Collector’s Cage - Chapter 22

Froy began pulling out the cotton through the cage bars in handfuls. Under his touch, the fluffy cotton padding that had covered the floor was swiftly removed.

Next, he took the hideout house away through the bars. As if that wasn’t enough, he even tried to take the handkerchief wrapped around her body.

Hermie scrambled frantically as her space was torn apart and let out a scream.

“St-stop it! No! I won’t wash!!”

“I brought warm water. You don’t have to be scared.”

It’s not about being scared, it’s about shame! Froy clearly lacked empathy. Did he think fairies had no sense of shame?

Of course, Hermie wasn’t a real fairy, but in her effort to embody one, she was convinced that even a fairy would feel shame.

Fairies have personhood too! Respect the fairy’s personhood!

“How am I supposed to wash in front of you! It’s embarrassing!”

“Huh?”

Froy’s eyebrows twitched again with a completely unexpected expression.

“I won’t look.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I can just cover my eyes, right?”

Froy covered his face with his hand. Feeling skeptical but having no other choice, Hermie reluctantly went along with the situation.

After handing her precious silk handkerchief—which served as both clothing and blanket—through the bars, she signaled to Froy that she was ready.

“All set.”

Froy slowly tilted the bucket over the cage. He was careful not to pour it all at once, so Hermie wouldn’t get hurt.

Hermie stood under the trickling stream of water. Though a fine stream, it was the perfect water pressure for her. The water temperature was good too—neither hot nor cold, just right.

‘Ah, good. I feel alive.’

Hermie closed her eyes and enjoyed the pouring water, then slowly washed her body. The unpleasant grime was washed away cleanly.

‘No soap?’

Human greed knows no bounds. Once she had one thing, she wanted another. But asking for soap as a fairy might seem too strange, so she held back.

After rinsing her body with water, she used a cotton ball hanging from the iron bars to scrub the dusty cage floor.

‘A clean environment. Very important.’

A sound mind, a healthy body, and an orderly environment. These were the basic conditions for living well.

Froy, who had been peeking at Hermie diligently cleaning her home, held his breath to suppress a laugh. If he were caught, it would be disastrous.

His promise not to look was, of course, a lie. From the start, Froy had been observing the cage through the gaps between his fingers.

How could he miss such an adorable sight? Missing that would be a huge loss in life.

The sight of her washing under the trickling stream was cute, lovely, and beautiful. Her glossy black hair cascading down to her waist shone, and her slender, pale naked body glowed smoothly.

The cuter sight came next. After washing, she knelt down and started scrubbing the floor.

Her diligent and dainty actions gave him goosebumps. To think that tiny head conceived the idea of cleaning! It was unbelievable.

How could she be so clever! Froy realized he had underestimated Hermie’s intelligence.

It was fascinating that the fairy could talk, but that was something Jobern’s parrot could do too. Some highly intelligent animals sometimes acted smarter than children.

So, he hadn’t thought she could think like a human, but looking again, she was much smarter than any parrot.

To think he had compared a fairy to a parrot. Froy felt an odd sense of guilt.

When the bucket was empty, Froy lowered the hand covering his face. Then, with perfect composure, he pretended he hadn’t seen anything and asked.

“All done?”
“Mhmm…”

Hermie quickly crouched down, covering herself.

“The cage is a mess. I’ll bring something to dry it.”

As soon as he turned his back to the cage, Froy’s eyes and mouth curved into crescents. He grinned uncontrollably, looking utterly delighted, but by the time he returned with a dry towel, his expression was fixed as if nothing had happened. His facial control was astonishing.

When Froy handed her the towel, Hermie dried herself and mopped up the flooded cage floor.

Had she adapted to her captive fairy life, perhaps? Hermie diligently wiped away, not even thinking to cover herself.