I Became the Assistant of a Romance Villainess

Chapter 2. Seria Siegfried (2)

* * *

I faced the greatest crisis of my life.

Seria Siegfried.

The beautiful woman who had once been called the flower of the realm.

No, now she was a woman who had lost even the name Siegfried, standing right in front of me.

‘What am I going to do with her?’ 

I flicked my fingers idly as I looked at Seria standing there, her face flushed with anger.

At first glance she seemed to have surrendered obediently, but in reality that wasn’t the case.

“I will kill you. I’ll tear your limbs apart, burn you and throw you to the stray dogs in the street.”

As she muttered under her breath, I sealed her mouth with magic.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

“Did I say you could talk?”

I snapped at her coldly, making my tone as icy as possible.

With her mouth sealed, Seria struggled desperately to speak, but all her efforts were in vain.

A silence spell cast by an archmage was no trivial matter.

Sigh 

Now, back to the matter at hand.

What shall I do with her?

I had lived in this body for three years, but I still felt that I was Choi Yoo-jun.

Twenty-three years old.

Back in my original world, I was a hopeless virgin who hadn’t even held a woman’s hand.

Even after possessing Maurice, nothing changed.

In order to survive and eventually return to my original world, I desperately avoided contact with others.

A life of almost zero communication skills.

As a result, my tone had become stiff and cold.

It was fortunate that my status as a mage and a noble gave me the reputation of a cold-blooded archmage.

It had come to the point where the only servant in this vast mansion was a single butler.

And now I was told to bring a woman into my house?

The difficulty of social interaction had suddenly plummeted to the depths of hell.

I looked up at Seria, who stood before me in silence.

Though now tainted, her beauty remained incomparable.

Even if you were to search every woman in the realm, it would be almost impossible to find one as breathtaking as she was.

A woman so beautiful that if I were still Choi Yoo-jun, I wouldn’t even dare to think of approaching her.

And now such a woman was mine.

The flower on the cliff, the object of everyone’s admiration, was now within my reach.

If I clenched my hand, that beautiful flower would be crushed and defiled.

To think that it would be up to me to destroy Seria.

The mere thought filled me with a growing excitement, my chest swelling with anticipation.

‘Why not just do it and get it over with?’

I pushed the thought aside.

This was a rare opportunity, one that didn’t come easily.

When a feast is laid before you, it’s best to enjoy it to the full.

I suppressed the grin that threatened to creep across my face and looked at Seria.

Even now, completely naked, she continued to stare at me defiantly.

“Promise me you won’t attack me again. Then I’ll at least let you talk.”

But there was no response.

“A slave who dares to be insolent. Do you need a harsher lesson to understand?”

When I made a motion as if to snap my fingers, Seria nodded vigorously.

“Very well. But know this – if you cause trouble again, I’ll give you a much harsher punishment.”

After confirming her compliance, I broke the spell of silence that had sealed her lips.

“W-what are you going to do to me?”

“Curious, aren’t you?”

She didn’t answer, but her expression spoke volumes.

Her face said she wouldn’t break, no matter what I did to her.

Her expression, as if she thought she was the protagonist of this story, was almost laughable.

Coming from someone who had been a cruel aristocrat torturing the real protagonists, no less.

“For now, I have no intention of doing anything.”

“What… what?”

I stepped closer to Seria, so close that I could feel her warm breath on my skin.

“What, did you think I’d throw you down here and have my way with you? That I’d leave you moaning on this office desk, dripping and helpless?”

I chuckled, running my fingers along her cheek.

“Cotton candy?”

It was soft, incredibly so.

I wondered if that was what it felt like to hold a cloud in my hand.

“For someone who calls herself the Minister of Magic, I didn’t expect such vulgar words,” Seria said, trying to keep her composure, but her face betrayed her, flushing a deep red.

“At least you seem to have thought about it that way.”

Judging by how red her face had become, that much was obvious.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not in the habit of doing things like that in my office.”

I looked at Seria, who was biting her lip, and smiled coldly.

‘Hah, that’s exhausting.’

I tried to act indifferent, but the truth was that I was more nervous than she was.

Choi Yoo-jun, a man with absolutely no experience with women at twenty-three, or rather twenty-six now.

This situation was far too difficult for me to handle.

But right now I was Seria’s master.

At the very least, I couldn’t afford to lose control or give her the upper hand.

To be honest, I pushed myself a bit too far.

‘Damn it.’

I shoved my trembling hand into my pocket to hide it.

It gave off an oddly arrogant air, but…

It worked in my favour.

“That’s enough talk for now. We’ll have to live together from now on anyway.”

There was no reply.

Instead, she blushed deeper and lowered her head.

Well, it wasn’t a statement that needed an answer anyway.

I let out a small sigh and spoke again.

“Well then, get yourself cleaned up. You’ll have to find something to do tomorrow.”

“W-what?”

Seria blinked, her face blank with disbelief.

“I said clean yourself up. Did you really think I would hurt you?”

She remained silent.

Well, it was understandable.

The fate of those who underwent a status execution was rarely kind.

They often ended up as playthings for the nobles, became slaves or were treated even worse.

She must have known this.

That’s probably why she couldn’t accept her circumstances and lashed out in defiance.

After witnessing my overwhelming magic, she must have given up even her defiance, and was left with nothing but muttering curses under her breath.

Our first encounter may have been intense, but it wasn’t entirely serious.

Still, it was necessary.

If she was to be a useful slave in the future, I needed to establish control.

Admittedly, there was a trace of pity mixed in.

After all, she was a minor character in the novel I had read.

But that was that, and that was this.

“Silly thing.”

That didn’t mean I had any intention of being nice to her.

Being nice would only backfire.

“Did you really think I was a lecherous maniac who would defile his possessions on the first day?”

For the moment, this distance felt just right.

Seria took a step back.

“Get a grip. The whole ‘Flower of the Empire’ thing is long gone. You’re nothing more than a possession given to me by His Majesty.”

I kept my cold tone as I spoke.

“So go and clean yourself up. It’s unpleasant to see dust on a gift.”

Seria’s face remained stiff, her expression hard as stone.

Her eyes wavered noticeably.

“So, what’s this all about?”

“Th-this is…”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know how to bathe?”

Seria looked away.

This was absurd.

“Sigh.”

I had forgotten that high-ranking nobles were always looked after by servants.

But that she could not even bathe herself?

“Unbelievable.”

If she didn’t know how, I’d just have to get someone to bathe her.

The real problem was elsewhere.

There wasn’t a single servant in my mansion.

‘And the only butler I have is away until next week.’

It meant that the task of bathing her was all mine.

I hated anything dirty.

But I couldn’t bear to have her filthy body in my mansion either.

“Sigh.”

A vein pulsed at my temple.

There was no other option.

“Follow me.”

“W-where are we going?”

“The bathroom.”

“W-why on earth?!”

I spoke as if brushing something dirty away.

“I’ll bathe you myself.”

Seria’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.

* * *

Steam rose from the warm water that filled the bathtub.

I had added a restorative elixir of my own making.

A fragrant aroma wafted from the water.

If I was going to do this, I thought, I might as well do it right.

Today Seria would experience the full Maurice bathing treatment.

“Get in.”

Seria hesitated.

“Afraid I might have poisoned it?”

I used magic to lift the reluctant Seria and dropped her into the bathtub.

“Kyaaah!”

The water splashed and rippled.

The reason for her hesitation soon became clear.

As soon as her body entered the water, the dirt and grime that had clung to her skin began to dissolve and float away.

She had been imprisoned for some time and it was clear that she hadn’t even been able to wash properly, let alone bathe.

Was she embarrassed?

Seria bit her lower lip as tears filled her eyes.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I’m… not ashamed.”

Cleaning it up was easy.

I created a spell that purified the filth that had polluted the water in one fell swoop.

I had already made up my mind – I was going to do this right.

From the moment she was dragged into my office by the knight, I noticed how exhausted she looked.

Life in prison must have been a gruelling ordeal for someone who had always lived in luxury.

As I prepared the bath, I briefly examined Seria’s body.

Her hair was damaged and her muscles were tight and stiff all over.

What I needed to do was simple.

While I bathed her, I planned to give her a simple massage to help her relax.

From now on she would remain in my house as my property.

If she fell ill while living here, it would only cause me unnecessary trouble.

As I said, she was a gift from the Emperor.

‘Not that he’s a decent man himself.’

The Emperor didn’t want Seria, who had tormented him, to die quickly.

What the Emperor wanted was obvious.

He wanted her to suffer as much as possible.

And for that to happen…

‘She had to live a long time.’

I gathered mana around my hand, a soft blue glow forming at my fingertips.

Wuuung. 

The mana resonated with the air, causing a faint vibration.

“I’ll help you.”

“I-it’s okay. I can do it myself.”

“Are you refusing my offer?”

My eyebrow twitched.

“No…”

Ignoring her feeble protests, I sat Seria down and poured water over her head.

The warm water cascaded over her body, enveloping her completely.

I lathered soap onto my mana-infused hand and ran it gently over her shoulder.

“Haah!”

She flinched as my hand touched her skin, instinctively pulling away.

“Relax. I have no intention of harming you, at least for now.”

“Mmnh…”

At my words, she hesitantly let her body relax.

Her soft skin met my palm, a very different sensation than when I had touched her cheek earlier.

“Hmm.”

I was slightly surprised by the texture – it was different from the knights I’d treated before.

I continued in silence, washing her body as if massaging her shoulders.

Starting from her shoulders, I moved down her arms, washing along her forearms, the backs of her hands and finally to the tips of her fingers.

White lather followed my hands, spreading over her skin.

As I carefully washed both arms –

“Haah, haah.”

I heard her breathing get heavier.

“Good.”

Next, I let my hand slide down.

Over the large, elegant curves of her breasts.

I had no intention of paying any special attention to her breasts, treating them no differently to any other part of her body.

“Th-that’s…!”

Even as she tried to resist, her lingering caution flaring, she couldn’t overpower me.

“Ahh!”

A sweet moan echoed through the bathroom as my hand touched her breast.

I continued the massage, tracing slow, circular movements from the underside of her breasts.

The white lather resembled whipped cream as it settled on her skin.

With each movement of my fingers, Seria’s body trembled gently.

My mana-infused hand moved gently from her chest to her waist, gliding smoothly.

When my hand finally reached her hips –

“Mnhhh!”

Her moan was louder than ever.

If someone asked where the biggest muscles on the body were, the answer would undoubtedly be the hips.

The starting point of the lower body, where the largest and firmest muscles converge.

If fatigue had built up, this area was the key to relieving it.

“W-wait a minute!”

She tried desperately to stop me, her tone urgent.

But I had no intention of stopping.

“Grrnnnh!”

From her hips to her inner thighs and then down to her calves.

Each time I massaged her soft lower body, Seria squirmed and thrashed in response.

The water in the tub rippled and splashed like waves.

“Stop moving.”

It seemed that my words no longer reached her as she writhed and writhed uncontrollably.

Well, I had expected as much.

Even the Knight Commander, the Empire’s greatest warrior, couldn’t stand this massage.

“P-please, stop! I-I don’t think I can…”

Her words trailed off, broken and uneven as she twitched sporadically.

“Haa… hnnng…”

Her shuddering breaths filled the air with an unintended sensuality.

Yet I didn’t stop.

It wasn’t over yet.

Sliding my hand to her inner thigh, I gently massaged the area next to her most sensitive spot.

The idea was to stimulate the lymph nodes, a process that would help flush out any toxins still lingering in her body.

It wasn’t sexual.

It was just about massaging her body.

‘How Seria interprets it is another matter entirely.’

Still trembling from the sensations, she wriggled and squirmed, unable to resist my touch.

She no longer had the strength to fight back.

The exhaustion that had built up during her time in captivity had dissipated, leaving her body lazy and relaxed.

Her form slumped, completely drained.

I meticulously massaged every inch of her body, which was still trembling slightly.

‘That should be enough.’

Having finished the full body massage disguised as a soap lather, I rinsed her trembling body clean with water.

Splash. 

I checked one last time to make sure that all the bruises and red marks that had covered her body were now gone.

My task was complete.

I covered her damp, fragrant body with a towel and stood up.

Panting softly, she looked up at me with hazy eyes as if expecting something.

But I had no intention of fulfilling her expectations tonight.

“You can dry yourself off, can’t you?”

My work here was done.

“Prepare breakfast tomorrow. I won’t accept any excuses.”

With these last words I left the bathroom.

***