Chapter 20: Bath.

“I’m sorry, but I have hands and feet too.”

I protested, turning my back to the steaming bathtub.

“Yes. And it’s our job to let those hands and feet rest as much as possible.”

Aisha said.

“Wow. That’s plausible.”

“So…”

“Still, this is a bit much.”

She sighed softly, not to be rude.

“I’ve heard about what happened to Signo-nim. But you’re doing everything else so well, why are you refusing only this?”

“No, this is… a physiological revulsion. I don’t care what you say, but it’s a bit much to take everything off, even down there…”

“You tried on that dress well.”

“Parnen, no, the Head Maid forced me to wear it!”

“Then you can think of this as forced too.”

“This is completely different from that!”

“I think it’s the same. Come on. Take it off quickly.”

I decided to appeal to her emotions, not her duty.

“Aisha-ssi, aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone who was a boy until a few days ago is in the form of Thermis-nim in her childhood…”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“There’s a man inside here, you know?”

“I’m just doing what I have to do.”

Aisha pretended to be calm, but I could read the agitation in her voice very well.

That was because she was someone I knew very well.

She tended to pretend to be more rigid and businesslike when she was embarrassed.

Aisha. She was the one who left a burn mark on my right eye.

That became a bond, and she was able to remain as my exclusive maid until right before I died.

About that burn, she seemed to take her mistake seriously to the end, but it wasn’t at all like that to me.

It might have been a great tragedy for an ordinary person, but

I wasn’t interested in perfection of appearance or marriage, and that burn was actually a good excuse to avoid such topics.

Moreover…

Others said it was a scar that would ‘last a lifetime’, but I wasn’t going to live much longer after that came out anyway.

“Signo-nim, you don’t have to treat maids like me that way. We are like tools to help the master’s life.”

“People are not tools.”

“…Yes?”

“Employees are beings with personalities that deserve respect. Just because Yukomis-nim is employing Aisha-ssi for money doesn’t mean I can treat her like a tool.”

“Signo-nim…”

Aisha looked down at me with a slightly relaxed expression.

But that was only for a moment.

“But that’s that, and this is this.”

“Ah.”

The dignified expression I was trying to put on quickly disappeared from my face.

“Wasn’t the atmosphere good just now?”

“I overlooked it in the first attempt, but I won’t anymore.”

Hmm… This was a pretty effective means at first.

When I was possessed by Thermis, really 100% of them fell for these words…

At that time, there were quite a few maids who ran out of the room crying because they were so overwhelmed with emotion.

Well, I guess so. After all, it must have been so impressive that ‘that crazy Thermis’ said those words.

It’s a world of difference from a boy who no one knows where he crawled out from saying those words to Aisha.

The fact that a person who was the object of fear said those words was different in terms of unexpectedness.

“Signo-nim. If the Head Maid finds out that I’m only serving Signo-nim halfway, I’ll be in big trouble. Because she told me to take care of you, saying you’re Yukomis-nim’s savior. She’ll whip me herself.”

“I don’t think she’ll do that…”

Of course, Parnen wasn’t that kind of person.

As I, who knew that, continued to grumble, Aisha finally started to come on a little strong.

“Signo-nim. Please, can’t you just get in? The bath water will get cold.”

“And I’m going to be in charge of this entire annex that Signo-nim is using for a while. I have a lot of things to do even after serving you in the bath.”

She wasn’t usually the type to say these things. She was always a maid who was on my side.

‘Well, that was Thermis’s side, not Signo’s side…’

Moreover, her current position was acting housekeeper.

I don’t know what happened after my death, but her rank had risen almost to the level of a meteoric rise.

Does this mean that the position makes the person…?

“This is still… what should I say. A little. No. Isn’t this a bit much? When you think about it, this is someone else’s body, right? And a total strang…”

“It’s not a total stranger, it’s Thermis-nim’s body.”

“I don’t know about Aisha-ssi, but it’s a total stranger to me.”

I said that, but I myself was confused.

Should I see this as someone else’s body?

No. I was Thermis, right? Strictly speaking, it was a body I knew, right?

It’s my body, right?

No. That’s not it either.

The point in time when I possessed Thermis was eighteen, right? So the twelve-year-old body is the first time I’m seeing it, right?

I’m me from eighteen, but is it not me until seventeen? Is that how it works?

Is it my body? Is it not my body? Where should I expand the concept of me in the first place?

‘…This is really a headache…’

Someone once said that the most troublesome problem with time travel would be the tense of grammar.

Then the most troublesome problem with possession or reincarnation would be the person of grammar.

One thing is for sure…

Looking at this new body felt subtly repulsive than I thought.

It was like taking someone who had nothing to do with it,

And forcibly making them see Thermis’s naked body, which was a completely separate existence.

Needless to say, if someone really did that, they would be arrested immediately,

And they wouldn’t even have time to defend themselves because they would go straight to the execution ground.

“So you’re telling Aisha-ssi to admire the naked body of a girl now? To me?”

“…What are you talking about? You said that Signo-nim was originally twelve years old.”

Aisha seemed dumbfounded.

And I was the same about this situation.

It was impossible to explain this… this sense of incongruity to her.

“Th… This is a girl!!!”

“And it’s Signo-ssi herself.”

“The problem is that I don’t feel that way at all!”

“Signo-ssi. I’m a woman too, you know.”

“Of course, that’s right!”

“Then if Signo-nim is still a boy’s body, am I, a woman, not allowed to serve you in the bath?”

“…Uh?”

“Didn’t a maid serve you in the bath when you were in the Irendel family?”

“That’s that, and…”

“No. It’s the same.”

“Ha, ha, but this is Thermis-nim’s body…”

“Strictly speaking, it’s something that someone made to imitate Thermis-nim’s body.”

Aisha said firmly.

“Thermis-nim and Signo-nim are different people.”

Her voice suddenly became a little heavy.

Hearing her voice like that, I realized that I had acted a little immaturely.

That’s right. Even though it was an employment relationship, Aisha and I ‘in her lifetime’ were on pretty good terms.

It wouldn’t feel good to keep indirectly reminding her of the fact that someone she knew had died.

It had taken quite a while for her to become unfazed even when looking at my current appearance.

Aisha was the exclusive maid who only served me, so she knew very well the points of contact with Thermis in this girl’s body.

And seeing her about to cry wasn’t pleasant for me either.

“I’m sorry. I was being inconsiderate.”

I bowed my head towards her.

“Ah, no. This is just me…”

“You said you were ‘close’ to Thermis-nim. If I keep acting like this, it’ll be uncomfortable for you, right?”

“It’s really nothing to worry about. Signo-nim. And I’m just a commoner. It’s not something that the child of a baron should apologize for like that…”

“No. I’m sorry. When I think about it, taking care of a child isn’t a pleasant thing either.”

“…Really… Please raise your head. I’m fine.”

At Aisha’s request, I raised my head.

But she’s right.

I couldn’t keep arguing like this forever.

According to Yukomis, I had to live like this until I caught Manya.

But I can’t live without taking a bath during that time.

Then I just had to get used to this body.

It can’t be helped.

I had to see this as force majeure…

“Then how about this?”

“What…?”

“Cover my eyes for a moment.”

“Your eyes?”

“Yes. There’s a waistband here, right? I can cover my eyes with that for a moment.”

I reached out to the waist of the dress and untied the decorative string.

Aisha had a look that something was not quite right.

“Wouldn’t that be a little better then? Even so, I need an adjustment period, right?”

“I still don’t think it’s something to have that much resistance to, but… Okay. If you say so.”

Aisha took the waistband of the dress with the flower decoration as she said and started to wrap it around my eyes. The scar around my eyes had healed strangely quickly, but for some reason, only a small scar remained around my right eye.

Her hand paused for a moment as it passed over my scar and then continued.

A pressure that wasn’t too tight or wouldn’t slide down. Quick and neat knot.

I knew it was a fact, but she was very skilled at this kind of thing.

“Are you okay? Then I’ll take off your clothes now.”

“Please.”

Rustle.

I heard small sounds of untying the string and buttons and pulling down the hem of the dress.

‘Really, it’s a needlessly cumbersome dress.’

Soon I felt the weight of the fabrics that had been wrapping around my body lessen.

“Please enter the bathtub carefully. It’s right in front of you.”

“Okay. Then… Eueueueuk!”

Thud.

As soon as I took one step, my knee hit the edge of the bathtub with a grand sound.

Aisha, who was standing next to me, didn’t say anything.

But I felt like I could hear for sure what she was thinking.

“I told you it was right in front of you…”

“I didn’t know it would be this high!!!” Ouch…”

“It can’t be helped.”

“What yeah Oh, ooh?”

Something dug under my armpits and lifted me up as is.

“I’m flying….” Wao…

“This is not a game. Please stay still because it’s dangerous.”

Splash. Splash.

Aisha gently put me down in the bathtub.

The temperature was perfect. It wasn’t hot at all, and it was just the right amount of steam rising up.

She’s probably never taken care of a child before, but how did she do all this consideration?

“Then… I’ll start.”

I gave up everything and lay down in the bathtub with a round bottom, and I was submerged in the water almost to my nose.

A pleasant scent wafted from the flower petals that had been abundantly floating in the bath water.

Aisha started to wash every corner of my body with a soft sponge and soap made of perfumed oil.

I reflexively squirmed all over my body because of the awkward and sensitive feeling, but

I decided to bear with it a bit because I was sorry to bother Aisha any more.

“Signo-nim.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been concerned about it since I first heard your name, but… Signo-nim’s last name is Irendel, right?”

“That’s right.”

“…Is Irendel a good place?”

“Should I say good… should I say it was good. I don’t know. Should I say it’s a bit hard to live in now.”

“…Is Baroness Minon Irendel Signo-nim’s sister?”

“Aisha-ssi, you even know the name of such a country baron?”

“Of course I know. My family works there.”

“…Yes?”

“My younger sister, Aina, is serving Minon-nim there. It’s a familiar name to Signo-nim, right?”

What?

Who works where?

“Aina was Aisha-ssi’s younger sister????”

“That’s right.”

“When I look at the name… the name is completely…”

Why haven’t I noticed until now?

I knew that Aisha had a younger sister.

I also knew from hearing that Aina had an older sister.

But I had never thought of linking these facts together.

Because who would think that someone who works as a high-ranking employee of the Dukedom…

And that poor maid who manages that smelly and crumbling mansion would be sisters?

Now that I think about it, their faces look alike…

“What is the probability of this? It’s an absurd coincidence…”

“…Hehe. I guess so. It’s a really surprising coincidence.”

She made a laughing sound, which was rare.

‘No. Aisha. It’s a much rarer probability than you think.’

The maids I met for the first time in both lives are all sisters.

What should I call this bizarre coincidence that has crossed even death?

“I knew it from reading Aina’s letter. She said that there is a younger brother to the baron child of the Irendel family.”

“…Did she say anything about me?”

“Yes. She said a lot of things.”

It was a slightly curious part.

It was an unexpected opportunity to hear her evaluation from someone else’s mouth.

“The most frequent thing she said was… I don’t know why you’re so mentally disturbed.”

“Ah.”

That’s…

“I might not have anything to say…”

Well.

I had a bit too much strength in my shoulders because I had lived as a war hero in the previous life.

I didn’t know that that courage would come back so quickly as a ‘fatal price’……

“By the way, why is Aina working in a country so far from the Dukedom? If it’s Aisha-ssi, it shouldn’t be easy to bring her here and create a position for her?”

The sisters could live close to each other, and it would be much better paid here.

“That’s a good point, but… What should I say.”

Aisha hesitated for a moment.

“I’ve gained a conviction while working here.”

“What is it?”

“That was… ‘Find a master to serve’.”

“…Yes?”

“For people of our low status, choosing a master to serve is the most important and only decision we can make in our lives.”

“I guess so.”

“In fact, most maids are not given that choice. And the moment we start serving someone, we offer them the right to shake and control our lives.”

“…Yes.”

“So I thought Aina… I hoped she would find a good master who she could willingly do that for.”

“Herself?”

“Yes. Herself… Not just blindly looking for a big mansion and family, but someone who is lenient with ignorance but strict with mistakes, teaches writing and skills, and considers them like a member of the family, even if they are servants.”

It was a philosophy of life that was admirable.

I knew that she was originally a smart person, but I didn’t know that she was thinking about things like this.

“Does it seem like Aina has found such a place well?”

“Of course.”

She didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Signo-nim, you know too, right?”

…That’s right. I thought she was a bit venomous at first.

It was probably true that Minon was a good person.

The way she treated me before I left for Kiffol was really affectionate. It seemed like she sincerely thought about my future.

“I’m sorry to say this, but the wages I receive here are too much for me. I can help enough even if Aina earns a little less.”

So that was why. That was the reason why Aina was staying by Minon’s side while receiving a low salary.

“What about Aisha-ssi? Do you think you’ve found such a master?”

“Well, what does it look like to Signo-nim?”

“If the person you’re serving is Yukomis-nim, it doesn’t seem like a very good choice……”

“Hehe…”

It was her laughing sound for the second time.

“That’s…”

I heard her whispering something softly next to me, but

I couldn’t hear well because the cloth that was covering my eyes was blocking my ears.

“…?”

“It’s a secret after all. You’re going to tell Yukomis-nim, right?”

“Did I get caught after all?”

“Of course.”

Thanks to the conversation with an acquaintance as the topic, the awkward atmosphere seemed to have softened a lot.

I couldn’t see it, but it seemed like Aisha was still smiling behind this thin cloth, and it seemed like she wasn’t…

Even in the moment of silence, Aisha silently did her job.

Even if it was a child, it was quite difficult to serve a full-fledged bath like this alone.

She scooped up water and changed it several times, and brushed it again…

Even while repeating the same actions, there was no sign that her breathing was disturbed.

“It’s the finishing stage now. Be careful.”

“Eua?”

She suddenly lifted me up again and put me in another bathtub again.

I couldn’t see anything, but this bathtub was slightly hotter than the one I had been in until just now.

“It’s not like I’m washing a dog, what are you doing.”

“It was Signo-nim who chose to cover your eyes.”

It was frustrating, but what she said was completely right.

“Head Maid Parnen also especially told me to make sure to look at Signo-nim’s ankle injury.”

“Ah, that seems to be already healed…”

“Excuse me.”

She didn’t even listen to my words now.

At the same time, I felt a gentle pressure on my ankle.

“Ouch… Ouch ouch…”

“…It’s not completely healed after all.”

“The injuries to your eyes and small bruises healed strangely quickly, but the injury to your ankle was especially big. It wouldn’t be strange even if there are other injuries under the skin that haven’t healed yet.”

“Ouch, ouch!”

“Please bear with it for a moment even if it hurts. Excuse me.”

As she said, I could feel small lumps that hadn’t completely healed in my ankle.

“C, can’t I just ask Y, Yukomis-nim to look at it… Euak!”

“Anyway, I have to ask Yukomis-nim to do so after she finishes her conversation with Her Highness the Princess.”

Because I couldn’t see what she was doing, I felt like the pain was coming more realistically.

I can’t see.

‘Wait a minute.’

Isn’t it much stranger to take a bath with your eyes covered?

It’s not just about covering your eyes, is it?

Wouldn’t this side be much stranger?

So this is, this is…?

As the thought reached there, I suddenly thought that I was in a tremendously awkward and embarrassing state now.

Splash!

I shook off Aisha’s hand and stood up at once.

“Kyaa!”

“This is much stranger!!!!!!!!!!!”

I heard a small groan.

“No, this is five times stranger! Who takes a bath in this state???”

“Signo-nim said that you wanted to do that first…”

Without speaking, I untied the waistband that was covering my eyes.

Then, in front of me was Aisha, who was a bit different from what she looked like before I covered my eyes.

Because I suddenly stood up, her maid outfit was a little wet,

She was covering her mouth, turning her head, and forcibly suppressing her breath.

Anyone could tell……

She was trying to hold back a laugh.

“You knew it.”

“You knew it from the beginning.”

“That this was much stranger.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

She forcibly answered while covering her mouth as is.

Her expression was still close to expressionless as before, but her breathing was quite disturbed.

“I’m sorry. That’s a little, um…”

“Tell me an excuse.”

“So, from the middle…”

“…What is it.”

“Your reaction was fun… I just…”

There was something that had become clear.

…I must find Manya.