* * *
“And… honestly, I expected it, but it suits you better than I thought. You look surprisingly pretty.”
“……Huh?”
“Of course, if someone looks closely, a sensitive person might become suspicious, but no one observes others so closely while praying. Do not worry too much.”
Daniel reassured Ranshel, patting his shoulder.
Ranshel began to doubt the veracity of the words coming from his mouth.
“Then I will step out while you change your clothes.”
Though there was no real need for it, Daniel opened the door and left with quick steps.
Ranshel took the long, ankle-covering dress, draped it over the table like a curtain, and hastily put it on.
It was a simple dress Daniel always wore while working as a servant, so it lacked ornamentation and had a plain design.
Ranshel kept looking in the mirror, wondering if he had worn it correctly.
“Are you done?”
‘Whoa!’
Ranshel was so surprised he couldn’t even scream, jumping up like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
It was because Zavad, with a nonchalant face, had opened the door again without knocking.
However, Zavad, who was examining Ranshel up and down with an uninspired gaze, suddenly grabbed the bottom hem of the dress and lifted it up sharply.
“What is this?”
“Whoa!”
This time, a sound burst out of Ranshel’s mouth.
Ranshel retreated backward, clenching and pulling the skirt hem with his fingertips.
“W-why are you suddenly trying to undress me?”
“I was just checking if you were wearing anything underneath. You’ll be cold if your legs are exposed.”
“You could just ask me!”
“What are you wearing inside?”
“…Why are you asking that?!”
His startled heart did not calm down easily.
He was afraid the thumping sound, like a drum beating in his chest, would reach Zavad.
His feet kept stepping backward without his control.
Zavad let out a dumbfounded laugh, watching Ranshel crumple himself into the corner to avoid him.
“Why are you so sensitive? You’ve seen my naked body countless times.”
“Is intentionally lifting someone else’s clothes the same as serving them while they dress? You take off your own clothes!”
“Then why don’t you just show me yourself?”
Why did the conversation turn that way?
Ranshel was so confused that his vision spun.
“Isn’t it, isn’t it weird? For me to show my body to you, that is…?”
“I don’t know what you think is so weird about it….”
Zavad tilted his head in question, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“Or, don’t tell me, you were looking at me strangely every time I took off my clothes?”
“……How could I be?!”
Ranshel felt unfairly accused.
To be honest, he couldn’t guarantee that his gaze wouldn’t contain dark intent if he saw Zavad’s naked body now.
But until now, he swore he had never deviated from the attitude of a servant who valued his master.
His past self was now in a position to be falsely accused, and he couldn’t think of any way to prove himself.
Zavad looked at Ranshel, who was stammering with shaking eyes, and frowned suddenly.
His gaze immediately turned fierce.
“Are you hiding an injury again?”
“…No? How could I be?”
“Come here for a moment.”
“I said no!”
Ranshel quickly shook his head, but Zavad, as if he would rather see for himself than believe the words of Ranshel, who had turned into the Boy Who Cried Wolf due to past history, strode quickly toward him.
Just a moment ago, he seemed like he might let it go, standing with his arms crossed indifferently.
But not anymore. Ranshel finally squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“O-Okay, Young Master. I will show you!”
No matter what, he couldn’t let Zavad lift his skirt.
He was also afraid of what reaction his body might have in the meantime.
If the lust he felt for him were to show in his body, he needed an environment where he could at least pull his clothes down himself.
Ranshel grabbed the hem of the skirt on both sides.
If he bowed as he was, it wouldn’t be different from a lady performing a polite greeting, but he was being asked to do the exact opposite.
‘He’s just trying to check for injuries….’
It was more embarrassing to be unnecessarily conscious of someone who wasn’t interested.
He squeezed his eyes shut and lifted the hand holding the dress upward.
He passed his ankle, which was standing tall even in low heels, past his long calf, and stopped when his knee was slightly exposed, feeling he had reached his limit.
“I… I am done, ugh?!”
Ranshel almost collapsed right there.
It was because Zavad, who had approached within inches, slipped his hand under the skirt.
He pulled up the hem, exposing Ranshel’s thigh completely, and sighed.
“How am I supposed to see anything if you keep hesitating like that?”
“Th-Thi… That….”
The flustered Ranshel stammered, unable to say anything with his face flushed red.
It felt like his brain, unable to withstand the continuous explosion of unexpected situations, had gone on strike.
Zavad’s body temperature was normally high.
The body of a knight, always moving and using muscles, was like gently boiling water.
Ranshel had to use all his strength to try not to be conscious of the temperature of the fingers brushing his leg.
“If… If you have finished looking, please, remove your hand….”
Ranshel put strength into his motionless body and barely took one step back.
His tense body stiffened, creaking like rusty metal.
But the situation worsened.
Zavad, who was examining the area under the skirt with a frown, suddenly grasped Ranshel’s thigh firmly.
“What’s wrong with this? Did you lose weight because of the pain?”
“……!”
Ranshel bit his lip, barely holding back a scream that wanted to escape.
He scraped together his collapsing mental strength and spoke as calmly as possible.
“It was… always like this… even before….”
“You were originally this skinny? It’s amazing you’re walking around.”
“I-It’s not… that bad.”
Zavad clicked his tongue as if he was looking at a grandson visiting from the countryside, but Ranshel just wanted to faint where he stood.
If only by Zavad’s words, he seemed to be nothing short of a walking corpse.
But objectively, Ranshel’s body wasn’t that thin.
He lacked excess fat and had thin bones, but he was also an assassin who handled weapons.
Although his muscles weren’t overly developed, his physique was not different from any other man.
Of course, he was currently clinging to the hem of his skirt….
“Um, Young Master….”
“What kind of diet at Vershel makes you this way?”
Zavad paid no mind to Ranshel’s deathly expression and even pressed and massaged his thigh with his fingertips.
Every time his hot, firm fingers gently squeezed and released the skin until it was slightly indented, Ranshel’s knees automatically bent.
He staggered, nearly losing control of his legs.
“Why are you trembling so much? Is there a problem?”
“……A slight, cramp….”
“Then lean against me for a moment.”
How could he claim to be healthy in this state?
Zavad muttered with a sighing voice and pulled Ranshel tightly into his arms.
‘I’m going crazy….’
As the tip of his nose touched Zavad’s neck, his body scent rushed in.
Ranshel used all his strength not to shake the hand holding the dress hem, but he had no time for that as heat surged in his lower abdomen.
If he reacted here, he would become a pervert of the lowest order.
Ranshel gritted his teeth, leaned his forehead against Zavad’s shoulder, and held his breath.
Controlling his breathing was his specialty.
He lowered his heart rate and gradually released the tension in his body.
Just as his body temperature was slowly returning to its normal warmth.
“What is this now?”
“……!”
* * *
