Hmm.. She's so stiff. She has a cute face so it's kind of a waste to see her so serious.. she is still cute even with that but..
"Vivian, was it? I presume that you have a lot of siblings from the House of Clarence?" I asked the question since her name is on the far end of the alphabet, although there is a possibility that the Clarence household have special reasons for naming her as such.
"I'm afraid not Milady, I am merely born as their 5th daughter."
"Oh? Then, if I may ask, how come your name starts with the letter V, which is on the far end of the alphabet?"
Vivian seems to be uneasy with my question, "But if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine, I won't force you to do so." I take back my question while smiling warmly.
Vivian hesitated for a bit, but eventually speaks. "..It's alright your Highness. I dare not to disobey your order."
"Oh, it's really not an order though.."
"My family.."
Looks like she will talk about it no matter what I say now, I might as well listen to her.
".. doesn't have a single person who has a pink hair and eyes like mine. That's why my mother, the wife of Duke Clarence, was accused of having an affair with another person. Normally, it is okay to have other relationships with other people as long as both parties consent, and will go through the act of marriage, however, not a single person in the House of Clarence have similar traits as mine. Although my mother was forgiven, I was named Vivian as a reminder that I can never truly be a part of the Clarence family, which is why I was sent here to the palace in order to somehow atone for my sins, and to be able to at least contribute something to the family." Vivian explains while not even once changing her facial expression.
"..." I stay quiet as I try to calm the rage that I have been feeling due to what Vivian said.
What's up with that?! How dare they blame the infidelity of someone to a child, who knows nothing much about that stuff!! All Vivian did was just being born, how could that count as a sin?!
I walked towards Vivian and hugged her.
"..?! Milady! Please, you'll dirty yourself if you touch me like this!" Vivian's usual expression changed slightly due to the surprise attack that I've made.
"It's okay, I am here with you now, I will protect you from them, or anyone who tries to hurt you." I pat her fluffy head.
"B-But.. they really didn't hurt me or anything."
"If they did, I would've immediately stripped them off of their title! (Not that I have the power to do so.) And even if they didn't, they still inflicted you with emotional pain."
"..."
After a few seconds of hugging, I finally release her.
"By the way, Vivian, why does your hair smell like.. um.."
Ugh, I can't really just say she smells like rotten food or something.
"Oh.. The people from the House of Clarence said that I shouldn't use hair condiments, as it is wasteful for my unsightly appearance."
Ha~?! Unsightly appearance? Which part of her is unsightly? I bet they're all just jealous of her!
"That won't do! If you're going to be by my side at all times, you have to be always presentable so as not to cause any inconvenience for me." I demand in a commanding tone.
"I-I'm sorry, your Highness." Vivian seemed slightly perturbed.
"Come with me, we'll take a bath together."
"W-What, but–"
"No buts!"
This will not do! I need to make the girls around me to look cute as much as possible, it's my only haven from that bastard! Besides, if I'm going to be with her most of the time, I'll have the most opportunities to hug her, and I want her to smell as good as the other two when I do so hehe..
.
..
...
[Royal Bathhouse]
Both of us are sitting naked on some fancy shower stools, while we wash each other's back in turn. At first, I was quite hesitant to touch her directly on the skin, but after I convinced myself that I am also a girl now (which did not take long), I began to wash her back carefully, but at the same time applying force just enough for a proper scrubbing.
While doing so, I admire her petite build, in which I 'accidentally' wash, causing her to squirm quite a bit. Her skin is so smooth, which is similar to mine, but touching other's is just different from touching your own, but if I was forced to choose which part of her I like the most, I'd definitely say her cute butt. Her butt is so perfectly-shaped, and so smooth that I can almost see my reflection on it. It is still quite small, but I can see its potential on becoming one of her most wanted features. Although her chest area seems to be lacking, her butt is more than enough to make up for it.
After groping.. ahem.. cleaning and rinsing our bodies, I look for a shampoo to use. "Hmm.. Let's see, I know there was a shampoo err.. hair condiments that smells similar to a cotton candy.. Ah, there it is!" I grab the pink-colored shampoo bottle.
"Y-Your Highness, I'm not sure if I am permitted to use the royal bathhouse for myself." Vivian looks worried, for an expressionless person, she sure shows her emotions pretty easily for pointless things.
"Don't you think it's a bit too late now? Anyway, it's fine, you're with me after all, and I thought I told you to call me Ara!" I playfully reprimand her as I wash her hair.
"But I can't simply do so, your Highness, it'd be rude to refer to Milady as someone like a f-friend." so she says while being fidgety.
"Hmm.. Do you hate me Vivian?" I said while acting like I was depressed.
"?! Of course not, your Highness! How could anyone hate someone like Milady?! If anything, I li–.. *gasps* " proclaimed Vivian in a loud voice.
"And if you call me Ara, I will call you Vivi too, that way we can be friends! Then, there's no problem right? I doubt there will be someone who will disrespect my decisions (excluding the bastard)." I give her a bright smile.
"Uu~" Vivian blushed and nods.
...
"There, it's finished!" I stood up as soon as I finished applying the shampoo to Vivi's hair.
After I rinsed off the lather, I was shocked at the changes it made to her hair. Her puffy hair from before surprisingly lengths up to her shoulders, and also becoming wavy and glossy. I checked the shampoo bottle and it says "Magical Hair Condiment: Restores the original appearance of your hair!", apparently, the shampoo was made by a magician, and it does what it says on the label.. I didn't know it was something amazing, I just thought that the cotton candy fragrance will match Vivi.
"..."
I stare at Vivi and her 'newly polished' cotton candy-colored hair, as water drips down from each strand. She uses her fingers to subtly tuck her hair behind her ears, which made me notice her glistening pink eyes and her beautiful eyelashes, as she sits on the shower stool. She looks as if she is a model, she has this strange air around her that makes the scene more adultish.
She notices me admiring her beauty. "..? Ara?"
".. It's nothing, let's finish up."
As we walk out of the bathhouse, I stepped on something, causing me to slip while Vivi is standing behind me.
"..!! Ara!" Vivi catches me to break my fall.
...
When I open my eyes, I see Vivi laying in front of me, our naked bodies touching each other. I stare at her intently.
"Ara, are you okay?"
I didn't notice what she said as I am focused on what is happening right now.
"Hyau!" Vivi makes a weird sound while I unknowingly put my hand on her chest.
"A-Ara, is something wrong?" Vivi asks while her face is flushed.
Seeing her like that, I was able to snap out of my own world, and quickly removed my hand from her chest.
"Ah." Vivi silently utters.
"S-Sorry Vivi, I was just checking if you were hurt, are you okay?" I made an excuse while being flustered.
"..I'm alright, how about you Ara?" Vivi somehow looks disappointed.
"I-I'm fine, since you caught me when I fell. Thank you Vivi."
"..." Vivi stayed quiet.
That was close, my instincts as a man almost took over! Whew, being with Vivi seems harder than I thought. I was completely taken aback by her sudden change, not only in her appearance, but also her way of speaking, which made her usual expressionless face disappear. I'll be careful not to cause 'accidents' like this in the future. Who knows what I might do to Vivi?
...
Since then, whenever I am alone with Vivi, her expressionless face disappears which makes her look like a cool beauty, but with a personality of a shy, young maiden experiencing her first time of having a friend.