Free Web NovelInside the bathing room of the Duke Family's Marquis' estate.
At this moment...
After a round of utterly ineffective resistance, Miss Yumo—still disguised as a little girl—was stripped of her clothes by four maid attendants just as expected and gently placed into the bath.
Although Miss Yumo repeatedly insisted that she was already perfectly clean and didn't need a bath, she simply couldn't withstand the enthusiasm of the four maids.
Enmm...
After all, this was the task their mistress had given them...
Considering that these maids harbored no hostility whatsoever and were instead overflowing with kindness, their eyes filled with excitement...
Miss Yumo eventually gave up resisting and simply allowed the young women to fuss over her.
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The main reason...
Was that these young ladies were incredibly skilled at giving massages~
Having lived in this world for so long...
Experiencing what it felt like to be served by several maids like a wealthy noble...
Was actually quite refreshing~
And so, Miss Yumo quietly closed her eyes and began enjoying herself...
...
Meanwhile...
As she carefully washed Yumo's beautiful long pink hair, the young maid named Duo'er gradually found her eyes filling with tears.
Looking at the timid, bashful girl quietly soaking in the bath, Duo'er's emotions grew stronger and stronger.
Miss Xia'er has finally returned...
As Xia'er's former personal maid, Duo'er had always cherished the timid little girl as though she were her own younger sister.
During the years Xia'er had been missing, she'd spent every day in a daze, blaming herself endlessly.
If only I hadn't taken leave to visit my family during the festival...
Perhaps none of this would have happened.
But...
Thankfully, Heaven still had mercy.
Miss has finally come home...
It's just...
Miss seems...
The moment Duo'er noticed the slave brand around the pink-haired girl's ankle, her heart ached.
Who knew what inhuman suffering her young mistress had endured over these past years?
Then, while helping wash Yumo's body, she noticed the bruises and frostbite scars covering the girl's delicate skin.
It felt as though her heart were bleeding.
"It's alright now, Miss. No one will ever hurt you again."
"..."
Hearing the maid's comforting words and sensing the sympathetic gazes constantly directed toward her by the surrounding maids, Miss Yumo couldn't help feeling rather conflicted.
After all...
Those bruises, whip marks, and other injuries covering her body had all been simulated using the Shadow of Silence Power.
They existed purely to deceive people.
Yet seeing these servants become so heartbroken...
Yumo couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
Besides...
They all seemed to truly adore the girl named Xia'er...
The same was true of the Marchioness and the butler.
The love in their eyes was unquestionably genuine.
Receiving such sincere affection from complete strangers...
Even if it was affection directed toward the wrong person...
Filled Miss Yumo with a faint sense of guilt.
At that moment, the bathhouse door slowly opened.
Under the respectful gazes of the assembled maids, Avnora—now changed into a fresh set of clothes—entered the room and walked over to the bath.
"Let me do it."
"Yes, My Lady."
Upon hearing Avnora's words, the maids, including Duo'er, quietly stepped aside and handed over the bathing supplies.
Then...
Avnora gently reached out and personally began washing Yumo's beautiful hair.
Her hands were warm and comforting.
"Does it feel nice, Xia'er?"
However, Yumo didn't answer the question.
Instead, she once again emphasized her identity.
"I... I'm really... not your granddaughter."
Unfortunately...
Ever since learning from the Asumos Church that the "pink-haired girl" had lost her memory, Avnora had become even more convinced that Yumo was her granddaughter.
In her eyes, the little girl's resistance merely stemmed from fear of unfamiliar people.
Whether Xia'er recovered her memories or not didn't matter.
Avnora firmly believed that Xia'er's memories from her time as a slave must have been unimaginably horrifying.
That traumatic experience was undoubtedly the reason she'd developed amnesia.
Perhaps...
It was better if those memories never returned.
That way, Xia'er would never again have to suffer beneath those terrible recollections.
As for rebuilding the bond between Xia'er and her family...
Avnora had absolute confidence that through enough love, patience, and gentleness...
She would eventually open the girl's heart and bring her home once more.
"Be good, Xia'er. You don't have to be afraid anymore. You are my granddaughter, and the young lady of the Duke Family."
"From now on, no one will ever bully you again."
"You can live here peacefully."
"You'll never have to worry about being beaten or scolded."
"You'll never have to worry about hunger or cold."
"Everyone here will treasure and protect you."
...
While gently stroking Yumo's little head, Avnora spoke in an endlessly soothing voice.
Looking into the woman's utterly sincere expression, Miss Yumo fell silent once more.
She understood that no amount of explanation would accomplish anything.
The woman before her had already accepted from the bottom of her heart that she was her granddaughter.
The only way to make her recognize reality...
Would be to reveal a little of her power.
Should I do it?
With that thought, an almost imperceptible crimson gleam flickered through Miss Yumo's azure eyes.
However...
At that very moment...
The bathhouse door opened once again.
An elderly maid with a gentle appearance slowly entered.
The other maids immediately lowered their heads in greeting.
"Head Maid."
Sensing the disturbance behind her, Avnora slowly turned around.
"What is it, Jiela?"
"My Lady... well..."
The head maid called Jiela appeared somewhat hesitant.
Seeing that expression, Avnora immediately sensed something was wrong.
Her violet eyes narrowed slightly.
"What happened?"
"My Lady... the envoy sent by the Crown Prince, who has been staying at the estate... wishes to speak with you."
"Him? Why so suddenly?"
"Well..."
Upon hearing the question, Jiela awkwardly glanced toward the pink-haired girl quietly soaking among the flower petals.
"It may be... about the Crown Princess matter. Since Miss Xia'er has returned... I'm afraid... he intends to..."
"Are you saying..."
"...that bastard intends to make Xia'er the Crown Princess?!"
Fury immediately surged into Avnora's eyes.
For a moment...
The entire bathhouse fell into an eerie silence.
An oppressive atmosphere gradually spread throughout the room.
Powerful Seventh-Tier battle aura slowly leaked from Avnora's body, causing all the maids to tremble involuntarily.
Of course...
That pressure was completely useless against Miss Yumo.
However...
After overhearing their conversation, Miss Yumo suddenly became interested.
The Crown Prince?
That should be referring to the Child of Destiny.
Does this girl called Xia'er have a marriage arrangement with the Crown Prince?
If that's true...
Could I perhaps use this identity to meet him?
I'm rather curious about what the Child of Destiny is like now.
Thinking that, Miss Yumo deliberately asked in an innocent voice,
"Crown Princess??"
?!
'Ah?'
Hearing the pink-haired girl's question, Avnora immediately realized she'd lost control of herself.
She quickly withdrew the battle aura she'd unconsciously released before solemnly placing both hands on Yumo's shoulders.
Considering that little girls were usually fascinated by princes, royal weddings, and becoming Crown Princesses...
Avnora felt she absolutely had to make this perfectly clear.
"Xia'er! That Crown Prince is no good at all!"
"Hm?"
"That lecher has already been involved with five different women! And the only reason he wants you as Crown Princess isn't because he loves you! He plans to lure you to the imperial capital and use you to control the Duke Family! Xia'er, you have to understand—that man is not a good person!"
"..."
The disgust and hostility filling Avnora's voice whenever she mentioned the Crown Prince completely bewildered Miss Yumo.
She simply stood there blankly, blinking her azure eyes.
Huh?
Not a good person?
It sounds like this Child of Destiny...
Has quite a terrible reputation.
And...
A lecher?
Involved with five women?
Seriously?
If that's true...
He already has five romantic partners, yet he still wants to marry Mengxi?
D-Does that mean...
This Child of Destiny is one of those harem protagonists??
Would my Mengxi...
Become just another member of his harem?
The moment that thought crossed her mind...
Miss Yumo narrowed her eyes slightly.
Dark lines appeared across her forehead.
For some reason...
She felt...
A little annoyed.
...
However, just as Avnora continued patiently trying to persuade Yumo, endlessly listing the Crown Prince's faults...
The bathhouse doors suddenly burst open with a tremendous crash!!
"X-Xia'er?! She's been found?!"
As the doors flew open, a rough yet incomparably excited male voice thundered throughout the bathhouse!
The next moment...
An elderly man dressed in a blue-and-white military overcoat with a head of white hair rushed into the room without the slightest hesitation.
There was no doubt about it.
This old man was none other than the Duke Family's head, the hastily returned Marquis Xiumu-Duke.
However...
The instant she heard his voice, the corners of Avnora's mouth twitched violently.
Her words stopped abruptly.
In the next instant, she bit her lip, blazing fury erupting within her violet eyes.
Before Xiumu-Duke could even understand what was happening...
Under the stunned gazes of every maid present...
Wrapped in brilliant violet battle aura, Avnora instantly flashed in front of the old man.
"You senile old fossil!! Who gave you permission to barge into a young lady's bath chamber?!!!"
Accompanied by Avnora's furious roar...
Her iron fist, wrapped in battle aura, slammed directly into Xiumu-Duke's face...
Embedding itself squarely in it.
