Double Occupancy Room (2)

Awkward gazes quietly meeting in the bathroom, and a flustered reaction.

It was only natural for Ethan to react that way. After all, he was showing himself to me completely naked.

Unthinkingly, I recalled the times I prepared Ethan’s bath at Blackwood Mansion, and naturally assumed there would be a changing room beyond the door, followed by the bathroom.

I should have naturally expected that a cramped inn like this wouldn’t have separate changing rooms and bathrooms.

Fortunately, he happened to have his back to the door, so the truly sensitive parts weren’t visible from my angle.

…Honestly, I didn’t even intend to look.

Why would I bother observing another man’s ‘thing’? To compare it with my own from my past life?

As I was flustered by the situation I faced, thinking such thoughts, Ethan cautiously called out to me and asked.

“Ma-Maid? You came in by mistake, right?”

“…I apologize.”

“It’s-it’s fine. The layout is different from the mansion, so mistakes can happen.”

“…Excuse me. I will leave your change of clothes out front.”

“Uh, yeah. Be careful next time.”

Fortunately, Ethan was lenient, not making a big deal out of my mistake.

Just as I was quietly backing away, accepting his goodwill, Ethan’s seemingly empty back inadvertently caught my eye.

“…….”

…Come to think of it, this world doesn’t even have long towels for washing one’s back.

The only things used as bath towels in this world were round, fluffy-looking towels made by drying and processing certain plants.

To properly scrub one’s back, one needed the help of another person; that was how bathing worked in this world.

Of course, Lilith herself was naturally flexible enough to reach her own back, so she had no problem washing herself, but it seemed quite difficult for Ethan to wash his own back now.

The more muscular a man became, the stiffer his body would inevitably be.

…Well, though it wasn’t intentional, I had already seen Ethan’s body.

As if to apologize for that, I quietly took off my knee-high socks and stepped further into the bathroom to scrub his back.

-Splash, splash.

“Young Master.”

“Ma-Maid?! You haven’t left yet?”

“Come to think of it, it suddenly occurred to me that I’ve never actually provided bath service for you, Young Master.”

“Wh-What?!”

“It must be difficult for you to reach your back and waist by yourself, Young Master. So, I shall assist you with just those parts.”

With those words, I took the round bath towel from beside the bathtub and brought my hand to Ethan’s back.

Flustered by my actions, he remained seated, bending his waist to gauge my reaction.

“Th-There’s no need, Maid. I can wash my own back.”

“With such a well-built body, how do you intend to reach your own back, Young Master Ethan?”

“…A-Anyway!”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed, Young Master. I am merely fulfilling my duty as your exclusive maid.”

“I-I don’t need it! Just get out already!”

“…….”

Ethan flinched and twisted his body the moment my hand touched his back.

Indeed, seeing this, it was clear he truly wasn’t keen on my hand touching his back to wash him.

…Somehow, I’m a little annoyed.

I’d understand if our genders were reversed, but he’s a man himself, and he flinches like that just because my hand lightly touched his back?

Come to think of it, Ethan here was directly kneading my bare chest just last night.

So, it’s fine for him to touch my chest, but he doesn’t even want my hand to lightly touch his back?

Slightly offended by Ethan’s brazen attitude, I silently put the bath towel I was holding back down.

For some reason, it was a moment when I felt a surge of anger.

“Understood, Young Master. If you dislike my hand touching your body so much, then there’s nothing I can do.”

“Ah, no. I didn’t mean that I particularly disliked a maid’s hand touching me.”

“I perfectly understood that the person who kneads my chest about twice a month cannot tolerate my hand touching their back.”

“Ma-Maid?”

“Since you’ve said so clearly that you dislike my hand touching your body, there’s nothing I can do. I will refrain from presumptuous acts like bath service in the future.”

“…….”

…I offered to wash him out of consideration, but there was no need to flinch like that.

I don’t care anymore. Whether he can reach his back or not, whether it itches or not, he can deal with it himself.

Anyway, I had already placed his change of clothes in front of the bathroom door, and just as I was about to leave Ethan in the bathroom and return to the room.

This time, I suddenly heard Ethan’s urgent voice calling out to me.

“Ma-Maid!”

“…Yes?”

“Ah, no. Well, that is to say…”

“…….”

“…Actually, my back is a bit itchy, so could you, Maid, wash just that part for me?”

…See? I knew this would happen.

In the end, he was going to call me when his back got itchy anyway, so why did he put on such a useless show of bravado?

Well, I am Ethan’s exclusive maid, and I also had to apologize for having already seen him naked once.

At this point, I, being the magnanimous one, had no choice but to grant his request.

“In that case, there’s nothing for it, Young Master. I suppose I’ll have to wash you.”

“Ye-Yeah. Please.”

“It’s merely showing your back to your exclusive maid; there’s no need to be embarrassed.”

I, who had risen to return to the room, squatted behind Ethan once more and picked up the bath towel I had put down.

From behind Ethan, who cautiously presented his back to me, I meticulously scrubbed the parts he couldn’t reach with the bath towel.

Turns out, bath service isn’t so bad once you actually do it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

As dusk settled, and even the moonlight no longer illuminated the night sky, it was a pitch-black dawn.

Ethan and Lilith, who had experienced various events throughout the day since departing from the mansion, were spending their first night on the Island of Knowledge like that.

On the bed, resting his weary body, Ethan Richard Blackwood quietly fell into thought.

“Snore…. Snore….”

“…….”

Looking at his exclusive maid, Lilith Blackwood… Rosewood, who was lying beside him, sleeping with a perfectly serene expression.

‘…She sleeps well.’

Unlike himself, whose heart was pounding, making it difficult to fall asleep, his exclusive maid had fallen asleep the moment she lay down.

As his exclusive maid, she would have started her day earlier than him, and above all, it was perhaps natural that she, exhausted from attending to him all day, fell asleep so easily.

Considering himself, unable to fall into a deep sleep even after two hours of lying in bed, it was unavoidable to feel a slight sense of annoyance.

“…….”

He, on the other hand, was so tense just by sharing the same room that he couldn’t close his eyes.

From her nonchalant attitude, as if it didn’t matter whether they shared the same bed or the same blanket, Ethan couldn’t help but harbor a strange dissatisfaction.

Because he still couldn’t grasp what position he held in Lilith’s eyes.

Even more so when he thought about what had happened with her in the bathroom today.

‘Was it because she didn’t even think of him as a man that she entered the bathroom without hesitation while he was bathing? Or was she genuinely angry because he refused her offer to scrub his back?’

For Ethan, Lilith was always like this.

Sometimes she would act nonchalantly, as if she didn’t see him as a man at all, while other times she would display strange behaviors, as if she truly harbored some feelings for him.

Their relationship had certainly grown much closer than when she first became his exclusive maid, but he couldn’t possibly guess the extent of that closeness.

His initial plan, which was to gradually confirm their feelings as they progressed, had at some point completely reversed.

Although it was an action born of misunderstanding, he had inadvertently touched Lilith’s chest.

And seeing him lose his composure because of it, she had reluctantly allowed the subsequent act as well.

In their current relationship, which seemed to prioritize physical connection over emotional connection no matter how he thought about it, Ethan always pondered whether he should view this positively or not.

Although there was a saying that the heart follows where the body desires, Ethan himself wished for the heart to come first.

He even tried sharing his feelings during their physical intimacy, hoping to lead the physical relationship itself towards emotional love, but that strategy didn’t work out as well as he’d hoped.

In fact, the more he tried such things, the more Lilith seemed displeased the next day, so Ethan could only offer cautious apologies whenever he noticed her mood.

…If only he could enter her heart, even just once.

If he could at least know what feelings she harbored for him, then he too could decide what to do.

Whether to maintain their current relationship and slowly move forward, or to approach her a little faster before he lost her.

Or perhaps, whether it would be wiser to accept that there was no hope at all and let her go early.

‘…For now, it’s a question without an answer.’

Since he didn’t know the answer, he had no choice but to try even harder in the future.

If she already harbored loving feelings for him, that alone would be good.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it was a feeling that could sufficiently change depending on his efforts.

To dwell on such unresolved worries and expend energy on them was the most detrimental thing one could do to one’s body.

To get even a little more deep sleep, Ethan hurriedly closed his eyes and prepared to fall asleep.

The Academy’s swordsmanship exam was the day after tomorrow. In other words, he still had tomorrow to spare.

Since it was a rare day with an open schedule, it would be a good idea to spend tomorrow secretly dating Lilith while exploring the Island of Knowledge.

Just as Ethan, imagining himself exploring the island around Luminor Academy with her, was about to drift off to sleep.

He began to feel two soft sensations embracing his forearm from above and below.

-Squish.

‘…Squish?’

At that familiar yet warm sensation, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the spot beside him, where Lilith was peacefully asleep, facing him.

And above and below his forearm, where he had felt the soft sensation, her two breasts were pressed against it.

Ethan barely managed to stifle the voice that was about to burst out, covering his mouth with one hand.

“……!!”

Although it was a chest he had touched several times before, this was the first time his forearm had been wedged between her breasts.

Ethan quickly tried to pull his arm out, wondering if she might be embarrassed.

However, the moment he tried to withdraw his arm, Lilith hugged him even tighter, forcing Ethan to suppress his voice once more.

-Snuggle.

“…….”

-Squeeze!

“……!!!”

The first night at a secluded inn on the Island of Knowledge.

Ethan’s sleepless night was destined to grow a little longer.