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Chapter 09
“!”
For a moment, Genos drew in a sharp breath, and his eyes widened in surprise, a reaction he hadn’t shown in a long time.
It seemed the other person felt the same.
Rene Blanche, startled enough to nearly topple backward, barely swallowed a scream and took a hesitant step back.
She dropped the basket she was holding, and its contents clattered noisily to the floor.
“Ugh!”
Her wide, rounded eyes sparkled even in the darkness.
Her cheeks glowed with a warm, moist flush, as if she had just washed up.
Silver hair, dotted with droplets, flowed softly along her delicate neck, and a few strands clung lightly to her cheeks.
At the end of the line of her hair, Genos noticed something he had never paid attention to before: small, plump pink lips.
But almost immediately, her small hands covered her entire face beneath her eyes.
Even in that gentle, fluttering movement, the faint scent of roses wafted from her.
“Oh! Um! I mean… Your Grace…?! H-Hello?”
Whether Rene greeted him in that odd tone or not, something strange happened.
The moment he met her red eyes, Genos’ heart seemed to drop to the soles of his feet—and then, as if propelled by the same speed, it bounced back and started hammering in his chest.
The pounding was so loud that he feared the sound might be audible to the person in front of him.
It had been almost the first time he was this shocked since picking up his sword.
Without realizing what he was saying, Genos was swept away by his intense emotions and blurted out in a sharply angry tone, whether unfortunate or fortunate.
“Why are you… here?”
That was exactly what I wanted to ask.
“Why are you here?”
Or rather…
“This is bad!”
I never expected to be caught this quickly!
A few days ago, I had experienced the bliss of a bathroom led by Betty.
The cabin where I stayed was mostly fine, except for one flaw: there was no proper bathtub.
I always had to squat in a small, barrel-like tub and wash quickly.
Because of the squatting position, my legs would go numb, making it impossible to enjoy a long bath.
In contrast, the main house’s bathtub was enormous—enough to fit five adults with room to spare.
The guest bathroom in the corner of the main house seemed unused for some time, but once Betty and the maids touched it, it sparkled like new.
They meticulously cleaned the bathroom daily just for me, without the housemistress knowing, and today I had been enjoying that luxury… until now.
“Confess honestly what you were doing here.”
The Duke’s expression was fierce.
He looked so angry that even in the darkness, his face seemed to glow red.
‘Even so… he really is handsome.’
Looking at his face, one might think he’s a tsundere male lead whose heart races at the heroine.
But I couldn’t be fooled by that exterior.
Suppressing my racing heart with one hand, I quickly lowered my gaze.
‘Tch, I thought it was the perfect crime.’
Still, here it was better to tell the truth than lie.
Feigning fear, I spoke in a small, timid voice.
“I… wanted to… take a bath…”
“At this hour?”
“I couldn’t sleep. The cabin where I stay doesn’t have a big, sturdy bathtub like the main house. At night, I… just bathed alone…”
My feet tingled as I rambled, but it was the truth, so I couldn’t stop.
Unfortunately, the Duke didn’t seem to care.
“Who said you could use the bathroom? I never allowed you to come to the main house in the first place.”
His sharp voice made something inside me boil.
“You never said I couldn’t use it…”
Finally, I blurted out what I had been holding back.
But as expected, the Duke remained stern.
“Don’t use petty excuses to cover up. Were you sneaking around the Duke’s mansion gathering information like a rat?”
His expression, already severe, grew even more intense.
Still… I felt a bit wronged while speaking.
“Information? What are you talking about…? Who would I give information to?”
“Either your rotten family or the Empress. Maybe both.”
“…”
Even the newly possessed me could tell that the Blanche family had no affection for me.
Did he really think that seriously?
‘No, this is too much. Is this really necessary?’
Insulting my parents, coming from a rebellious Westerner?!
Of course, they aren’t my real parents, and I somewhat agree they’re rotten. Otherwise, they wouldn’t treat a child so coldly.
I knew the Duke naturally harbored negative feelings toward me.
But seeing him act so openly hostile, I didn’t feel like just submitting either.
“Is it really necessary to get this angry just because I took a bath? You little brat!”
A northern duke in a romance fantasy should have a heart as wide as his chest.
Seeing him act so petty made me want to strike him off the “main character or side character” list in my head.
‘He’s just a villain!’
Why must such trials happen to someone like me, who prefers to stay quiet?
At the same time, my resolve grew stronger.
‘If he’s a villain, things won’t end well… When he eventually gets defeated by the protagonist, I—his duchess—should have some leeway. So it’s better to stay low.’
It was obvious our relationship was worse than strangers, so I needed a loophole for myself.
With a displeased expression, I picked up the scattered bath items.
A curse would’ve felt good, but…
“Ugh… disgusting.”
But my natural courage was tiny, even after reincarnation, so I muttered my complaints in the smallest voice possible.
“What?”
The Duke chuckled faintly at my muttering.
Ignoring him, I gripped the neatly organized bath basket with both hands and leaned forward, ready to flee.
Misunderstanding my movement, the startled Duke took a step back.
Thanks to that, I had an opening and dashed forward, thumping my feet.
“After just one bath, look at this mess! I’m never coming here again!”
The Duke didn’t chase me—perhaps his pride wouldn’t allow it.
Fortunately, he didn’t follow, but my heart pounded uncontrollably, racing faster than I could measure.
That night, sleep did not come easily.
A few days later, my vow to never return to the main house became reality.
Thanks to Garnet, Nina, Dora, Ria, Marie, and Betty—the so-called “Gana Dan maids”—I was effectively fired.
“…Tch.”
They claimed that library cleaning was too harsh for someone like me and demanded to take over.
Well, considering the Duke’s sudden appearance, a few days of relief wasn’t bad.
Alone in the cabin again, my heart thumped as I leaned on the bed.
With nothing to do, I planned to read the books I had brought.
First, I picked up the book that had instantly captivated me: “The Empire’s Strongest Magic Transparent Dragon Roared”, and began flipping the pages.
[“KUAANG!!!
Even among dragons, the empire’s strongest transparent dragon roared.
The transparent dragon was insanely strong, the absolute strongest among dragons.
It was the one and only unique transparent dragon in the world, and it roared.
But no one could see it because it was transparent.
Its breath was fired off—phew phew…”]
“…”
Ah, my head.
