Sherry

Urgh, stupid Hugo! Why must he be so whiny? Too hard, he says! Well, if you’re going to scrub something, you have to press the rug hard onto it!

Tch, he should just shut up and let me do it! It’ll end faster that way!

Grr, why am I doing this anyways? To be washing a boy’s back like this, a-and a naked one at that! Ooh, what would Nicole think?

Such thoughts swam inside my head as I worked on Hugo’s back. Since he complained that I was rubbing it too hard, I tried to tone down my strength, moving the cloth slower and pressing it less hard.

For a boy, his back and shoulder are surprisingly pretty firm… Must be from the training he got from Sir Al—I-I mean, F-Father…

Before I realized it, I was ogling him once again, as when he lifted himself off the bath, I obtained an eyeful of his behind. O-of course, I quickly looked away, and even now, I tried not to look downwards. I-I was not a pervert after all. The realization that staring at a boy’s naked back was also a perverted thing didn’t dawn on me until I was nearly finished, and it made me scrub the rest of his body as fast as I could, earning another complaint from him.

“S-shut up! I-I’m almost finished here! Don’t be a big baby!”

Grrr. Yet again, instead of giving him the respect he deserved, I was scolding him, just to mask my own embarrassment. I still remembered Mother’s words, about how I should treat him kindly, just like Marina. Technically, I too was his big sister after all.

B-but it’s not fair! Marina already knows him for her entire life! I bet she could wash his back without a single blush manifesting on her cheeks! She might even be able to do the front as well!

I couldn’t help but feel jealous of her. She knew Hugo so well. And they had their magic training together from the morning until the evening.

I knew that she would have to return back to her boarding school once summer was over, but still, looking at them, I could see that they shared a closeness that I could not pierce through.

Ah, that’s right! Once she’s gone, Hugo would have to return back to his sword training! That means we could train together for the other 9 months! Watch out, Marina! I’m coming for your No.1 sister spot!

...Oh, who was I kidding? I knew I could never replace her. Even if I could have more time with Hugo than her, I would never have the courage nor the temper to be really close with him! I would be too shy, and I would push him away!

“O-ouch, h-hey, d-don’t you think that’s enough already? My skin is already dry, you know!”

O-oh right, I had been rubbing his back on the same spot all this time.

“I-it’s done, Y-Young Master. L-let me rinse you afterwards.”

I turned around to grab the bucket again—

Only to slip forward, pushing both Hugo and myself straight into the bath.

I didn't know how it had happened. Perhaps some soap had spilled over, causing the ceramic floor to turn slippery. Perhaps it was me, not used to the fancy shoes I was wearing. Or perhaps it was just Fate, playing a prank on us. Well, the latter seemed to be most likely, as what happened afterwards could only come from the most unfortunate of coincidences.

As my face went underwater, I saw it. What lied in the middle of a boy's legs. The "spear of manhood", as that lurid book described. When I surfaced, I was completely red in the face. And horrified by what I just saw.

It wasn’t the first that I saw, as the little boys in the orphanage, around one to two years old, would sometimes wander around completely naked, as the nuns missed them. However, this was completely different. It belonged to Hugo, a boy that I had seen as a friend, and a boy whose mother had told me to marry when we were older.

And I saw it all in its full-sized glory, ready to pounce, just like that book described.

How could I not be embarrassed from such a sight?

Hugo soon surfaced as well, coughing up some water that had entered his throat.

And then, his eyes stared right towards my chest.

“Kyaahhh!”

I immediately covered myself with my arms. If my face could have gone any redder, it certainly would have.

The white part of my outfit—it had gone completely transparent, exposing my chest to his staring eyes.

At that time, I was completely flat, of course. However, I was old enough to have the same embarrassment as older, more well-endowed girls when their white shirts turned translucent, revealing whatever bras they wore underneath. In fact, it might be a little bit worse, as I didn’t wear any bras after all.

I couldn’t say anything. I could only feel my embarrassment reaching the tipping point, thanks to that and what just occurred under the water.

“P-pervert!”

I slapped him as hard as I could, before running away from the bath, leaving a trail of water and tears behind.

And so, what was supposed to be me giving my gratitude to him, ended up in a complete disaster. My temper had won over me once again. I didn’t even dare to look back, to see how much damage I had dealt to my benefactor by my full-powered slap. I immediately went to my room and locked myself there, like the coward I was.

And then, I cried.