After the meeting concluded, Kiz didn’t wait for Elia at all, departing with long, forceful strides. Seeing this, Elia gave chase.
“Kiz, slow down a bit! I can’t keep up.”
“Who cares about you!”
Despite her sharp words, Kiz’s pace noticeably slowed. Elia let out a soft chuckle and quickly caught up to her side.
“By the way… where exactly is your room? We’ve been walking for ages and we’re still not there,” Elia couldn’t help but ask after a while.
“We’re almost there. My chambers are on the top floor of the castle because it’s quieter…” Kiz murmured.
After traversing two more corridors, they arrived before a pair of massive double doors. The doors were a dark crimson, intricately carved with patterns of bats and moons, looking incredibly expensive. Elia made a mental estimate. ‘The material for these doors must be some kind of rare wood. In my previous world, this would probably be worth a whole house.’
Kiz pushed the doors open, and the sight beyond caused Elia to daze for a moment. The room was large—absurdly large. In the center stood a four-poster bed draped in dark red curtains, with a massive fireplace nearby. One side of the room featured a wall-to-wall bookshelf packed with heavy, ancient volumes. On the other side, a grand floor-to-ceiling window overlooked the entire castle garden.
“This is your room?” Elia asked.
“Yes. The side chamber is over there…” Kiz pointed toward a small door on the right side of the room.
Elia walked over and pushed it open to take a look. Well, the side room prepared for her wasn’t small either. It had a bed, a wardrobe, a vanity… and even its own private bathroom. The window here faced the other side of the castle, offering a view of the distant mountains.
“Not bad,” Elia nodded with satisfaction.
“O-Of course it is!” Kiz puffed out her chest. “I am a Blood Princess. I wouldn’t mistreat my own… servant.” She clearly tripped over the word “servant.”
Elia turned and walked back into the master bedroom, then, under Kiz’s horrified gaze, flopped right down onto the large bed.
“W-What are you doing! That’s my bed!” Kiz immediately rushed over and shouted.
“I know,” Elia said with a beaming smile. “What’s wrong with me sitting here for a moment? It’s not like I’ll break it.”
“But… but…”
“Or perhaps Her Highness wishes to order me to get up?” Elia asked, tilting her head.
Kiz opened her mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing. Instead, she stomped over to her desk and sat down with her back to Elia, huffing in frustration.
‘Wait, is she actually pouting?’
Elia found it a bit funny. She stood up, walked behind Kiz, leaned down toward her ear, and whispered, “Are you angry?”
“No!”
“You clearly are. Your ears are turning red~” Elia teased.
Kiz frantically covered her ears and leaped from her chair, backing away several steps until her back hit the bookshelf.
“D-Don’t get so close!”
“Why?” Elia approached her step by step. “Aren’t we in a master-servant relationship? It’s perfectly normal for a servant to be close to their master, right?”
“It is n-not normal! Besides, you’re the real master here!” Kiz’s voice was now verging on a sob.
Elia stopped a pace away and studied her. How should she put it… the little Blood Clan girl looked truly pitiful right now. Her eyes were red, her lips were trembling slightly, and her hands were gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, like a startled little animal.
‘Ah, what a great expression.’ Elia gave herself a mental thumbs-up.
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” She took a step back and spread her hands. “I just wanted to ask when I can take a bath. I’m still covered in blood.”
Kiz blinked for a few seconds before whispering, “There is hot water in the side room’s bathroom. You can wash whenever you like…”
“And clothes? I can’t keep wearing this one forever.”
“There are spare clothes in the wardrobe. They s-should fit…”
“Thanks.” Elia turned toward the side room, glancing back once she reached the doorway. “By the way, do you want to bathe with me?”
“N-No!”
“What a shame~” Elia laughed and closed the door.
In truth, Elia was only talking big. If the little princess had actually agreed, she wouldn’t have known what to do.
…
The tub in the bathroom was already filled with hot water, and red petals Elia didn’t recognize were floating on the surface. ‘Is this some kind of special Blood Clan spice?’ Next to the bath was a rack holding various bathing supplies.
Elia stood by the edge of the tub, looking at her reflection in the water. Long golden hair, blue eyes, and an exquisitely delicate face.
“So, I really did become a girl…” she muttered to herself.
Though she had already accepted this reality, she still felt a sense of unreality every time she saw herself in a mirror. She then undid the ties of her dress, letting the white Lolita dress slide off her shoulders and pile at her feet.
Next came the underwear. This part made Elia’s face flush hot. Seriously, after being a man for over twenty years in her past life, having to take off a girl’s underwear herself… the feeling was just too strange, even if it was her own body. She tried her best not to look at herself as she quickly shed the rest of her clothes.
Then, she stepped into the bath. The moment the warm water enveloped her body, she let out a sigh of pure bliss.
“Ah… that feels amazing…”
Leaning against the edge of the tub, Elia finally had a chance to properly observe this body. First was the skin—very white and very tender. This made sense, as a pampered Saint would never have a blemish on her skin. As for her figure… well, there really wasn’t much of one. It was so flat you could probably land a plane on it.
Then, she lifted a small hand to inspect it. While her nails weren’t as sharp as Kiz’s, they were quite long. Memories from the original owner told her that in the Human Empire, it was a tradition for a Saint to keep long nails as a symbol of purity and nobility.
“But won’t they get in the way during a fight?” Elia wondered aloud. She tried making a fist. ‘Yeah… they definitely get in the way.’
However, the original memories also told her that a Saint didn’t need fists to fight; a single magic spell could solve everything.
“Fine, point taken.”
Elia submerged herself completely in the water. She soaked for about ten minutes before starting to wash her hair. To be honest, washing a girl’s long hair was such a chore. In her past life, she had short hair and could finish in five minutes. Now, it took her a full twenty minutes and half a bottle of shampoo to get all the bloodstains and dust out of this waist-length golden hair.
By the time she finished, she was so exhausted she leaned against the edge of the tub, panting heavily.
“Being a girl… is so tiring…”
After resting for a bit, she began washing her body. This part was even more awkward. Her heart would race whenever she touched certain areas.
‘Stay calm, stay calm. This is your own body now… there’s nothing to be shy about…’ She comforted herself as she quickly finished her bath.
Afterward, she climbed out and dried herself off. Opening the wardrobe, she found over a dozen outfits hanging neatly inside. Most were white and similar in style to the one she wore before—all Lolita-style dresses. There were also some nightgowns and underwear.
Elia chose the simplest white nightgown and sat down at the vanity, gently drying her hair with a towel. In the mirror, her cheeks were slightly flushed from the hot water, her blue eyes were misty, and her wet, long hair draped over her shoulders.
“Who could possibly resist this…” Elia couldn’t help but comment. “I’m almost making myself blush from how cute I am.”
After drying for a long time, her hair was still damp. She tried to recall how the original owner handled her hair. According to her memory, the original owner would use a simple wind magic spell to dry it.
“Wind magic, huh…” She raised her hand, attempting to circulate her mana.
A small breeze appeared in her palm. It worked! Elia’s eyes lit up as she controlled the wind to weave through her hair. Two minutes later, her hair was dry.
‘Heh, using wind magic to dry hair… I suppose that’s expected of a Saint.’
After drying her hair, Elia slumped into a nearby chair, quietly playing with her nails.