Chapter 41: Big Sister... A Bit of the Truth
A pair of red eyes opened slowly from the hold of sleep and dreams. Unlike every other morning for the past month, he had a great dream to start the day.
The dream of everything going back to how it was, with Elara, Gandara, Kimara, and Hendricks.
This wasn't the dream come to life, but a situation that seemed a bit similar to it.
He was on a soft bed, lying in the warm hands of Lady Taraha, who was sound asleep.
She was very gentle with him, holding him as though he were a teddy bear. This was a decline from how she was in the novel, but thinking on the words she gave Ruthar, he fit it all to her wanting him this way.
Ruthar's cheeks reddened as he snuggled into her warmth, 'This won't last long, so I should enjoy it while it lasts.'
"You are awake, Ruthar?" He heard the sweet voice of Lady Taraha and nodded while still in her embrace.
"That's good. I want to take you somewhere this morning, so I would like for you to go take your bath and wear a stunning outfit, Ruds." She spoke, urging him to leave her embrace and sit on the bed with his legs barely reaching the floor.
"Okay, Lady Tara," he replied, getting off the bed and heading to the nearest bathroom.
He opened the door and was amazed by the width of it. It was very large and, not just that, also stunning, looking like it cost a hundred thousand coins.
'So this is where people's taxes go to.'
Ruthar shook his head in respect. Politics was really something else.
[You missed yesterday's daily quests]
[You have been pardoned]
*Pardon will last till the system chooses to resume quests*
Ruthar felt happy that he wouldn't have to do the exercises in the main castle now; however, he was disappointed that he wouldn't earn any more XP. That meant he wouldn't level up anytime soon.
'I better take my bath,' Ruthar urged himself. And while he took his bath, he thought about Vance and felt pity; he quickly stopped feeling that way, realizing he needed that pity too.
---
Ruthar sat in a huge soapy tub filled with many bubbles. Here he had nestled for a while to at least savor his life a bit.
The bath somewhat made his skin feel less dry than it used to be. And in this place, Ruthar had come to realize how long and unkempt his hair had turned out to be.
Again, this reminded him of Vance and Kimara.
'I can't cut my hair by myself,' he said to himself after eyeing the small scissors in his hand, which he had originally planned to use to cut his hair short.
"Let me help you with that."
Ruthar's eyes grew wide open as he felt a soft palm on his back and a slim hand grabbing the scissors, pulling them from his grasp.
It was Lady Taraha, but when had she gotten into the bath with him? Without a single sound to announce her presence.
Ruthar turned back sharply to her and froze again at the sight he saw. She was stark naked, kneeling in the large bathtub with him. Well, he could not see more than her breasts, which were half-immersed in the water and bubbles.
"What's wrong? I'll help you cut your hair short in my own special way, so come here, Ruds! Where we are going needs perfection!" She squeezed her face and ordered.
Ruthar finally realized what she was thinking in particular. It was not like she was crazy or anything, 'She must think a four-year-old boy like me must not have any feelings for these things, but I'm way older than four...'
Ruthar's face reddened, and he made up his mind to hide his lust as he walked up to her and knelt down, back facing her.
"I'm ready, Lady Tara," he spoke shortly after.
Taraha gave another laugh as she placed her hands on Ruthar's hair. "You are a very respectful man, Ruds, but it's okay. As long as I am your sister, you can see me naked anytime I am."
'Gulp! Don't fall for it! Don't be a Baka! You can survive ten more minutes in the bath without losing it, Ruthar.'
Soon enough, strands of hair began to fall into the water, sinking afterward. The strands that got cut off told Ruthar she wasn't giving him a low cut as he asked but a hairstyle of her choice.
"You have such wonderful red hair, Ruthar. It would be a waste if we actually cut it all off, so I will do something different for you. Is that okay?"
Ruthar nodded, not having anything against that at all.
Now, to think of it, he still had some questions he wanted to ask Lady Taraha about.
After a short introspection, Ruthar came up with the most pressing one to ask, "Am I still going to have a duel with Tomaha?"
The strands that fell came to a stop, and he heard a bothering sigh from Lady Taraha that made him instantly worked up.
"Well, I can just as easily end the duel if you wanted me to, but do you? It's in the blood of Darkdawns to love battles and always love lustful things. You must be too childish to understand that now, but soon you'll understand."
'Woman, I understand every single word, especially the one about lust.'
"So you are saying it's up to me to end the duel?" Ruthar shrugged, biting his lips as he thought through the proposal over and over again. He did not want the duel to hold naturally, but something within him moved his organs and systems to starve for a fight.
This was the exact same feeling Ruthar had gotten when he first punched Tomaha. The blood of a Darkdawn.
"I will battle him, but I want you to support me," Ruthar shrunk a bit and let out a sigh of reverence.
"That's a quite nice solution. I believe you'll meet up with my expectations in the nearest future."
'These expectations she speaks of? Who knows.'
"The place you are taking me to, can you tell me about it?" Ruthar wanted a change of subject.
"I won't tell, but here's a hint—"
"It's somewhere special."