〈 Chapter 33 〉 Bathing

*

“Can I use the bathroom right now?”

“The bathroom? I’ll check if it’s available.”

As the inn staff was about to leave, they suddenly asked, “Is your younger sibling coming in too?”

‘Younger sibling?’

I looked down at Elsie.

Her blonde hair was a dull shade, seemingly not completely washed away by ash.

Now that I think about it, it was quite similar to my hair color.

‘So I look like her younger sibling, huh?’

When I hesitated to answer, the staff hurriedly left.

“Just so you know, I’ll charge for two people separately.”

And then, there we were, just Elsie and me left behind.

I felt Elsie’s sharp gaze beside me.

“Younger sibling?”

“No, you didn’t give me a chance to explain.”

“You hesitated.”

I sighed.

I definitely hesitated.

After all…

“Then, how would you explain our relationship?”

At that, Elsie’s face turned red.

I was curious if she had a better idea.

But after a moment of stammering, she said, “Just say I’m your younger sibling.”

Just then, the staff returned after checking the bathroom.

“I’ve started heating the water, so you should come in about ten minutes.”

“Thank you.”

“The fee is five coins per person.”

That felt rather pricey just to heat some water.

But then again, considering that the inn I stayed at didn’t even have a bathroom, it probably wasn’t a common service.

However, this girl definitely needed a wash.

It was just as I was pulling out the coins that she said,

“Are you really going to rent the bathroom?”

She grabbed the hem of my clothes.

But I firmly nodded my head.

“Yeah.”

Even now, a terrible smell was hitting my nose.

I handed the staff the coins.

“W-well, I…”

“I’ll just go in by myself, so let’s charge for one.”

The staff looked disappointed but accepted the coins.

By the way, I felt like Elsie was trying to say something.

When I turned to her, she was looking down.

“What about you?”

“Nothing at all.”

I thought she might have some allergy or something.

Speaking of allergies made me think.

“Do you have any allergies?”

“Allergies? I don’t have any, why?”

“Good. Do you have any kind of fragrance? I’d like to put it in the tub.”

Thinking about it, that level of stink wouldn’t just disappear by washing.

“I do, but you’ll need to pay three more coins.”

If it could get rid of this smell, it seemed worth it.

I immediately handed over three more coins.

The staff then showed a satisfied expression.

*

“I’ll be here, so just soak until the smell goes away.”

“There’s no smell.”

“Go ahead, smell your palm.”

Saying that, she smelled her palm and started gagging.

“Make sure to wash well everywhere, not just sitting in the water.”

“Of course… right… cough cough!”

Suddenly, a question struck me.

“You know how to wash yourself, right?”

“How do you see me?”

If she’s a street cat… or rather, if she’s the princess, she might not know how to wash herself.

After all, princesses in typical western dramas are usually bathed by attendants.

But it looked like that wasn’t the case, which was a relief. I couldn’t bathe her anyway.

“Then quit stalling and get in. The rental time for the bathroom is limited.”

Hearing that, Elsie reluctantly opened the bathroom door.

Then she looked back at me.

‘What now?’

As I stared at her in silence, Elsie cautiously asked, “You’re really not coming in?”

I felt like I’d already said it ten times.

“I’m not going in.”

“Really?”

How could I convince her to believe me…

While contemplating that, I eventually just pushed her in and closed the door.

Thus, physical solutions were always right.

*

‘What the heck…’

Princess Ershiarah, dubbed Elsie, sat in the tub, gazing at the door.

The warmth of the water and the faint rising fragrance relaxed her body.

But her thoughts couldn’t quite calm down.

‘What’s with that guy out there?’

The nameless man outside the door.

And then it hit her again that she still didn’t know his name.

She figured she didn’t need to know, as she would run away at the first opportunity.

‘But I should at least say thank you before I escape.’

It made no sense, but she had received quite a bit of help from him.

She had filled her stomach nicely for the first time in a while and had slept comfortably in a cozy bed.

Had it not been for him, she would have likely starved while soaked by rain all night, so she couldn’t help but feel like he was her lifesaver.

Now, she was in a warm bathtub.

She didn’t know how long it had been since she felt such comfort.

To be honest, taking a bath like this was thanks to him being outside the door.

…right?

“Um, are you still out there?”

“Yeah.”

For some reason, that made her feel relieved.

But the next moment, he said from outside the door,

“If you’re uncomfortable with me being here, I can pretend I’m not.”

“No! Please pretend you’re still here!”

As soon as she said that, something felt off.

But she decided not to worry too much about it.

She had been feeling strange since yesterday.

‘It’s all because of the Divine Seat.’

She stared into the air.

And then words appeared in the empty air.

[The Divine Seat is watching you with satisfaction.］

‘What’s so satisfying…’

Those words could only be seen by her.

She only knew that it was the voice of this ‘Divine Seat,’ but she herself didn’t know much about it.

What she was sure of was that the help of the Divine Seat had played a big role in her coming this far.

She hadn’t believed in the Divine Seat from the start.

But from the moment she confirmed her ancestor’s last will with its help, she began to pay attention to its words.

And when a coup really broke out in the royal palace, just as the Divine Seat had told her, she had no choice but to believe it.

While fleeing to this place, the Divine Seat had instructed her in various ways. To live, she had to follow its words. While those methods didn’t always succeed, somehow she managed to survive in those nail-biting situations. In the end, she reached this place, Basilium.

The Divine Seat had given her a destination, and to get there, she had to stop here without fail.

But then, problems arose. There were many accumulated issues from the close calls she had faced.

She was aware of it to some extent. She couldn’t survive last night.

In such circumstances, a man appeared.

Initially, she was suspicious of how perfectly timed it was.

But the Divine Seat said,

[The Divine Seat commands you to trust the man.］

She had no choice but to comply.

That was how it had always been.

So she decided to trust the man with a grain of salt.

After all, not trusting him meant death, didn’t it?

She recalled how her sisters had met their ends.

Given the choice between that fate and dying on the street, it would be better to just die there.

However, the man had rewarded her trust.

So far.

‘I still can’t let my guard down.’

She knew how shameless people could be to deceive others.

That knight captain was one of them.

The guy who always solemnly repeated “Your Highness” was actually one of the key figures in her father’s deposition.

The sense of betrayal she felt when she discovered that was unforgettable.

‘So I can’t fully trust this man either.’

She knew that for sure.

Yet for some reason, her body wasn’t listening to her.

She looked at the window above the bathroom wall.

‘If it’s the second floor, I won’t get hurt.’

If she brought something to cushion her feet, she could escape through the window.

Then it would be goodbye to that man.

But for some reason, her body was rejecting that idea.

‘No, it can’t be that my body is rejecting it.’

To correct that, she didn’t want to do that.

The bathwater was still warm, and the fragrance continued to tickle her nose.

She wanted to enjoy this comfort just a little longer.

‘What the heck…’

With the rising steam, her mind started to become hazy.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

*

“I’m sorry, but guest. Your time in the bathroom is up.”

When I heard the staff’s words, I looked up from where I was leaning against the door, deep in thought.

“It’s already that time?”

“Yes, could you please let your younger sister know to come out?”

“Of course.”

Elsie had gone into the bathroom and checked for a while if I was outside, but then she became quiet.

She seemed to be enjoying her bath at her leisure.

Not wanting to disturb her, I didn’t say anything.

But I couldn’t let the time run over.

“Elsie. Time’s up. Get dressed and come out.”

However, there was no answer.

I called her again.

“Elsie, Elsie.”

Is she asleep?

I knocked on the door and called her name loudly.

“Elsie!”

No response at all.

A feeling of unease suddenly washed over me.

‘No way?’

I opened the bathroom door and rushed in.

Fortunately, Elsie was still in the tub.

But it was too early to relax.

‘Please!’

Various thoughts flashed through my mind.

She was in a very weakened state.

She might have been allergic to the fragrance.

Thinking that, I used the Wind’s Power and rushed to Elsie to check her pulse.

‘It should be right here…’

Having learned CPR during athletics, I knew where to find the pulse.

Once I located it, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness.’

The pulse was faint but definitely beating.

So then…

“Elsie, wake up.”

Her pulse was present, but there were no signs of her waking.

‘Did she faint?’

It seemed like all her accumulated fatigue had overwhelmed her when she finally relaxed.

But leaving her in the bathroom like this was out of the question.

‘What should I do?’

Confirming that the bathroom door was closed, I took out my spare clothes from the inventory.

Then I made a command to myself.

Since it was the first time I was giving this command, I wasn’t sure if it would work.

‘Forget everything you’ve seen for the next five minutes.’

*

Rustle.

I turned around and saw Elsie sitting up.

Her skin was white and smooth from the long-awaited bath.

The previous foul odor was completely gone, as if it had aged adequately with the fragrance.

But what worried me wasn’t that.

“Are you feeling okay?”

At my question, Elsie had her typical dazed expression again, but now it looked even more bewildered.

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember? You fainted in the bathroom.”

“Uh…yeah?”

She looked like she had lost her language skills, her eyes darting around as if trying to recall something, and then she muttered out.

“I was definitely taking a bath in the tub…”

At that moment, her earlobes suddenly flushed.

“…and fainted?”

She looked at me, her eyes questioning my truthfulness.

‘She seems not to remember when she fainted, so…’

I told her a lie.

“Don’t worry. When I found you, you were still dressed.”

At that, she placed a hand on her chest and sighed in relief.

However, she quickly discovered something.

“Whose clothes are these?”

I hadn’t thought of that.

‘Now, I don’t even remember.’

But at least I gained a useful insight.

I learned that even with Absolute Obedience, I couldn’t interfere with memories.

It seemed that it was a trait limited to my ‘physical body.’

*