Chapter 48

My feet stumbled out of the room, tripping over each other to leave before something else prevented me from leaving. With a frazzled grumble, I pressed a steadying hand against the wall beside the doorway. Only when I had the door firmly closed did I allow myself to lean fully against the hard and smooth wood to my back and preserve my shaky balance.

I’d finally escaped from Camilla’s devious clutches—her smooth sensuous fingers, warm and pleasingly soft breasts, and that enchanting grin so full of seductive temptation that just a mere glance could bring me to the edge of c—

I shook my head with vigor. No, no, no. This was not a productive line of thought. My legs quivered as I placed my full weight on them once again and took a step from the wall. There was much to get done today. Last night Camilla decided to move fully into the new room, and it was my duty to do the actual moving. Plus, the quicker I got it done, the more time I could spend trying to figure out this cultivation stuff. Not to mention, figuring out what to say to my father about everything. With all that had happened over the last two days, and with our imminent escape looming, I knew that I had to tell him something. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I left without at least a goodbye. But what did I tell him? Some believable lie? The truth? Would Camilla forgive me for the latter?

That was something to worry over later. For the moment, I had a room full of stuff to move, a task I expected would take a couple of hours or more to accomplish.

With my determination set, I began marching my way back to our old space. The brisk pace made my skirt flutter around me and a breeze to travel up between my legs. Together, I couldn’t help but be increasingly conscious of the nudity hiding beneath the skirt of my dress, something that the new petticoat only made worse. After Camilla… ‘finished,’ she offered me the puffy petticoat to hide any future accidents. It annoyingly caused everything below my hips to feel even more open and exposed, and I had to wonder if it was intentionally designed to do so. Not that I knew much about wearing them to begin with. It at least served its purpose, or so I hoped it would. That didn’t make the experience any less embarrassing. I couldn’t comprehend how girls once only wore petticoats beneath their dresses, not using any other sort of undergarments. And hadn’t my father once mentioned a time in history where women wore neither? I paused, trying to recall the conversation.

I gave two hard slaps to my cheeks and trudged onward. I needed to pull my mind out of this fixation. There was work to be done! And surely I’d get used to the feeling before long.

The halls were luckily quiet, as they often were here. I knew that anyone I passed wouldn’t be able to tell what I was wearing, or rather, what I wasn’t, but repeating the logic of it didn’t make me feel any less exposed and naked. The most frustrating part was just how far the two rooms were from each other. If I didn’t know better, I’d have suspected Camilla did it on purpose in combination with taking my underwear just to have me prance up and down the halls like this. But I knew that the real reason for the move was because we’d be much closer to Lena’s room now. It would make communication much easier. That didn’t, however, mean that she hadn’t been thinking about the distance when she grabbed my undergarments and dared me to go out without them.

I had a sneaking suspicion of another reason she was so happy to change rooms. Namely, that I also lost my room, and this new one, being a supposedly lesser guest quarter, had no adjacent space for a servant. Of course, I could theoretically room over with the other maids, as they’d suggested. Rosetta, I knew, would be thrilled. But Camilla had no intention of that actually happening. As she’d pointed out to me last night, her bed easily fit two. Plus, what if she needed something during the night? Despite her teasing and poor excuses, I was truthfully happy to stay with her. It was… nice.

The first trip between rooms was quiet, boding well for the rest. As I entered the door to our new quarters, Camilla had fully relaxed into the tub, eyes closed, and softly humming to herself. Unlike the previous, this room had a larger area dedicated to the bath. It made me wonder if there was some kind of story behind it. Was it once someone else’s? The surrounding floor was at a lower level to the rest of the room, with a step down curving from one wall to the other. The tub itself was large enough to fit two or three, and set down into the floor, quite like a small pond or pool. Unlike the rest of the wooden floor, the entire area was tiled in stone. A high window, covered by a bright red curtain, shined light down past the tub, brightening the area. Various bottles, towels, and other bath products sat and hung around the tub itself, many of which Camilla had already made use of.

She lifted an arm and stirred the water within, flicking aside a cluster of bubbles. The water itself was an interesting bright blue, likely dyed that from whatever she’d dumped in, though plenty clear enough to see her naked form within.

I bit my lip jealously. A bath sounded so nice right now. There was no way I was admitting that out loud, though. I knew what the consequences would be. Still, it was a surprise that she was here relaxing in a bath rather than off doing the Praevus’s busywork. Had he given her the day off?

I averted my eyes, deciding that I’d stood staring from the doorway for long enough, and brought in the large basket full of shoes she never wore. The woman had like ten pairs and never wore a one. It was truly a crime upon the world. I trudged over to her new wardrobe closet and bent over, organizing them into some relative sense of order.

All the while, I could hear the gentle movement of the bath water to my back.

“You might want to be a bit more careful, little Pearl. Else you might flash quite a bit more skin than you’d like to someone,” the sorceress purred.

I shot up, and my hands rushed behind me, flattening down my dress. With reddening cheeks, I turned to her.

“H—how much was I…?”

She grinned. “Barely anything. A little of your lower legs. But that was such an adorable reaction that I couldn’t help myself.”

I spluttered and then gave the woman a displeased huff. “Shouldn’t you be off doing,” I swirled my hand through the air, “whatever it is you’ve been doing?”

She snorted before scowling off toward an offending wall. “Luckily, the Praevus doesn’t need my ‘services’ until this evening. Not that I’ve been doing anything meaningful. Lots of circling the town for hours with a large sentinel escort and writing copies of whatever useless garbage the man can scrape together to keep me busy for hours on hours. Really, anything he can think of to keep my busy and out of the way,” she grumbled, splashing water everywhere in her annoyance.

“Oh,” I muttered. There was a pause, and as I watched Camilla’s eyes trail along my form, I decided it was time to run. “Well, enjoy your bath, then!”

Before she had the chance to ask me to join her, I bent forward, this time bending at my knees, and grabbed the large basket before scurrying out of the room. As the door clicked, I released my held breath. I was safe—for the moment, at least.

Moving from then on went rather well. I left any heavier items for someone else to handle, but the clothes and other things, including some rather delicate vials full of colorful liquids that I made an extensive effort not to break, were all gradually moved. The halls stayed mostly empty, the Reeve passing by me just once and luckily paying me no notice. I kept my head down, not meeting his eyes or acknowledging him beyond a clumsy curtsy, due to how full my hands were.

It was only when Rosetta appeared that I had to actually interact with someone. She immediately began complimenting me about how cute I looked with the wide petticoat. All the while, I couldn’t help but fidget from the open, breezy feeling around my privates. It was when she tried to lift up my dress for a quick peek at the fabric that things got worse. I shooed her hands away, but my cock, betraying fiend that it was, decided it was a great time to test the abilities of the new fabric. The relief that it seemed to be working as intended was only overshadowed by the fear that she’d still find out.

“I—I r-really need to, umm, finish moving things,” I fidgeted, arms aching from the heavy weight of the basket. “To the new room, I mean. A lot to do.” If I kept emphasizing it, perhaps she’d release me. I was worried that if my face became any hotter, it would begin to melt.

She smiled and circled me once more. “You’re so cute, Pearl. I swear, if I didn’t have someone else, I’d eat you all up. Though you do have quite the competition already. I’m not sure I can compete.” The girl stared into my burning face. “Has Camilla been teasing you about the petticoat as well? I can only imagine so, considering how flustered you are over it. Not to mention how truly adorable it looks.” She eyed down toward it once more. “I wonder what she’s been saying?” The maid raised a brow, pressing me for an answer as she took a step closer.

“I—I should go!” I said as I bolted.

I flew like an arrow down the hall, moving as quickly as I could with the heavy basket in hand. Rosetta called after me, wishing me a good day. Though it was rude of me, I said nothing back, taking the first corner that came into view. A groan left my throat as I came to a stop. My eye repeatedly twitched as I took several deep breaths and then released a full-body shudder, almost dropping the basket. I scrambled to keep my hold in fear that Rosetta would come to investigate the sound were it to fall.

After several more breaths of air, and then standing awkwardly still in the hall with a heavy basket in hand, my body cooled and finally calmed down. I needed to be more careful to avoid people, or at least Rosetta in particular, I decided as I began my trek back to the room. Perhaps I could take a different way back, more out of the way but less likely to see someone? Though the more I considered the idea, the less feasible it seemed. It wasn’t like there were hidden paths and hallways in the place. Even if I circled through the other side of the little mansion, I’d be just as likely to run into her or someone else.

Really, it hadn’t even been a problem until she tried to lift up my dress. Why was it that my lust seemed to act up then, at the literal worst possible time? Did I really enjoy the idea of being exposed out in the hall like that enough for it to stir me up? No, no, it clearly made more sense that I was just turned on by the idea of Rosetta seeing me. She was quite cute.

I grumbled to myself as I approached the new room once more, annoyed that Camilla had talked me into walking around like this. That had been way too close. The basket shifted within the tight grip of my tired and aching fingers as I tried to find a position that felt more comfortable. Briefly, I considered stopping for a break, but I only had one or two more trips left. And then it would all be done and over with. Plus, once Camilla eventually left for the day, I’d be able to just hide within the room.

My basket wobbled as I held it in one hand to open the door. Thankfully, nothing fell. Though the contents were mostly a collection of metal bowls that I wasn’t sure why the sorceress even had. She really had a lot of junk she didn’t seem to use. Why even bring all this here with her?

I swung the basket through the doorway and made my way in. The door eased closed to my back, but my feet stopped dead as I stared at the sight in the room. Camilla stood in place, no longer in the tub, as her body dripped water onto the tiled floor below. Her arms shifted up above her head, stretching out toward the ceiling. The sorceress took a deep breath and rose onto her toes as the rest of her body joined into the stretch. Her head tilted back, and her naked, wet breasts pressed outward. The light reflecting off her body made her sparkle and glisten as the beads of water continued to glide down her form.

As Camilla breathed out, I did as well, losing the breath I’d been holding in. Her eyes opened, and I averted my gaze, as though I could fool her into thinking I wasn’t looking.

A familiar stirring began between my legs. It then clicked into place in my head. She—she was doing this on purpose! The woman really just couldn’t stop trying to find new ways to tease and corrupt me. With red cheeks, I made my way to the closet space in the room, trying to find something to store her weird bowls. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction. I wouldn’t!

By the time I was done, I turned to find that she was still, very slowly, drying her body off with a towel.

I cleared my throat, doing my best to appear nonchalant. “Well, I’m almost done. I think all that’s left is a few clothes and things stuffed in the closet that you don’t wear. Did you need anything before I finish up?” I kept my voice as resolute as I could.

Camilla hummed, staring into my eyes as she allowed the bunched-up towel to drop, covering nothing but a little of her belly. She gave me a coy smile as she watched me accidentally glance downward. I made sure my face showed just how unamused I was at her antics. Or attempted to through the warmth covering my cheeks.

“No, I believe I’ll be fine until you’re finished. Perhaps then we can get some breakfast. Or lunch, I suppose.” She fluttered her eyes and smiled at me again.

“Right.” I shifted to the other foot. “I’ll—I’ll be back in a moment then.”

Picking up the basket, I left the room once more, hoping she would be clothed—or at least covered in her opaque shadows—by the time I got back. I paused in the hall as a dreadful thought came to mind. She wouldn’t try to make me all horny and hard while others were actively around, would she? I honestly wasn’t sure. A growing part of me was worried the woman would go as far as intentionally placing me in situations where I might become completely uncovered.

My head shook. No, she wouldn’t do that without asking, I would think. Camilla had been quite insistent on me agreeing to everything that she’d done with me. Though a dark corner of my mind couldn’t keep the tantalizing thought of her flashing my nudity in front of others.

I turned a corner, clutching the basket tighter, only to stop in place. A foot stepped out from up ahead, the figure moving to block my way in the smaller hallway.

“There you are,” he said, leisurely striding toward me.

Silas’s lips curled into an impish smile, a smile that formed a pit in my belly, along with a foreboding chill.