The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

53 – Making Bath Salts!

Once again, the quiet room of the young lady.

On a sunny afternoon at 3 o’clock, the sunlight illuminates the window.

The young lady, who would usually be taking a nap, sat in the chair after the visit of Mr. Ba, breaking her routine nap and sitting for the first time in a while.

The lady looked around like a cat.

Expecting another tutor to visit to educate the lady renowned for her reactions.

Wrapped tightly in a blanket, the lady sat in front of the table, reacting sensitively to even the slightest movements.

She flinched at the slightest sound.

Hiding her head in the blanket at the rustling sound.

Calling me with a ‘heeek’ when the shadow of a swaying tree was visible.

The lady, rolling up the blanket like a kimbap, pointed with her finger at a fallen black button on the floor.

“Ricardo, look over there…”

“Yes?”

“That… isn’t that a cockroach?”

I bent down and picked up the black button.

“Oh…”

The lady peeked through the gap in the blanket. I wanted to play a prank on her, seeing her scared, but decided against it.

I stood still, staring at the button.

I needed a way to tease her without lying. I had to find a way to play a trick without her catching on.

Observing carefully and as a good idea popped into my head, I hid my emerging laughter and said to the lady.

“Something big just fell.”

“B…big…?”

“Yes, I don’t know where this fell from… Ow…”

She held her button tightly, shaking her head. As a fierce “pop!” sound filled the room, the girl flipped the blanket, making a strange noise.

“Ah… Ahhh!!”

As I reached out my hand, the startled girl screamed. I gave her a natural expression and opened my hand to show her the broken button pieces.

“A button fell.”

The girl glared at me.

“Don’t joke around.”

“I’m not joking…”

“Liar.”

From Noble mtl dot com

With a chubby expression, the girl pouted her lips. She then cursed at me with a fierce gaze.

As her cute expression made her lips curl up, she quickly realized and warned me not to laugh, before speaking to me.

“From now on, no more words starting with ‘ba’.”

“Ba-whee (wheel).”

“Eek!!!”

The girl threw a fork that was on the table.

*

Today is the day we make bath bombs.

Along with the girl who gave up on her nap, it was a day for trying out something creative in a while.

On the desk, the ingredients for making bath bombs and a thick book were spread out.

[Make Your Own Bath Bombs that Anyone Can Do!]

A book with detailed drawings and packed text on how to make bath bombs.

Furrowing our brows, the girl and I were scratching our heads at the more difficult content than we thought.

“Um… One spoonful of citric acid, five spoonfuls of food coloring?”

“No, just one spoonful.”

“Oh, I see.”

Carefully putting the ingredients into the beaker, the girl and I were fully focused like cosmetic researchers.

As a precautionary measure, we were wearing white gowns and protective goggles, trying to create a feeling, but our amateurish appearance couldn’t be more obvious.

There were various items on the desk.

Powder and beaker as the main ingredients for the bath bomb.

Including the fragrance and mold to solidify the bath bomb.

It might be amateurish to make for beginners, but thanks to Teacher Ba’s appearance, the composition was more than enough to soothe the wounded lady’s heart.

Upon seeing the completed bath bomb as a trial, the lady’s eyes widened.

[Apple-scented Bath Bomb]

“Oh…!”

It seems better than expected.

The color, the round shape—it was a reasonably well-made piece for a beginner.

“Is it finished?”

“Yes, I made it following the instructions in the book, but…”

“Wow!”

The lady held a new beaker and blew a breath. Her desire for creativity was evident.

With a small laugh, I said to the lady,

“Now, let’s each make our own.”

-Nodding.

“It’s my first time making one, so it might be a bit clumsy…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the lady tossed aside the blanket, filled the beaker with ingredients, and began mixing them haphazardly.

With a mischievous laugh, she, with a look reminiscent of an alchemist obsessed with magic, was a sight to behold.

“hehehehe… the bath bomb I made.”

One hour later.

Smoke was rising from the lady’s beaker.

Black smoke emanating from the beaker.

Bubbles were rising, but it was unclear what she had created. A foreboding feeling crept in.

Curious, I rubbed my eyes and looked at the beaker, but nothing had changed.

The lady had been putting various things into the beaker.

Taking out chocolate from a treasure chest, plopping it in with a satisfied smile, squeezing toothpaste with a look of contentment, the lady nodded approvingly.

Seeing her like a witch brewing poison, I asked,

“Is it a poison?”

Tingling. The lady looked at me with sharp eyes.

“No, it’s not poison.”

“Looks like poison to anyone.”

The young lady shook her head and spoke.

“Vanilla ginseng mint chocolate bath salts.”

“Yes…?”

“It tastes like toothpaste. So, mint chocolate.”

“Why did you add ginseng?”

“It makes you healthier.”

She was a lady who created incomprehensible concoctions. Mixing chocolate and toothpaste was understandable, but adding ginseng was a bit… unusual. Perhaps it was even good for you.

Oddly, I found the lady’s confidently expanded chest and her proud expression oddly trustworthy. Like how bathing in green tea was said to improve the skin, maybe there was some kind of effect to it.

Upon reconsideration, the lady’s words seemed to make sense. Masterpieces are born from mistakes.

With a proud expression, the lady offered me a beaker.

“Ricardo wrote this.”

“…That’s a bit…”

“Why?”

I politely declined.

No matter how amazing the invention was, it had to be tested for stability. Bathing with that concoction seemed more likely to make my skin rot than improve my health.

The lady looked disappointed as she bid farewell to the rejected bath salt No. 2 and started creating a new one.

I also had to make something…

Staring at the empty beaker, lost in thought, I tapped the table with my fingers.

What to create.

Watching the lady who ignited the flames of artistic inspiration, I was unable to create anything. I pondered, pouring ingredients into the small beaker.

Should I make a rose-scented bath salt with rose extract, or should I make bath salts with chocolate that the lady liked?

Driven by the desire for creativity, I poured ingredients into the small beaker.

It seemed insufficient to put in only one ingredient.

Let’s add ginseng.

And antler.

And a potion.

In my absentmindedness, a purple-hued poisonous liquid was completed.

The lady sighed deeply as she looked at the bath salt I had made.

“Ricardo. If you eat that, you’ll die.”

“Eating is not the answer.”

“…But still, die.”

She was an honest lady.

I smiled as I sprinkled glittering powder into the bath, creating a smile of reconsideration, asking if it looked pretty. However, to the bath bomb specialist lady, it seemed to resemble either a poop-colored mint chocolate or a sparkling poison, no different from before.

Back in the day, she used to appreciate beauty….

The grown-up lady looked impressive yet simultaneously regretful.

It didn’t take long for a convincing bath bomb to be crafted.

Maybe around three hours. The completed bath bomb, not perfectly solid but usable, lay on the table.

A proud smile appeared on my face at the radiant figure of the health bath bomb infused with roses, chocolate, and medicine.

Since meeting Mikhail, my mood hadn’t been great, but trying my hand at creation after a long time made me feel better.

“Oh…!”

She leaned on the table, eagerly awaiting the bath bomb to harden. I chuckled at the lady who incessantly pointed with her finger, asking when it would solidify.

It was a peaceful time.

A week ago seemed so distant, the time so tranquil and cozy that the events of the past week hardly crossed my mind.

Choosing the job of a caretaker seemed to have been a good decision, and with a somewhat sentimental thought, I smiled at the lady.

“Lady.”

“Hmm?”

“Would you like to take a bath?”

A pause.

She stopped touching the warm bath bomb that was gradually hardening and looked at me. The lady looked at me with excited eyes, as if she would strip off her clothes right away.

“Bath?”

“Yes.”

“Bath…?”

The lady vigorously nodded her head.

“I want to.”

Before heading to the mansion’s bathhouse, the lady gestured to me. She beckoned me closer, speaking as if about to share a secret.

As she whispered mysteriously, I brought my ear closer.

When my face was near, the lady began to pat my head. She smiled, stroking my red, messy hair like a puppy.

It seemed like she was telling me not to worry, but she was the lady who, with a sharp sensation, plucked out a handful of my hair.

An awkward atmosphere filled the air.

The young lady, who didn’t expect me to pull out so many, and I, who betrayed her, were facing each other.

“Huh…?”

The young lady awkwardly looked at the strand of hair in her hand and smiled.

“Hee!” The young lady smiled brightly. Before I knew it, I found myself laughing too.

“Why are you pulling out other people’s hair? It hurts…”

“It hurts?”

At the mention of pain, the young lady reacted strongly, and I quickly shook my head and denied it. I shouldn’t say things like it hurts carelessly.

The young lady blew on her hand wrapped in a bandage and said, “It’s not hurting there.”

“I just wanted to.”

“Oh…”

I actually found it pleasing.

The young lady put the pulled hair into a new beaker. She then put in some powder to make a bath additive.

The young lady proudly smiled and said, “This is Ricardo-scented bath additive.”

“…No… Ha!”

I burst out laughing because it was unbelievable.

Ricardo-scented bath additive, I don’t know if it will be good to use. Seeing the innocent act of making bath additive with a few strands of hair, I quickly pulled out the young lady’s hair.

As I held about three long strands of hair in my hand, the young lady wiped her teary forehead and said, “It hurts.”

“I pulled it out because it hurts.”

Profit. The young lady clenched her fist, ready to throw the stick she was holding, but I dodged it and put the young lady’s hair in the place where I called it Ricardo bath additive.

“This is the young lady’s bath additive.”

“Oh…!”

The young lady held the beaker and laughed heartily.

It seems pleasing.

I hope it continues like this…

I murmured softly, looking at the empty air.

“Ha…”

– A quest has been activated.

[Rescue Yuria.]

The situation did not favor me.