I Want a Bath

"M-Marshal, Lady Shen is..." Callum huffed as he walked towards the marshal who just sheathed his sword. The second assistant was supposed to report about the arrow, but he saw Larkin removing the arrow while intimately being held by the lady. It could be improper for him to say it now.

He only cleared his throat before wearing the iron bow he collected somewhere. He only gave a salute as if reporting his service to the marshal. Barda only nodded at him before issuing orders to help out the wounded and start gathering the dead.

The marshal then turned around to see the archduke and the lady almost cooing in the middle of the battlefield, in a place of blood and death. Moreover, the archduke must be exhausted from the travel and the fighting. At the thought of this, he exchanged gazes with Miel.

Miel attended to the knights and soldiers first before walking to the two who were busy staring at each other. It was good that he didn't get to see the arrow, or else he would be freaking out as much as Artie did earlier. For now, he only needed to chase them away from a place not suitable for romance.

He cleared his throat. "Your Grace, Lady Shen… you should head back. We'll clean up here. Let the ducal knights escort you back to the castle."

"Call for the carriage. Lady Shen is exhausted." Larkin said so while he was combing through Artie's hair that was somewhat disheveled by her movements. She wasn't the one who needed the cover, but she didn't complain.

Artie only moved her head to the side and pressed it against Larkin's chest, facing Miel and winking in feigned exhaustion. "Please?"

Silence was, unexpectedly, Miel's answer. He then frowned before dropping the matter. He called for a soldier to bring over the carriage and only requested for the two to wait somewhere at the side.

Artie walked Larkin to the side and patted his shoulder as she smiled in admiration. "You're very cool, Your Grace! When I get my power, I want to be able to show off like that as well!" She then began gesturing with her hands. "My magic will cover the entire sky and make every bad guy kneel!"

"...when we get back, I would have to punish you for endangering yourself." Larkin only hummed, closing his eyes as they waited and missing the question marks on Artie's face. However, his lips were curling up in a smile. "This fatigue… is your fault."

"Huh?" Artie twitched again before pouting with puckered lips, her arms crossing over her chest. "If that's because of the last bit, I just ended up getting carried away. You didn't really need to pull off a stunt just because I stood in the middle—"

Larkin opened his eyes and reached out to cup her cheek. He then also rubbed it with his weak hand. "Punishment. You're forgetting that I own you."

A slight tingle came from Artie's guts as her eye started to twitch. Not because of what Larkin said, but how the System interpreted the situation.

[You have gained a sliver of trust! Active task completion: 50%. Apostasy + 20. Total meter points: 96; Veneration 49, Apostasy 47.]

'Hey! Why did you give me a huge chunk of completion but with Apostasy?! Do you want me to grow insane from those surges?!' Artie whined inwardly, but she only snubbed the archduke on the surface. 'I didn't mean to run in the middle and go bitch on that bandit… what did I do to deserve this?

'But at least it has its merits. I'm halfway through my first task so I can actually open my parameters. Then again, if I do open it, I would have to fight—' She was in the middle of thinking when she felt the archduke pulling her against him. She looked up at his face, but he now had an impassive look.

It's just that… he really did seem to be exhausted. Could it be that he was disguising his actions as the need to actually lean on something to rest? 'Erm… I should probably help.'

Well, now that he actually said so, Artie had no reason but to admit that she was partially at fault for his need to deliver such an advanced spell. Since he was pulling her to lean on him, she didn't fight his hold anymore. Besides, the archduke wasn't doing anything funny.

'Then again… he did say he's going to punish me later… my gosh… what if it's that kind of punishment?' Artie thought of something strange and ended up flushing in her seat. She only resorted to pulling on Larkin's coat and covering her face with it. 'Hahaha, I need to find a way to decline...'

…

Chuck! Chuck!

Artie's face was a mix of annoyance and relief… but mostly annoyance. Yes, Larkin did say that she was to be punished for endangering herself, and he was even making it sound like it was that kind of punishment that would make Artie lose some pride.

Well… who would have thought that the punishment was working at the stable for the rest of the day?

Right now, she was using her indestructible body to rake in some hay, feed the horses, etc. Even the stable master was not allowed to help her. Actually, he was sitting on a heap of hay and drinking tea with the seneschal who was watching her sentence.

"Miel?" Artie laughed out, but her tone was a little dangerous. "Can I not really rest even just for a few minutes? Like… just for a… few minutes..."

"No, Lord Ellis was infuriated by your selfishness, milady. Please continue so you wouldn't have to stay longer than necessary." Miel only sighed as well. Even he was displeased that the fightless angel rushed into battle. Not only did she risk exposure, but she had also risked death.

The archduke was already showing fondness towards her, not to mention that it was his insistence that turned her into the property of the archduke. If she suddenly died because they couldn't protect her, what were they supposed to do?

Even losing a pet dog would make the archduke's heart heavy.

"But my back hurts! I've been scooping poop and hurling hay for hours!" Artie whined as she leaned on the rake. "I smell like horse poop… I want a bath..."

"You will be attended to after you complete the workday, milady." Miel massaged his head. He was not comfortable seeing this as well. He somewhat felt like he was also being punished."Moreover, are you insinuating that the stable stewards smell? They work here every day after all."

Artie pouted and turned to the old man who was just happy he didn't have to do his task for today. She then sighed and started to rake the hay. 'Well, I just have to do what I do on the ranch. I used to be able to handle all of these when I was younger… I wonder if my body is getting stiff now…

'…Stiff?' Artie paused and ended up sucking in air to calm herself. However, she suddenly wheezed upon realizing the air she just breathed in. 'I… really want to have a relaxing bath...'