Chapter 196: Chapter 0196: The Unforeseen Incident Caused by Fresh Flower Soap (Fourth Update, Celebratory 10,000 Coins Reward for the 7th)
This chapter is a special update for “Wounded Feathers” due to reaching the reward goal.

Soap is a standard accessory for nobles, but the degree of importance they place on it varies. Nobles like Liszt who care about personal grooming can’t do without soap; those less fastidious don’t even care whether they have soap or not.

Gelta was obviously among the less fastidious, which was evident from the almost greasy state of his hair.

After accepting the Fresh Flower Soap, he simply opened the box to take a look before instructing his butler to deliver it to the bathroom, then left to go hunting on horseback.

Time quickly moved on to evening.

Gelta didn’t return to the castle for dinner, opting instead to drink with some knights; his wife also didn’t come back for dinner. Both husband and wife were accustomed to living it up outside. It wasn’t until the moon rose that his wife finally excused herself from her high society engagements and, yawning, returned to the castle.

“Has the lord returned yet?”

“The lord has not yet returned, madam,”

“All he knows is to drink all day long, never mind, Liya, go run a bath for me,” the lady complained and instructed her maid to prepare bath water for her.

A moment later, she entered the bathroom.

But she soon started shouting loudly, “Liya, Liya, damn it, where is my soap!”

Liya rushed in, flustered, “Madam, the soap is in the wooden box to your left,” she said as she lifted the wooden box with a Black Tulip painting, opened the lid, and revealed the pink Fresh Flower Soap inside.

“When was the soap changed?” The lady frowned, her tone revealing anger.

She had grown accustomed to using that kind of soap with a rough surface, made of soap flakes, and felt uncomfortable at the sight of this new kind of soap for the first time.

Most importantly, she was upset that her preferred items were replaced without her permission.

Liya quickly explained, “It was the lord, today the lord received a new type of soap from Fresh Flower Town, and he had it changed to this Fresh Flower Soap.”

“From Fresh Flower Town?” The lady was taken aback and picked up the Fresh Flower Soap, envisioning the handsome face that could even make women jealous, “Baron Liszt’s town, right? That young man always likes to fiddle with new things… Alright, you may leave.”

Leaving the bathroom, Liya breathed a long sigh of relief.

In the bathtub, with steam swirling around, the lady held onto the Fresh Flower Soap, seemingly lost in thought, her eyes gradually becoming hazy. She dipped the soap in water and started applying it to her skin, surprised by how the soap that should have felt rough and scrubby was exceedingly smooth and instantly created lots of lather.

Women love bubbles when bathing.

She couldn’t help but touch the skin where she had applied the Fresh Flower Soap. She was over forty, her skin gradually sagging and pores starting to enlarge.

But in that moment, under the smoothness of the Fresh Flower Soap, it felt as delicate as a baby’s.

The sensation was enticing, as she continuously stroked and rubbed her skin, the feeling was exceedingly delightful, and the rising bubbles added a hint of romance to the atmosphere.

After rubbing herself countless times, she began to scoop water to rinse off the foam.

Leaving her skin clean and clear.

There were candles lit in the bathroom, not very bright, but she could still see that her skin was whiter and clearer than usual after a bath. Especially that clean texture, an effect she never achieved with regular soap, as though before she only managed to clean the surface.

Now with the Fresh Flower Soap, it seemed to cleanse the deepest layers of her skin.

“This is an unprecedented comfort!” she exclaimed, holding the small piece of Fresh Flower Soap, growing fonder of it the more she looked at it, “Much better than regular soap; I like this feeling.”

She could have finished bathing in just half an hour before.

This time, she had the maid add hot water twice, and she bathed for a full hour.

When she had rinsed off her body and wrung out her hair, even the personal maid who helped her into her nightgown felt the difference, “Madam, you look… much younger tonight, absolutely beautiful.” Whether the madam was beautiful or not was debatable, but when Liya touched the madam’s skin, she felt its firmness.

It usually felt loose, but today it had become firm.

The contrast was quite striking.

The madam was in a good mood, “It’s magical, isn’t it, Liya? You would find it hard to believe that a bar of Fresh Flower Soap made me feel young again.”

“Is this Fresh Flower Soap really that magical?”

“Of course, it’s magical, just like everything in Fresh Flower Town, full of wonders. Seafood, Intermediate Magical Beasts, Thorn Minor Elves, and those fried eggs and egg soup, as well as all kinds of bread. As many nobles have said, Fresh Flower Town is a place blessed with the glory of knights.”

Liya had accompanied the lady to Fresh Flower Town and had tasted those novel foods, “Fresh Flower Town is indeed a different place.”

After having her hair done, the lady touched her face and admired herself in the crystal mirror for a while before she got up and left the bathroom.

She called for the butler and instructed, “Remember, when the master comes back, have him use the Fresh Flower Soap for his bath as well.”

“Yes, madam.”

Gelta came back very late, still slightly drunk, and had a bath with the help of a manservant. The servant, following the lady’s orders, used the Fresh Flower Soap for him.

But he had no patience, and after only hastily scrubbing himself a few times, he rinsed off.

Entering the bedroom, he saw his wife poring over the thick ledger, checking the estate’s income from the small town. He felt a bit dazed, as his wife, who was both old and unattractive, seemed to him to be radiating beauty that night.

He shook his head, trying to shake off the illusion.

“Let’s look at it in the morning, let’s go to sleep early.” He lay down on the bed, gave a reminder, and then glanced again, noticing his wife’s arm, which looked much fairer and softer.

He couldn’t help but reach out and touch it.

Instantly, the loose impression he had was replaced by firmness under his touch, which made him let out a strange “hmm.” His body seemed to be stirred, perhaps by the alcohol, and he found himself feeling a longing he hadn’t felt in a long time. His hand then naturally climbed up the sagging peak.

“I’ll sleep once I’ve finished this… What’s the matter?” The lady was surprised by the sudden fondling, as it wasn’t the day for their monthly tax payment.

“Nothing.” While Gelta said it was nothing, his body didn’t stop, as he laid himself over his wife.

Despite feeling puzzled, the lady didn’t push her husband away but instead threw away the ledger and began to respond to Gelta’s advances—a spontaneity that had become rare with the passage of years.

A few minutes later.

All went quiet.

Gelta rolled off, laying on the bed, exhausted beyond words, took a few heavy breaths of air, and then fell into a deep sleep. Beside him, the lady sighed with lingering enjoyment, covered her husband with a blanket, and while still riding the aftershocks, busied herself for a while, dealing with her sorrows and troubles.

After calming down, she touched her now firm skin and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, “We need to always keep Fresh Flower Soap in the bathroom.”

She turned off the candle.

She too covered herself with a blanket and fell into a deep sleep.