TS Duchess Eliza’s Internal Affairs

Chapter 15

Clanetta's Monster Extermination — Part 1

Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV

I learned that it existed in this world in the fall of my twelfth year, when I was listening to a souvenir story of an old gardener who was resting after a back injury in the pavilion in the garden of the estate.

「There are hot springs in the Clanetta territory?!」

「Heh, Princess. There are several in the mountains near the Belguim Range in the northeast.」

Dominic, the gardener who was resting on his back across from me, answers in a southern accent, slightly turned up by me, his face shining brighter than the sun in the mid-sky. Served by Grandfather, the previous duke, who died when Father was young, he is said to have originally come from the southern country of Pastia. A man who by nature does not speak except on a need-to-know basis, no one in the house knows why he came to Rynegard. However, I did not ask him about his background, as I knew it was not necessary to pry into the affairs of a loyal retainer.

Dominic was comfortable with this, and told me many things about me. In particular, he had what might be called a living knowledge of various plants, and often offered practical advice on early agricultural reforms that would have otherwise fallen flat on the face of reason.

「Have you ever been in a hot spring?」

「Yeah, when I went to Pastia to be baptized. It was good… I’d love to hear more about the hot springs in my territory.」

I used to go there with my grandfather in my previous life, but it has been a long time since I reincarnated. I had only been there once, four years ago in Pastia. Hearing that there was also a hot spring in the area, I couldn’t stay away. I finished my urgent work at an unprecedented speed and asked Father for permission to take a trip to the hot spring.

◆

It was noon on the seventh day after leaving with Emily, my small retinue, and a minimal escort, and rocking back and forth in the carriage. A nostalgic smell tickled my nose, and I hurriedly looked out the window.

「Ohh! It’s a hot spring resort!」

The carriage was headed for the deep green mountains and the small town of Spaling, which spread out at the foot of the mountains. A thin cloud of steam was rising from here and there in the town, lined with white houses with round roofs. After a few moments of watching them approach, Emily, who was sitting across from the carriage, gently placed her hand on my shoulder and pulled me back into the car.

「Princess. Your hair will be disheveled. Besides, the hot springs won’t escape.」

「Yes, but I want to get in there as soon as possible.」

「Are hot springs really that good? You also built a bathtub in the estate, didn’t you?」

Emily nods her head as she fixes my hair.

「Ahh. It was really good. The ones we built in the estate are good, but a natural hot spring is something else. Didn’t you take a bath when you went to Pastia?」

「We were using the steam bath, so. But it was pleasant. 」

「I didn’t know that. That’s another good one. This time we can soak in the hot springs. You’ll love it.」

「Yes. I will come in when I am available.」

As we rode into town, we were greeted at the town hall by the mayor, who was over sixty years old. I had to take it because of my position, but I was so distracted that the content of the greeting barely registered in my mind. All I remember is that the water is clear and the spring is said to be very good for the skin.

「Let me show you to the hot spring. I have cleaned the villa so that the princess may relax.」

The villa was located at the top of the town, which is made up of gentle slopes, and a short distance away from other buildings. The building was white in color as any other, but it was two stories high and several times larger. In addition, a garden with rare flowers and plants was spread out around it.

「This is a villa where the lord and their guests stay. Our lord is very busy and has not been here for a long time, but we have been taking good care of the garden and hot springs so that they are always available for our lord and princess.」

「Thank you. I would like to get into the hot springs as soon as possible, are you ready?」

「Of course. And there is one more thing about the hot springs in this building. I am sure you will enjoy it.」

With a smile not unlike an old man’s, like a mischievous child introducing his secret base, the mayor invited us inside.

◆

「It’s open air! That’s rare!」

The maid of honor who took over as guide led me up the stairs to the bathhouse, which was an open-air bath. Being only at the top of the town, there is an open view of not only the town but also the mountains in the distance. There was a bathtub filled with clear water at the end of the building overlooking the garden below.

「P–Princess! P–Please take off your clothes and go outside!」

Emily, who had changed into a thin underwear that can get wet and her black hair was tied over her head, hurriedly tried to call me back from inside the building. Laughing at the reaction, which is common among foreigners who have never heard of outdoor baths, I beckoned her to return to get her clothes.

「It’s fine, Emily. From the outside, we’re obscured by the height difference.」

The height difference between the buildings made it impossible to see into the bath from the outside. The leafy trees planted in the yard also seemed to play a role in the shielding effect. Hearing this, Emily also came out fearfully, but did not go near the bathtub with the best view.

「The view is nice, though. Oh well, let’s wash up first.」

「Yes. I’ll get it ready for you.」

Emily fetches hot water from the hot water outlet near the entrance to the outdoor bath and washes me out with a familiar hand. She rubs solid soap mixed with olive oil from the territory’s greenhouses and seaweed ash onto a cloth to make it lather and carefully scrubs my body. I sat quietly in the chair provided and did as I was told.

Starting with her white, slender arms, her hands reached out to my armpits, back, buttocks, and legs, one by one. I look at my body, which is bubbling away, surrendering to the pleasant sensation of being gently washed.

「I still haven’t grown up……」

Until I was about 10 years old, I had grown up quickly, and my arms and legs had grown slender, but I stopped changing when I was just over 140 cm and my body was slightly rounded in a feminine way.

「You are more dainty than anyone else. In a few more years, you will be a beautiful lady.」

「Thank you. If that’s the way Emily sees it now that I’m actually clean, it really could be true.」

「I–I am not even close to you, Princess!」

It was a casual soliloquy, but Emily was quick to follow up. She was a kind-hearted girl. It is a wonder that most things seem doable when she says them. As I looked at Emily, who was embarrassed at being told she was beautiful, I began to think to myself that there was nothing I could do about it.

——After all, is this the『extra』that God was talking about?

I had thought that its healing powers were an added bonus, based on the healing of an injury when I was two years old, but apparently that wasn’t all. Although my hair and nails grew, the muscle training I secretly tried after I stopped growing had no effect at all, and I even tried forcing myself to eat, but I never gained weight.

——If this is immortality, it could be troublesome later on.

「Princess?」

「Ahh, no, this is nothing.」

「Now, if you’ll excuse me in front of you.」

I had been thinking about it without realizing it. When I responded to Emily’s call, I declined and reached behind her to wash her bulging breasts.

「No, I’ll do it myself before, that’s fine. And I’m not a kid anymore.」

「And, but this is also my job, so…」

When she was about to wash, I waited, and the hand holding the foaming cloth shook helplessly in front of my small breasts.

But if she did any more, we would be in trouble. Emily works diligently for me. I am attracted to her dedication and secretly have feelings for her, but I wish she would refrain from doing so.

——Her chest, it hits me.

It is bearable to be washed gently to the sensitive parts of my beloved’s body to polish it up, because it is still my own body. But the soft touch on my back at that time always had to wait for time to pass with an iron will. In the baths of the estate, I could have put up with it because there were other maids by my side, but in this open-air bath, where I had paid a visit to relax, it was just the two of us. It is no wonder that at any moment I could turn into a panther and attack on instinct. I thought such a thing would be a betrayal of her trust as a loyal retainer and friend, so I gave a hasty reason to try to convince her somehow.

「Look, they’re not here now, but we don’t even know when these people will be here. If I had you washing everything for me like a baby, they would laugh at me. When we get back to the estate, Emily can do whatever she wants with me, okay?」

「I–I understand… Then I will go and get a tub of hot water.」

Emily manages to dissuade the local maidens who have dropped back to be taken care of by her. With my body shaking slightly, I joined Emily’s hand as she headed for the hot water outlet, and I hurriedly washed the rest of the body. But in my haste, the soap I was using flew out of the cloth as soon as I finished washing, and then it came back in a bad way.

「Princess, I brought your hot water, kyaaah!!!」

「Emily!! Are you okay!?」

「Y–Yes…」

Emily slipped and fell on the soap she dropped, and the tub of hot water splashed out with a clatter. She only fell on her backside, but the hot water poured on her relentlessly, soaking her from the top of her head down. Her hair, which had been gathered up, was soggy and wet and stuck to her skin along with her clothes. I held out my hand, keeping my eyes fixed on her face to avoid looking at her transparent underwear.

「I’m sorry, I was just being careless…」

「No, please don’t worry about it. If you don’t rinse off and soak in the bathtub sooner than that, the princess will catch a cold.」

「You are the one who should enter now. You’re soaking wet to the head and if you keep working you’re making yourself worse! Because once I flush my body, I’m out.」

「No, I would not leave my Lord to soak in hot water…」

As we repeatedly ask and answer the question of giving in.

——How did this happen?

I was soaking in an open-air bath with my one true love, side by side with her.

「It’s warm… And the view is really spectacular! I’ve never seen a view like this before!」

「Yeah… Oh, I am as well.」

This is the first time I have seen this view, including in my previous life. The element almost went out.

「You can even see the mountains in the distance!」

「Ahh, those twin mountains… it’s very white.」

「Twin mountains, you say? Ah! It really was! I see it already have snow on the ground.」

I couldn’t take my eyes off Emily, who was so excited to be at the hot springs for the first time that she was relieved to see that she couldn’t be seen from the outside. I restrained myself from ever looking into the hot water, but I could not look away from the two white mountains floating in the hot water. Sweat, not from the heat of the hot spring, poured out of me. I was about to get out of the bathtub when a hand on my shoulder held me down, and a hard voice came out.

「Princess.」

「Yes.」

It was over. That’s what I thought. But what Emily said to me, just as I was about to give up, was unexpected.

「Keep soaking in the hot water. Someone is watching us.」

Sorry, that’s probably me.

「Perhaps one of the trees in front of us… It’s there!!」

Emily throws the bath tub at one of the trees below, and a large shadow leaps out from it toward us.

「Princess!!」

As soon as I hear the cry, I am hugged protectively and my vision is enveloped by something white and soft. My face is wrapped in warmth as if I were reborn, and my consciousness becomes distant——

「Was it… a big bird. My apologies, there’s an unwanted… Pr–Princess—!?」

It was as if a red flower had bloomed in the hot water. My face was somehow peaceful.

◆

「How are you feeling?」

「Yes, I’m definitely fine now. You’re just a little bit overzealous, that’s all. Thanks for arranging the doctor, too.」

A room in a villa. I get up from the bed in which I was laid, and the mayor asks me worriedly, and I smile back at him to reassure him.

「I repeat, she was not responsible for this. It all started when I took only my own maid of honor with me because I wanted to relax. Let’s wrap this up. I’m going to lie down some more, just to be safe.」

After telling him this and asking the mayor to leave, I called Emily, who was dejected in the corner of the room, to my side.

「Emily. Of course you’re not responsible for any of this.」

Before she opens her mouth, I tell her what I want to tell her in advance.

「But, I was wrong, and now the princess is here!」

「It wasn’t a mistake. I was the one looking at you at the time.」

「The, princess did? Why?」

「Emily’s skin was so beautiful, like the first snow. I’m sorry. I looked at it impudently.」

「N–No, I am honored…」

When I apologized, Emily was embarrassed, but finally stopped blaming herself.

「Thank you for staying by my side until I wake up. Can I ask you for just a few more minutes?」

「Yes. I will always be by your side.」

With that snowy-looking yet warm hand, held by my own hand out by the side of the bed, I fell asleep again.

After a few days there, we returned to Amyn. The presence of the yellow stone, which I confirmed during my stay, made me think of something, but I decided to hold off on developing it because I considered it too dangerous. However, unbeknownst to me, there was an imminent threat that would force me to use it.