WCMP 39

chapter 39

I tried my best to sound calm as I replied.

“…Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”

Still, perhaps he sensed the faint tremble in my voice, because Arvan suddenly looked down at me.

Our eyes met.

Embarrassed, I quickly averted my gaze.

For some reason, it was difficult to keep looking at him.

I knew my behavior must seem strange, but I hoped he would simply turn around and leave without asking anything.

“Then have a pleasant night.”

As if he had read my thoughts, he didn’t ask what was wrong and simply turned away.

I stood there quietly, watching his figure grow more distant.

Once he disappeared completely from sight, my heart quickly settled back to normal.

Thinking about it calmly, it seemed he never intended to reveal my name or identity in the first place.

‘The name Eli is fairly common….’

Rather than keeping my identity as a noble lady secret, it was more reasonable to ensure no one knew I was one from the start.

‘Though I didn’t expect that to be what he meant when he said he’d keep my visit to the mansion a secret.’

If I had known beforehand, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

Guided by the head maid, I arrived at the room where I would be staying.

Just as I was about to open the door and go in, the head maid bowed and spoke politely.

“If you could wait a moment, I will send maids to attend to you.”

She looked ready to hurry away, so I quickly spoke up.

“No! That’s alright. I don’t need anyone to attend to me—could you just prepare some clothes for me to change into?”

“Understood. The bathroom is located to the right of the room, and all necessary items and a shower robe are prepared there. Also, please feel free to speak comfortably.”

“…Alright. You may go.”

“Yes. I will take my leave.”

As soon as the door closed with a firm thud, the blanket was tossed onto the floor.

Looking down, I saw Yulen glaring at it with a pouty face.

His attitude looked rather rebellious, but since he had been forced to hide under that thick blanket without moving, I felt a little sorry for him. A soft, soothing voice slipped out of me naturally.

“Was it very stuffy?”

“…A little. But it’s okay. It’s only because I don’t have any power right now… Once I regain my magic, I’ll be confident again.”

Even so, he spoke in a quieter voice than usual, clearly aware that his existence shouldn’t be discovered.

Finding that admirable, I gently tapped the spot where his tail met his body.

“There, there. Alright. Let’s wash up first. I’m tired.”

At my words, Yulen tilted his head in confusion and muttered.

“Tired? But I healed you—so why are you tired…?”

“My body isn’t tired. Traveling for so long just made me mentally exhausted. Since I can finally use a proper bathroom again, I’ll soak for a bit and then sleep.”

“So your mind can get tired too… I don’t really understand.”

I looked at him for a moment.

Dragons must think differently from humans.

As creatures that live far longer, they probably possessed far stronger mental endurance than humans.

Then again, that must be why he hadn’t gone insane despite being asleep for hundreds of years while still conscious.

‘If it were me, I’d have gone crazy long ago.’

Even if we were different species, that alone seemed incredible.

And after finally waking up, he still had to hide like this…

I hadn’t thought deeply about it before, but now that I did, he seemed rather pitiful.

Maybe I should’ve listened more attentively when he chatted excitedly earlier.

The thought bothered me.

‘He’ll have to hide like this for a while… I should at least be kind to him.’

Honestly, Arvan didn’t seem like the type who would go out of his way to talk to Yulen or look after him.

“Not understanding is fine. Come on, let’s wash up!”

“Okay…”

Carrying Yulen in my arms, I headed to the bathroom.

But he still looked gloomy, which made me wonder what was wrong this time.

“What’s wrong now? Why do you look so down again?”

“No… I was just thinking that if I had my magic, I could give you a bath with magic and dry you all fluffy afterward… But I can’t do anything, so I feel kind of useless.”

As he mumbled softly, I replied quietly.

“You don’t need to worry about things like that. Time will fix it.”

“But… I’ve been able to use magic since the day I was born. This is the first time I’ve ever felt this powerless.”

“…Since you were born? That’s impressive.”

I wasn’t just saying that—I was genuinely surprised.

At the same time, I felt curious.

“But do you really need magic just to wash? Unless you’re in a hurry, soaking up to your neck in warm water feels really nice.”

“Why would soaking in water feel nice? It’s just water.”

“…Uh…”

That was… a difficult question.

Why does soaking in water feel nice?

The only answer was simply… because it does.

“Hm? Why does it feel good, Eli?”

Standing on my arm with his front paws, Yulen tilted his head and asked again.

I looked down at him.

He had casually used the nickname Eli, but strangely it didn’t bother me.

‘Maybe it just felt odd earlier because it was the first time I heard it.’

I opened my mouth to answer… then closed it again.

Because I knew what would happen if he didn’t understand something.

A never-ending barrage of questions.

I had no desire to debate something like this, so I swallowed the sigh rising in my chest and chose my words carefully.

“Hmm… It just feels good to soak in warm water. It makes you relaxed… Wait, have you never taken a bath before?”

Why was I explaining the concept of enjoying baths to this guy?

The realization made me feel strangely hollow.

Sensing the emotion in my voice, Yulen blinked his big eyes innocently and replied.

“Nope, never. If you use magic, you can get clean in the blink of an eye. Karsei also said taking baths when magic exists is inefficient.”

“Huh… Karsei said that?”

How could a human live while pursuing nothing but efficiency?

Humans weren’t creatures who could always act based purely on cold logic.

‘Or maybe you really need that level of extreme efficiency and time management to found an empire… sigh.’

Of course, I wasn’t someone who bathed in a tub every single time either.

Sometimes it was just too bothersome.

But every now and then, when you had the time, soaking in warm water with bath salts was incredibly relaxing.

While silently complaining about that so-called Emperor Karsei, I dipped my finger into the bathwater to check the temperature.

It was perfect.

“Yeah. I was almost always beside Karsei, so I used magic to wash him twice a day.”

As Yulen spoke, I chose one of the bath oils nearby that had a color I liked and poured it in.

After a few gentle swirls, the liquid blended quickly into the water, turning it a soft pink.

A sweet fragrance drifted up.

‘Peach scent.’

Both the scent and color were pleasing, and my lips curled up into a smile.

“The water’s perfect, so get in and experience for yourself why baths feel good.”

And with that, I plopped Yulen straight into the tub.

Soaking in the warm water made both my body and mind melt with relaxation.

Overwhelmed by the relentless waves of sleepiness, I barely managed to pull on the robe that had been prepared.

Then, dragging my heavy body along, I slowly made my way toward the bedroom.

It felt as if sandbags were tied to my arms and legs.

One amusing thing was that Yulen seemed quite reluctant to leave the bath—whether he liked the bath oil or just enjoyed soaking in the water.

Fighting to keep my eyes open, I dried his silver scales with a towel, which now carried the gentle scent of the bath oil.

‘Looking at him like this, he really is different from ordinary reptiles.’

Perhaps because he was a dragon, each scale looked like it had been crafted from melted silver—delicate and intricate.

Holding the now extra-smooth Yulen, I collapsed onto the bed and mumbled.

“I don’t want to dream…”

When I was this tired, all I wanted was to fall asleep peacefully without dreaming at all.

Just as I buried my face in the pillow and drifted toward sleep, I heard a voice near my ear.

“You don’t want to dream?”

“Mhm…”

I might have answered reflexively.

Then I closed my eyes.

And that night, I truly slept deeply without dreaming.

I slept so soundly that I only realized morning had come when a maid knocked on the door.

My face scrunched up in irritation.

Knock, knock.

“Lady, we’ve come to assist with your morning preparations. May we come in?”

The soft voice from behind the door reached my ears.

Hearing the unfamiliar voice half-asleep, I shot upright like a spring.

Yulen!

My heart pounded wildly.

I hurriedly looked around the room. Spotting a thin blanket neatly folded on the side table, I snatched it quickly.

Then I whispered to Yulen, who was stretched out on the bed.

“Yulen. If the maids come in to clean the room while you’re alone, that’ll be bad. Let’s go out together like yesterday. Stay quiet and still, okay?”

“Okay.”

I wrapped the blanket around him and covered it halfway with the duvet before calling the waiting maids inside.

The maids entered quietly and bowed politely to me as I sat awkwardly on the bed.

“Lady, we apologize, but since no women have visited this mansion before, we don’t have suitable dresses prepared. It may take some time, but would it be alright if we purchase a dress for you?”

“How long would that take?”

“Approximately two hours.”

That was a problem.

Today I needed to go out to buy Amon’s gift, and afterward I had to return home in time.

I needed to move as quickly as possible.

“Any clothes that are wearable are fine. Is there really nothing suitable?”

“…Actually, there are a few dresses that belonged to our late mistress. If it wouldn’t make you uncomfortable, may we bring one of those?”

Late mistress?

So Arvan’s mother had passed away…

I hadn’t asked about his family, so I had no idea.

But wearing the clothes of someone who had died felt like it might be very disrespectful to Arvan.

“Shouldn’t you ask Arv… His Excellency first?”

“In fact, His Excellency instructed us to ask the Lady’s opinion. If you’re comfortable with it, we were told to prepare them.”

“…Then I’ll wear one.”

When I agreed, the maid gestured to another maid beside her.

That maid bowed and quickly left the room.

The maid who remained bowed again and spoke.

“We will prepare it shortly. In the meantime, may we assist you with washing up, Lady?”

“No. I’ll wash and get ready myself. Just bring the dress.”

“…Understood.”

As she left and the door closed, I let out a long sigh.

“Phew…”

Hiding the existence of a dragon was proving to be far more difficult than I had expected.