Chapter 21 Fraud
1410words
This place hardly looked like a bathroom; it was more like a temple dedicated to the god of water.
A massive circular bath occupied the center of the entire space. The bottom and walls of the pool were carved from a single enormous piece of black obsidian, polished to a smooth, warm finish. The water had a strange, milky white color as if moonlight had been dissolved into it, and was emitting rising wisps of steam. The misty vapors blurred one's vision, giving the entire space a dreamlike, ethereal quality.
Even more luxurious was the wide water surface, covered with a thick layer of bright red rose petals still dripping with dewdrops. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of roses, mixed with another aroma of essential oil that I couldn't name but had a calming effect, reaching the height of extravagance.
And at the center of this extravagant feast was the man who had just dragged me here like a tyrant.
Frederick was bare-chested, lounging lazily at the edge of the pool, allowing the warm water to soak his long and powerful body. His eyes were closed, his expression seemingly relaxed, but the slightly upturned corners of his mouth betrayed his excellent mood at this moment.
I stood by the pool, looking at him, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Droplets of water slid down his wet, black hair tips, flowing across his well-defined collarbone, before disappearing into the milky-white pool water. His skin, rarely exposed to sunlight, emanated a jade-like luster under the rising steam. Those smooth yet firm muscle lines, though not as exaggerated as those of beast warrior, were filled with restrained elegance and deadly power, like that of a cheetah.
【System Alert: You are engaging in prolonged, inappropriate staring at the target, heart rate +30, mental state showing tendencies toward 'infatuation'.】
"Keep staring, and your eyes will fall out."
Just as I was in a daze, the man in the pool suddenly opened his eyes. His deep purple eyes appeared especially profound in the steam, now carrying a hint of playful amusement as he looked at me lazily.
He beckoned to me with his finger.
That scene was absolutely dripping with sensuality!
My face "boom" instantly burned up, burning hotter than the fire in a stove. I hurriedly shifted my gaze, staring fixedly at a nearby pillar used for hanging bath towels, as if it had some extraordinary magical runes carved on it.
"Don't look at what shouldn't be seen! Don't look at what shouldn't be seen! I didn't see anything! All I saw was a bunch of mosaic blur!" I frantically chanted this purification mantra in my mind.
"Come here."
His voice rose a few notches, carrying an undeniable tone of command.
Of course I didn't dare to go over! Go over for what? To scrub your back? That's not within the scope of a maid's duties! Besides, men and women should maintain proper distance. You, a virile Demon King, and me, a powerless flower spirit - if word of this got out...
While I was still engaged in this intense internal struggle, he seemed to have already lost his patience.
I only felt a blur before my eyes, then a pale yet powerful hand covered with water droplets shot out of the water surface as quick as lightning, grabbing my wrist with absolute precision.
"Eh?!"
Before I could even let out a cry of surprise, an immense, irresistible force transmitted from my wrist.
"Splash—!"
A loud noise.
As everything spun around me, I was yanked into the bath with one pull.
【System Notification: Player status changed. New negative status added: 【Soaking Wet】, 【Choking on Water】, 【Disheveled Appearance】.】
The warm pool water instantly engulfed me, and choking water filled my nose and mouth. Rose petals smeared all over my face, and that rich fragrance now smelled lethally overwhelming.
"Cough... cough cough... cough! What are you doing!"
I struggled desperately in the water, barely managing to surface, coughing while shouting at him in anger. My lady-in-waiting gown was completely soaked through, clinging tightly to my body, revealing embarrassing curves, making me look utterly pathetic.
However, the culprit merely laughed, enjoying my miserable state.
He still firmly gripped my wrist, not allowing me to break free, then with a slight tug, pulled me closer to him in the water.
"Shall we bathe together?"
His deep voice, tinged with amusement, sounded right beside my ear. The warm breath brushed against my earlobe, giving me goosebumps all over.
The distance between us couldn't possibly be any closer.
I could clearly see my own stupid, panicked expression reflected in his purple eyes. I could smell his distinctly masculine scent—a mixture of water vapor and a faint hint of sulfur that belonged only to him.
That aura enveloped my entire being, forming an airtight, ambiguous cage around me.
I nervously held my head up, my neck almost stiff, desperately fixing my gaze on his chin, firmly refusing to lower it even an inch.
You've got to be kidding! Any lower, and that would be R-18 restricted content! I'm just a moonlight flower spirit, not some goddess with a hard drive full of videos!
He seemed quite pleased with my wooden puppet-like stiffness, the smile at the corner of his lips deepening.
Taking advantage of the situation, he released my wrist and instead wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling my body, somewhat unstable due to the water's buoyancy, entirely toward him.
"Ah!"
My foot slipped, my center of gravity completely lost, and I couldn't control myself as I tumbled forward.
My face landed, firmly and squarely, against a warm and solid chest.
【System Alert: Player has made zero-distance contact with target! Contact area: 85%! Player dignity value -100! Innocence defense line is under fierce attack!】
My brain, at this moment, completely stopped functioning.
Time, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
I could feel, through a thin layer of soaked fabric, the astonishing heat and hardness of his chest. I could hear the steady and powerful heartbeat within his chest, "thump, thump, thump," each beat seemed to knock against my own heart.
"Fre... Frederick!"
I frantically called out this name that I had kept in my heart but hadn't spoken aloud for ten years.
This address was like a switch.
The man who held me captive in his arms froze for a moment. Then, I heard him emit an extremely pleased, satisfied low chuckle from his chest.
He released his hand from around my waist, and instead raised it to gently pinch my cheek.
That gesture again.
That familiar gesture, carrying a hint of punishment, yet incredibly gentle.
With those deep purple eyes that seemed capable of drawing one in, he gazed deeply at me, then, his thin lips parted, and he pronounced, word by word, the phrase that determined my fate:
"Liar."
These two syllables, so soft, so gentle, yet like a thunderbolt, exploded in my mind.
I understood instantly.
Everything became clear.
He had recognized me.
Not suspicion, not conjecture, but one hundred percent certainty.
Starting with that bowl of water lily soup whose recipe only he and I knew, he had already begun to suspect.
From last night's prolonged gaze, those precisely aimed flicks to my forehead, that testing pinch of my cheek mimicking my gesture from years ago, he had already been confirming.
Until just now, when in my panic, I blurted out that name—not "Master," not "Your Majesty," but "Frederick."
In this world, only one person has the right, and once used that tone, to call his name so intimately.
That person is his mentor, Winifred.
All the probing, all the pretense, lost their meaning in this moment.
We both knew clearly that this secret now stood between us, crystal clear.
But in the eyes of outsiders, in the eyes of the entire magic realm, even in the settings of that damned game system, Mentor "Winifred" had died ten years ago to protect him. I am just a moonlight flower sprite, a pitiful, humble substitute found by him.
This secret can never be spoken aloud.
It will become the unspoken understanding between the two of us.
A grand drama performed by us two, deceiving the entire world.
I am his deceiver.
And he is my accomplice.
