Chapter 11

‘No, that can’t be. There’s no way they don’t know.’

She realized they probably couldn’t print his name directly in the newspaper. With Duke Aston’s influence and pressure, that was entirely possible.

‘They just lumped it together as “high-ranking noble” because they couldn’t use the name.’

Erin was lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the newspaper.

“Doctor.”

A large hand casually reached over and crumpled the newspaper Erin had been reading, tossing it into the trash.

He was the one responsible for changing the lab so much.

“Ash. Did you rest well… huh!”

…Of course, it wasn’t just the lab’s interior that had changed.

“Hm, mm…”

Ash gently approached, nibbled Erin’s lips, grazed her teeth, and lightly bit her tongue before letting her go.

“Good morning.”

“…….”

‘Seriously.’

He didn’t have to go this far.

Ash could be so calm and collected, yet he would sometimes kiss her or gently embrace her out of nowhere.

‘It’s only happened a few times, but…’

Every time, Erin felt her heart drop.

She doubted her assistant had any special intentions with these actions.

Maybe he just wanted to set the mood.

‘Maybe he wanted to feel like he was in a relationship with me…’

So that the strange act of filling her with his seed for the experiment would feel more bearable.

Of course, anyone else would say that made no sense.

But Erin knew just how kind and thoughtful Ash always was.

He had learned how to cook for her after she’d stayed up all night, covered her with blankets and clothes, and now even brought in good furniture from the neighboring lab that was closing.

He’d even volunteered as a test participant so Erin wouldn’t have to deal with that reckless man.

‘So I can’t let myself get swept away by these gestures.’

If she let her heart wander, she’d become the strange one.

Still, whenever Ash kissed her, the defenses she’d built up seemed to melt away.

Erin tried to keep her lips firm, but her eyes widened when she saw what Ash was bringing in.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, from the lab across the hall.”

“They gave you something like that?”

What appeared was a large bathtub.

Not a wooden tub, but a smooth, glazed white porcelain bathtub.

“H-How did you carry that alone…?”

“The workers helped me up to the front.”

“Ash! You’ll break your arm!”

“I borrowed a magic tool for heavy lifting, so don’t worry.”

“Even with a magic tool, that’s not easy to move…!”

Before Erin could finish, Ash easily lifted the bathtub.

Even with magical help, it should have been heavy, but Ash looked perfectly at ease.

‘Did he move all the other furniture by himself too?’

Erin was astonished.

He turned and carried the tub into the partitioned area of the lab. Erin called out in surprise,

“There’s no room for that there!”

That was where she’d placed her custom test chair, originally made for female participants.

With something that big, how could a tub fit…?

“It’s fine.”

Thud. The sound of the tub being set down slowly on the floor.

Erin, dumbfounded, peeked behind the partition.

“Gasp…”

And she was surprised for another reason.

The chair she’d made was gone. It looked like it had been thrown out.

Instead…

“Ash. Are you starting a spa business in here?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Inside, it truly looked like a luxury spa.

When did he even connect the pipes?

There was a magic-powered shower spewing hot water, every kind of scented oil, a shower booth, and even a massage bed.

With the tub Ash just brought in, the cramped space looked like a high-end spa for noble ladies.

Ash shrugged nonchalantly.

“I realized we needed something like this.”

“Huh?”

“You had a tough time that day.”

“That day?”

“The day there was no shower in the lab.”

…Erin’s cheeks flushed as she recalled that day.

After her first time with Ash in the lab, when she tried to go wash up as he suggested.

Erin had worried all the way that Ash’s fluid might leak between her legs.

Ash tried to take her to the public bath, but Erin was horrified.

‘I don’t want anyone seeing me clean your stuff in a public bath!’

She’d whispered, embarrassed even to say “fluid.”

Eventually, after much worry, Erin had Ash help her visit her townhouse, which she rarely used.

It was called a townhouse, but the ruined baron’s house was mostly rented out, and the owner lived in a single small room.

Erin’s room was worse than her lab.

She hadn’t visited in so long that dust had piled up. When she washed in the cramped bathroom, Ash followed her in, squinting at the spiderwebbed ceiling and cracked floor.

His eyes seemed to ask, ‘How can you live in such a pigsty?’

‘I guess you understand now why I sleep at the lab.’

Embarrassed, Erin hurried Ash out.

Later, she realized she’d been overly sensitive, but she couldn’t help it. It felt like she’d revealed a weakness.

After that, life returned to normal.

Ash suggested they visit a famous restaurant together, eat dessert, see a popular show.

Ash insisted on buying Erin new clothes to make up for dirtying hers.

The day ended with Ash about to take her back to the townhouse, but he said it was unhealthy to sleep there and introduced her to his own lodging.

‘The floor below mine is empty.’

‘Not just the floor below, but two floors down?’

‘The landlord can’t find tenants and wants to fill the rooms, even for no rent.’

‘Is it that bad?’

‘Empty houses quickly fall apart and are hard to maintain.’

Ash was right.

The landlord was so grateful just to have someone living there, he let Erin stay rent-free for three months, and the rent afterward was barely anything.

‘Is this a haunted house?’

She wondered, but the room was so big and nice that she found herself signing the contract as if bewitched. And that wasn’t all.

‘Hmm. Now I have a place, but it’s empty. I’ll need furniture.’

‘I know a furniture store.’

‘What? How?’

‘I made contacts for lab furniture replacements. I haven’t bought anything myself, though.’

Ash introduced her to a store that delivered everything quickly, even giving her furniture for free as a promotion.

That night, she slept in a wide, soft bed instead of the hard lab desk or cramped sofa.

At the end of that busy day,

Ash came by to say goodnight before heading upstairs.

‘Good night, Doctor.’

‘Thanks for everything today. I’ll probably still stay at the lab most of the time…’

‘But you need somewhere to go in an emergency.’

‘True. I should rent out that old room now.’

‘Don’t worry about that, Doctor.’

After that, Erin really couldn’t think of anything else.

Peck.

Ash gave her a light kiss on the forehead, like a goodnight kiss…

‘See you at the lab, Doctor.’

He smiled and left.

That was the start of his affectionate gestures.

There were big events in between, but when Erin thought back, at least until the afternoon,

It really was just…

‘Like a date.’

She shook her head furiously.

‘Good grief.’

A date!

She’d just decided not to expect anything emotionally from Ash, and here she was thinking about dates.

‘Of course, he does give me some signals…’

Since then, he’d walked her home every night, kissed her goodbye, sometimes made her breakfast.

The more she thought, the more it felt like they were a couple.

She even wondered if Ash had feelings for her.

‘No, that’s not right.’

But she knew she couldn’t just push responsibility onto Ash.

He was always kind, but she was the senior, responsible for his employment.