Victoria.
Juice and pulp splattered everywhere, with some landing on Victoria’s cheek. She paused for only a moment before taking the pulp stuck to her face, popping it into her mouth to chew and swallow.
“Heh.”
Victoria laughed, her rosy lips curving into a lovely arc.
“You’re nervous?”
“I… I’m not!”
“Then why are you squirming?”
“I… I like it like this…” I stammered, my neck stretching toward her.
My face was burning…
My heart was really going to leap out.
“Victoria…”
“Hmm?”
Victoria leaned in closer again, the tip of her nose practically poking my face. I desperately tilted my head back, my left arm guarding my chest, my right hand frozen in place from crushing the fruit, brushing against the soft submerged areas, and I didn’t dare push her away, fearing it would lead to touching even more places, my body stiff and completely still, my eyes shut tight from terror.
“You… I… I’m all clean now; I want to leave…”
“Why so anxious?” she said.
She seemed to be teasing me on purpose, maintaining a distance where we could feel each other’s breaths, held in a slight contact, neither getting closer nor pulling away, just staring at me… although I had my eyes closed, I could still feel her mocking gaze.
After a brief silence.
“Victoria…” I couldn’t help but call her again.
“Hmm?”
“You… you’re not… bathing already, go wash up…”
“I am bathing.”
“But you… you’re so close to me; wh-what are you doing…?”
“Watching you.”
“… Watching me for what…?” My voice grew smaller.
“It’s interesting.”
“D-Don’t look anymore…”
“Just a bit longer.”
“……”
I didn’t know what to say or what to do.
Whether in my past life or this one, I had no experience handling such situations.
I tried hard to find a way or excuse to get Victoria to stop, wanting to escape this space quickly, but I couldn’t think, my head was a complete mess, like glue.
I thought about pushing her away with all my strength, but I was also afraid it would hurt her.
Even Victoria, she mustering up courage right now was perhaps only due to the alcohol…
In a relationship like this, even in a society that’s fairly open-minded by my past life’s standards, there are always those who look at it differently. Not to mention here, in this world where many would view it as grotesque… if I just pushed her away or said something harsh, even though Victoria wouldn’t show it, she might quietly feel sad, thinking I had a bad view of her… I didn’t want her to think like that. Not even a little bit.
But if I didn’t push her away, what was I supposed to do? How was I to face this right—
Accept? Refuse?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t even understand my true feelings.
It was just like when I first arrived at Shanter Castle, that intense sense of “personality conflict” leading to a feeling of disconnection, that conflict and discord had gradually calmed down but now surged back up within me.
It seemed there were two emotions. One was Chen Yuxuan, the male side, feeling admiration and excitement at this stunning beauty before me, a magnetic pull when faced with an outstanding opposite gender. The other was Peilo, the female side, feeling utterly at a loss and anxious in this situation.
The first felt light, while the second weighed heavily.
These two emotions seemed intertwined and chaotic, forming a far more complex and deeply conflicting sentiment.
I felt my heart racing chaotically.
Suddenly, I felt a soft touch on my right arm, an increasing pressure, as someone gently lifted my chin.
Ah…
I hurriedly opened my eyes to see Victoria leaning forward, her body pressing down, those gorgeous, flame-red lips moving closer.
She was going to kiss me!
At that moment, I felt like I was electrocuted, my body instantly tensed up before going limp again; I could hardly stand, my heart racing like a startled fawn, bl**d rushing to my face, neck, and chest, practically scorching me, even my breathing becoming labored.
I froze.
I couldn’t react at all.
I had no idea what would happen next, didn’t know if I would lose something incredibly important to a girl tonight, here at this place; I couldn’t even think about it. In the end, I just followed my instincts, obeying the deepest subconscious feelings of this body, following the most genuine response a girl, still a blank slate emotionally, could muster in such a thrilling yet bewildering moment.
I shut my eyes tightly, letting out a nearly pleading murmur.
“Victoria, don’t…”
“Don’t do this…”
“I’m scared…”
The woman’s movements paused for a moment.
The next instant, the soft, gentle touch landed on my forehead.
Pop.
A light peck that left me blushing, and then it was gone.
The onslaught receded.
“Whew—, whoo—”
Like a child finally rescued after drowning for ages, I gasped for air, slowly opening my slightly foggy, bewildered eyes, meeting those golden pupils staring back.
Moments later, the incredibly beautiful woman blushing with color diverted her gaze.
“Turn around; I’ll wash your hair,” Victoria said to me.
“… Oh.”
I muttered in response.
… So annoying.
Why do I feel like crying…
To cover up my weak emotions, I obediently turned around, facing away from Victoria, wiping the tears spilling from the corners of my eyes, resting my hands on the edge of the bathtub, leaning my head against my hands, sniffing.
My heart was still pounding wildly, but the tense atmosphere relaxed slightly as Victoria stopped her pressing presence.
Splash…
The sound of water behind me dwindled; Victoria seemed to swim away to do something else…
I couldn’t help but peek back and saw Victoria retrieving a box from the side of the bathtub… oh, she went to get the scented lotion and olive soap.
She probably wouldn’t do anything else…
My mind involuntarily drifted back to how Victoria had looked just now… she seemed a bit shy, slightly guilty, clearly not daring to meet my eyes… I never expected that proud woman would reveal such a face.
What the heck…
She looked so confident, as if she completely had me figured out, only to be doing such things for the first time herself, right?
Hmph.
Victoria quickly returned, silently grasping the ends of my hair and gently rubbing them.
Neither of us spoke again, the washroom grew eerily quiet, filled only with the soft sound of trickling water and my occasional sniffles.
I no longer wanted to cry; I just felt a bit overheated, like my nose might run.
This silence didn’t last long. Victoria spoke up again.
“Sorry.”
Still in that indifferent, cold tone, it just sounded a bit light.
I didn’t know how to reply, so I simply shook my head slightly.
Then came another silence.
After a while, Victoria leaned in again, her soft front pressing against my back, causing my eyes, which had already closed, to snap open, my body tensing up once more, only to realize she was just scratching my head.
“… Ouch…”
Her technique was terrible, her nails too long… it was worse than the stylists at those shabby barbershops in back alleys. She clearly had never done this for anyone before, just scratching at one spot with unnecessary force, and when I cried out in pain, she eased up considerably.
“Victoria…”
I squinted my eyes, taking a deep breath.
“Do you like me?”
