The Devil's Cursed Witch novel Chapter 104

“Please follow me. I will explain to you as we walk,” Yula said and she led her way back towards her bedchamber. Then, the elf gestured towards one of the side doors attached to her chamber, a place where Ember was yet to go.

The previous night, she had seen the side chambers. One was where she had to change her clothes, while the second door led to the toilet. She wondered what was behind the third door.

The moment she entered that other door, her eyes widened seeing a large pool filled with steaming water, various flower petals floating on its surface. There were a number of short wooden tables arranged on the one side of the pool and several bottles and other items were placed on them, many of them being things Ember had no idea of their uses.

‘This much water inside the chamber? Did they use a pail to bring up all this water to fill this pool?’ she wondered in awe.

Living on that dead mountain her whole life, she had never seen this much water in a single place. Water was measured in pails and basins, and even then, they were precious to both her and Gaia since they collected them from rainwater. Other than reading about those so-called ‘river’ and ‘sea’ in the books, the largest she had seen were the streams running along Ronan, excluding the river around the palace of the King of Agartha.

Yula looked at the shocked young human and said, “Miss Ember, we will be washing your body. Please allow Reya and Clio to take all your clothes off and please sit here.” She signaled for her to sit on one chair put along those short wooden tables.

Ember felt a little awkward. The ‘washing’ she grew up with meant wiping her body with a wet washcloth. Even when she stayed with Leeora, that was how she cleaned her body. For her to be asked to undress under their gaze seemed weird, and she didn’t know why she had to sit on that chair with no clothes on.

“Do I really need to?” Ember asked as she fiddled with the ends of her hair. A traumatic experience hovered in her mind–one where a certain red-eyed man checked her naked body on the floor. Her shoulders inevitably tensed up.

Yula realized she had not answered Ember’s previous question about what grooming meant. Yula also remembered that Leeora had told her that this child was raised in the wilderness, away from civilized society and was ignorant of many things deemed normal by people.

It was easy to guess from looking at her state as well. From how skinny she looked, this human probably paid more attention to survival rather than appearance. Their short interaction so far strengthened Yula’s belief.

‘As long as she can eat, any food is fine, and as long as she’s wearing clothes, she doesn’t care about what they are–in short, as long her basic needs are met, she no longer cares about the rest.’

She’s happy to have her hair brushed, but didn’t care even if it wasn’t. She liked soft clothes, but as long as her skin was covered, she wouldn’t complain even if they make her wear a dress with a rough fabric.

‘Alas, the lady of the palace cannot be this way.’

Yula believed Ember was an uncut diamond in the rough. The shape of her face was delicate, and her features bore perfect symmetry. She had a pretty face which was still hiding behind those faint scars, and as long as she started taking care of herself, people might be unable to recognize the unexpected beauty she’d become.

‘I promise in my name, I will make you bloom as the most beautiful flower.’

Yula went closer to Ember to stand in front of her. “Miss Ember, here, you will get a nice bath with various oils and herbs so your skin will look even better. They will help make the burn scars go away. As the wounds are completely healed, we need to clean your body completely from head to toe.” She looked at Ember’s hand. “Show me your hand, Miss Ember.”

Ember did so despite her confusion and heard Yula say, “See, your nails are grown and dirty, and the palms of your hands are dry and cracked.” She then looked at Ember’s feet. “Your toes are no better.”

Ember looked at her hands and then realized that compared to Yula’s hands, hers were unsightly to see. _{freēwēbηovel.c૦m}

Yula continued, “Not only are your hands rough due to scars, they looked like they labored hard. I understand that before coming here you must have lived a difficult life, but now your status is different. Such shouldn’t be the hands of a lady.”

The elf then brought her closer to the pool of water.

“Please sit here, Miss Ember,” Clio said as she signaled towards the step-like platform at the edge of the pool which became visible after Clio shifted the floating flower petals to one side with her hand. “Let us know if it’s too hot for you.”

“It’s comfortably warm.” Ember sat inside the steaming water while the two elves helped her have a bath. She could feel hands scrubbing her skin, sometimes massaging her scalp, while other times she’s being rubbed by oils that smelled nice.

Ember closed her eyes as she could not deny it felt good to sit within the warm water. Although it was boring, having people pamper her like this made her feel better and sleepy as well.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. She finally let out a sigh of relief when she heard Reya say with a soft chuckle, “Miss Ember, did you nap well? You can come out of the water now.”

She pouted. “I am awake the whole time.”

“If you say so, Miss.”

Ember stood up, and Clio dried her with the soft cloth.

Ember felt as if every inch of her body had been scrubbed raw. Her skin felt particularly sensitive and tender, but the discomfort she’s expecting faded after they applied a fragrant soothing oil on her body, and when Reya covered her with a silk robe that glided smoothly across her skin, she couldn’t help but feel good.

The two servants had Ember be put under the scrutiny of the Chief Steward.

After a minute, only then did they get an approving nod from Yula, as if saying ‘good job’.