Chapter 52: The Shower and Silent Fears

It has already been three days since I arrived at Celian’s mansion. Time really flies.

“Then, did you throw away the torn school uniform?”

“There’s no reason to keep a torn one, right?”

I wasn’t sure when exactly my uniform had been changed, but of course, it must have been thrown away. Who would keep someone else’s torn uniform?

“No, I would have kept it.”

“Ah, I can see that. With Celian’s personality, you might have repaired it and used it again.”

Despite being the daughter of a marquis and financially well-off, Celian sometimes showed a frugal side, which made this possibility believable.

“Yes, that’s right! Absolutely.”

“I should have asked Yuri about it. If it was only a small tear, it would have been fine to mend it instead of throwing it away.”

Why didn’t I think of that at the time? I wasn’t particularly concerned about clothes, and if the tear wasn’t too bad, I could have used it without repairing it.

From Yuri’s perspective, she probably gave me a nearly new uniform out of guilt, instead of repairing the old one. Given Yuri’s somewhat timid personality, that seems like a plausible assumption.

But now, what can be done? My original uniform is probably already tossed in the trash somewhere.

Even if I meet Yuri again, there’s no need to bring up the uniform. It would be embarrassing to be so fixated on the past, and I’m sure Yuri would just feel sorry for me again if I did.

“By the way, Celian?”

“Yes, what is it?”

Celian responded with an innocent voice, standing next to me in my room.

“Are you going to stay there?”

“Huh?”

I was hinting at something, but I was also indirectly issuing a command to Celian. Although it was currently my room, Celian was still the rightful owner of the house. Depending on how it was heard, my words could be uncomfortable for her.

But the situation was such that I had no other way to phrase it.

“I was thinking of taking a shower after sweating from the training. Didn’t you sweat too?”

After finishing the morning training and talking with Celian, we had naturally ended up in my room.

I didn’t notice until I gathered my change of clothes for the shower.

“Ah… right.”

Celian seemed to realize what I meant when she saw the underwear I was holding in my hand. However, she still didn’t move, quietly standing there and looking at the underwear, as if lost in thought.

“Shower…”

“Celian?”

“Oh, right. I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll shower and change, then come back.”

After I called her again, Celian quickly left the room.

Once Celian left, I entered the changing room, took off my clothes, and tossed them into the laundry basket.

At the dormitory, I had to wash my own clothes, which was a hassle, but in this noble mansion, the maids took care of it, cleaning and returning everything, which was much more convenient.

I placed my clean clothes on the other side and entered the shower room.

The shower room was surprisingly spacious for a shower room, and a personal bathtub was tucked in one corner. Of course, I wasn’t planning to take a bath; I just wanted to wash off the sweat.

Back when I was an assassin, I could never have dreamed of having warm water like this. After indulging in a little luxury, I reached for the body wash to clean myself.

Then, suddenly, I noticed something familiar about the body wash bottle.

It was the same brand I had used in the dormitory. The bottle next to it looked familiar too, and upon closer inspection, it was the same shampoo I had used.

Wow, it’s almost like they tailored everything to my preferences. It’s not just luck anymore—it’s becoming a little uncanny.

By the way, this shampoo… I distinctly remember being told that it was a limited edition product exclusive to the Pelches region when I bought it.

It must have been a lie from a salesman just trying to sell more products.

After all, when something is labeled as a limited edition, even those who had no intention of buying it would end up reaching for it.

I, too, was originally planning to grab anything random, but the “limited edition” label convinced me to choose it.

Of course, I don’t have any complaints about the product itself. In fact, I’ve kept using it because I liked the scent of the shampoo.

There’s no need to go and make a fuss about it.

The salesman was probably just trying to make a living, so I’ll let it go.

While I was briefly admiring the products, the wetness on my body slowly began to dry.

I stopped with the pointless thinking and properly cleaned my body, now used to the process.

After drying myself off with a towel, I came out of the changing room.

If someone had seen me, they would have probably scolded me to dry myself properly and not leave water everywhere, but there was no one here for me to be self-conscious around.

Still, not wanting to leave the floor damp, I threw the towel on the ground and wiped it down with my foot.

Once the towel had done its job, I picked it up and threw it into the laundry basket, along with the clothes and underwear I had discarded earlier.

“Eh?”

But when I checked the laundry basket, my clothes and underwear were missing.

I assumed that one of the maids who was in charge of laundry must have collected them while I was in the shower.

The strange thing is…

“When did they come and go?”

They must have come and gone quietly, noticing that I was in the shower and wanting to be considerate.

Even so, I’m surprised I didn’t sense anything. I’m usually quite aware of such things, but I didn’t notice anything while they came and went during my shower.

I didn’t even hear the door to the changing room open.

At this rate, I feel like I could switch careers and become an assassin.

If the maids in the marquis’ family are this skilled, I can only imagine what the maids in a duke’s or the royal family’s house would be like—probably emitting an aura like a sword!

“Ah-choo!”

As I stood there, lost in such trivial thoughts, I began to feel a chill despite being freshly showered.

Normally, I wouldn’t worry about catching a cold since my body was trained and resistant, but now that I’ve become a woman, my body is much more sensitive, so I can’t make any guarantees.

I absentmindedly rubbed my arms with both hands before quickly changing into the underwear and clothes I had brought.

Tick Tick…

The grandfather clock in the living room chimed, signaling that it was noon.

“Hmm?”

Since I had sent Celian out of my room and washed up, it was only natural that Celian would be later than me.

Celian had also mentioned that she would come to my room after showering.

So, while waiting, I pulled a book from the shelf and started reading.

I got so immersed in the novel that I didn’t realize how much time had passed.

Before I knew it, it was almost twelve o’clock.

It had already been over two hours since I finished showering and started reading.

Unlike when I was a man, I knew that women take a lot more time to wash up and get ready, but even so, two hours seemed a bit excessive.

Since I had a book to read, I wasn’t too worried about being bored while waiting.

But still, I closed the book and decided to get up.

I knew where Celian’s room was, and instead of just waiting, I thought it might be nice to go and check on her myself.

I climbed the stairs and stopped in front of Celian’s door.

I knocked softly, but there was no response from inside.

Just to check, I tried the doorknob and turned it.

Since it was her own house, she hadn’t bothered to lock it, so the door opened easily.

I entered the room and looked around, but I couldn’t see Celian. Instead, I could faintly hear the sound of water, indicating she was still in the shower.

Just as I had decided to wait for Celian to finish her shower and return to my room, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

What if something happened while she was in the shower?

No matter how strong Celian is, there’s always a possibility. She might have collapsed from sudden anemia, or perhaps she slipped and hit her head before she could react.

If that’s the case, there’s no time to waste.

I moved toward the sound of water, opened the door, and stepped into the changing room.

As I entered the changing room, the sound of water became clearer.

I could also faintly hear Celian’s voice, as if she was humming a tune. Fortunately, it seemed like she hadn’t collapsed in the shower.

Still, just in case, I decided to knock carefully on the shower door to check on her.

Knock knock

“Celian?”

“Haah… Aah!?”

I had tried to knock as quietly as possible, but as expected, she was caught off guard by my unexpected visit and let out a surprised scream.

Seemingly wary, she turned off the shower and all that could be heard was the sound of water droplets falling one by one.

“Ah! Sorry, it’s me. Elysia.”

“E-El…?”

“I was worried because you hadn’t come out for a while, so I came to check. I thought maybe you collapsed in the shower or something.”

Celian seemed to take a moment to calm down, likely trying to steady herself after the shock.

After a brief silence, I finally heard her voice again, sounding more composed.

“…Yeah. No, no problem… Aah!”

“I was just worried something might have happened, but I’m glad it’s nothing.”

“Yeah, yeah! Ha… I’m just… sweating and showering… Hah! It feels good.”

Since Celian’s voice was trembling, I felt a bit concerned, but it seemed like everything was fine.

“Is that so? Still, it’s already been two hours, so let’s finish up and go eat.”

“I’ll be done… soon… Hah!”

“Hmm? You’re sure you’re okay, right?”

“Yeah! It’s just… I… dropped the shower ball…”

I could hear the sound of her rubbing herself with water, as if she was still lathering up in the quiet shower.

But for some reason, thinking of Celian naked behind the door made her voice sound quite alluring.

“Well then, I’ll go back to the room and wait. Call me when you’re done.”

“Nehehe…”

Since I had confirmed that Celian was fine and there was no reason to stay, I quickly left the changing room before any unnecessary thoughts crossed my mind.

I went back to my room, intending to continue reading the novel I had been immersed in earlier, but I couldn’t concentrate at all.

***

I had to go to the bathroom for a moment.

Celian returned about 20 minutes after I went to the bathroom.