Published: July 29, 2025
Tunic was a woman who laughed a lot. Smiling brightly, chuckling softly, she led me to the side of the bath.
“Well then, let’s start with a rough wash~”
I was made to sit on a low wooden chair. Tunic scooped water from the bath with a bucket and gently poured it over my back.
“How’s the heat of the water?”
“I-it’s fine. Just right…”
“That’s good to hear. I’ll start scrubbing slowly now.”
“Y-yes…”
Once stripped naked, I had no choice but to obey quietly. Tunic lathered soap with a soft cloth and began scrubbing my back.
Wow… it feels good. The creamy, thick foam seemed to absorb all the dirt. The part she scrubbed felt light and refreshed.
The occasional splash of warm water was so comforting it made me feel like melting.
Scrubbing with just the right pressure, Tunic murmured with surprise.
“A lot of dead skin is coming off. Didn’t the baron’s household have a bath attendant?”
“W-well, no. We’re poor… Besides, the bathhouse is cold and you can’t stay long, so my back tends to be neglected.”
“Don’t you soak in the water?”
“Sometimes, but since the small tub is shared among family members in turns, by the time it’s my turn, there’s usually no hot water left. I just rinse off the dirt with well water.”
“Hmmm…?”
It seemed she had some thoughts about the count’s household bath attendant. I started to feel embarrassed. I thought I wasn’t unclean at the very least, but apparently, that was just the bare minimum. Surely the count himself didn’t have this much dead skin coming off.
I looked down and muttered an excuse.
“Still, I washed properly before entering the royal capital yesterday. I wouldn’t want to be turned away at the gate smelling bad when visiting the count.”
“...Before the royal capital… in the river?”
“Yes, with soap too. I even did laundry at the same time.”
“Laundry soap on your skin and hair?”
I nodded. Hm? What’s so funny?
“I see… so that’s why your hair is like that…
I understand now. Lady Marie, let’s warm your whole body in the bath first. Your skin isn’t used to stimulation and if we scrub too hard now, it might get damaged. The real scrubbing will be after that.”
With that, she splashed water over my shoulders with a splash. Before I could react, she grabbed my arm and guided me into the bath.
It was a deep bath, reaching the base of my neck.
“This water smells nice. What’s in it?”
“Salt, honey, and citrus fruit liquor.”
“Sounds delicious.”
“Hehe, it’s diluted, so it tastes bad as is. This is a beauty bath.”
“Beauty… just by soaking, you become beautiful?”
“Yes, it’s a formula with strong cleansing power and a bit harsh, so I’ll finish with cream afterward. Lady Marie, please turn your back toward me, lean on the side of the bath, and look up.”
I obeyed, and Tunic started washing my hair. What is this? It’s different from the soap we use at home. It’s a viscous liquid, spreading like oil. She rinsed it repeatedly, washed twice with foam, and then massaged in some thick medicinal liquid.
“Hmm… There are some tangled clumps here.”
“Oh… sorry. You don’t want to touch it, right? You can just cut it off with scissors.”
“Hahaha, I’m not shearing sheep. It’s okay, first I’ll remove the grease and then carefully untangle it. Only the hopeless parts will get a little snip.”
Sometimes I felt my hair pulled, but it didn’t hurt. It was so pleasant I felt sleepy. My hair was wrapped in a warm cloth and steamed.
“Now I’ll wash your face too. Please close your eyes.”
“O-okay.”
“Then soak a little more, and after that, we’ll wash your whole body again.”
“Wash again? I don’t think I’m dirty anymore.”
“Just leave it to me. I’ll renew you from the tips of your toes.”
“Renew…?”
With a nod and an alluring wink, Tunic said.
“All right then… please take care of me…”
And so, I lost track of what exactly was happening, but the pleasant sensation continued.
…Renewed.