Between Consideration and Nuisance
Between Consideration and Nuisance
Once the Founding Festival came to an end.
"Well then, Nibuer, take care~."
"...Yes. I shall visit again before long. Until then, please stay healthy."
We stopped by our lodgings to pack our belongings.
After handing Nibuer a piece of candy, we boarded the Teleport Magic Circle and returned to the Northern Region.
And then...
-Brrr.
'Right, unlike the Imperial Capital, the Northern Region is seriously cold right now. Chloe might struggle.'
Unlike our family members, who possessed Cold Resistance, Chloe shivered involuntarily against the chill.
Yet despite the cold raising goosebumps along her arms, Chloe couldn't say a word and merely kept her expression blank.
I looked at her with pity.
'Honestly, Chloe's had it rough... Right. If I don't look after Chloe, who will?'
"Then, Yune, I shall escort you to the bath."
"Ah. I'll ask Chloe to do it. There's something I need to give her anyway."
"Your butler? Hm. Since it's within the estate, I suppose it's fine. Do as you wish."
"Thank you. Chloe? You heard her. Escort me to the bath."
"Yes."
* * * * * *
A little earlier, as the Founding Festival was drawing to a close at the venue.
When Yune held out the candy and clasped Chloe's hand, a sudden whiff of his scent made her flinch, her ears pricking straight up.
After dancing the waltz five times in a row, Yune was utterly drenched in sweat. To Chloe, who was in the middle of her Heat Cycle, his scent felt exactly like a male's pheromones seducing a female.
The entire time Yune held her hand and channeled mana into her, thoroughly inappropriate thoughts about her master swirled through her head.
'I want to dance with him too. Dance until we're drenched in sweat, then ruffle his hair and tell him he did a good job. Then I want to lick the beads of sweat off his body and clean every inch of him. From top to bottom. Cover him up entirely with my scent and mark my territory so everyone knows he's mine.'
Chloe entertained thoughts that would make anyone else shriek, 'What vulgar delusions are you having about a noble young master?!'
But after eating the candy, her expression was tinged with guilt.
The candy held Yune's feelings toward her. And the only things she sensed from it were pure emotions like trust and gratitude.
'...What on earth was I thinking? About a kid this pure and kind.'
His feelings were so transparent and clean compared to the ones she harbored for him. It made her feel utterly depraved by comparison.
She sneered at herself and made a secret resolution.
'He's going to turn eleven soon, so I absolutely have to stop these thoughts....'
She would never again harbor a single improper feeling toward him. Since he considered her his most trusted and cherished servant, she resolved to match that by thinking of Yune not as a little brother figure, but as her master.
But her resolution shattered to pieces not even a few hours later.
* * * * * *
After returning to the estate.
"Chloe, escort me to the bath. My legs hurt too much to walk."
"...Yes."
Chloe found herself in a position where she had to carry Yune to the bathroom.
Taking Yune from Erengard, she stiffened her expression. Though it was faint, an unmistakable scent of sweat wafted from Yune's clothes, which were already soaked through.
Yune, meanwhile, exuded a tempting fragrance while humming a carefree tune, his face perfectly at ease as if showing absolute trust in her.
She barely suppressed the instinct to carry him straight to her bedroom and instead delivered him to the bathroom.
But her trials didn't end there.
Yune told her to "Wait a moment!" and slipped quickly into the bath.
After a brief rustling sound came from beyond the door.
Almost immediately, the door opened again. Just a sliver. Barely enough for one arm to squeeze through.
-Creeeak.
"Chloe, take this."
"...?"
Through that narrow gap, Yune stretched out his arm and held something out to Chloe.
She blushed at the sight of the noble young master's pale arm, but she still checked what he was handing over.
It was clothing. A maid outfit, to be precise.
The instant she identified the garment, Chloe's eyes shot wide open.
'N-no way. Isn't this what he was wearing just a moment ago?! He just took it off?! Why is he giving it to me!?'
Normally, discarded clothing would be left in a basket by the bath for other maids to handle. Yet Yune had abruptly handed his freshly removed clothes to her.
Unlike her, frozen in confusion, Yune simply waved his arm around, urging her to hurry up and take them.
-Whoosh, whoosh.
"What are you waiting for? I said take them."
'He, he smells so good....'
The clothes bobbed up and down as Yune shook his arm. Every time the garment fluttered, an unbearably sweet scent filled the hallway.
Perhaps because of that, Chloe accepted Yune's clothing without a word.
The question—why bring these to his room when the maids would normally launder them—never surfaced. The sweet aroma had already numbed her reason.
"I'm counting on you~."
"...Yes."
The fabric still carried a faint, lingering warmth, as if it had truly been taken off just seconds ago. Clutching it, she headed for Yune's room.
All the while fighting a fierce battle against her female instincts, which screamed at her to press her nose into the clothes immediately and inhale the scent of a male.
* * * * * *
Somehow, Chloe managed to reach Yune's room.
The moment she closed the door and found herself alone, she surrendered her body to her instincts.
-Swipe.
"Huff...."
Chloe lifted the clothes and brought them to her nose.
The second she inhaled, Yune's scent slammed straight into her brain. The male pheromones utterly demolished her reason.
"Huff... Fwooooh...."
'It smells so sweet... Is a man's sweat always like this? Ah. My mouth is watering.'
She sank to the floor and buried her nose deep into the fabric, breathing in repeatedly. All to soothe the Heat Cycle that had finally burst its dam.
"Fwooh... Sniiiff...."
Soon, the sound of Chloe's frantic sniffing filled Yune's room.
She only managed to calm the surging heat after Yune's outfit was completely soaked through with her saliva.
* * * * * *
A little while later, feeling somewhat refreshed, she headed back to the bathroom. In her hands she carried a basket filled with a change of clothes for Yune.
Yet the corners of her lips drooped down. It was because of intense self-loathing.
'Seriously, am I a beastkin, or just a beast...?'
She had sworn never to think strange things about Yune again. But it hadn't even been a few hours before she'd broken that promise.
Worse, she had committed the devious act of secretly sniffing the clothes of a boy she regarded like a little brother while succumbing to her Heat Cycle. She drooped her ears, overcome by violent self-reproach.
'...There's no helping it. I'll just do better from now on.'
She shook off her guilt as much as she could and resolved to do better from that point on.
But her trials were still far from over.
As usual, she entered the bath area intending to crack open the door and set the clothes basket down.
However—
-Snatch.
"...!?"
A pale wrist suddenly shot out from inside and grabbed her own.
The hand pulled her inward with a gentle force.
Suspecting the hand's owner, she didn't dare resist and found herself dragged into the bathing chamber.
And the one who pulled her in was, of course, Yune.
—Wearing nothing but a single towel around his body.
"Y-Young Master!?"
"Shh."
Chloe's voice cracked from utter shock at his attire.
Yune, however, signaled for silence by placing a finger to his lips, and gently shut the door.
-Creeeak.
The door closed quietly. Just like that, Chloe and Yune were alone together in the bath chamber.
Though calling it the 'bath' was a stretch—the actual tub for washing was behind a second door. This area merely held mirrors, fragrant oils, towels, and the like.
"You're a bit late. I rushed through my bath because I thought you'd come sooner."
"Young Master, what is the meaning of... M-my apologies."
She stared at him with a flustered expression, only to whip her head away the instant she registered that he was clad in nothing but a towel.
Yune looked at her and smiled.
"Chloe, you really worked yourself to the bone while we were in the Imperial Capital, didn't you? Running my errands and even waiting on my sisters."
"Th-that is only natural...."
"And the second we got here, I saw how badly you were shivering from the cold. It got me thinking. Ah, unlike me, Chloe is going to have to sleep without a proper wash. While I get to soak in nice hot water, she'll probably just wipe herself down a few times with a cold, damp towel and call it a night."
"...."
A sense of bewilderment spread through her mind at Yune's words.
"You don't mean...."
"Yep. Normally, only me, Mom, and my sisters can use this place, right? So I figured I'd secretly let you, Chloe, use the bath as thanks for all your hard work today. Go on in and warm yourself up. The water's really hot."
At that—at Yune's proposal to let her secretly use the nobles-only bath—she instantly snapped back to her senses.
She had fully intended to return to the servants' quarters and simply wipe her body with a towel before sleeping.
But still...
"...Though I am grateful for the sentiment, how could I possibly do such a thing, Young Master?"
She immediately offered words of refusal.
A servant soaking in a noble's bath, a bath a noble young master had just stepped out of—it was utterly unthinkable.
Yet Yune continued pushing her back, despite her shut eyes.
"Aish. I said go get washed quickly, didn't I? It's an order from your master. Ah, I'll turn around while you get undressed, so hurry it up."
"Even so...."
"Are you worried we'll get caught? It's fine. You have silver hair too, right? If any stray hairs end up in the bath, I'll just say they're mine. Now, hurry."
Yune's voice carried a hint of stubbornness. She realized he had absolutely no intention of backing down until she listened.
"...Then, could you please turn around for a moment?"
"Hehe. Got it."
She asked him to turn around for a moment.
A delighted Yune turned his back.
And then...
-Kreeeeeak—Slam!
"Huh? Chloe!?"
The moment Yune's back was turned, Chloe darted straight out the door.
Yune raised his voice in surprise at the sound of the door flying open then closing at lightspeed.
-Thump, thump.
"Chloe? Chloe!?"
"...Please get dressed and come out. I will not open this door until you do."
Yune tried to open the door again and call for Chloe, but she had already grabbed the handle and held it fast, preventing him from coming out.
Chloe stated firmly that she wouldn't let him out until he was dressed.
Puffing out his cheeks mightily, Yune began to get dressed.
-Rustle, swish.
"...I'm done."
"Very good."
-Creeeak.
After a brief rustle of fabric, and only once she was sure he was fully changed, did Chloe open the door again.
Through the now-open door, Yune stood dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, gazing at her with a sullen pout.
"...After I went out of my way to think of you, you do this?"
Chloe picked up the sulking boy with his puffed-out cheeks and began carrying him back toward his room.
"I apologize. But cat beastkin naturally dislike washing. They detest even touching water."
"...Oh, really?"
"Yes. And since I have no change of clothes, what would I even do after washing there?"
"W-well, that's true."
"I am ashamed that I had no choice but to refuse Your Grace's consideration."
"...No, it's fine. I didn't think it through properly. I'm sorry."
After she told a few white lies to soothe him, Yune's anger quickly melted away and he started to grin again.
A freshly bathed Yune gave off a sweet, fragrant scent of perfumed oils. As she looked down at him, she thought to herself:
'Goodness... No matter how much he trusts me, telling a woman to undress while he stands there in a single towel, claiming he'll turn around—is that something a boy should say? What if I had just pounced on him? ...Still, the fact that he trusts me that much and thought of me is a little praiseworthy, I suppose.'
To be honest, Yune's warm consideration was nothing short of a nuisance to her, and objectively an absurd act, but...
She could still feel that he treasured her. So she smiled fondly down at the Yune in her arms.
'Yep. He really can't manage without me.'
She smiled, thinking, 'I really have no choice but to keep looking after him.' Though she was completely ignoring how she'd been stuffing her nose into Yune's maid outfit and sniffing frantically just moments before... she was only eleven years old, just one year older than Yune.
Considering that, they made a perfect master-servant pair.