Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 374: The Dilemma of a Political Marriage (4) 18+

Ayra was a person as pure as snow-white milk.

Blessed with beauty, her body was such that even dust seemed to slide right off without clinging to her. Because of that, strictly speaking, she didn’t even need to shower or bathe.

Yet, Ayra bathed more often than anyone.

Maybe it was because she liked the sensation of warm or cool water flowing down her body.

Or maybe, she simply liked the act of bathing itself.

Because of that, I had helped her bathe quite a bit back when I served in the Angmar royal palace. Soaping her body—or sometimes, even licking the soap.

Naturally, I had seen Ayra’s bare naked body many times.

As queen, she had no reservations about showing me her body.

She had never been embarrassed.

Probably for the same reason women don’t think twice about being naked in front of the dogs or cats they raise at home.

Yes, back then, Ayra treated me no differently than a dog or a cat. Thanks to that, I got to see many beautiful things.

At the time, I hadn’t known many other women to compare her with, so it hadn’t struck me as particularly meaningful—but I had thought her body was elegant, beautiful, and enchanting.

Like a model.

Rather than evoking lust, it inspired a sense of awe—like a perfectly sculpted marble statue.

But if you asked me now whether I’d seen Ayra’s naked body recently, nothing came to mind.

At most, maybe her hand, or her feet without shoes or stockings. Or the calves and sleek thighs that peeked out from under her negligee?

“......”

Looking back now, I couldn’t believe it. That I had once bathed Ayra’s naked body—or even gone so far as to lick her.

Back then, I had been completely cornered, with no space to think, and couldn’t fully grasp how significant those moments really were.

Splash.

Just then, something splashed in front of me. I turned my head slightly, and through the misty steam, I saw a slender leg sinking into the water.

“I told you not to look this way.”

Of course, I had to quickly redirect my gaze. But that didn’t change the fact that Ayra and I were alone in this bath where hot water bubbled and frothed.

I had helped her bathe before—but had we ever bathed together? No, not that I could recall. Maybe that’s why the parts of my body submerged in the water began to feel oddly heated.

We were in the same water.

That alone gave rise to a strange sense of intimacy, and blood rushed to my face.

Then, from beyond the dense steam, Ayra spoke.

“I was told no one would be using this place. Looks like Elga lied to me.”

I hadn’t heard the full explanation, but perhaps Ayra had received the same suggestion from Elga as I had. Maybe something like: “The bath in the basement is open—go use it quickly.”

If I thought a bit further, maybe Elga had even orchestrated this situation on purpose—leaving just the two of us here together.

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Elga really is a strategic one.

The problem was—Ayra hated lies.

“To dare deceive the queen... This might call for punishment.”

To defend Elga a little, I asked,

“But doesn’t Lady Ayra have the eyes to see through lies? You can peer into the past, after all. For someone like Elga, who’s not exactly skilled at deception, to fool you—it’s a bit unexpected.”

“Even a spider gets its leg caught in its own web now and then.”

“A proverb like ‘Even a monkey falls from the tree,’ then?”

“There’s no such proverb in Angmar.”

I couldn’t tell if that was true, or if Ayra was just saying it. Maybe it was the dizziness from being submerged in hot water for too long.

Or maybe, because of the gold-tinged steam and the fact that I was alone with Ayra, I felt a strange kind of excitement. I ended up asking something I normally wouldn’t dare.

“I’ve thought this before, but... Lady Ayra’s eyes don’t seem to see everything. Do you have something that could be called a weakness?”

“I do.”

She admitted it surprisingly easily, which left me more stunned than anything. As I fumbled for a response, I heard a soft shhhhhh—perhaps she was pouring water over her head with her palms.

“But my weakness... is also his weakness.”

“By ‘his’... you mean Solomon, don’t you? Is he watching us now? Or listening somehow?”

“He can’t see right now. He can only see me when I look at him. Like a reflection—you only see your face in a well when you’re looking into it.”

“...Honestly, that’s hard to understand.”

“Teo, you don’t need to understand.”

The firmness in Ayra’s voice was clear. It felt like she was drawing a line—and strangely, I felt jealousy. Jealousy, really?

Between whom and whom?

Between Solomon and Ayra?

The two of them were bound together not by affection, but by a twisted destiny. They loathed and resented each other, yet could not part.

When I thought about it that way, their relationship seemed far more dramatic and fated than mine and Ayra’s, which was bound only by paperwork. Of course I’d feel jealous. I was possessive by nature.

So I asked,

“How can we get rid of him?”

“......”

Ayra didn’t answer. But I already knew—Ayra was someone who chose silence over lies.

I suddenly felt a rush of anger.

Splash—.

I rose to my feet and slowly approached Ayra. Naturally, her voice—tinged with anger—came through the mist.

“I told you not to look this way.”

“You were the one who told me to open the wrapping and look inside. I’m just doing what I was told.”

“Don’t come any closer. I’m warning you.”

“I refuse. This isn’t a public setting. And Lady Ayra and I are husband and wife—it’s not strange for us to bathe together. And also...”

“......”

“I’ve washed your body many times in the past. Why are you suddenly forbidding me from looking now?”

“Because things are different now.”

As Ayra spoke, I finally caught a glimpse of her figure through the misty steam.

And I froze.

I couldn’t put it into words. For a moment, I was utterly dazed. Then Ayra spoke.

“...I didn’t want to show you.”

***

Mana flows through the veins.

I had never heard that before, but apparently, among the mages of this world, it was a commonly known saying.

It meant that a mage’s talent was primarily inherited through bloodline. And at the same time, that mana literally coursed through the body along the veins.

But while the former might be true, the latter turned out to be somewhat inaccurate. In reality, mana flowed not through blood vessels but along special threads—or lines.

Some people were born with them, others were not. Even among those who had them, their shapes varied greatly, and their number as well.

The reason I was bringing up such a topic now was because—

I was seeing those lines with my own eyes.

Ayra’s body, from her face to the chest she covered with her hands, was marked with black patterns.

They looked like meticulously crafted tattoos in the shape of spiderwebs, and there was something about them that overwhelmed the viewer. I was briefly at a loss for words.

Ayra turned her head quietly.

“I know. It must be unsightly. I had ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the lines extended through a special procedure performed by witches so I could accept the Grand Incantation Bael. This is a side effect. It always ends up like this after I use high-level mana.”

“I see. I had no idea.”

“I never told anyone. If I soak in the water like this for a while, it’ll eventually settle down. Then it won’t show anymore.”

“Is that... perhaps why you came to enjoy bathing?”

“Maybe. I suppose it could be. But even I admit that it’s ugly and disgraceful.”

That made sense.

Considering Ayra’s flawless sense of beauty, perhaps she felt shame and aversion toward the lines that had emerged on her own body.

But I thought differently.

“It’s beautiful.”

It looked like art.

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Lines drawn in black ink across white porcelain. The thought that someone had painted the queen’s body as a canvas gave rise to a strange sense of transgression and a destructive kind of aesthetic.

“I’ve never seen anything this beautiful before.”

“...Beautiful?”

“It looks like an elaborate tattoo. Has it appeared over your entire body? On your legs, your back, or your armpits? Has it shown up everywhere?”

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t looked. I didn’t want to. I’ve never tried to check.”

“Then let me check for you.”

At my words, Ayra fell silent. I was already filled with excitement at the idea that I alone might be able to see the parts of her inner self no one else knew.

But Ayra shook her head.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because... it’s still a little embarrassing.”

“......”

Ayra, embarrassed. I was genuinely surprised by that unexpected truth. At the same time, the thought filled my head that maybe, yes—maybe she could feel that way too.

To Ayra, her beautiful body was like a work of art, something to be proudly displayed.

That was why she could show her bare skin without shame. Of course, letting others see it was a kind of reward—she didn’t show it to just anyone.

But now, when her innermost self had been involuntarily exposed—

Ayra was truly feeling embarrassment.

For someone always so hard to read, for her to respond like an ordinary, bashful virgin—what man wouldn’t be stirred by that? In that sense, I was a man.

Ayra, revealing patterns that looked like seduction itself. Even if that seduction ended with her devouring the male, I was just a foolish moth drawn to the flame, reaching my fingertips toward her.

This time, unlike when I touched her lips—I didn’t ask permission.

I simply reached out, slowly.

At last, my hand touched Ayra’s slender shoulder and the line marked there. Perhaps because her skin had been soaking in the warm water for so long, it was soft and moist.

For a moment, I worried she might slap my hand away—but she didn’t.

She only turned her dark eyes upward toward the surface of the water.

In hindsight, it was only natural.

We were husband and wife.

I was curious. Just how far Ayra would allow me to go.

So I let the finger I had laid upon her shoulder slide slowly downward, tracing the line toward her chest.

And then—Ayra’s lips parted ever so slightly.

“....”

A breath so faint, it could barely be heard.