Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Vivi and Otilia (Part Two)
“Although you already look very beautiful now, those noble gowns suit Vivianna even better.
That said, I’m not asking you to change clothes yet. I just want to take you to bathe first.”
The moment she heard that Otilia wanted to take her to bathe, Erika’s face instantly flushed crimson. She immediately lifted her head and refused, “That kind of thing… I—I’ll do it myself.”
Aside from Gladys, she had never bathed with any other woman before, so her heart instinctively resisted.
“Don’t be so shy. We’re both women. The banquet will start in an hour, and we’re about to attend it. I’m not going to do anything to you.”
“Still… I’d rather not…”
“I already paid you gold coins, Erika. I just want to dress you up. Come with me.”
Without giving Erika a chance to refuse, Otilia took her hand and led her into the bathroom.
The Elfreid family’s luxurious mansion was impressive even in its bathing facilities.
Around the enormous bathtub, gold trim had been inlaid without exaggeration. Once hot water was drawn, the entire bathroom filled with steam, mist swirling everywhere.
A faint fragrance drifted through the air—rose scent, as scattered petals floated across the surface of the water.
This level of luxury was only one step short of bathing in milk…
After preparing the fresh ceremonial clothes, Otilia raised an eyebrow when she saw that Erika still had not moved.
“So, our shy Erika—do you want me to help you undress, or will you do it yourself?”
“I—I’ll do it myself!”
Erika replied immediately, her face still burning red. It was the first time she had ever been watched bathing by a woman other than Gladys. Even though they were both women, having her body seen still made her embarrassed.
“You go out first, Otilia…”
“We’re both women. What are you shy about?”
“Go out…”
Hearing that, Otilia could only shake her head helplessly and step outside the bath curtain.
After taking off her clothes, Erika quickly slipped into the bathtub, curling herself into a small ball and leaving only half her head above the water.
After a while, through the shadow cast on the bath curtain, Erika discovered that Otilia had begun bathing as well. However, instead of using the bathtub, she was washing herself with a wooden basin.
“Otilia… you…”
“I’m attending the banquet too. You’ve taken the bathtub—do you mind if I wash here?”
This was her house. Even if Erika said she minded, would Otilia really listen?
“Do whatever you want.”
Since she could only see a silhouette, Erika replied casually.
“Splash…”
It was the sound of water pouring over a body and spilling onto the floor.
Feeling the warmth coming from ahead, Erika could clearly see steam seeping in from beyond the curtain.
Although separated by the bath curtain, the other woman’s perfect, alluring figure was still completely visible.
It was Erika’s first time bathing so close to someone outside her family. Her heart pounded wildly, thumping as if it were about to leap out of her chest.
“Do you dislike me that much, Erika, that you can’t even bathe together?”
Otilia’s voice came from the other side of the curtain.
Erika shook her head and then turned her face away, not wanting to chat at a time like this.
Yet it seemed the other woman was observing Erika’s shadow as well.
“Turn your head back.”
“I…”
“First, you need to learn to relax. I hope that later at the banquet, you won’t keep this tense expression.”
Fine… she would turn around!
Carefully turning her head, Erika’s movements were stiff and awkward.
Otilia clearly seemed dissatisfied.
“I want you to treat this place like your own home. Is this how you normally bathe?”
Left with no choice, Erika finally sat up straight in the bathtub, her gaze drifting toward Otilia’s silhouette.
The moment she truly saw it, she froze.
Her figure was… far too perfect.
Even as a shadow, it looked like flawless lines drawn with a brush—beautiful beyond words.
As a basin of hot water poured down from above, Erika could clearly see long hair cascading over slender shoulders, a graceful figure forming elegant curves, slender hands raised as they held the wooden basin, long legs slightly bent.
That devilishly perfect body was breathtakingly seductive, every bit as captivating as Gladys’s…
Staring at that nearly flawless figure, Erika felt a surge of envy.
No—any woman would envy such a body.
It seemed that this bath was not her losing out at all. Being able to witness such a sight felt like she was the one benefiting.
“Erika?”
Seeing that she had gone silent, Otilia called out softly.
That snapped Erika back to her senses. She quickly shook her head in the water, ripples spreading across the surface as her flushed cheeks moved.
No, no…
She could not keep staring like this. When she grew up, she would look like that too! Definitely!
Right now, she just needed to bathe properly and get out quickly.
As she muttered to herself, the other woman spoke again.
“Erika.”
The tone carried something subtle. Otilia called her name once more, then sighed. “I was wrong earlier when I said your temperament had changed so much. Now that I look at you, you’re just like Vivi—easily shy, gentle, and delicate. A girl like that isn’t suited for dealing with imperial nobles.”
I’m not dealing with them anyway. Why do you care?
Erika cursed inwardly. Her thoughts were a complete mess, and she could barely focus on what Otilia was saying.
Seeing that Erika remained curled up and silent, Otilia continued softly, “Let me think, Erika.
When Vivi and I parted two years ago, she was about thirteen… By now, she should have been fifteen. Hehe, you look even younger than Vivi did back then—small and delicate, quite adorable.”
“I—I’ll grow up!” Erika retorted instinctively.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Otilia laughed lightly. “How old are you this year, Erika?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Hm?”
Erika felt that this was not the point at all.
She quickly changed the subject. “Back then… did you also bathe like this with Vivianna?”
“Yes.”
Otilia nodded with a smile, rinsing herself with warm water as she replied. “She was just like you back then—extremely shy, even though I never intended to do anything to her.”
“But… anyone would be like that…”
“But between women, bathing together isn’t inappropriate, is it? And you don’t need to act like this either. We’re separated by a bath curtain, yet you’re still this shy.”
As she spoke, Otilia seemed to peer through the curtain.
Seeing this, Erika hurriedly spoke up.
“Otilia, I’m almost done!”
“Hehe, then come out on your own once you’re finished. Actually… when it comes to social interaction, you should learn more from my younger sister,” Otilia continued to say to herself.
“Isana?”
Erika pursed her lips. “From what I remember, Isana doesn’t seem to have many friends either.”
“Hehe, she doesn’t have many friends her own age, but many elders are very fond of her.”
Otilia explained with a smile. “She’s sensible and knows what to say at the right time, and she’s especially bold. Sometimes I really admire her. Back in the southern region, some of my father’s old comrades were particularly fond of her. She’s far better than me when it comes to handling relationships.”
“You two are strange…”
“Oh? What’s strange about us?”
“On the surface, you sisters don’t seem to get along, but in private, you keep praising each other.”
“Hehe, because we understand each other.”
Otilia spoke gently.
“Honestly, Erika, when I see you, it’s like seeing Vivi again… Even though we haven’t known each other for long, I actually understand you quite well. You’re far too easy to read.”
“What do you understand about me? I’m not Vivianna!”
“But you are very similar to Vivianna, aside from some flaws in your personality. You know, Vivi always laid her emotions bare. She was like an innocent, harmless little presence—someone who felt completely nonthreatening, the kind of person others would be tempted to bully.”
“Do I look easy to bully?” Erika protested.
“Hehe, not exactly. It’s just that since you’re going to play Vivianna now, I think you need to act a little more like her.”
Nonsense!
Erika rubbed her cheeks with her small hands.
At least she had kept her distance from Otilia and nothing strange had happened.
This woman kept going on about Vivi, Vivi—who knew if her preferences were questionable?
Come to think of it, Isana seemed a little questionable too…
As her sister, Otilia probably was not much better.
“Erika, sometimes… I really wish you were Vivianna. The memories of how I spent time with Vivi are still vivid in my mind. If you truly were Vivianna, how wonderful that would be… In that case, uncovering the cause of the Duke of Night’s family’s deaths would be much simpler.”
As she spoke, Otilia smiled bitterly again.
“Do you know, Erika? A year ago, when I heard the news of Vivi’s death, I cried uncontrollably.”
Hearing that, Erika could not help turning her body slightly, her gaze shifting toward Otilia’s direction.
“I have never cried for anyone before. In my entire life so far, I’ve only cried twice—once for my mother’s death, and once when I heard that Vivi had died.”
“You… What exactly was your relationship with Vivianna?”
Suspicion filled Erika’s eyes. In her mind, Otilia and Vivianna’s relationship sounded like the legendary ‘lily’ kind.
It seemed everyone in the Elfreid family had that tendency!
“Although I didn’t know Vivi for long, I was deeply drawn to her personality.”
Otilia spoke frankly, unconcerned. “I liked how pure she was, like a blank sheet of paper. I liked that even while living among the deceit of the imperial family, she could remain so untainted.
I couldn’t do that. For the honor of the Elfreid Family, I once pursued the title of the Queen of Snow too obsessively. Back then, I had to lower myself before imperial nobles who disgusted me, praising them against my own heart. After two years of silence, when I think back on it now, it still makes me sick. Why must one always do things that make oneself unhappy? That was something Vivi once told me. Yes… why should we do things we don’t like?”
Speaking these honest words, Otilia, standing before Erika, seemed to treat her entirely as Vivianna, baring the sincerity of her heart.
Because in Otilia’s eyes, Vivianna was the one who taught her to preserve her original self.
As for Otilia’s words, Erika only felt bored.
She knew that Otilia was telling her all these stories about Vivianna so that she could grasp the girl’s personality and better play the role.
It was just that… she did not like such roundabout methods.