Chapter 16
“……”
What was he supposed to do about that? It wasn’t his fault that a Guide worthy of him hadn’t appeared, was it?
“You’ll do it, right? You won’t just hold out like this, go on rampage, and then crawl to me for deep contact guiding and end up marrying me, right?”
Just a few days ago, he would have confidently chased her away, saying that would never happen. But now, he couldn’t be so sure. His body had become one that suppressants no longer worked on.
“Or do you hate marriage but plan to use some underhanded trick to keep me as some kind of mistress…”
“Ugh, fine! I’ll do it! I will!”
Kasselard shouted explosively and sprang to his feet.
“Marriage or mistress, do you think I’d do that with you?! I don’t want to either! I’m going to marry a ridiculously beautiful woman!”
After him saying that, Ephinia should have felt offended, but instead her eyes sparkled with delight. Seeing her like that made Kasselard feel like something inside him was about to burst, and he felt wronged.
‘This damn pride!’
He didn’t want it himself, but once the other person said she didn’t want it either, his pride would get crushed mercilessly.
Even when Fleur had looked at him like, What’s wrong with him? and avoided him after his halfhearted advances, he hadn’t felt like this.
“Good. Then let’s work hard with exactly that attitude! First of all…”
What time do you usually bathe?
* * *
He was only holding out because he was an SS-Class Transcendent, but his waves were in the worst possible state, so they decided to attempt guiding immediately. Kasselard felt it was unfair that only he had to undress, even if it was to avoid deep contact guiding.
But even when he protested, Ephinia remained cold.
“How do you know where and how things might get tangled if you say something like that? This is the most ideal method. I absolutely don’t want to get entangled with Your Highness.”
“The more I listen, the more annoyed I get! I don’t like you either!”
He was someone who had only ever been told how handsome and impressive he was. There had been people who envied him and spoke ill behind his back, but she was the first woman to say something like that to his face.
“Exactly. For both Your Highness’s safety and mine, it’s dangerous for me to undress too.”
‘No matter how I look at it, isn’t this just me losing out?’
Of course, he was the one cornered. He was the Transcendent, and she was the Guide, and she could simply run away to another country without guiding him.
There would be no country that would reject an A-Class Guide like her.
‘But it feels like I’m the only one being humiliated!’
It was unfair. Extremely unfair. But no matter what he said, Ephinia didn’t budge.
‘It kind of feels like I’ve just been dragged into this.’
His condition wasn’t good right now, so he would accept this so-called guiding for the moment, but he would see about things afterward. Thinking that, Kasselard took off his robe. Since he couldn’t let anyone see Ephinia touching him while guiding, all the attendants had been sent outside.
Ephinia froze for a moment when she saw Kasselard’s body, which she had never bothered to imagine. She had never thought a man’s body could look that beautiful.
‘I-Is it because he’s a Transcendent? He’s all muscle.’
As Kasselard moved to get into the tub, he noticed her gaze and sneered at her. Figures.
“Hey. Your look is full of dirty thoughts. Did you change your mind?”
“As if that could happen?!”
Her true feelings slipped out in an instant, but Kasselard didn’t seem particularly bothered. He stepped over the edge and lowered himself into the bath.
“You said you’d attend to me during my baths. So go ahead, wash me.”
Did members of the imperial family have no sense of shame. Come to think of it, nobles were like that too. Even Helena Caneze, who had been like a demon straight from hell.
When Ephinia dodged the boiling water thrown at her, Helena had ordered the maids to hold her down. Just as scalding water was about to be poured onto Ephinia’s face, it was the Viscountess who stopped it.
At the time, Helena had an important marriage meeting ahead, and it was said that it would cause bad rumors if someone in the household died or was cast out.
So Ephinia had been beaten thoroughly and locked in a storage room. She had avoided burns to her face, but even now, cold sweat broke out when she thought of it.
“What are you doing? I hate waiting.”
At the way Kasselard crooked his finger like he was calling a servant, Ephinia stepped closer. Before she had completely fallen out of Helena’s favor, she had attended her baths many times. Helena had been a demanding lady to serve, so she could do the same here.
This time, she wouldn’t be using a bath towel or sponge.
‘For now…’
Rolling up her sleeves, Ephinia reached her hand into the tub where Kasselard was lying.
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