"Remove your hand!" she snapped, shoving Gulle's hand away forcefully.
Gulle smiled, narrowing his eyes.
"After all, we're already engaged."
"A little bit of this and that, what's the harm~"
"Not now."
Flora responded, glaring at Gulle with anger.
She couldn't believe that Gulle would act this way even though it was their first meeting.
"Besides, being engaged doesn't mean we're gonna get married."
Flora said, swatting away the hand that was reaching behind her once again.
"That's not certain yet."
Gulle's expression was filled with mischief.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Who knows... soon, you might..."
Gulle let his words trail off, leaving a mysterious note at the end.
Seeing Gulle's demeanor, Flora couldn't help but wonder what he was planning.
Was he planning something which she didn't know about?
Thoughts raced through Flora's mind like a storm.
She turned to meet Gulle's gaze but was only met with that enigmatic smile.
"Soon, I might what?"
Flora said it with steady voice, though she felt uneasy inside.
Gulle moved closer, his smile widening slightly.
"Perhaps some event might occur..."
"Gulle, just say it straight."
Flora demanded firmly. Gulle simply chuckled softly.
Flora knew she wouldn't get anything more from Gulle.
His behavior didn't seem well-intentioned at all.
She decided to get up and walk over to Ellie.
When she reached Ellie, the little girl was already covered in dirt.
"Ellie, you're all dirty."
As soon as Ellie heard Flora's voice, her tail wagged vigorously, and she ran up to her.
"Big sis! Are you gonna play with Ellie?"
Ellie asked with a wide smile. Flora could only sigh and smile.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.
"Stay still for a moment."
She gently wiped the little girl's face, which was covered in dust and leaves.
"Ellie, shall we go inside the mansion?"
Flora asked, glancing at the sky.
It was getting quite dark, and the air was becoming chilly.
"Mmm~"
Ellie hummed before extending her hand toward Flora.
Flora took the little girl's hand and led her into the mansion, completely ignoring Gulle, who seemed to be trying to lead her.
Once inside the mansion, she looked for a maid before speaking to her.
"Please take us to our room."
The maid glanced at Gulle, who was now smiling behind Flora, then nodded in response to the request.
"Yes, please follow me."
Flora followed the maid, keeping an eye on Gulle from the corner of her eye. Noticing the maid's behavior, she grew wary of Gulle.
She wasn't sure what Gulle was planning, but worrying about it wouldn't help anyway, so she put it out of her mind.
The maid bowed down as we reached our room and open the door
Flora led Ellie into the room where they would be staying during their time at the Astassec mansion.
The room was fully furnished, with a large bed and even a private bathroom, which surprised her since not every noble family had private bathrooms like this.
It must have taken very skilled craftsmen to design the mansion.
Even her own mansion didn't have such a feature.
As soon as Ellie entered the room, she seemed ready to run around.
Flora knew exactly what the little girl was thinking and put her hand in front of Ellie to block her path.
"Ah... Don't."
Ellie, blocked by Flora's hand, looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"No means no. Let's wash up first, okay?"
Ellie nodded sadly, and Flora, seeing her expression, smiled and patted her head.
"So, Ellie, do you want to take a bath with Mommy?"
Flora asked, thinking it might be a good idea to bathe with Ellie. That way, Ellie would stay close to her, and it would be a chance to get Ellie used to bathing rather than just wiping her down.
"N-no!"
Upon hearing this, Ellie immediately ran off, hiding behind the sofa in the room.
Flora couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Ellie hiding.
"Ellie doesn't want to bathe with Mommy?"
She asked with a mock-sad expression.
Seeing Flora's dejected look, Ellie slowly emerged from behind the sofa.
"O-okay, I'll bathe."
Ellie said, though her ears and tail drooped. Flora couldn't resist picking Ellie up and hugging her.
A child afraid of water but not wanting to make her sad—what could be more endearing?
"Whose child is this, so adorable?" Flora kissed Ellie's cheek several times.
"Y-yours!"
Ellie stammered, not fully understanding that Flora's words were a compliment about how cute she was.
Flora giggled.
"Shall we go bathe then?"
Flora said, giving Ellie a sweet smile.
"Mmm..."
Ellie replied softly, shivering a little.
"If you don't like it or feel uncomfortable, you can tell Mommy, okay?"
Flora said, noticing Ellie's shivers.
Smooch!
She kissed the little girl's cheek before walking into the bathroom.
The bathroom wasn't very large, as expected. It had only a medium-sized bathtub and a small area for washing.
As they walked in, Ellie's tail noticeably drooped.
"Hands up~"
Flora instructed Ellie, raising her hands high.
Ellie looked puzzled but followed Flora's lead.
Seeing Ellie raise her hands, Flora quickly took off the little girl's clothes.
Ellie flinched slightly as her clothes were suddenly removed.
Flora gently helped Ellie took off her clothes before hanging them on the rack.
Then she began to remove her own dress.
Her dress was a bit difficult to take off, so it took a while.
Once she was completely undressed, she went to grab a small stool and placed it down.
"Ellie, come here."
Flora called Ellie over. Ellie, hearing her name, walked over and sat on the stool, looking worried.
"Don't be afraid. Mommy will slowly adjust the water temperature so you can get used to it."
Flora said as she began to adjust the water temperature. She had wiped Ellie down before, so she knew the temperature that wouldn't make the little girl feel cold.
Ellie watched Flora adjusting the water with a tense expression. After adjusting the temperature a bit, she tested it by gently rubbing some water on Ellie's arm.
"Is this too cold?"
"Mmm~ A bit hotter, please?"
"How about this?"
"A... a little more, please..."
Flora spent a while adjusting the water temperature. In the end, she had to turn the heat all the way up.
She hadn't expected Ellie to be so sensitive to cold when it came to bathing, even though the little girl could run around in the cold evening air without issue.
"Alright, we're starting now."
Flora said to prepare Ellie.
Hearing this, Ellie tensed up.
Flora slowly poured hot water over Ellie's feet. As soon as the water touched her feet, Ellie pulled them up immediately.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt you or anything."
Flora sighed and smiled before gently holding Ellie's foot and scooping water over it.
Ellie flinched every time Flora poured water on her feet. After a few times, she started to get used to it.
"See? It's not so scary, right?"
Flora said with a smile.
Ellie nodded slowly. She still felt strange whenever the water touched her feet, but it was better than before.
"Now, Mommy's going to start washing your body."
Flora said after seeing Ellie nod. Ellie looked worried, but she didn't resist.
As Flora bathed Ellie, the little girl flinched several times, especially when it came to her tail.
Ellie's fluffy tail had shrunk to half its size when wet, which made Flora laugh.
After a while, Flora finally finished bathing Ellie, except for her hair.
Flora thought it might be best to wait until Ellie got more used to water before washing her hair.
"Ellie, you can go out first if you want. Mom's going to take a bath now"
Flora said to Ellie as she prepared to bathe.
After rinsing herself off, Flora walked over to the medium-sized bathtub and turned the hot water all the way up since she preferred soaking in hot water over cold.
She added a few drops of essential oil to the bath before getting in. It was then that she noticed Ellie still standing in the bathroom.
"Don't you want to go out?" Flora asked with a hint of curiosity.
She had already laid out clothes for Ellie outside, so it shouldn't have been an issue since Ellie could dress herself.
"I... I want to stay with you"
Ellie replied, her voice trembling and her body shivering slightly.
Seeing this, Flora sighed softly with a smile.
"Ellie, come here."
Ellie, hearing her name, walked over to Flora.
"Do you want to soak in the bath with me?" Flora asked.
Ellie paused for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement. Seeing this, Flora lifted the little girl and sat her on the edge of the bathtub.
She didn't immerse Ellie in the water right away since the girl wasn't quite used to the water yet.
"How is it?" Flora asked.
"It's... okay," Ellie replied softly, gently swaying her feet in the water.
"If you want to join me in the bath, just let me know"
Flora said before leaning her head back against the tub and closing her eyes to relax. The warmth of the bath was soothing, helping her relax.
After a while, Ellie spoke up hesitantly.
"Um... Can I get in the bath with you?"
"Of course." Flora replied, gently lifting Ellie into the water with her. She placed the little girl in front of her, wrapping her arms around her from behind.
"Do you like it, Ellie?"
"Y-Yes... Once I got used to the water, it feels really nice"
Ellie said, her voice still soft as she focused on playing with her fingers in the water.
Flora gently pulled Ellie to lean against her body, but the little girl quickly straightened up.
"Don't you want to lean on me?" Flora asked.
"N-No, it's not that... It's just..." Ellie stammered.
"What is it?" Flora asked, genuinely curious.
"It's just... your chest is so soft, and I'm not used to it."
Flora giggles, she leans her back to the bathtub
"Well, you can touch it if you want" Flora said casually, not really paying much attention to it.