Chapter 13: Bathing Your Pet

So this is what being full feels like—pure happiness.

Charis finished the last bite of chicken, leaving the roasted bird’s skeleton gleaming white, stripped of every shred of meat.

“You’re full, huh?”
Ophelia held a napkin to her mouth, glancing sideways at Charis.

“First time I’ve ever been this full.”
Charis cradled her stuffed belly, her tail swishing lightly.
Her mouth, smeared with grease, showed how much she enjoyed it.

“Good. Follow me.”
Ophelia stood, facing the hallway, tilting her chin to signal Charis to follow.

‘She’s locking me back in the room already?
But eating well and sleeping’s not bad.
I’ll treat today as a rest day—tomorrow, I fight for freedom!’

“Okay.”

Charis, her belly bulging like she was ten months pregnant, waddled behind Ophelia like a silvery-white tail.

Halfway down the hallway, Ophelia stopped abruptly.
Charis, experienced in keeping her distance, avoided bumping into her this time.

“Hm?”
Charis looked puzzled.

“We’re here. Go in.”
Ophelia pointed to a frosted glass door, its blurry interior hinting at a bathroom.

“A bath… you’re making me take a bath?”

“Exactly.
You’ve been rolling around in the wild for so long, you must be filthy.
I’m giving you a full-body disinfection—no bringing fleas, lice, or diseases into our home.”

“Tch… I’m not that dirty.
I bathe in the river regularly.”

“Who cares? Strip and get in.”

Ophelia’s tone was commanding.
Charis looked up, noting Ophelia’s empty hands—no towel or cover offered.

“You expect me to go in there naked?
I want a bath towel.”

“Hm? You know shame? That’s surprising.”

Ophelia’s eyes curved mischievously, as if mocking Charis.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Pet cats and dogs don’t need towels for baths—just their fur.
A brush is enough, maybe a towel to dry them off.”

“I don’t have fur! Of course I’d feel shame!”

Charis frowned, emphasizing her difference.
Ophelia nodded casually, teasing further.

“I don’t believe you.
Can you swear you’re completely hairless?”

“I’m like you! Hair and eyebrows where they should be, nowhere else.”

“Here too?”
Ophelia raised an arm, revealing a smooth, slightly pink underarm.

“Of course.”
Charis rolled up the sleeve of the saintess’s robe, lifting her thin arm to show a clean underarm.

“What about elsewhere? Maybe covered in scales.”
Ophelia lightly lifted her skirt, revealing pale, flawless legs.

“Only my tail has scales.”
Charis lifted the saintess’s robe, stopping just at her knees when she sensed something off.

‘Wait.

Why am I proving myself?
What’s the point?
What am I even competing with her over?’

Charis froze, dropping the skirt.
She glanced at Ophelia, who was studying her pink, delicate feet with an observer’s gaze, hand on her chin.

“What are you looking at!”
Charis hurriedly lowered the skirt, grateful for the robe’s size.

“So you’re pretty much like us.
Fine, here’s your towel, hairless Charis.”

Ophelia, like a magician, pulled a towel from behind and tossed it over Charis’s head.

‘She’s not wrong, but why am I so annoyed?’

Charis felt toyed with.
As she tried to lift the towel, she heard a bang.

“Get in.”

“Ugh.”

Charis felt herself pushed onto a chair, then the glass door seemed to close.
Ophelia was inside the bathroom too!

“What are you doing, covering my face like that!”
Charis yanked off the towel, glaring at Ophelia, who held a showerhead.

“Getting ready to bathe you.
I’ve seen the academy’s club tame sub-dragon offshoots—they calm down when you cover their heads.”

“Sub-dragon… offshoot… you think I’m some lowlife creature?”

“You’re pretty weak, aren’t you? That’s just facts.”

“Ugh.”

Charis knew she was weak—that’s why she was caught and turned into a pet.

“Enough talk.
You finish, then I need to bathe.
Take off your clothes.”

Ophelia’s hand grazed Charis’s thigh, finding the seam between the saintess’s skirt and robe.

“You’re touching me!”
Charis yelped, clamping her thighs shut.

“You touched me before. Did I complain?”
Ophelia’s hands didn’t stop, reaching the row of buttons at the skirt’s edge.

“You were unconscious and couldn’t talk!”

“You’re a pet—you don’t get to talk.
Just cooperate.”

Ophelia’s words left Charis speechless.
She began unbuttoning the skirt, and with a snap, it fell to the floor.

“Ugh… you didn’t even ask permission!”

Charis bent to cover her lower half, but Ophelia paused, crouching to inspect her body.

Charis’s pale thighs trembled, pressed together, looking surprisingly soft.
Her meaty tail curled tightly behind her, as if shyly hiding from view.

‘This one’s kinda pretty, too bad she’s not human.’

Ophelia shook her head.
Charis, indignant, looked up and glared.

“What’re you staring at?
Take off your top yourself, or do I have to help?”
Ophelia stood, looming over Charis’s vulnerable position.

“I don’t need your help. I’ll do it.”
Charis reluctantly began undressing, using the towel to cover her legs, slowly pulling the top over her head.

“Hurry up, we don’t have all day.”
Ophelia watched gleefully, savoring Charis’s flushed cheeks and humiliated expression.

‘Damn you, sword saintess Ophelia.
I’ll remember this shame and pay you back double!’

Charis finally removed her clothes.
Her right arm crossed her chest, her left stretched to shield her lower abdomen, guarding herself fiercely.

“Who’re you guarding against so warily?”
Ophelia crouched, adjusting the showerhead to spray.

“You.”
Charis spoke bluntly, clutching herself tighter.

“Heh, think that’ll stop me?
Lower your head.”
Ophelia grabbed Charis’s head with her left hand, spraying water with the right.

Splash.

Warm water cascaded from Charis’s head down her body.
She stayed silent, feeling Ophelia knead her hair, picking through it carefully.

‘Having my body seen by a sword saintess… one day, I’ll see you exposed too.’

Charis swore silently, sneaking glances at Ophelia during the hair-washing.
Ophelia’s faint smile showed she was thoroughly relaxed.

‘Hmph, having a blast bullying me, huh?’

Charis’s tail swished through the water on the floor, enduring in silence.