Chapter 7
#2. Getting Ready Is Always the Hard Part!
Her platinum-blonde hair, caught in the blue moonlight, shimmered silver as it swayed.
Perched on the moonlit windowsill, Eleonore gazed out at the garden, shrouded in darkness.
Having just finished her bath and dried her hair, Eleonore's body was warmer than usual.
The cool night breeze drifting in through the window gently wrapped around her heated body.
Eleonore brushed aside the locks tickling her flushed cheeks with a rather elegant gesture and gazed into the distance beyond the garden.
While Eleonore had been unwillingly confined to the mansion because of her fever, the night view had been the clearest reminder that this was another world.
The moon floating in the pitch-black sky was much bluer than the one Seo Juha had sometimes looked up at from behind the counter.
The sea of stars stretching above the yellow streetlights in the distance was a sight she'd never seen in the alleys of a noisy nightlife district.
“A highball…. I could go for one.”
Intoxicated by the atmosphere, Eleonore had unconsciously become Seo Juha again and murmured to herself.
Then Eleonore whirled around in surprise.
She'd startled herself with her own words, her shoulders jerking; it was rather amusing.
Fortunately, there was no one around to hear her.
The heavy bedroom door was half open, though it was difficult for her slender arms to even move it, but no one else was in the room.
Which meant…
There was no one to look at Eleonore with pity, no matter how strange the things she said.
Hah, since there's no one around to see, should I just strip completely naked?
I haven't even properly checked out this lady's body yet. Should I have a little fun tonight?
That lecherous married lesbian, Lorschua, had already touched her here and there and gotten her all worked up.
Crude words that didn't suit her sweet voice slipped past her pink lips.
The truth was, Eleonore was frustrated.
Seo Juha had been a healthy young man in the prime of his life, after all.
A healthy young man had suddenly found himself inside the body of a young lady just beginning to exude a woman's allure.
They said the mind followed the body, but…
Seo Juha's personality still lingered stubbornly in Eleonore's mind.
It was just that, since this was all unfamiliar territory, she'd pretended not to notice and carried on whenever she caught a glimpse.
Besides, there had been too many eyes around for her to simply explore the mysteries of the female body.
Whenever she changed clothes. Whenever she bathed. Even when she went to the bathroom, the maids followed Eleonore everywhere.
Sophie, her personal maid, even stayed right by her side until Eleonore fell asleep.
But things were different now.
The only things filling Eleonore's spacious bedroom were a young lady with flushed cheeks and the blue glow of moonlight.
Eleonore drew in a deep breath.
Right. It's my body, anyway. I can't live like this forever, can I?
Her small, white hand gently cupped the soft breast beneath her white nightdress.
The thick pad beneath her thumb brushed over the taut peak of her breast.
Her slender white shoulders trembled.
Soon, a damp, sticky voice slipped from her red lips.
“Mm. Ahh.”
It was a sensation she'd never felt before.
Even that light touch through the thin fabric gave Eleonore a pleasure she'd never experienced, from the ripe pink bud.
A little at a time, heat began to bloom in her frail body.
Her body, chilled by the cool night air, began to simmer softly once more.
And her body was telling its owner that it needed something.
If Eleonore had been as innocent as she seemed, she might not have known what this reaction meant.
But Seo Juha, who'd lived as a man for twenty-one years, knew exactly what her body wanted right now.
It was just that what her body wanted was something Seo Juha could never give it.
Not physically. And not mentally, either.
So Eleonore bit her lower lip and rubbed between her thighs.
M-maybe I should touch it just a little….
I'm scared, so just a little higher—
“Milady, the night air is chilly.”
“Hkkiyat!”
A shriek, both adorable and a little sultry, filled Eleonore's bedroom.
At Sophie's voice, Eleonore sprang up from the windowsill where she'd been perched.
“Sophie! Honestly! I nearly fell out the window!”
“I-I'm sorry. But I did knock before I came in.”
At her young lady's scolding, Sophie lowered her head, crestfallen.
Hearing her mumble so meekly made Eleonore feel guilty for no reason.
“Ah…. You knocked. Sorry, I must not have heard. I was just… thinking about something.”
Unfortunately, her companion was a shrewd girl who'd lived as a woman her whole life, while Eleonore had only been one for two weeks.
At her young lady's flustered voice, Sophie slowly lifted her head.
As if she'd expected that answer, she curled her lips into a smile and cheerfully walked over to the window.
“Hehe. It's all right. I'll close the window for you, then.”
Only then did Eleonore realize Sophie had been putting on an act, but…
She'd been so absorbed in exploring the female body that she hadn't even heard the knock, so she couldn't very well say anything.
As Sophie lifted the chiffon curtain swaying in the night breeze to close the window, Eleonore stopped her.
“Sophie. Can you leave it open a little longer?”
“Pardon? Aren't you cold?”
“Mm, I'm fine. I was in the bath for a long time, so I'm still a little warm, ahaha.”
It was a lie.
Her body was indeed heated, but for a very different reason.
Of course, Sophie had no idea why, so she simply let it go.
“I'll close the window before I go to bed. You can go get some rest now, too.”
“Aw, I'll stay until you fall asleep.”
“How could you know when I'll fall asleep? I'm really feeling better now, so don't worry. Go get some rest. You've had a busy day, too.”
A bright smile blossomed on the young lady's face, which had been cold moments before.
Just a month ago, she'd always worn a smile. These days, it was hard to find one on her face.
Sophie gazed at her young lady's smile and hesitated for a moment.
Ever since Eleonore had been ill, Sophie had stayed by her side until she fell asleep.
She would only leave the bedroom after seeing her golden eyelashes gently lower and hearing her soft, even breaths.
No one had told her to do it, but simply because she was the young lady's personal maid, Sophie had been watching over and caring for her day after day lately.
Still, as her young lady had said, her body was gradually returning to normal.
And today, she'd seen her young lady's precious smile for the first time in ages.
At last, as if she'd made up her mind, Sophie bowed politely and greeted Eleonore.
“I brought you some warm cocoa, so drink it before it gets cold. Good night, milady.”
With that, Sophie backed out of the bedroom.
The massive wooden door shut with a loud thud befitting its size.
Once again, Eleonore was alone in the bedroom, filled with blue moonlight.
The hair swaying in the night breeze carried the fragrant scent of roses.
Eleonore thought the rose scent lingering beneath her nose went rather well with the chilly night air.
The woman's body, which had been burning with heat, gradually cooled as she spoke with Sophie.
Holding the cocoa Sophie had brought her, Eleonore perched on the windowsill again and gazed outside.
Now that the door's closed, maybe I could… under the covers, just a little…
Just a little longer?
Her body might have cooled, but her head was still in the same place.
#.
Though she'd looked forward to this outing, Eleonore wasn't exactly in high spirits.
She'd marveled at the carriage's elaborate exterior and sophisticated interior, but the ride wasn't very comfortable.
The carriage raced along at quite a speed, jolting back and forth as fast as it went.
And whenever a wheel hit something and the carriage lurched, Eleonore's feather-light body would sometimes lift right off the seat.
But the carriage's lousy ride wasn't the only thing souring her mood.
“Eli, are you all right? You're pale. Are you feeling motion sick?”
As Albris's cheesy remark suggested, her biggest problem right now was how she felt.
Maybe she'd caught a cold from getting just a little night air.
Or maybe it was thanks to Lorschua's dance lesson yesterday.
When she'd woken that morning, her head had been a little dizzy, and aches had sprung up all over her body.
Her forehead was slightly warm, her lower back was stiff, and her breasts felt oddly heavy today, so she'd tightened her corset more around the bust.
“No, I'm fine. I think I overdid it a little yesterday.”
She was on her way to see parents whose faces she didn't even know, after all.
And she didn't want to make everyone worry again, so Eleonore forced herself to sound cheerful as she answered.
Whether or not the carriage knew how she felt…
It jolted along for ages, tormenting Eleonore's lower back, before finally reaching a reasonably smooth road.
Once the road changed, the carriage's rocking grew gentler.
At last, Eleonore could relax and look out the window.
As they entered the city, the scenery all around them changed completely.
Only moments ago, they'd been on a quiet, unremarkable country road on the outskirts, with the occasional large mansion visible between the trees and shrubs.
Now, a city packed with buildings, crammed tightly together with not a gap between them, spread out before Eleonore.
It was like watching a travel video on YouTube.
The sights she'd watched in secret between dealing with troublesome drunks at the register—the ones she'd vowed she would visit someday—were now right before Eleonore's eyes.
She wanted to leap out of the moving carriage right that instant.
But if she jumped from the carriage with her frail body, she'd surely break something, and then she'd be confined to the mansion all over again.
Besides, Albris, who looked twice her size, obviously wouldn't let her do it in the first place.
So Eleonore could only gaze blankly out the window, her heart pounding with excitement.