Volume 5 Chapter 228, Women’s Bath_1 (:Lavender)

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Violet

 

I had come with Kriemhild, Apricot, Mary and Cyan, whom we had met along the way, to a hot spring a short walk away from Shiki. It had recently been renovated, and was now segregated by gender at Lord Clo’s request.

 

“Hey, Vi, wanna go to Valhalla (men’s bath)?”

“What are you talking about?”

 

Kriemhild then said to me something that made me worried that she got dizzy or hit her head.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t achieved anything that would qualify me as a hero, nor did I have any intention of going to the man’s bath that she was pointing at.

 

“Shall we go? In the books I’ve read, there were often peeping incidents that led to troubles. It was practically a given. Something that happened every time people went to a hot spring. The genders were reversed though.”

“Don’t play along, Mary.”

 

What kind of books was she really reading? Could it be that she was able to become charming enough to even captivate His Highness because she read all those books I hadn’t heard about?

Besides, in facilities that are segregated by gender, entering the opposite sex’s area is a crime… Although, since this hot spring is not a formally segregated facility, the legality of it being a crime becomes debatable.

 

 

“Riem, Mary, it’s really not a good idea to barge in on them. Though even I would want to join in if Father was here.”

“You would?”

“That’s why… just stick to peeping. It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.”

“Don’t egg them on, Cyan.

 

Should you really be saying that, as a nun? Both her way of thinking and words were those of a natural born evildoer.

Also, if Father was here, Cyan would probably be too embarrassed to peek or barge in.

 

“Well, jokes aside, you better don’t do it. I understand that you’re at the age where you’re interested in the boys’ bodies, but some people would feel hurt just from being seen.”

“…”

“Uh, Io? Please stop looking at me with eyes that seem to say ‘Are you sure you were joking’? I was really just kidding.”

 

That’s fine then. I got worried because Cyan strangely tends to spurn people on sometimes. Though it’s reassuring that she will condemn some things, like she did now.

Then, when Kriemhild and Mary were reprimanded as they stood up to head for the men’s bath, they both said ‘Okay~” and got back into the water. They probably weren’t serious about barging into the men’s bath or peeking… Leaving aside how Mary was going about this and that about men’s bodies, I want to believe that it was just my imagination that she would go along if left alone.

 

“More importantly, Kriemhild, you should show a little more modesty. If you barge in like that, your own naked body will be seen. You shouldn’t carelessly show your skin to the opposite sex.”

“But if I’m going to look, shouldn’t I be prepared to get looked at myself? Otherwise it would be unfair to the other person.”

“What’s with that logic that sounds like when people say ‘only those prepared to be shot should fire a gun’…?

 

I feel like what Kriemhild and Mary are saying is both right and wrong at the same time. That’s not what I meant to say…

 

“Ahaha, that’s certainly true. Basically, “a young woman’s skin can be a weapon, so don’t casually show it off””

“It makes sense, but then again, maybe not…”

“You know, I’m surprised. I thought Vi would be fine with a mixed-gender bath.”

“No, I’m embarrassed to have my body seen by Lord Clo… by someone of the opposite sex.”

 

It might be different if it was a child like Gray, who had little interest in sex, but unlike some pervert (Schwarz), who has absolute confidence in her body, I’m embarrassed to show my skin to men.

 

“But aren’t you used to being seen by others, Vi? I mean, aren’t the Nobles often surrounded by maids who wash every inch of their bodies?”

“The Valentine Family has a teaching that goes like this: ‘Never show weakness to others, and never trust them more than necessary.’ From childhood onward, I never received any assistance with bathing, and I did as much of dressing myself as possible, except for putting on dresses. Don’t trust someone unnecessarily, even if they’ve been a longtime employee that was the Family teaching.”

 

Thanks to that, although I did show a weakness once, I had trouble growing closer to Burnt and Amber, who had served me for many years, and there was a bit of a wall between us.

I did show more vulnerability in front of Amber, if Father had known, he would have reprimanded me.

 

“I see. But now you’re letting your guard down enough to join us in the bath like this!”

“… Well, we are friends, after all. I can allow myself to relax.”

“Whoa, Io, your face is red!”’

“It’s because I’m soaking in hot water.”

 

But now my Father and the Valentine Family are irrelevant. This is time to spend with my friends.

This is a way of spending time that I would have never imagined in the past. Strangely, it feels good.

 

“That’s right, Violet. We’re friends, after all.”

“……… Yeah.”

“Please don’t pause that much before agreeing!”

 

If we compare the way Mary was at the academy to the way was now, I’m sure she would understand my hesitation.

… Still, I don’t sense any malice, so maybe I should just accept it?… But still…

 

“Still, when I’m soaking with everybody like this…. I can’t help but feel the disparity.”

 

Mary drew closer to me, and as I tried to think, Kriemhild glanced at us and sighed.

 

“Now that I think about it, I don’t have the kind of body proportions that the boys would be interested in, unlike everybody else here. Earlier I said that I was ready to be seen, but with a body like this, it might not be worthy for the other party.”

“Don’t put yourself down too much. Value is subjective, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Charm is not determined by just one thing.”

“Haha, I know, but when I’m surrounded by so many girls with curves in all the right places, it’s hard not to think about it.”

 

As Kriemhild said this, she turned onto her stomach, put both of her hands on the bottom of the hot spring to float, and moved in a way that evoked a swooshing sound effect. I warned her that it was indecent, but Kriemhild continued to the wall separating men and women.

 

“Riem, are you looking for a peephole?”

“Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any. If there was, I’d tell Vi.”

“Why would you tell that to me?”

“Huh? I thought you might be interested because you’d get to see Mr. Clo’s body.”

 

What’s with that ‘isn’t that right?’ look? Don’t say it as if it’s obvious. Though it’s true, so I can’t deny it.

 

“That way, you would become my accomplice, and maybe I’d also get to look.”

“Don’t try to make me your accomplice.”

“So you don’t want to see?”

“Of course I want to see. But if looking also means that you guys get to look too, then I don’t want to do it. I can’t let you look even if you’re my friends. I want to have Lord Clo’s body to myself.”

“R-right…”

 

Why is she looking at me with the same expression she had when Lord Clo made a loud declaration to his siblings? I only said something that was perfectly reasonable.

 

“It’s really just as Apricot said…”

Why would she suddenly mention Apricot? Even Mary and Cyan seem to agree… Just as I started to wonder,

 

“Apricot? You’ve been quiet for a while now, what’s wrong?”

 

Suddenly, I noticed that Apricot, who usually speaks in incomprehensible words that I’ve come to comprehend, had been quiet since we got into the hot spring. No, I feel like she was quieter than usual even before that, like when we had dinner together earlier.

At that time I thought she was just being considerate of Mary and Silva, but…

 

“Uh, well…it’s nothing… I was just lost in thoughts for a bit.”

 

Something was clearly wrong.

She seemed lost, distracted and absent-minded. She almost lost her footing on the snowy path several times, but I wonder if there was a reason for it.

 

“Apricot, are you perhaps having love troubles?!”

“… Mary, were you always the type to talk about romance so much?”

“Well, I read in a book that in situations like this, friends usually talk about their love lives.”

 

Really, what kind of a book is that?

Then, having reacted to the word ‘love, Kriemhild returned to us and swam quietly behind Mary.

 

“If it’s about romance, why don’t you ask Mary? You know, she has tons of boys waiting upon her.”

“… Um, could you not word it that way?…”

“It’s true though.”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“It’s true, right?”

“…”

 

It’s not the matter of wanting us to say it differently or not; Mary is a woman who has charmed many men, including His Highness.

There aren’t many bad rumors about her, because Mary’s charm has made her popular with both men and women, but as Mrs. Vert said, she needed to be careful when dealing with Nobles, one wrong move can easily make her infamous as a notorious seductress.

 

“H-hehe, alright. If you have love troubles, feel free to ask me for advice. I have a lot of experience (gained through manga and games), I’m sure I can hear out a love story or two.”

 

Mary recovered, and took on a confident attitude.

Also, she says she has a lot of experience, but if she does actually have a lot of experience, I’d like to hear her out too. It might be helpful in deepening my relationship with Lord Clo.

Just as I tried to listen to what she had to say,

 

[My first love was Shiro! I fell in love with Shiro (miso) first!]

 

I overheard unmissable words coming from the men’s bath.

 

“Pfft?!”

“Eh, wait, Mary?! Is your face okay?!”

 

For some reason, Mary lost her balance and hit her face in the hot spring.

No, what’s more important is the voice I just heard. That voice was clearly Lord Clo.

In other words, Lord Clo’s first love was Shiro. Who is that? Who in the world is that? This makes me so curious. I want to eavesdrop right this moment, but that would be indecent of me. Kuh, what should I do…?!

 

“Calm down, Io. That was probably something other than the name of his first love, probably more like the name of food or something.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Otherwise he wouldn’t have declared it so loudly. I think he just got carried away.”

 

Yeah, loudly declaring who your first love was sounds strange. Though it’s not entirely impossible.

That being said, if it was really about food, I’ll ask Lord Clo later. If I have a chance to find out what kind of seasoning he likes, I want learn as much as I can so Lord Clo will find my cooking more delicious.

 

“… That’s right… it would be impossible, right? I was just surprised because he said it so suddenly…”

“What’s wrong, Mary?”

“Nothing, I was just a little surprised by the name.”

“?”

 

Come to think of it, why was Mary so surprised?

The loud noise might have been sudden, but I don’t think it was something to get so agitated about.

 

“… First love. And a boy at that too, huh.”

 

And as we were talking, Apricot whispered something in a voice so quiet nobody could hear.

Not towards us, but somewhere towards the men’s bath. Her expression wasn’t the usual confident one; it was unlike any expression I had ever seen on Apricot before.