Foster Mother and Labella de Pawen (2)
The white towels on the shelf were arranged with meticulous care. Soft and fluffy, not a single stain marred their surfaces as they sat stacked in perfect layers. The mirror gleamed without a single water spot. Even the marble floor leading into the bathroom felt strangely warm beneath his feet despite its smooth, cool texture.
Wall sconces were spaced at even intervals, casting a languid glow with their mix of crisp white light and faint golden hues. Beyond the frosted glass, the bathtub stretched so vast its true size was impossible to judge. In one corner, brown baskets stood in a neat row—one for shirts, one for pants, and the last for underwear. A fleeting glimpse of black fabric inside the final basket made Marei flinch back several steps in shock.
Was it acceptable to put everything in together? Should he separate tops, bottoms, and undergarments? Or were there specific materials that required different handling? His nerves made his mind latch onto these pointless details. Perhaps it was the mysterious scrap of cloth or string in the underwear basket. The thought that Lady Labella wore such things made him scold himself even as his mind conjured images of her wearing them.
It would be better to just get into the bath and be done with it. At last, Marei removed the eyepatch covering his left eye. In the mirror, his crimson pupil traced bizarre geometric patterns that twisted, shattered, and reformed into new shapes.
Is this a curse...?
His late mother had called this eye a curse. He couldn't quite remember when she'd said it. The memory of looking up at her was hazy, the exact moment lost to time, but the pity in her eyes as she gazed at him remained etched in his heart. As if tracing a faded recollection of his mother, he followed the shapes floating across his pupil, mirroring them against the glass. They soon shifted into different forms and vanished without a trace.
The longing that always surfaced when he stood before a mirror, and the peculiar feeling about his eye, had grown so familiar they no longer troubled him. Instead, his thoughts kept drifting to Labella de Pawen—the woman he would now live with starting today.
At first, it had been fear. Those violet eyes looking down at him. Eyes of such beauty as he'd never seen in his life. A chest that seemed ready to burst free, features like carved sculpture, an aura that warned others to keep their distance. Yet there was an inexplicable allure that held one's gaze.
Whenever he thought of Labella, his mind naturally drifted to imagining her body beneath that uniform, spiraling into vulgar fantasies. After wandering lost in those daydreams for some time, Marei didn't even notice the steam rising from the sink. He hurriedly splashed water on his face to banish the wicked thoughts.
"Aack!!"
The burning heat against his face and hands made Marei cry out before he could stop himself. It was the result of old habits—washing with cold water near the barrier—clashing with this unfamiliar environment.
"Ugh...!"
The boy's scream had barely faded when someone threw the door open with enough force to nearly tear it from its hinges. Labella took one look at Marei clutching his face and the steaming sink, instantly grasping the situation. She scooped him up, turned on the cold water, and directed the stream straight to his face.
"Are you okay?!"
Once the pain ebbed and his face grew numb from the icy water, she released a small, careful sigh. Trouble on the very first day. Swallowing her worry, she examined his face meticulously for any burns. When she found nothing wrong, another sigh—this one of pure relief—escaped her.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yes... Yes..."
Still dazed, Marei nodded blankly.
"If it hurts, tell me. I'll summon a priest. Or would you rather go now?"
Marei shook his head at her question. She wiped away every trace of moisture from his face with careful attention, then, as if drawn by some invisible force, her gaze settled on his left eye.
"I'm fine, Lady Labella..."
She held his face between her hands and said nothing for a long moment. Those violet eyes seemed to possess a powerful gravity, slowly pulling him closer. Her faint breath tickled his cheek. He could see her long lashes trembling. The expression on her face felt strangely seductive.
Labella's hand stroked his cheek once more. The oddly lingering touch sent shivers through his body. Her thumb grazed his skin while the fingers cupping his chin trailed lightly down his neck for no apparent reason.
"Lady... Labella?"
Her face had drawn dangerously close. Their breaths mingled. Her plump pink lips glistened under the bathroom lights, a delicate split across their surface only adding to their allure. Seeing her stare so intently at his face, Marei called her name again. Had she been badly injured?
"Lady Labella?"
"It must be... alright, right?"
Her gaze felt like a cat meticulously surveying its territory. Those violet eyes approached slowly. When the bridge of her nose brushed against his, he swallowed hard without thinking. Not understanding what was happening, Marei squeezed his eyes shut.
"It's okay now, isn't it?"
"Huh? Y-yes, yes!"
Labella suddenly pulled away as if nothing had happened, leaving Marei so flustered he could only repeat "yes" over and over. Had the moment just now been a dream? As if the nearness of their lips and that charged atmosphere had never existed, Labella carefully dried his damp cheeks with a towel, warned him to be careful, and left, closing the door behind her.
Marei stared blankly at her retreating figure, then instinctively gripped his painfully swollen penis.
What was that just now?
He had no experience with romance, but even he knew what had just happened was far from normal. It had been too intimate to be mere concern over an injury. Was she trying to seduce him? Marei shook his head vigorously. The very idea that someone so beautiful would seduce him was ridiculous even as a fantasy.
The more he tried to assign meaning to it, the more confused he became. Could she possibly like him? Entertaining such impossible thoughts, he cautiously touched his still-rigid length.
Even if they were called family, in truth he and Labella were little more than strangers. She was a noble, while he had grown up in a rural village near the northern barrier. They didn't match at all. She possessed a fatal charm that could bring anyone to their knees with a mere gesture. The notion that such a person could like him was laughable. It was a depressing moment of self-reflection, but at least it helped clear his head.
Simply having such fantasies about his benefactor, Labella de Pawen, felt like committing a grave sin. To banish his muddled thoughts, Marei took a thorough look around the excessively large bathroom. It was as spacious as the public bathhouses back in the village.
The temperature remained perfectly balanced—neither too hot nor lukewarm. It didn't seem to be heated by any visible fire. A few steps away stood a shower, with a full-length mirror arranged in an L-shape beneath it.
This place didn't suit him at all. While it wasn't a grand estate teeming with servants, the house was far more luxurious than anything Marei had imagined. He'd never heard his father's relatives—or even his own mother—mention the Pawen family before.
Was Labella de Pawen truly his family? If so, why had his mother never said a word about her? Or perhaps she had, and he'd simply been too young to remember.
For a moment he wondered if this was all a dream or some cruel joke. As steam rose thickly from the bathtub, Marei found himself recalling the plump curve of Labella's lips and the sinful body that no clothing could fully conceal. Her ripe breasts and rear. That cold expression. He gradually unfolded impossible fantasies as he pictured the figure her uniform struggled to contain.
He couldn't imagine what Labella's smile might look like.
"Did you go in first? I wanted to share the bath."
"...!"
At the sudden voice, Marei spun in the opposite direction and hunched forward awkwardly. The door closed behind him with a soft click, and wet footsteps slowly approached across the damp floor.
"Not finished washing yet?"
"...Y-yes, yes!"
Labella's soft laughter came from behind him. Marei hunched lower and shuffled toward the corner of the tub. He tried desperately to hide his rigidly upright member, but his efforts were in vain. Labella stepped into the bath—large enough for several people—and waded toward him with loud splashes.
"The water's a bit lukewarm, don't you think?"
The sound of water pouring from the faucet mixed with splashing as Labella's voice drew nearer. Then, as if by magic, all other noise vanished. Only the steady rush of water filled the bathroom. Slide. Slide. The sound of fabric being removed. In the sudden silence, Marei cautiously glanced back—and saw Labella's pure white naked form staring directly at him.
Skin like white jade. Wet green hair clinging to and partially covering her breasts. Enormous breasts that no single hand could possibly contain. A healthy, toned abdomen with clearly defined muscles, firm thighs, and a lush green patch concealing her most secret place. She made no attempt to hide herself. If anything, she leaned forward slightly as if inviting him to look closer.
"Is the water too hot?"
"N-no, that's not it..."
Her confident demeanor made Marei wonder if his own embarrassment was the strange thing here. He considered that perhaps families bathed together, but he was already a proper young man. Bathing with an adult woman still felt wrong.
"You must be weary from the journey. Relax."
"Y-yes..."
When Labella sat beside him as though it were the most natural thing in the world, Marei had no choice but to sit awkwardly as well. Moving to the far side after she'd approached so closely would have been even stranger. The real problem, however, was his furiously erect member. Even covering it with both hands, there was no hiding something of such impossible size for a boy his age.
"S-sorry..."
"I told you to relax. Is it uncomfortable?"
"Ah, no..."
Labella smiled at him as if nothing were amiss. To have such filthy thoughts about someone who showed him such kindness—he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Seeing her sit comfortably in the bath without bothering to cover her breasts or private area, Marei knew he shouldn't look but couldn't stop stealing glances. Those large breasts and hips, impossible to hide beneath her uniform, were even more overwhelming in reality than in his fantasies.
"You must be tired, but after we're clean, let's take a look around Valter."
"Yes, yes...!"
Was Labella truly unbothered? Feeling that his own embarrassment was the odd part, Marei cautiously moved his hands away from his penis. The massive, rock-hard length—larger and stiffer than usual—seemed on the verge of touching his own stomach.