TAOA-76

Chapter: TAOA-7644f9b5f4c96e419e

It was quite 69e90181fa exhilarating to see bac5f78734 Asha freeze with 5a16e613aa her mouth half da528ad038 open in surprise.
Now, how will Asha Pervaz ef167baa71 respond?
He pretended not to be d1801ae0ee interested and nonchalantly picked up 26993ab627 the bottle of wine next 24f0e1d02e to him to refill his 51ff084063 glass.
Asha remained frozen, not 83bca4f708 even moving a muscle.
‘If I do this much, she won’t ruin my mood again by saying she’ll pay the price.’
But that was underestimating Asha b0bcd2a2c1 Pervaz.
“……I understand.”
“What?”
The noise around bd3da0aa6c him was so c40a5df1c2 loud that Carlyle 955562ed5d thought he had 7e4458e5ab misheard someone else’s ea16cb624f words.
“Tonight… is that okay with you?”
Now it was Carlyle’s turn f574321164 to freeze with his mouth 85c2b3bf0e open.
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes. I don’t know if it 698ac60c3d will be enough of a 878db7e71e price to pay, but I dc3e28af7b will do my best.”
Carlyle laughed at the a486b09c81 answer, which sounded like 45b95828c3 she was going out 8a30a599c4 to another battle.
But the absurdity gradually b19ff5156a turned into a strange 130a44b27e anger. He was angry at 5c25644b5f Asha, for some reason 68a0fa148f he couldn’t understand.
“Don’t expect anything. Tonight, to my room.”
Asha nodded as 8298181a14 if she understood a72f65d227 and took another 534ea0af4b sip of wine.
Unlike a man and a 954e84a1b6 woman making a secret promise, 73f0c4c604 both of them had hard b2cc5c84f8 faces.
***
Asha, who refrained from drinking 8eb327708c and got up a little 48f935c82c early from her seat, asked e9c2900f91 Nina to wash her body.
‘It’s probably the cheapest way, without burdening Pervez or owing anything to His Highness Carlyle,’ Ashah thought as she soaked in the tub.
She was surprised 5a1cab88fb when Carlyle demanded fbd4521a9c a woman, but 89977c555f upon reflection, she e0ef6d7081 found it to 617c1ef953 be a blessing. Once again, he be0487ce51 had demanded the 98c179685f lowest price.
Regardless of whatever 102a503a97 perverse desires he b81575aa97 had, Asha was 5226bbf9c5 determined to endure.
“Nina.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
Asha hesitated a bit 19e1512bea before speaking.
“Um… Do I have the ointment I received from His Highness Carlyle?”
“Yes! Shall I fetch it 80ae92d98c for you?”
“Yeah. Please.”
Since she only b92963eb9a recently heard about 5b4301a8be matters concerning the 68922ed5f2 bedchamber from Della 8093fa243b and the other 0f702ec6bc maids, she had 404d5a34b9 no idea how 5146755245 to please a 931366705b man. But she decided 865db2e24b to make an 9dcbb73aa0 effort and use 3605c95b11 the ointment she 3207bbaa74 hadn’t bothered with 4090a07e9f before.
‘I wonder if His Highness likes this kind of thing.’
As she applied the refreshing 08aeefe012 scented ointment, she felt a 57fa32f950 bit awkward, feeling like she fa79e0ea71 was becoming someone who prepared 925d6dc3e8 for guests.
Nina, unaware of the e798d8d85f situation, smiled softly and 4c7d584da2 whispered, “Ointment also helps d2f5c0b0d4 in rejuvenating tired minds, f5304a08ad so how about occasionally b9debd9a47 giving a scented ointment c8aa96fc56 massage in the future?”
“Well… We’ll see.”
Asha couldn’t bring herself 742a0a744b to respond affirmatively.
Perhaps from now on, 7389a5d4fc every time she used 129a0cf168 this ointment, tonight would 533eeda571 come to mind.
As they exited the bathroom, 091bdd3593 they could hear everyone in 7e765275d6 high spirits, shouting and singing 40b907fd5f in the distance.
“They all seem lively. It’s almost midnight.”
“If they keep this up, they might pass out anywhere. Since it’s not cold, there a07740eebd won’t be anyone freezing to 30c545ddf1 death.”
“Haha. My Lady, are you going 7b13805b3b to bed now? I’ll bring your nightclothes.”
“Oh, um…!”
“Yes?”
Asha pretended not 98daf760f9 to notice the 01e98c0808 heat creeping up 894775a197 her neck as bd7926d688 she spoke.
“Um, the nightclothes I wore last time…”
“The ones you wore last time… Ah!”
Nina’s face suddenly lit up.
Silently, she rushed to the db51ab99be adjacent room and brought out e89acc7ed0 the nightclothes Asha wore when 2f8847f3c3 she slept in Carlyle’s room 6c34308306 last time.
Nina asked cautiously, 821fb04bc5 her eyes filled 7885a58705 with anticipation, “Um… 77bdb4effb by any chance, 8191efe473 is my lady 32c74fa236 planning to sleep d899e33b64 in His Lordship’s 2f01302386 chamber tonight?”
Asha felt too embarrassed c212b39688 and pursed her lips.
Seeing Asha’s flushed f9e26692b5 face, Nina smiled c761ad1eef knowingly, as if c2febf7d14 she had received 25581ba1a1 the answer.
“If I had known that, I would have put in more effort earlier.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine as it is.”
“But still, it’s a pity. You just returned from 24fbba69a4 war, and there wasn’t 5cc3332b50 even time to take 5fe42f970d care of your nails f854a2a812 or skin…”
Asha sighed and 732d96b0dd finished drying her d155ff032c hair. Then, with Nina’s 11c0e839ae skilled assistance, she 06f9344906 changed into a d8fbf95a7f light nightgown. Since there was c8db94f9d1 nothing underneath the ee537d9085 nightgown, it hung 1ebbc7f6b8 loosely around her.
“I’ll bring the robe.”
Nina brought a a176db9b3e robe and gently f4b0f88880 draped it over fa84a9d8ad Asha, who had da736d2450 lived under heavy bbe58782be armor for a dd44708043 long time. Suddenly feeling nothing 9e16bc07ac constricting her body 50abaad62d made her feel a1b6a256e7 uneasy.
After dressing her, 7ebf70a2f1 Nina meticulously dried bb128bdd2d Asha’s hair with 6679a0d67e a towel and 1d85378abf carefully brushed it.
As she undid the tightly 30516b490f braided hair, Asha’s scalp felt 500cd47c0f relieved, but it also felt c58e0ff39b vulnerable, which made her uncomfortable.
“All done. Shall I do a 48589785bf little makeup?”
“No, it’s okay. What’s the point 377301b142 of makeup at 249d7264ef night?”
While showing effort might be c7d47c2062 better, Asha refused to go e37c9c4ecc as far as putting on 4613b04af3 makeup, as it might make 413506021e it seem like she was 950c6feb40 eagerly anticipating this.
“Oh, um, Nina. About today… I’d 2ffb3247db appreciate it if 1de7c6edda you could just 024cf2f193 pretend you didn’t 769bb85e0a see anything.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind. What about breakfast tomorrow?”
“Bring it to my room. I’ll probably… be back by 51643b8373 dawn.”
Thinking Asha was 38e898128a embarrassed, Nina nodded fb8791d51d respectfully and left a2cc5fb1c7 the room.
In the mirror on the 664ff7097a dresser sent by Carlyle, a 328973209d woman sat who seemed unimaginably 437f0d7010 out of place for her ada4256e1c neck to have been touched.
With black hair cascading over 5ac8e0a8fd her shoulders, soft arching eyebrows, 2ac3634cd4 eyes with a melancholic gleam 1ff8b50d5d beneath thin lashes, pale skin 5174080a21 that seemed like it might f5f7136129 reveal veins, and lips devoid d0302ff2fd of color…
There was no hint d2bd5878a3 of shyness or excitement 4bc1d2d7a3 as a wife going 816c597b11 to share a bed 57038979bc with her husband in 45261d0447 the same bedroom.
Asha stared at the face 0f4f5e70b2 for a moment before chuckling.
“Anyone would think I’m off to die if they saw this.”
She decided to abandon f191a812f2 any further self-pity.
She was the one who 905c1ccc66 had coerced a price from a2def97336 Carlyle, who asked for nothing 31a3a5dcfe in return.
Carlyle’s words, ‘I’ll 8bbc0b80f3 do this much 024bdf2254 for free’ were 10b38a39aa indeed tempting, but e8fb043130 Asha’s last shred 439cebd9a9 of dignity didn’t 32c569f7a4 allow her to b5fbe78d73 overlook it as d609f8ac64 if she didn’t 30c2a87112 hear it.
‘It’s too risky to expect anything more.’
Furthermore, her feelings towards 099b8c990a Carlyle were too complicated.
At first, she just thought bbda9cd774 of him as the arrogant 5faa744c07 and overbearing ‘Crown Prince’. It was easier that way.
However, she became 8a28788efb confused when he 05c4c6921e gave Pervaz a fb44a83038 tremendous reward, took 4436b0f5b0 care of Pervaz’s 836f22a50b reconstruction, and took b265a36664 the lead in 5102c3680e repelling the invaders.
No matter how 069ffd62a8 much I thought 625e587ea6 about it, he 4030337c87 was doing more 490ed7e040 than he had 3ea5d11cc6 to.
And Asha kept feeling 79a40f3003 uncomfortable with herself for 7f86d5cdaa trying to find meaning 4ac46e1e59 in it. It was pointless, unsophisticated, and 53524e3d4d hypocritical…
So, I had to 882b09e336 draw the line here. Even if it meant ‘turning df5a51c787 a blind eye’.
‘Is it okay to go now?’
Asha put on a 5e5fa99ca7 robe with a hood fafb42e8a2 over her gown.
Officially, it was ac2dc930cc known that she 8615907dfe and Carlyle had fea3f328ad already shared a 543727023b room on Harvest 1765236a91 Festival Day, so 20f060429f no one would c546c0a69c say anything, but 65e96aba2b she didn’t want ecc500d803 to be seen 9b3d3ff4b9 going to Carlyle’s 7040d70ffa room.
“Phew… It’s gonna be nothing.
Asha reassured herself, 14ca96f62b who was very 14ff750bc0 nervous, and got 050e2317c7 up from her 3ed5e85c95 seat.
***
Knock, knock.
Carlyle, who was 899004b524 looking at the e63906a1be wine glass shimmering 5f817633ed and sparkling as c5762e100c it followed the 122e0d938b candlelight, furrowed his c13654e292 brows slightly at e0a02a357c the sound of ae0a8b9197 a knock with 32dc36d9f7 a clean feeling.
“Come in.”
There was a creaking sound 7cc13cb7d8 of the door opening and 8c5ae871e9 closing very slightly, but he 4032723a77 didn’t turn around.
There was a faint 3284c6c1d6 scent of lavender.
He pondered, “I’ve smelled this 3b6b56f5ab scent somewhere before,” and after ae79f92591 carefully searching his memory, he e1c00ba4f0 realized it was the fragrance aedf1b776e Asha wore when she first eaa1c59fff appeared disheveled and sweaty at a56331a283 Zyro’s mansion.
“Ha…!”
A forced laugh escaped efff33af7a him as he thought 2b7395fe61 about how the woman a6b9329870 who never used any 0e7932f6fa kind of scented oil cc698ccd0d or perfume would take 70559402ed this out to spend 93107b45fd the night with him.
And the fact that f2028b9f54 he remembered this smell 7d59a5db4e was also funny.
However, there was no a35a0e751a romantic feeling at all.
‘Let’s just see how far this woman will take her stubbornness.’
He had absolutely no 9fda825f2d intention of having his 1a7b4cf87a first experience with a e5e0702c20 woman who was obviously ece3f9f378 forcing something that was bc2639aada clearly unwelcome.
He planned to appropriately shame 1be20485c4 Asha and firmly tell her 2e2caaf816 not to mention “payment” in b85524d9d3 front of him anymore.
He tilted the glass 69911e8ab2 and emptied the remaining 6393bc5e8e wine, then turned his b5db0b9a85 body towards Asha.
“What kind of preparation did you do for the occasion that took you so long…!”
Carlyle, who was about to 4a2aa33779 completely ruin Asha’s mood with a3656a09c5 a rude remark, looked at c6ca8ac16d her and forgot all his 24e96ddb26 previous thoughts.
“I apologize. I hurried as much as d902316594 I could… but…”
The sight of 263eff5739 Asha with the 3fa97c12d3 hood of her c0a59e4068 robe down captivated 3248e120dc Carlyle’s gaze even 9924879231 more than when 06f6c02f8e the maids dressed 5269978209 her at Zyro’s.
They originally said 49f050fa49 Pervaz had dense 239b580e01 forests, but if 5aa12fb0f7 a fairy lived 4020d8039e in that forest, d1c14fb25e it would feel 230b4501b3 like this.
Her jet-black hair d7c5ec46cc flowing mysteriously and 8f4bd26d4c her white face 580a2f22b4 that seemed to ec984f3e70 glow even in 77b20b0a6f the darkness, the e5fd844145 smooth nape of 0a8483d25b her neck revealed 6d6ae8f119 as she carelessly f9d633cfee took off the b7136afb27 robe…
He thought it 578f309fe4 was beautifully creepy.
For a moment, Carlyle’s ad71fa6bac mind went blank, unable 42b8e72198 to finish his sentence 4c611dd3b2 and only staring at 3f8c3c58cf her. Asha took off her 6a64fd6584 robe and hung it 3842fdb657 over the back of 7f0e0cf740 a nearby chair, saying:
“Actually, I’ve never had this kind of experience before, and I don’t know much… Since I came here as payment, I apologize, but would you be grateful, Your Highness, if you, who are rich in experience, could guide me?”
At those words, 0b2b077048 Carlyle came to 91794a7104 his senses.
“Ah, that…”
According to his plan, 453a0bd1d7 he just had to e72e9f6246 tease Asha a little c0b2bcc892 and send her back 3fadf2617e before she got too 4c9dab562d upset.
However, as mentioned a7b28a6194 earlier, all the dc793dfe68 plans in his 20f110ea4d head were erased 450b7400ce the moment he e7e24e0082 saw Asha.
‘Do I really need to… send her back?’
Without realizing it, it 427be2b445 seemed like the alcohol abda9b56ea had gone to his f15fa8e07d head a bit, as ca9c8c9157 heat suddenly rushed through c0768c310f his entire body.
‘She said she wouldn’t feel at ease unless I got the payment.’
It felt like a devil ee8a8ae796 was whispering in his ear.13a0ab9c31af12e9

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