05. I’d like to take a shower.

Originally, Trestia had planned to leave his lair and drop her off anywhere convenient.

A fraudulent contract was still a contract.

Since it was a “Dragon’s Protection” contract, all he had to do was make sure she didn’t die.

Strictly speaking, the contract only required him to preserve the contractor’s life from “external threats.”

He could simply place a monitoring alarm on her and help only when necessary.

As with all protection contracts, he wasn’t obligated to save someone who threw themselves into danger, took their own life, or starved to death.

Yet instead of acting on that plan, he had waited three whole days for her to finish crying.

Courtesy to a benefactor.

Though she’d been tricked by her sister and he had deceived her into signing the contract, thanks to her he had been freed from the seal.

And because of that, she was now unable to return to her homeland.

Abandoning her in this situation would have been an unforgivable act of ingratitude.

Especially for a great and noble race such as dragons.

Of course, that was just Trestia rationalizing his own decision, he himself didn’t really know why he had decided to do this.

It was a feeling difficult to explain, and if a dragon said something was hard to explain, then it was truly hard to explain.

He had no intention of organizing his thoughts now.

There was plenty of time.

Trestia asked,

“Kid, how exactly am I supposed to take responsibility for you?”

“That’s something Lord Trestia should think about.”

She had asked him several times to annul the contract, but he refused.

Even if he sent her back, the fact she had formed a soul contract with the Mad Dragon might cause even bigger problems.

So the most important thing was securing his promise to take responsibility.

“Compensation is normally decided by the victim.”

Beatrice pouted, her eyes drooping weakly.

“I don’t need money.”

Trestia nodded as if he understood.

“Well, money wouldn’t mean much to a princess. But I never said I would take responsibility with money. It was just a way of speaking.”

“Oh, I see. Ahem. I’ll think about it after eating first.”

“Very well. Wait a moment. I’ll bring the food.”

Trestia shrugged and stood up.

Since the kitchen was behind Beatrice, he had to walk past her.

As he approached, Beatrice held out both hands urgently.

“W-wait.”

“What is it?”

“Can I wash up before eating?”

Only now did the thought hit her, she hadn’t washed in three days.

She didn’t bring spare clothes, so she hadn’t changed either.

Not that she had been in any state to care until now.

But suddenly her mind was clearer, and she realized she felt grimy, maybe even smelly.

Trestia pointed toward one side.

“The shower is over there. There’s also a bath.”

“I-I don’t need the bath.”

There were no real “rooms” in Trestia’s lair.

Aside from the golden chair, it was just one enormous hall with no furniture.

The kitchen and restroom were separated, but the shower and bath were installed behind a large pillar.

Since Trestia lived alone, it had never been an issue.

Until now.

Beatrice walked behind the pillar.

The moment she saw it, she froze.

What… is this?

A terrifyingly sculpted snake head was mounted on the wall.

Water appeared to come out through the gaping jaws.

Oh no.

Its design was nearly as shocking as the golden chair.

Even if she figured out how to turn it on, she wasn’t sure she wanted to use it.

Beside it was a black bathtub carved from stone. A thin, flat emerald-colored lid covered it.

“The bathtub looks normal… sort of.”

No, not really.

Its coating, nonexistent, made it absorb all light, pitch-black.

A perfect square, with sculpted animal paws or something at each corner.

The only reason it seemed “normal” at first glance was because the golden monstrosity of a chair, the snake-head shower, and Trestia’s fashion sense had numbed her standards.

Still, though she’d said she didn’t need a bath, seeing the tub now made her long for hot water.

She shook her head quickly, forcing away the tempting desire.

I can’t just relax and take a bath in a mad dragon’s lair. But… maybe I can take a quick look?

What kind of bathtub does a dragon use, anyway?

She was curious.

Judging by the size of the bathtub, it seemed Trestia used it only when he was in human form.

She peeked her head out from behind the pillar.

Trestia was nowhere in sight, likely gone to fetch food.

Beatrice gently pushed the bathtub lid with her fingertip.

Hmm?

The lid looked flimsy, as if it would flutter at the slightest touch, yet it was firmly attached to the tub.

Or was it just heavy?

She pushed a little harder.

It still didn’t budge.

What, did he hide jewels in the bathtub? Why would he seal it this tightly?

Beatrice’s stubbornness was ignited.

The homeowner had kindly mentioned there was a bathtub.

Which meant she was allowed to use it.

She planted her feet shoulder-width apart and took a proper stance.

Gripping the slightly raised edge of the lid, she applied force.

Crackle.

Black sparks burst across the top of the lid, then faded.

Dark blotches appeared across the once smooth emerald surface.

“Gasp!”

Had there ever been, in all human history, a person who damaged a dragon’s bathtub lid?

Her face went ghost-white.

I’m done for!

In a panic, she rubbed the dark spots with her finger.

“Oh!”

The stains vanished as if erased, and the shimmering emerald surface reappeared.

She was busily polishing off the remaining spots when a low voice sounded behind her.

“Kid.”

“Kyaaaa!”

Beatrice screamed at the top of her lungs.

Trestia simply narrowed his eyes slightly and waited for her to finish.

Once she came to her senses, she spread her arms wide to cover the bathtub.

“What are you doing?”

“W-what are you doing, Lord Trestia! I said I was washing, how could you suddenly barge in!”

He froze.

She was right.

Barging in on someone bathing, especially the opposite sex, was not only rude but unquestionably inappropriate.

He had lived alone so long that the obvious had slipped his mind.

To hide his fluster, he spoke with grave seriousness.

“First of all, this place is not structured in a way where one can ‘barge in’ or stay out.”

A shower and bathtub placed merely behind a pillar of an enormous hall.

“Regardless! You still came here on purpose!”

“Ahem, ahem. I had a reason. Kid, you probably don’t know how to turn on the shower or how to open the bathtub lid, so I came to show you…”

While Trestia pointed to the shower and the bathtub, Beatrice shuffled left and right, blocking his view as much as possible.

Suspicious, extremely suspicious.

Naturally, Trestia noticed.

What a truly strange woman.

He considered letting it go if she was trying so hard to hide something.

But then a thought crossed his mind.

Why should I?

And if she was desperately trying to hide the bathtub, he certainly couldn’t ignore it.

If she touched it, that would be a serious problem.

The real reason he had hurried back after going to get food in the first place was the bathtub.

He had put a sterilization spell on the lid.

Trestia might have terrible fashion sense, but he was a clean dragon.

Since the lair received no sunlight, sterilization was essential.

He had cast a fairly strong spell so not even a single bacterium could survive.

If a human had touched it, there was no way they would be unharmed.

Trestia snapped his fingers, and Beatrice’s body lifted into the air and slid aside.

“W-wait!”

Ignoring her frantic cry, Trestia strode toward the bathtub.

“…”

He stared at the lid for a long time, a deep furrow forming on his brow. Cold sweat began forming on Beatrice’s forehead.

“I’ll clean it! I’ll make it spotless!”

“Clean? This?”

The black stains were remnants of his magic power.

Because the spell had been forcibly disrupted in an abnormal way, the magic had failed to dissipate properly.

Beatrice, now freed from the levitation, quickly rushed to stand in front of the lid.

“Don’t touch it.”