Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Playful Bath and Sleepy Teasing
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"Young Lady...?"
"Yes, Lize."
"I've already bathed this morning..."
"So?"
Lize looked at me with eyes that trembled just a little.
I always thought the same thing—she was just too shy.
Karen was shy in her own way too, but that was more about confidence, so it felt a bit different. Lize was simply the shy type.
"So... I don't really need to bathe right now..."
"When you're attending to me, you end up getting water on your body and your clothes get wet anyway, right? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to just bathe together?"
I'd said that to her as we entered the bathroom together for my morning bath.
She was right that there was no real need since she'd already bathed...
But I just felt like it?
A few days ago, I'd decided not to overthink the things I'd been agonizing and mulling over.
I'd just do what I wanted, in moderation, and it shouldn't be a big problem.
Probably because I wasn't quite an adult yet.
Doing anything directly with a girl... it felt a little off.
"No?"
"...It's not that I can't, but is there really a need to...?"
"Hehe, it's fine. Let's just bathe together. You love soaking in the tub to relax your body anyway, don't you, Lize?"
"...That's true."
In the end, Lize gave in and bathed with me as I suggested.
She took off her simple maid uniform and stepped into the bathroom completely naked with me.
"...Young Lady."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Isn't the distance a bit too close...?"
"Don't like it?"
"That's not what I mean..."
After washing our bodies, we entered the tub together.
As always, the perfectly warm water—one that felt so comfortable the moment you slipped in—was just as wonderful.
Truth be told, that was part of it, but so was coming in here with Lize.
"Hehe..."
"Um... Young Lady. What are your plans for today...?"
"Hmm... What should we do for fun?"
"I have work to do..."
"You don't, do you? I'm just lounging around the mansion all day anyway. If my exclusive maid Lize had actual work, that'd be weird, wouldn't it?"
"......"
How long was she going to keep up that same old lie?
It felt like I'd been hearing that excuse about having work since I was little.
She surely knew it didn't fool anyone anymore.
"Right?"
"...Yes."
"What do you want to do?"
"I... I'm fine with anything."
"Really?"
"...Yes."
Hmm...
She said she was okay with it.
Well, didn't that count as permission?
The kind where I could playfully tease her however I wanted, and it'd be fine... Of course, I wouldn't go too far.
"Hehe..."
With a suppressed smile, I placed my hand on top of Lize's.
Since we were both in the tub, I felt the water's warmth more than the touch of her hand, but that light contact was what mattered.
Holding hands with Lize or our skin brushing was commonplace, but even this slight touch felt nice in its own way.
"I always think this, but your hands are so pretty, Lize. Even though you do a lot of cleaning and such."
I slowly caressed her hand underwater as I said that.
Personally, I was quite fond of pretty hands.
Unlike figures or bodies in general, a pretty hand was just pretty, you know?
Truth be told, I liked any pretty body part, not just hands.
"Hmm..."
"Young Lady...?"
"Since you're so tall, they look especially pretty."
"Are you talking about me...?"
"Of course it's you, Lize. Who else? I'm not as tall as you."
I always felt this way, but for both women and men, height came first.
Once the height was good, their whole body just seemed prettier overall.
Of course, Lize being pretty aside from that helped too.
"Your legs are like that, and your waist has such a beautiful line."
"Y-Young Lady?"
"Yeah? What?"
"Um... touching my legs like that..."
"Didn't like it?"
"It's not that, it's just so sudden..."
With our bodies submerged in the tub, I gently touched Lize's.
The smooth skin unique to women always felt so good to touch.
My skin was smooth and soft like that too, but touching my own body was different from touching someone else's.
"Hmm... Should I touch more gently then?"
"I didn't mean I wanted you to touch me..."
"Hehehe... Just kidding, kidding. If I kept teasing, you'd definitely hate it. I'll stop here."
"Oh..."
No matter how much I enjoyed doing this, I didn't plan to keep going forever.
When I pulled my hand away from her body, Lize's expression changed just a little... but I'd decided to quit while ahead.
*
"Teacher, how long are you going to sleep?"
"Yawwwn... Dunno..."
In the afternoon, I visited Ashley's room.
I'd played around with Lize in my room all morning, but holding her like a pillow in bed for over two hours felt too much, so I felt bad.
"Babe, look at the time. You really gonna keep sleeping?"
"Dunnooo..."
It was broad daylight, well past sunrise, but Ashley still hadn't fully woken up.
She was so consistent.
Well, I was grateful to her anyway.
She'd really helped me sort out those recent worries I'd been having.
For now, I decided not to tickle her awake.
"Teacher."
"Whaaat..."
"What did you do at the mansion while I was at the academy?"
"Dunnooo..."
"You seemed to get close with Mother. How was that?"
"Such a pain..."
Even half-asleep, her responses were pretty cute.
Her body was sprawled comfortably on the bed, eyes closed, answering quietly.
"What's your bust size?"
"Dunnooo..."
"Hehe..."
It was a joke, but I hadn't expected her to answer even that.
I'd thought she'd jolt awake in surprise...
But she just mumbled back without a clue.
Did Ashley even realize she was answering my weird questions?
She probably wouldn't remember a thing once she woke up.
"Teacher, how long are you gonna sleep?"
"Sleeeep..."
"If you keep sleeping, I might start teasing you. That okay?"
"Hmm..."
"Pfft..."
If I'd said this when she was a bit more awake, she'd freak out and hate it...
But she wasn't awake now?
Mumbling like an idiot all by herself was just...
"So fun."
And cute too.
Was I the type who was drawn to pretty women purely on looks?
Not in a romantic way—just purely pretty, and I liked them right away.
If someone was pretty, then... pretty much anything they did was fine at first. Even a teacher sleeping all day felt okay...
"Hehe..."
I really did care a lot about appearances.
Well, all Ashley had done was sleep a ton, so that helped.
She wasn't trash like the eldest daughter of the Rose Family.
Minus the sleeping, she was a solid teacher during lessons.
"Hmm..."
Was it because I'd kept talking beside her?
Ashley started rolling onto her side.
It felt like she was turning away because my chatter was annoying, and that irked me a bit.
Sure, bugging a sleeping person was wrong.
"Hmm."
But backing off quietly would've been no fun.
Teasing a sleeping Ashley was wrong too, but stopping now felt lame.
I started moving on the bed.
I slowly lifted the blanket she was under and slipped...
"So warm."
Inside.
The blanket was nice and toasty from Ashley lying there the whole time.
...Lying here like this would naturally make anyone sleepy, huh?
No wonder Ashley slept so much usually.
"Eek..."
"Hmm..."
I slowly adjusted my position under the blanket.
Unlike sharing a bed with Lize, I just lay beside her.
Ashley seemed a bit sensitive, and we'd never slept together like this before.
"Hmm... Yeah..."
"...So sensitive."
I lightly placed my hand on her lower abdomen.
Like handling a doll, super gently.
But even that minimal touch made her squirm like it tickled.
She'd reacted hugely before when I'd tickled her stomach and armpits, but who knew such light contact would do it too.
"Hmm..."
"Hmm..."
"Oh..."
"Eek... Hee... Yeah... Eek..."
...Like playing an instrument.
Every time I moved my hand or did something, she'd make noises in response. It really was like one.
Teasing a sleeping person like this was kinda bad, but it was so fun I couldn't help it.
"Eek..."
"Teacher, getting treated like a toy while asleep—you just gonna keep sleeping?"
"Hmm... Eh..."
It felt like I was doing something really naughty.
I mean, tickling a sleeping person like this.
Of course that thought crossed my mind... but since she wasn't waking up...
My hand kept moving anyway.
"Pervertish."
Even I thought it felt a bit pervy.
Fiddling with a sleeping girl's body like this, laughing at her reactions...
Sure, she was kinda consenting in her sleep-talk...
But I'd teased enough, so I removed the hand I'd kept on her stomach.
"Ah..."
"......"
But why did Ashley let out a slightly disappointed sound after I pulled away?
Of course, if I'd kept going, she might've woken up, so I didn't... but it was baffling all the same.
Oh, and for the record—I didn't get out of the bed.