Tension
“Um… Siana? Sorry, but could you repeat what you just said?”
Siana’s words were so shocking that I doubted my own ears rather than her statement… but Siana repeated herself.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to take a bath with me today? That is what I said!”
Hearing those words from Siana, I realized it hadn’t been my imagination, and while flustered, I asked her,
“Wh-Why do you want to take a bath with me, Siana?”
When I voiced the sudden question that had sprung to mind, Siana replied.
“Master, you seemed tired from your sword practice, and you even said yourself that you were tired… so I wish to help ease your fatigue, even if only a little!”
To help me recover from my fatigue… as I thought, Siana is a kind girl.
But…
“I appreciate your feelings, Siana, but you’re a girl, and bathing together would be embarrassing for me, but even more so for you, wouldn’t it? I’m truly grateful for your feelings, but you don’t have to force yourself to bathe with me…”
“I am not forcing myself at all! If it is for Master’s sake, I truly, truly can do anything, and I wish to do anything for you! So please, allow me to bathe together with you!”
Siana’s words were filled with such passion that I could tell there was no falsehood in her desire to do anything for me. To refuse such a proposal, given how deeply she cared, would be something I, as her Master, should never do.
“Alright, if you insist that much, Siana, then… let’s take a bath together today.”
“…! Thank you very much, Master!”
Saying that, Siana bowed her head to me.
I had never imagined I’d suddenly end up taking a bath with Siana, so it still didn’t feel real. Or rather, the shock was so great that it felt like its aftershocks were still lingering. But now that I’d said it, I had no choice but to bathe with her.
After that, with my head full of thoughts about bathing with Siana, I somehow managed to finish dinner in the dining hall… and then, it was finally time. Siana and I started walking down the hallway toward the bath together.
“Maybe if I’d had a childhood friend, there might have been such opportunities, but I never had anyone like that around, so this is my first time bathing with a girl. I know it’s pathetic for me, as your Master, to say this, but I’m a little nervous… Have you ever bathed with a man before, Siana?”
“No, I have not… and I do not think I ever will, with anyone other than you, Master.”
“I don’t think you can say that. In the future, if you get engaged to some man, you might bathe with him.”
“Of course, I understand… and still, the only person I will ever bathe with is you, Master.”
Hearing those words from Siana, I spoke with a small smile.
“That would mean you and I are engaged, wouldn’t it? Just kidding. Looks like we’re almost at the bath now.”
“…Yes.”
After that, Siana and I arrived together in front of the bath. I changed clothes in the dressing room and entered the bath, then waited for Siana to come in.
While I waited for her, I knew it wasn’t right to harbor such feelings toward my maid, Siana, but still, the very act of bathing with the opposite sex stirred in me a unique kind of tension that only the opposite sex can evoke.