CHAPTER 44…..
Kant Mende
After standing there dazed for a while, I moved my creaky legs and submerged my body into the bathtub filled with water. The water, which had been filling the tub even before I entered the bathroom, had cooled down a bit but was still warm. It smelled nice too, as if some kind of scented oil had been sprinkled. I stared at the rippling surface, wondering silently to myself, What is this? Before I could find an answer, my body gradually flushed red, as if I was cooking in the hot water.
Gurgle. Slowly, I was pulled deeper into the water. After immersing my head completely underwater, I stayed like that until I almost ran out of breath, then bubbled up to the surface again.
“Phew!”
Taking a deep breath while moving my body, the water in the bathtub overflowed. Whether it was because I was out of breath or the water was hot, my face felt like it was going to burst. I rubbed my dripping face harshly with my palms and silently screamed. I wanted to scream loudly, but held it back tightly, causing my whole body to thrash about like having a seizure. I looked at the rough waves created by my movements and the water sloshing around with reddened eyes.
Underwear… Yeah, it’s possible my underwear might show. Someone could undress me. It’s not like Roo raised me just yesterday. From the very beginning, when I wasn’t aware of anything, Roo was the one who washed and took care of me.
It’s okay. It’s okay, Ailee. I comforted myself and finished washing. Then I wiped off all the water and put on my pajamas. Just as I was about to leave the bathroom and turned the door handle, I felt something was off. I slowly lowered my head and bumped my forehead against the door quietly. I was careful so Roo wouldn’t hear.
I didn’t want Roo to see me in just underwear and get sexually excited or assault me. I had never even imagined such a thing, nor did I think that kind of relationship could happen to me. I never thought of Roo that way either. Of course, I held vague hopes, curiosity, and fears, but it was still a story too far away for me.
But no matter what, shouldn’t he at least be a little embarrassed or at least look away…?
I stopped imagining Roo blushing while undressing me. No matter how much I thought about it, that kind of thing would never happen. Even if I stripped and danced right in front of him, he would just frown and say I was cold and put clothes on me. That hypothesis was so convincing that tears blurred my vision.
He’s totally raising me like a kid.
Who kisses a kid? No matter how I tried to think otherwise, it was impossible. I never heard him say he liked me, and maybe the kiss he gave me was more like stamping his ownership. It wasn’t exactly seeing me as a kid, but not as a woman either — more like an obsessive attachment.
He claimed me entirely as his, got jealous when other men touched me, yet still treated me like a child. Am I not attractive as a woman? The appearance and power that bewitched humans only worked on humans. For Roo, a fellow demon, none of that was attractive?
That, that can’t be!
I was a full adult, more than a year past my coming-of-age ceremony. Even if I hadn’t matured mentally because I didn’t grow up in the right environment, my body must be adult. Or was it? I slowly lowered my head and looked at my chest bulging inside the pale pink pajamas. Before, I didn’t even feel like it was my body, and now that I’m completely used to it, it’s just a lump of fat attached to me. But today it looked a little different.
It’s not flat. After overthinking this strange feeling, I only got more uneasy. My cheeks, which had just cooled, seemed to heat up again, so I flung open the bathroom door to let out the steam. Hating the confusing Roo, I stomped across the room like an ogre and flopped onto the bed. Almost immediately, Roo grabbed me clumsily and started drying my hair.
I looked at Roo drying my hair with a sulky face through the vanity mirror.
“I heard there’s a banquet tomorrow as well. If you sleep now, your maid will surely nag you.”
“I don’t want to go. I’m tired. It’s hard.”
When I spoke in a sulky, broken tone, Roo stopped and looked at me for a moment.
“Did something happen?”
“Just… I think I’ll be really tired if I go tomorrow. No, to be exact, even if I go the day after tomorrow or the next.”
I recalled Kant, who was desperate to provoke Maximilian. He was trying to sow discord between Maximilian, Dior, and me purely for his own amusement and curiosity. Luckily, today I didn’t meet either Maximilian or Dior, but there was no guarantee I wouldn’t tomorrow. Since Kant had already noticed me, he would surely try to force the three of us to meet somehow.
What would happen if all three met at once was obvious. Maximilian would be loud, ignoring everyone, making a ruckus in the whole banquet hall, saying things like, I trusted you, how could you steal Hilis away? That wouldn’t ruin my plans, but rumors about me would inevitably spread.
I didn’t want to be at the center of such dirty gossip that everyone would whisper about.
“Lady Ailee Cabré is weak, right? She just got sick after walking around for a day, or so they say.”
“As Elly wishes.”
While drying my hair, Roo began pressing firmly on my scalp. It felt like he’d learned some kind of massage technique; wherever his hands touched, it felt refreshing and my head cleared.
“Ahh…”
I was supposed to sulk at Roo now, but it felt so good that I decided to sulk again after this. I completely forgot why I was mad at him and gave in with a groan, surrendering my body to him.
The banquet didn’t require mandatory attendance after the first day anyway. I had met everyone I needed to meet, and having almost brought Dior over meant I had achieved my initial goal, so there was no need to attend again. Honestly, I didn’t expect everything to be over so quickly in just one day, but today was lucky.
I was a bit uneasy because I left the banquet almost running away to avoid running into Maximilian again. But saying I was sick was enough excuse. There were often young ladies who fainted after wearing corsets too small for their body, compressing their organs. It was common for ladies to drop out of the banquet due to health problems, and no one scolded them for missing three days afterward.
I exchanged polite farewells with Lydia, saying we’d meet personally next time. The problem was figuring out how to find other nobles without attending the banquet… I paused, stroking my chin thoughtfully.
The only place I could think of to “accidentally” meet Mikael, Kant, and Ailhardt was the red-light district. But even if I met them there, I’d probably just get suspicious looks questioning why a noble lady was there. So I’d have to wait somewhere like the central plaza before heading to the red-light district. If I waited by the fountain long enough, I might run into them eventually.
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly, I felt a sharp jolt and jumped in surprise. The hand pressing on my scalp had moved down to my neck and shoulder. My still pounding heart wouldn’t stop, so I covered it with my palm and looked at Roo in the mirror. That tingling sensation, as if electric current passed and my toes tightened, felt familiar. Narrowing my eyes and searching my memory, Roo’s calm voice reached me.
“Bel wants to meet you.”
“Bel?”
“Yes.”
“Bel…?”
“You can refuse if you want.”
It sounded like he hoped I’d refuse. The normally kind Roo bluntly said that someone wanted to meet me without revealing who. I racked my brain to recall that name. Though I only vaguely remembered hearing it somewhere, I think Pionero mentioned it once before. He said the only demons he ever met were Roo and Bel. Since Bel revealed herself directly to Roo’s descendants, she was likely a demon quite close to Roo.
Hearing that another demon besides Roo wanted to meet me, I felt a slight fear.
“A demon?”
“You remember. I told you I’d arrange a meeting once everything was stable, but she was stubborn. She wanted me to at least ask you once.”
“…Her?”
“The demon who runs the merchant guild. Apparently she holds the greatest influence in the empire now, so meeting her won’t cause trouble, but ideally, you’d avoid it.”
She was a woman? I was shocked to learn that the demon who helped me a lot with merchant and intelligence work was actually a woman. Of course, she could be female. I wondered why I had assumed she was a man. Probably because she seemed very close to Roo, was a demon, and an old friend of his, I assumed that she was male without thinking.
But I never imagined she’d be close enough to Roo’s descendants to be connected. And she was a woman.
“I’ll meet her.”
Meeting her, who handles merchant business, might give me a chance to find connections with the other nobles and make detailed plans. She was the one who advised me about Dior’s family background and how to approach him subtly. Meeting her directly could provide even more helpful information and shorten the time for revenge.
“If Elly says so, then I have no choice.”
Meeting her seemed only beneficial for me, though Roo’s reluctance to introduce her seemed suspicious. Maybe I could learn about Roo’s mysterious past, or the demon-related information he deliberately hides.
The merchant guild’s master turned out to be Bel, and she was a woman. I wanted to act unaffected, but I couldn’t help but let my lips twitch. Since she was a demon, she must have met me long before Roo did and had much more experience and a closer relationship with him. I wanted to ask if Roo also undressed and kissed her so casually, but it felt too petty, so I held back. Thinking of the five nobles, I was in no position to say that.
If I hadn’t known shame before, I might have asked without hesitation.
“What kind of relationship do you have?” I said after moving my lips several times, finally getting out the words.
“Friends.”
Friends, he said. I had nothing to say to that. I muttered sulkily with a pout.
“…Ancestor.”
“……”
After Mom, now ancestor. Roo silently pinched my cheek.
