Mio pulled me out of the room without another word. When I looked over my shoulder, Lord Kyros was waving at me with a sour look on his face.
His castle was enormous, but after walking through seemingly endless corridors, Mio and I finally arrived outside. Everything looked completely different from when I’d arrived, and it took me a few moments to understand that I wasn’t at the gate but in the courtyard.
Across the flower garden was a circular building with white walls, about as large as a commoner’s house. Mio guided me there and pushed the door open. Immediately, a cloud of smoke—no, steam—enveloped us.
It was hard to see with all the vapor, but there seemed to be a pond of some kind within the building. Once I got a better look, I saw it was an oval hole entirely coated with marble. The surrounding floor was tiled in white ceramic, and elegant statues had been arranged around the perimeter.
“Is this a bath?!” I asked in astonishment. If so, it’s incredible! I couldn’t even imagine how much water and firewood this place required. Heating this bath for even one day might very well require more firewood than our residence uses in an entire winter!
That was when the answer hit me. I see. Mio brought me here so I could cut firewood for them! Maybe she also wants me to clean the bath!
Considering the size of it, I’d likely have to stay up the entire night. It felt like a fitting punishment for my crimes. Did that mean Lord Kyros would forgive me once I was done? I couldn’t help but be deeply moved. What a merciful man!
I rolled up my sleeves, ready to get to work, and stepped into the room, only to realize someone was there already.
“Ah, there you are. I was waiting for you. Welcome.” The woman, who seemed to be in her twenties, greeted me with a smile on her face. She had blond hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing a thin tunic that hugged the voluptuous curves of her body. She raised both of her arms in a welcoming gesture and continued, “You’re Lady Marie, right? I’m Tunica. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She bowed her head with an abrupt motion that clashed with the leisurely rhythm of her speech. I immediately imitated her, making sure to bow lower.
“Likewise,” I replied. “Please let me know what you need me to do. I’m used to housework, so I believe I can carry out any task you give me to a satisfactory degree.”
The woman didn’t answer, but Mio spoke up instead, “Tunica, proceed as we discussed earlier. Don’t just wash off the grime of her journey—make sure her skin and hair look flawless.”
“It’ll be my pleasure,” the woman said slowly before giggling and adding, “I’ve heated up the perfect beauty lotion for the job.”
Huh? I was once again clueless as to what was going on. I’m not sure I’m following…
Noticing my confusion, Mio introduced the woman to me. “Lady Marie, this is Tunica. She might speak slowly, but her hands move fast. She’s the bath attendant.”
“There’s a servant exclusively in charge of the bath?!”
“Her duties aren’t limited to heating up water and scrubbing away dirt. She’s well-versed in beauty treatments and knows the medicinal properties of cleansers and bath salts like the back of her hand. She also knows the best methods to wash hair and give massages. Oh, and while she may not look the part, she’s also an accomplished doctor.”
I wasn’t sure I really got it, but it sounded impressive. Actually, it was impressive!
I gazed at the large bath in a daze when I suddenly felt the light pressure around my chest disappear. Huh? I felt a little cold too. I looked down, realized I was half-naked, and screamed.
“Wh-why are you undressing me?!”
“Well, you can’t get into the bath with your clothes on.”
“I-I’m bathing?!”
Tunica was standing behind me, and she’d expertly untied the ribbon that kept my dress closed, leaving me entirely naked before I knew it. “Oh my! You’re surprisingly well-endowed, my lady!”
I shrieked and hid my bosom with my hands as Mio waved me goodbye, her face as expressionless as ever. “Have a good time, Lady Marie. If Tunica’s comments irk you, feel free to give her a slap or two.”
“B-b-but, aren’t I supposed to cut wood and make the bath sparkling clean?! Wh-why am—”
“Ha ha ha! What are you talking about, Lady Marie? What we’re here to scrub sparkling clean is you, not the bath,” Tunica said. I blinked at her in utter confusion, and she continued to howl with laughter as she took my arm and pulled me toward the back of the room.
Tunica sure does smile and laugh a lot.
“Now then, let’s get you all nice and clean, my lady.” She had me sit on a low wooden stool and brought over a bucket full of warm water. She slowly poured some of it on my shoulders.
“Is it too hot, my lady? Or too cold, maybe?”
“N-no, the temperature is perfect…”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll start scrubbing then,” she said.
“A-all right…”
Now that I was sitting there naked, all I could do was surrender to the situation. Tunica picked up a soft piece of fabric, rubbed it against a block of soap until foam formed, and started rubbing my back with it gently.
It feels so nice…
The foam got rid of the dirt little by little, and it felt very refreshing. Meanwhile, the water she was pouring on me from time to time warmed me up and relaxed my muscles so much that I felt like I was about to melt. She was using the perfect amount of strength as she thoroughly cleansed my skin.
“My, I’m getting quite a lot out,” she said. “Wasn’t there anyone in charge of washing your back at the baron’s house?”
“N-no. We’re poor, so… Besides, the bathroom is so cold, I can never bear to stay inside more than a few minutes. I suppose I might have neglected my back because of it…”
“Don’t you have hot water?”
“We do, but we use the bathtub in turns and, when it gets to my time, there’s usually no hot water left. Most of the time, I clean myself with water from the well.”
Tunica hummed pensively. She seemed to have thoughts about what I’d just told her, but she kept her mouth shut.
I was feeling a bit embarrassed. I’d thought I was doing a decent job at staying clean despite being aware it was the bare minimum. I imagined Lord Kyros had never been as dirty as I was.
I looked down and started making excuses despite myself. “But I washed myself properly last night. My father said the count would definitely send us away if I smelled, so I washed up in the river before we entered the royal capital.”
“In…the river?”
“With soap, of course,” I added quickly. “I even did the laundry while I was at it.”
“You washed your body and hair with soap meant for laundry?”
I nodded, confused by her question. What was so strange about that?
“So that’s why your hair looks like this… I’m starting to understand. Please soak in the water and warm yourself up for now, Lady Marie. Your skin isn’t used to anything too harsh, and I don’t want to hurt you by scrubbing too hard, so we’re going to take it easy. We can leave the more vigorous treatments for another time.” Tunica then poured the rest of the water over me before pulling me up by the arm and leading me toward a large marble bath. The basin was so deep that I had water all the way up to my neck when I sat.
“The water smells so nice,” I said. “Is there something in it?”
“Salt, honey, and citrus fruit.”
“That all sounds very tasty.”
Tunica giggled. “They’re so watered down, I doubt it’d taste very good. The combination does wonders for beauty, though.”
“You can become prettier just by sitting inside a bath?”
“Why, yes! Although the main effect of this specific combination is deep cleansing. The formulation is quite strong, so I’ll apply a cream on your skin afterward to soothe it. Now, Lady Marie, could you turn your back toward me? You can lean against the edge. Yes, perfect. Now lift your head.”
I did as I was told, and she started washing my hair. The soap she was using was quite different from the one I was used to: In particular, it was a thick liquid that spread through my hair easily, almost like an oil.
After washing and rinsing my hair twice, Tunica started applying another liquid to my hair. “Hmm… Some of these knots are pretty complicated.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to touch these. Feel free to simply cut them off with scissors.”
“Heavens no! I’ve no intent to shear you like a sheep, Lady Marie. Don’t worry, you can leave these knots to me. Now that I’ve gotten the grease off, I’ll untangle them slowly. I wouldn’t dream of using the scissors unless any of the knots are truly impossible to salvage.”
I could feel her tugging on my hair a little, but it didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt so nice, I started getting drowsy. Then she wrapped a warm piece of fabric around my hair. Wow… I wonder what she’s doing. It feels like the tension is melting away. The steam seemed to seep deep into my scalp, warming even the inside of my skull. So relaxing…
“I’ll wash your face next. Please close your eyes, my lady.”
“O-okay.”
“After that, I’ll let you soak for a while longer, and then I’ll wash you again.”
“Again? I don’t think there’s any dirt left on me.”
“Don’t worry. Just leave it to me, my lady. I’ll take care of everything—from the tip of your head to your toenails—and turn you into a brand-new woman.”
“A brand-new woman…?”
“You’ll be reborn—all clean, sparkly, smooth, and soft. Even you won’t recognize yourself!” She winked at me, a charming smile on her face.
“I-I’ll leave it to you, then.”
This pleasant time continued, with Tunica busying herself with grooming me in all manner of ways I didn’t understand.
“Reborn,” she says. Can I truly be reborn? What will become of me then? Who would I even be in that case?
Ah… I’m starting to doze off…
I could barely hear her anymore. It felt as though her voice was coming from far, far away.
“Hee hee. An unpolished gemstone of the finest quality… I couldn’t have asked for a more interesting challenge. What a blessing I get to play the jeweler,” she whispered, her voice lower than before.
Even the low hum of her voice felt nice, and I fell asleep, completely at ease.