21. Take A Bath

That morning Baron woke up with a wobbly head. He was awakened by the sound of Marlor's footsteps, the deer animagus who was already making a scene in the morning near his house.

Baron sat on his bed and then forced himself to stand up. He peeked in the window of his room and saw Marlor had gone away into the forest.

Then he went to the kitchen to make Caraura tea. The house still looks messy after yesterday's party. There was no one to help her clean up.

He sipped his hot tea and then was shocked to realize that today was his wedding day. For God's sake, today he will marry Neyan.

Baron finished his drink, chewing the bread as fast as he could. After eating, then Baron took a shower carelessly. He wore his best clothes, even though later at the palace, he would change again into formal suit.

Someone knocked on his door. Baron has finished dressing. He opened the door and saw Majer standing there.

"Are you ready? Come on, let me take you to the palace."

"All right, wait a minute," said Baron.

He went into his house and took the magic bag containing his father's sword and some equipment. He put the magic pouch into his pants pocket.

"You don't have to carry it," said Majer. "Do you want to go again to the human world?"

"I do not know. This is just in case. I feel calm if I carry this sword."

"There are many guards who will protect you. You're the palace bride today. There is no way other people can touch you." Majer shook her head. She did not believe that Baron had such thoughts.

"I'm not protecting myself from other people's attacks, but I have to protect myself from Neyan's attacks."

"Ah." Majer nodded in understanding. "Good. I'm sure that you will be fine. Perhaps, Princess Neyan didn't attack you today, but if it's tonight I don't know. Everything can happen out of control."

Majer chuckled. Baron pushed his shoulders softly. "Let's go now."

"OK. Let's go."

Baron jumped into the air and turned into a labrador. Majer followed beside him and turned into a tiger. Baron ran very fast.

He looked up at the clear morning sky. The sun was shining hot enough to warm Baron's body. They passed through the Mamesein flower field then took a deep breath to get more strength.

They arrived at the palace in fifteen minutes. Majer has transformed into a human, while Baron is still comfortable being a dog. He walked slowly when a guard held them.

"Show yourself!" cried the guard to Baron.

Finally, Baron turned into a human and shocked the guard.

"Greetings to Mr. Baron. The entire palace is waiting for your presence. Please follow me, Sir."

Baron turned to Majer and his best friend nodded at him for support.

Baron walked through the palace gates and went inside. A servant rushed over with a clean white towel in his arms.

"Mr. Baron, come with me now."

The servant grabbed Baron and took him to a room that Baron had never visited before. The room looked like a meeting room that was rarely used.

The room was clean and smelled of fragrant flowers. They walked deeper and through a door. There was a large tub filled with water and flowers set in the middle of the room.

"Please take off your clothes, Mr. Baron," said the waiter.

"No. I don't think that is necessary. I took a shower this morning."

"This is the Queen's order, My Lord. I beg you to obey to enter the tub," said the servant, bowing his head respectfully.

"Fine."

Baron was forced to comply. He took off his clothes and then got into the tub. The water was warm and fragrant because there were so many flowers in there.

Not long after, the palace maids appeared. They consist of six people. Baron covered his chest and felt tense. He had never bathed and was seen by many people before.

The maids must be used to bathing the royal members in their lifetime. They move swiftly and regularly. One of the maids added liquid to the bath. She cast a spell and suddenly white foam appeared from the tub.

The water seemed to churn from below. The other maids added something to the tub. Soap bubbles began to form and fill the bath. The flowers seemed to dissolve in the water and produced an even stronger fragrance. Baron was amazed at the soap bubbles.

"Excuse me, My Lord. I will help you to scrub your body," said the maid.

"Ah, I can do it myself," Baron refused the maid.

"It is all right, My Lord. I will help cleanse your body, My Lord. "

Baron did not want his body touched by other people, but he did not want the maid to get into trouble for not being able to carry out her duties properly.

He stretched out his hand and the maid rubbed it with a clean rag. Baron shuddered, it was very amusing. He was very uncomfortable and wasn't used to being looked after by the maids.

Maybe in the future, he should get used to enjoying all these services because today he will officially become the husband of the royal princess of Emporion Land.

The other maids also helped rub Baron's hands and back. Then the neck and armpits too. When the maid's hand was about to rub further down on his body, Baron immediately refused firmly.

"Enough. I can do the rest by myself. Thank you."

The maids were not pushing him too far. At least, they have done their job well. A maid pulls the lever on the right side of the tub.

The water receded slowly. Baron closed his chest back and was surprised. He did not want the maids to stare at his naked body. But then, the maid pulled another lever and clean water emerged from the taps all over the bath.

The tub filled with clean water quickly. The other maid chanted a spell so that the water turned like mist. Baron let out a sigh of relief. He was grateful that his body was not visible to the maids.

He rubbed his own body until it was clean from the soap lather. The other maid had prepared a large towel. She spread the towel, turning her face to the side.

Baron thought it was a sign for him to rise to the surface. He stood up and went over to the towel. He rubbed his own body and was surprised to find that the towel felt warm and seemed to absorb all the water that had stuck to his skin.

He felt that his skin was clean, smooth, and smelled good. The maids lead him to another room to put on a formal suit for the groom.

In the room, there was the servant who first picked him up at the palace gate. Thankfully there was only one servant and the servant was a man.

The servant helped him to put on clean underwear and then put on the formal suit. His top is in the form of a red coat with paintings of lions and various other small animals.

The shirt was made of thick satin with gold stripes on the left and right sides and the sleeves as well. Then there was the white lace sewn on the hands and neck. His shirt buttons are also gold with the lion logo.

The trousers are plain black with soft material and are comfortable to wear. There is a strip of gold at the bottom of the pants.

Then the servant helped him put on a pair of shoes made of cowhide. The shoes felt so light and very comfortable to wear when walking. The servant also styled Baron's hair and gave him oil to make it look shiny.

Baron saw the pants he had previously worn. He took the pants and took out the magic pouch from there and then put it in his formal trouser pocket.

"What is that, My Lord?"

"This pocket contains my valuable objects," replied Baron.

The servant nodded solemnly and then escorted Baron who was ready to go out of the room.