* * *
Zavad turned his body back into the tub and rested his head gently on the edge.
Ranshel lathered the soap with his wet hands and began gently massaging it into Zavad’s hair.
But every time he moved his hands, Zavad flinched like a turtle pulling its head in.
“Move your head a little closer this way.”
“……”
Whether he was listening or not, Zavad stayed in that half-curled-up position.
The bubbles kept falling into the clear water.
‘Do you know how much trouble it was to bring this water?’
It bothered him to see the water getting dirty after all the effort.
Ranshel pressed his fingers firmly into the back of Zavad’s stiff neck.
“Just relax and let your head fall back. Don’t fight it.”
Finally, Zavad began to loosen his neck muscles little by little.
His head tilted back, eyes tightly shut, facing Ranshel.
Now he could finally wash his hair properly.
Surely he’d been bathed by servants since he was little—why was he so tense now?
‘…Did something happen before to make him tense?’
Ranshel shook the thought away before it could dig in.
Thinking too deeply about what other servants may or may not have done wouldn’t help anyone.
He rinsed out the foam, applied the scented oil carefully, and soon Zavad’s black hair glistened with a healthy shine.
Ranshel admired his handiwork with a satisfied expression, then clapped his hands as if to say, “Done.”
Zavad slowly opened his eyes.
Long lashes fluttered as crimson irises came into view.
‘If he just didn’t talk… seriously, is this a doll or a person?’
Ranshel suppressed the awe that bubbled up in his throat and kept moving his hands.
He could feel Zavad’s gaze fixed on him, but something told him he shouldn’t meet his eyes right now.
In any world, no one is immune to the sight of a beautiful person wet and glistening.
Ranshel quickly lowered his head and finished the rest of the task.
When he straightened his back, a dull ache ran through his entire body.
Ranshel thumped his back with a clenched fist and walked over to a shelf.
He grabbed a towel as long as he was tall and carefully wrapped it around Zavad.
Thanks to the warm water, Zavad’s skin was slightly flushed, and his silky hair gave off a sweet scent.
His usual sharp, guarded eyes had softened.
He even looked a little dazed, like he was halfway to sleep.
Seeing that relaxed face, after always witnessing his prickly and edgy side, felt strangely refreshing.
Honestly… he looked kind of cute.
‘Is this what people mean when they say someone’s fun to take care of?’
There was a quiet kind of enjoyment to it—like tending to a calm, beautiful doll.
If Ranshel weren’t so obsessed with the game rewards, this probably would’ve been the natural state of their relationship.
He found more pleasure in caring for someone than tormenting them.
That was simply his nature.
But right now, he was trying very hard to go against that nature.
“Try to stay still, will you? You do know who has to clean the floor if water spills, don’t you?”
Zavad, who had been slumped in a drowsy, relaxed state, snapped to attention at Ranshel’s cold tone.
The serene atmosphere shattered like glass, and a chilly tension settled in the air.
“Why should I care about that? Cleaning the floor crouched down like a servant—that’s your job, isn’t it?”
“Then I guess your job, sir, is to make a mess of the floor? Why not just spill the whole bath while you’re at it?”
Zavad bit down on his lip and shot Ranshel a glare before sitting down in his usual chair.
“Whatever. Just be quiet and bring me something to wear.”
“If you put clothes on now, they’ll get soaked. I’m not helping you change twice. Let’s start with drying your hair first.”
Sitting around wet after a bath could cause your body temperature to drop rapidly and lead to a cold.
And considering Zavad wasn’t in the best shape already, Ranshel couldn’t afford to let that happen.
This time, he grabbed a small towel from the shelf and wrapped it around Zavad’s head, firmly squeezing out the water.
Once the soaking strands stopped dripping, he gave them a thorough shake to help them dry better.
‘No hair dryer—it’s taking forever.’
He’d need to comb through and part the hair before it fully dried.
Lost in thought about the next step, Ranshel kept his hands moving automatically.
“You’re kind of weird,” Zavad said suddenly.
“You’re only realizing that now?” Ranshel replied flatly.
“No, that’s not what I mean… You can’t even pick out clothes properly, but you’re weirdly good at this kind of stuff.”
Ranshel couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult.
He gave a faint chuckle.
Anyone who’d taken care of someone for long enough would naturally get used to drying someone else’s hair.
“I have a younger sibling.”
“…Do I remind you of them or something?”
Zavad tilted his head slightly and looked up at Ranshel.
There was a strange glimmer in his eyes—almost… hopeful?
‘Is he longing for a sibling?’
Technically, he had an older brother, the eldest of their house.
But judging by the way things were, they probably barely ever saw each other.
Ranshel answered honestly.
“Don’t say ridiculous things. My sibling is way cuter and more lovable than a stubborn brat like you.”
Zavad’s face instantly stiffened. His delicate brows furrowed deep.
“If they take after you, that’s not possible. So you two don’t resemble each other at all, huh?”
“Nope. People believe we’re not even related.”
And thank goodness for that.
Without realizing it, Ranshel let out a soft, genuine smile.
Zavad stared at him wide-eyed, like a startled cat.
Gratitude and kindness didn’t mean much in this place anyway.
Whatever.
The truth wouldn’t ever come out.
If it did, he could just laugh it off and say, “You believed that crap?”
But now that he’d mentioned his sibling for the first time in a while, his lips itched with the urge to talk more.
He couldn’t help it.
She was just too sweet, too precious not to talk about.
Smiling to himself, Ranshel decided to spill a bit more.
“She’s not a brother. I have a younger sister.”
“…A little sister?”
“Yep. And she’s so pretty. Even when she was little, the neighborhood boys would line up behind her like a string of sausages.”
“…Sounds like she was pretty popular.”
“Oh, totally. When we went grocery shopping together, even the adults would hand her snacks and candy, saying how adorable she was…”
Ranshel went on cheerfully, caught up in the memory, and Zavad, watching him in a daze, muttered under his breath:
“So that’s why you’re so obsessed with money…”
“………”
‘Wait, I look obsessed?’
And—money?
What’s he going on about?
Ranshel tilted his head, confused.
But Zavad was lost in his own thoughts and didn’t seem to notice Ranshel’s reluctant expression.
“If you want to marry her off somewhere nice, I bet that’s a headache. You got any savings?”
“………”
Who did this brat think he was, some nosy relative?
The way he talked reminded Ranshel of what Gary said yesterday.
Maybe people from this world just thought that way.
It was definitely different from the Nameless brothers, who only ever plotted how to crush each other.
Well, they were only family in name, anyway.
‘Didn’t I tell Gary I don’t care about family?’
He had kept things vague on purpose, not wanting anyone digging too deep.
Ranshel briefly considered telling Zavad he was estranged from his family, too—but shook the idea off.
“If I had money, I wouldn’t be working here.”
Now that his sister had been brought up, there was no point pretending like he had no ties.
Might as well milk it for contribution points.
* * *
