A/N: Warning! Lewd Content ahead, consisting of h-h-handholding! XP
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[Handholding, how lewd.]
"Pfft!"
The unexpected message from 'System' almost made me laugh out loud. I immediately covered my mouth to not make any funny sounds or show my teeth. Alas, it might have been already too late.
"Is something the matter, Young Master?"
'Ah. Shit. Damn it, System!'
I turned to face the cold maid.
"It's nothing. Don't mind me."
I tried to keep a straight face but it wasn't easy.
She stared at me for a brief moment. Before turning to her front as she kept walking, while still politely guiding me by hand.
Contrary to her cold behavior, her hands were quite soft and her grip on my hands was firm yet polite.
'What the hell was that, System? You almost got me into trouble!'
[My apologies. But I felt a sudden urge to comment on that.
Anyways, congratulations! This is your first time holding hands with such a beautiful woman. You're making some progress in your quest to get laid and have a harem!]
'Oh, very nice of you to say that…'
I thought sarcastically.
'… You're trying to change the subject, aren't you? Also, this doesn't count as she sees me as a child. Well, I AM a child… Don't say weird things like that so suddenly, please.'
Any other time, I would have laughed out loud at that, but I was in a rather precarious situation right now.
That being said though, I never thought the 'System' would make a joke like that. She seemed to be growing more humane as time progressed, learning from my memories and she was picking up things rather quickly… and some of them were weird things.
'I just hope she doesn't pick the weird things. I probably have too much crap stored in my head from the internet.'
While I was distracted, we reached another set of doors near the end of the hallway. The maid opened the door and led me inside. And a beautiful large bathroom greeted me.
But the first thing I noticed was that there was a fancy-looking English toilet.
And I was instantly so very glad that 'that' part wasn't medieval.
The maid then gave me a fairly modern-looking brush with toothpaste on it. And once I was done brushing, she casually tried to strip me, and I let her do so. Until… she tried to strip me of my underwear as well.
"Stop!"
I pulled my undies back, barely saving my dignity, and almost shouted at her in the process.
She, in turn, looked at me blankly.
"What's wrong, Young Master? Please let me take off all of your clothing so I can bathe you and get you ready. Your mother and sisters are waiting in the dining hall."
She stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it probably was for people here. But not for me.
I had to improvise since I didn't want to show her my little willy just like that. I was NOT a kid inside. My head, I mean. I was definitely a kid down there.
"You don't have to take that off as well."
I had said that in a rather reasonable and serious tone, trying not to feel awkward, even though I was. But hearing her next words, I think I failed.
"That's won't do, Young Master. I must make sure you're cleaned properly everywhere."
"Yeah, I can clean 'that' part myself. You don't have to clean EVERYWHERE."
At least, after that awkward talk, I got to keep my underwear.
Not that wet underwear could hide a literal erection, but I didn't have an erection at the time. But I wasn't completely flaccid either.
I knew she was going to bathe me. It seemed like that was normal here and I didn't resist too much.
The bath was quite wide and exquisite; they had both a shower and a huge bathtub.
'Fantasy, my ass. This place is like a 5-star hotel. Hell yeah to being rich!'
I thought while I was being lathered by some fragrant soap.
'You know…'
… I had initially thought I didn't want to take a bath with a clothed woman watching me, but this wasn't so bad. I just had to stand there and she did all the cleaning.
'Hmm, I can get used to it.'
So thought my lazy ass.
Still, though, it was particularly hard not to feel awkward when she was right in front of me, washing me. Her breasts jiggled occasionally and would try to beg for my attention. It took some willpower to not strip her with my eyes. Because that would have certainly given me an erection.
Throughout the process, she was very gentle yet thorough. I think she really did remove every spec of dirt from my body. Not that I was originally dirty, per se.
I did notice something interesting in that whole process. Other than her breasts, I mean. It was that she didn't get her dress wet even while bathing me. Like, not even a drop of water or soap was on her body or clothes.
I was quite surprised at that. Surely some sort of magic was at play here. After all, magic was a real thing in this world.
With the whole thing finally over, I was dried and then clothed in new fancy clothes.
'Where did she take out the clothes from? An item box? Or does she have something like an Inventory too?'
[Inventory is exclusive to the user. She used a storage device, in this case, her ring to bring out the clothes.]
'Oh. Right, those were a thing in the game too. Good, that means my Inventory won't raise too much suspicion. I can just use the excuse of having a storage device.'
"You are now presentable, young master. Shall we head out?"
The maid asked after neatly combing my hair. I looked in the hand mirror and I looked like an adorable young boy.
'I have a cute face in this world. I might turn out to be a handsome man when I grow up. Right now, though, I look like a kid. A cute kid, but a kid, nonetheless.'
I would probably need to wait a few years before that Harem plan.
***
[Maid's POV]
Laura took her Young Master to the dinner hall quietly, but she was deep in thought. Of course, one couldn't tell just by looking, since her face and body language were completely attentive to details.
Her title as a Head Maid wasn't just for show. Multitasking was a piece of cake for her. Her mother, the previous Head Maid, had nailed such things in both her body and her mind. And she had been the new Head Maid for 5 years now herself. She was fairly experienced.
'He messed up his greeting again.'
She frowned internally, thinking of that blunder.
As the only man in the house, he was supposed to be strong-willed and charismatic, in her eyes. He was the one who would have to handle the territory after his late father.
Her lady was managing it for now, but she was just a temporary lord. Everyone knew that. It had to be her Young Master Alexander or the second Young Mistress who would have to take hold of that responsibility sooner or later.
And while the second Young Mistress was a prime candidate for the lordship in her humble opinion, she was showing great skills in Swordsmanship, like her late father and the previous lord of the Maximus household.
Laura had seen his swordsmanship and heard tales of his great exploits in the last war 5 years ago, where he, unfortunately, also passed away.
She felt the desire to clench her free hand and internally cursed that day. But she held back those feelings.
She still remembered that dark day. Her lady couldn't take that news and had become a sobbing mess and soon passed out. She became more and more depressed since that day. However, she never showed it in front of others— the household and her children— as she had to take over the mantle of the lordship.
Unfortunately or fortunately— she didn't know— Lord Walter was the only child of his parents.
Her lady had handled the shaken territory along with the declining loyal vassals to keep the peace and stability of the region. That was the only reason this territory wasn't already given to the Duke family to manage. They had the means and desire to do so since their son and the current Duke was the husband of the first Young Mistress of the Maximus household.
Thinking about the first Young Mistress who she considered more than just her lady's child—she was her good friend too— made her sigh a little.
'She's also an unfortunate soul. Married to such a man, if he can even be called one.'
This was the reason she never thought of young mistress Olivia as 'Duchess Olivia.' She just couldn't bring herself to call her so in her heart. She did call her so when others were around, though.
She glanced at Alex and sighed again. She was in possession of a dark secret that had to do with her Young Master Alexander and first Young Mistress. It was an unfortunate thing born from another unfortunate thing.
But she could never judge since it wasn't her place to do so. And she would take that secret to the grave. No one must know of that secret, ever.
The whole family, in a way, was unfortunate in her eyes. But she could only do her best to serve them.
Coming back to the original thought she had, she once again wondered about the abnormality of her young master Alexander's behavior today.
She was a little surprised to see him greet her so well after the initial chastising.
'He even smiled. Something incredibly rare for him to show after lord Maximus's passing away and 'those' series of incidents with his beloved older sister, young mistress Olivia.'
She mused. And it didn't stop there either.
'Furthermore, he was strangely adamant about taking a bath by himself. The same Young Master who couldn't even unbutton his shirt properly without fumbling was asking to take a bath by himself. Truly unusual.
He was also quite talkative today.'
To think he would argue with her for as long as he did.
Naturally, he stood no chance against an experienced and strict maid like her, but he did manage to keep part of his dignity.
'And… it must be my imagination, but he was staring at me a lot today. It felt odd…'
Some of those stares felt like they were directed toward her privates, but she shook that thought immediately. Her young master wasn't the lecherous type. He was a timid and gentle young man.
She would have had no problems with his personality if he wasn't born into nobility where there are a lot of cut-throat politics and schemes.
But fortunately, it seemed her Young Master was starting to change. Or at least trying to change.
'His behavior today could be the start of him becoming more confident and strong.'
She smiled just a little at the thought as they finally reached the dining hall. However, no one, not even the person in question noticed that brief but lovely smile of hers.
[End of Laura's POV]
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How did you like the Maid's POV? POVs are going to be a recurring thing in this web novel. Expect more of them in the future! :D
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Enjoy!