10. If You Want To Touch, Go Ahead

“Is this a proposal?”

Katya, who he thought would be flustered, suddenly cupped his cheeks with both hands and asked.

“What?”

“Do you want to marry me? Do you like me that much?”

“Ha…”

Nikolai let out a hollow laugh, caught off guard.

She always behaved in ways that were unexpected.

“No matter how charming I am, don’t like me too much. You’ll only get hurt. I told you, I’m not a woman you can handle—achoo!”

At that moment, a sudden sneeze burst forth, and Katya quickly turned her head to avoid his face.

As a result, she ended up in a position that looked like she was hugging him, with her hands on his shoulders.

Seeing her shivering from the rain, Nikolai scooped her up in his arms and strode up to the second floor.

“What if someone sees us!”

“They’ll think we’re a loving couple. I’m just following the innkeeper’s advice to treat my lover well.”

“Who said I’m your lover? Put me down.”

“Then don’t get sick.”

Ignoring her protests, Nikolai opened the guest room door and went inside.

After setting her down on a chair, he immediately went back downstairs to pay extra for a bathtub to be sent up.

Soon after, a large wooden bathtub was placed in the middle of the room, and an inn maid filled it with hot water before leaving.

“Get in and warm up.”

Nikolai said, handing her a fluffy bathrobe and pajamas.

These were also obtained by paying extra.

He lied, saying they were standard provisions from the inn, knowing Katya would likely object.

While she changed clothes comfortably, Nikolai turned his back and removed his damp shirt, lost in thought.

He felt strange, recalling the complaints of nobles who lamented about being nagged by their wives about spending.

“Why do you keep bringing up marriage?”

“What?”

Nikolai hadn’t brought it up for no reason.

Katya’s nagging about saving money was something typically heard between married couples.

It’s not something you usually say to a stranger.

Yet, strangely, it didn’t bother him.

Nikolai changed into pants, wringing out the rainwater from his wet clothes into the water bucket.

While he was focused on squeezing out the water, he felt a gaze piercing him.

Turning around, he saw Katya, dressed in a bathrobe, staring at him instead of getting into the tub.

Specifically, she was staring at his bare upper body.

His broad shoulders and solid muscles formed beautiful lines beneath them, sitting pleasingly.

Katya was genuinely curious about what he did to have such a well-toned body.

“What are you staring at?”

“How can your body look like a sculpture?”

Her question was pure, without any ulterior motives, which made Nikolai frown.

“Sculpture? That’s unpleasant.”

“It’s a compliment.”

“Aren’t sculptures usually small there?”

“There?”

Katya asked innocently.

Never mind.

“Proportions.”

Nikolai made up an excuse.

“I’m a large man in every way.”

He didn’t forget to subtly boast at the end.

“Yes, you do seem big.”

She said, not taking her eyes off Nikolai’s body.

Her gaze was so blatant, like looking at a fish on display at a market, that Nikolai felt a strange sense of competitiveness.

“If you want to touch, go ahead.”

“What?”

“Whether you caress with your eyes or your hands, it’s the same.”

Though it was meant to be provocative, Katya promptly reached out and touched his body.

“It’s really hard. Like a rock.”

Her hands roamed over him as if selecting fruit, making Nikolai tense up involuntarily.

What is this woman?

“Your body is cold.”

Katya suddenly said, lifting her head after exploring his body.

“Want to bathe together?”

“No, thanks. I’ll wait outside—”

“Why bother? Carrying water for the tub twice would only tire out the maid. Let’s get in together.”

Without waiting for his response, Katya moved behind him and pushed him toward the tub with her hands on his broad back.

As her warm hands touched his back, Nikolai, as if under a spell, couldn’t resist and ended up in the tub.

When Katya joined him, they sat facing each other, their toes touching.

“Now I feel alive, don’t you?”

Katya sniffled, hugging her knees, and said.

Under the thin, wet fabric of her bathrobe, her soft, fair skin subtly showed through.

Nikolai didn’t know where to look, so he pretended to glance around the room, turning his head here and there.

At the same time, he dissolved soap into the water to make it cloudy, trying to obscure the view of her body from his sight.

Unaware of the reason behind his wandering gaze, Katya mumbled to herself.

“I’m envious.”

“Of what?”

“I wish I were muscular and strong like you.”

At her words, Nikolai stopped making the soapy water and met her gaze.

“What?”

“If I were strong, no one would look down on me.”

“I’ll make sure no one looks down on you.”

“And who are you to do that?”

A smile played on Katya’s lips as she spoke.

“Fine, I’m in the mood!”

Suddenly standing up, Katya made Nikolai quickly turn his head to the side.

She approached him, turned his body to face the window, and poured water from a bucket over his head.

The fast-falling stream of water made Nikolai’s head droop downward.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“I’m going to wash your hair.”

“What?”

“Just stay still!”

As he tried to turn his body, she lightly smacked his back, making him let out a dry laugh.

It was the first time he had been in such a vulnerable state and been hit on his bare skin.

And by a woman as small and delicate as a chick.

No one had ever treated him so casually before.

Yet, after hitting him mercilessly, she was now gently touching his hair.

Every time her fingers touched his scalp, he felt a strange, tickling sensation in his chest.

Whether she knew how he felt or not, Katya began to lather his hair with soap, diligently creating bubbles.

She was washing his hair with the mindset of serving a cherished tenant.

“You’re just like Laika.”

Seeing him twitch slightly under her hand, unable to run away completely, Katya giggled.

“Who is that…?”

Her cheerful laughter reached his ears, and Nikolai asked with a voice tinged with subtle anticipation.

He was curious about the being that made her laugh like that.

Especially since she said it resembled him.

“Our family dog. It’s huge but scared of baths, just like you.”

Nikolai finally understood why she was so comfortable bathing with him.

Katya was treating him as if he were a large dog.

Somehow, it left him feeling deflated.

“Are you saying I’m like a dog? That’s rude.”

“It’s a compliment! Laika is so cute and sweet.”

“And I’m not a man who’s afraid of something like a bath.”

What he was really afraid of was…

“Then what are you afraid of?”

It was her.

The ‘Bloody Grand Duke’ feared neither war, famine, plague, nor the demonic beasts of the Red Forest, but he was afraid of this small lady.

If the knights of the Grand Ducal Order knew this, they would burst into laughter, but Nikolai was sincere.

This fear was different from common fear.

He was pouring all his attention into Katya’s every word and reaction.

He hated anyone touching his body so much that he refused assistance even during baths or when changing clothes.

If he accidentally brushed against someone, he would habitually jerk his hand away or turn his body nervously, yet he was letting Katya touch him freely.

Just like a submissive dog, as she said.

“There’s nothing I’m afraid of.”

“If you don’t hate baths, then why are you twitching like a freshly caught fish?”

Now a fish?

Nikolai chuckled softly and shook his head.

“Can’t I be treated like a human being?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Pfft…”

“Are you laughing now?”

“Sorry, sorry, I won’t laugh anymore. But I’ve been curious about something for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Are you a mercenary or something? You fight so well.”

The Grand Duchy of Hersen was known for exporting top mercenaries.

The proportion of mercenaries who went abroad to fight for pay was overwhelmingly higher than that of officially enlisted knights or soldiers, causing social and security issues.

“Something like that.”

“Mercenaries and knights are really cool.”

“How much?”

“Huh?”

“Enough to want to marry one?”

“Yeah. I like men skilled in martial arts.”

At this point, Katya had no idea she would regret saying this in the near future.

“Not that I’m saying I’ll marry you.”

“Do you think I’m of low status?”

“What?”

“You must be a noble.”

Katya’s hands, which had been rinsing his hair, paused.

He was right.

Even if they liked each other, the difference in their social status made marriage impossible.

Though he spoke with a noble’s mannerisms, picked up from somewhere, his exact occupation and status were unclear.

If he were really a mercenary, it was a dangerous job since they risked their lives in wars and, unlike state-protected knights or soldiers, it was difficult to retrieve their bodies.

If she brought home a mercenary as her husband, her father would probably clutch his neck and faint.

But she didn’t want to hurt this man.

“What does status matter? Regardless of that, you are a precious person your mother gave birth to with great effort.”

Suddenly, an old memory flashed through Nikolai’s mind.

“You’re a useless wretch. It should have been you who died, not your brother.”

His father always said that whenever he looked at him.

He thought it was an undeniable truth.

If his brother had lived and inherited the Grand Duke’s title, perhaps everyone could have been happy.

Yet, what was this woman saying to him?

“Niki, you are someone who deserves to be loved.”

With those words, his heart suddenly began to race.