BGDBP 12

Chapter 12

The trolley was loaded with a gold basin filled with steaming hot water and all sorts of mysterious items whose purposes were impossible to guess.

“This should be enough.”

“Good. You can leave now.”

“You really kick me out so easily, don’t you? Well, understood.”

Thanks to Chris holding her facing forward, Pianie could finally see what was in front of her—and her eyes couldn’t leave the steam billowing up without restraint.

‘That must’ve been boiling just now. Is he planning to dunk me into that hot water…?!’

Pianie, the East’s most beloved darling who had only been an adult for a few months, had never bathed in anything hotter than comfortably warm water.

— Young Lady, are you sure this temperature is fine? It won’t relieve your fatigue, you know.

— I told you, I don’t like it too hot!

— If that’s what you prefer, then so be it.

Remembering the past conversation, Pianie wanted to shake her head vehemently.

‘No. Absolutely not! If I get into water steaming like that, I’ll end up cooked! Like a piece of chicken in soup!’

She desperately hoped Chris would say something like: “Oh, this water? It’s just for washing my feet. It has nothing to do with you.”

But instead of comforting her, Chris did something utterly shameless that left her stunned.

A thick, rough—and very warm—hand suddenly slipped inside her clothes.

If Pianie were in her usual sensitive state, she would have foamed at the mouth and fainted on the spot.

[Whaaa! What are you doing?!]

She screamed and screamed inside the body that refused to thrash around no matter how hard she struggled.

But Chris’s world remained perfectly calm.

“How do I take this off?”

At his quiet mutter, Pianie nearly passed out.

[Why are you trying to take off my clothes?!]

Chris neither answered her desperate question nor hesitated. He simply kept feeling around her body in search of how her clothes were fastened.

‘Waaah! My maidenhood is doomed!’

Is this what they mean when they say dolls have no rights?! So he doesn’t need my consent to do something this shameless?!

“Hm… it’s definitely not one-piece.”

After fumbling seriously for a while, Chris finally found the button along the back of her dress.

‘Knew it.’

Looking satisfied, he unfastened it and spoke to her.

“Okay, baby. Arms up.”

[If I could lift my arms I’d slap you first!]

Like he was undressing a toddler, Chris lifted her arms. Pianie had no choice but to let them rise helplessly.

[Kyaaah!]

“Nothing embarrassing about this. Right?”

His low, gentle voice sounded like a nanny soothing a child. Pianie was speechless.

[Why are you talking like that?! And what do you mean it’s not embarrassing?! I’m dying of embarrass—]

She couldn’t finish. Chris had already removed her grimy beige dress in one swift motion.

“Aww, cute. So cute.”

Naturally, Pianie’s naked body was just that of a plump stuffed doll—complete with a round belly and a squishy little bum.

But the soul inside that body was a girl—an actual young lady at a very sensitive age.

[Uwahhh!]

Being stripped naked by a strange man made Pianie want to bawl her eyes out, but her dry doll body couldn’t produce a single tear.

[Damn this body!]

She wanted nothing more than to faint. But the steam growing stronger made even that impossible.

‘He really plans to cook me into soup!’

The heat intensified until finally—her toes touched the water.

[Aaaah!]

She shrieked. But…

‘Wait… it’s not that hot?’

Rather, it felt perfectly warm and cozy.

‘It’s like my wounded soul is being healed…’

Her body relaxed as if she were nestled in her mother’s arms. Even without muscles, she could somehow feel the relief.

[This… feels refreshing?!]

Despite being hot, the sensation was strangely cooling.

[Ahh… this is nice…]

Letting the peaceful warmth wash over her, Pianie thought vaguely:

‘Right… there’s no need to be embarrassed. Even if I’m naked, I just look like a doll…’

Of course, if this man knew she was human, it would be mortifying—but that wasn’t confirmed yet.

‘Maybe he’s like that dollmaker old man.’

One of those eccentric types who talk to dolls.

‘I still don’t know what he meant by “looking for me,” but whatever… not thinking about it for now.’

No matter how much she racked her brain, she wouldn’t get any satisfying answers.

‘I’d only get a headache.’

So for now, she decided to enjoy this incredibly comfortable moment.

[Kyaa…]

The girl who had been screaming earlier began drifting off.

[Zzz…]

Suddenly, Chris grabbed her bare—well, “bare”—doll body with his large hand.

[Huh?! Why again?!]

“I’ll wash you nice and clean.”

[What are you saying?! No thanks! I’m perfectly fine—!]

But since he couldn’t hear her, Chris began kneading every part of her little body.

[Ah—! Not there—!]

He thoroughly massaged her head, which her short arms could never reach.

[Ugh—what’s that spot?!]

He kneaded her small, dainty feet.

[Ack—there too?!]

He even gently washed her plump little bottom.

If she could drool, her chin would have been dripping—though not water this time.

This wasn’t the shock knocking her out.

[It feels… amazing—!]

Pianie was a noble lady. She was used to being bathed by others—by the East’s most skilled maids, no less.

— We defeated everyone for the honor of massaging the Young Lady’s soft, plump skin.

— I bled for this position. My master in the heavens must be proud.

Having enjoyed expert massages her whole life, Pianie could say with certainty:

This was the best she’d ever felt.

‘How can his hands be so skillful?!’

Chris’s large hands, more than big enough to cover her, washed her everywhere with incredible care and finesse.

“Feels good, right?”

He spoke to her.

Melted like jelly, Pianie looked up at him and replied:

[Yeees. You’re the besssst…]

“Heh. You’re really cute.”

With a soft smile, Chris hummed in that low, pleasant voice.

‘Wow… he even sings well…’

Warm water, refreshing sensation, a beautiful man smiling down at her, and a soothing song at her ears—

‘Is this heaven?’

Pianie hoped this moment would last forever.

[Hngh.]

Out of the water, Pianie looked pitiful.

‘My whole body feels like soaked cotton. Actually… it IS soaked cotton.’

Her plump face had shriveled slightly, and her fluffy hair drooped flat. Still naked, too.

‘How miserable.’

What would happen to her now? Chris likely wouldn’t hold a dripping-wet doll the whole time.

‘He’ll probably hang me on a laundry line…’

She hated the idea, but it sounded better than being wrung dry.

‘I want my real body back soon… but not while I’m hanging on a laundry line.’

What a shock it would be if a neatly clipped doll suddenly transformed into a naked woman.

And having bare skin pinched by clothespins sounded agonizing.

‘That’s practically medieval torture…’

Sure, this world had modern conveniences—like horseless carriages, allegedly. Though as a rural noble, Pianie had only ridden in regular carriages. Still, she did not want to experience primitive suffering in such an advanced age.

“Lord Chris. I brought what you’ll need. You planned to dry it in the office anyway, right?”

Johannes arrived with a small drying rack and clothespins. Pianie, who had expected this, declared firmly:

[Come at me! I’m ready!]

But her insides trembled violently.

Then Chris wrapped her gently in a soft, fluffy towel.

“Are you insane? Take that and get out.”

Though his tone was sharp, his hands patting her were as delicate as a parent handling a newborn.

“Why are you calling me insane? I was being considerate.”

“If you hang it with clips like that, the stuffing sinks and gets ruined.”

“That’s not ruinous. A good shake will make the stuffing go back to its place.”

Johannes demonstrated shaking motions.

“What?”

Chris looked genuinely hurt.