Chapter 56

After the meal, I started to clean up.

Usually, the maids do everything, but since there’s only one today, I’ll do everything I can.

"Let me help carry it."

"Thank you, Miss Sara."

Together with the maid who had returned, Sara pushed the cart with the dishes out into the hallway.

"Rulia..."

"Wait a moment, Rulia."

I was about to chase after Sara when Mother stopped me.

"Help Sara with the cart."

After confirming that Sara had left, Mother came over, crouched down, and met my eyes.

"Rulia, you did a good job taking care of Sara."

"I’m her big sister, after all."

I felt a bit embarrassed when Mother praised me.

"But, Rulia..."

"Hm?"

Mother wiped around my mouth.

After wiping my mouth, Mother also wiped the table.

Usually, the maids do this, but since there are fewer maids today, Mother is doing it.

"Was it dirty? I didn’t notice."

"Well, you were much dirtier than Sara."

I really didn’t notice.

When I calmed down and looked at my clothes, they were dirtier than Sara’s.

"Rulia, look at the floor."

When Mother told me to look at the floor, I did.

Carrot and Cocco were sitting quietly.

And Daru seemed to be sleeping, probably because he was full.

"Hm? It’s clean?"

"Carrot and Cocco ate what you dropped."

"Eh?"

When I looked at Carrot and Cocco,

"......"

They looked away.

I thought they were unusually quiet because they were doing that.

"It’s good that it saves us the trouble of cleaning the floor."

"Hmm. There are fewer maids today, after all."

I thought Carrot and Cocco were considerate,

"Always. Always. Even when we’re at the main house."

"Is that so?"

"Maybe it’s time for Rulia to practice not spilling on the floor."

"Hmm."

"Quack," "Coo."

Carrot and Cocco are saying they don’t need to practice.

But as a big sister, it’s a matter of pride.

I decided to try to eat more cleanly from tomorrow.

After talking with Mother, we also carried the dishes to the kitchen.

To be precise, we only went to the entrance of the kitchen.

We’re not allowed to enter the kitchen because the staff from the main house might come.

After that, Mother asked the maid to do something and then said to me and Sara,

"Well, let’s take a bath."

"Bath!"

"There’s a big bath in the annex."

"Wow."

We didn’t find the big bath when we explored.

It seems we didn’t explore thoroughly enough.

"Woof woof," "Kyau," "Coo."

Daru, Carrot, and Cocco also seem excited about the bath.

Daru is running around us happily, probably because he’s feeling refreshed after his nap.

Carrot, who was running on the floor, climbed onto my shoulder so as not to be left behind.

Cocco started walking at the front, flapping his wings.

"Does Cocco know where the bath is?"

"Coo."

It seems he does.

He must have found it when we explored the building.

"Is Cocco better at exploring than Rulia and the others?"

"Coo."

Cocco looks proud.

He’s walking as if to say, "Follow me, I’ll show you."

Mother followed behind Cocco, and I and Sara followed behind her.

"Should we make Cocco our guide and explore more?"

"...Yeah."

Sara didn’t seem very enthusiastic.

Her ears were drooping, and her tail was limp.

When I explained the water device during the exploration, Sara didn’t seem to like being washed.

"Sara, you don’t like baths?"

"...I have to wash when I get dirty."

She said something similar earlier.

"Sara, you’re not that dirty, so can we take a bath tomorrow?"

"No, we should take a bath together."

Mother said gently and stroked Sara’s head.

"Okay, I’ll try."

Sara gripped her doll tightly.

"I see. But you don’t have to push yourself."

"Okay, thank you. Hehe."

I grabbed Sara’s hand and followed behind Mother.

We headed to an unexplored area.

It was at the end of the servants’ living area on the first floor.

The servants’ area is often off-limits because the staff from the main house might visit.

That’s probably why we missed it during our exploration.

"Usually, the maids use it."

Mother smiled.

The family’s rooms have facilities to wash, but the servants’ rooms don’t.

So, there’s a big bath for everyone to use.

"Rulia, you’ve never been to the big bath at the main house, right?"

"Yes, the maids probably want to relax on their own."

The main house in the capital actually has a big bath, but I’ve never used it.

If the family uses it, the maids can’t relax.

When we entered the changing room,

"Sara, raise your hands!"

"I’m fine, I can take it off myself."

I tried to help her take off her clothes, but she refused.

Since there was no choice, I took off my own clothes.

"Hmm? Hmm."

I was struggling with the buttons,

"Wait a moment."

Mother helped me.

"Thank you, Mother."

Even after I took off my clothes, Sara was still wearing hers.

"Is it really difficult?"

Taking off and putting on clothes is hard.

The buttons are small, there are many of them, and they’re in various places on the back.

"I can take it off myself."

"Don’t hesitate. Mother helped me, too."

"...Okay."

I helped Sara take off her clothes.

"Would it be better to have a tail hole?"

"But if my tail shows, it would be strange and embarrassing."

"It’s not strange, and it’s not embarrassing. It’s cool."

As I said this, I noticed that Sara had a few birthmarks on her bottom when I took off her clothes.

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