Chapter 2 Bathing in This World

“Haaaaaa. Feels so good~~~”

Sniff.

As soon as I got back from the evening party, I headed straight to the bath.

I soaked in the bathtub and looked up to the sky. I felt the heat of the bath slowly warming me from the inside out. The steam on my face felt so good. Inhaling the scent of the warm water made me feel happy. This was paradise on earth.

“I can finally get in. It’s been a long evening party~”

This is the Hamilton family’s large bath.

I designed and built this large bath myself when I was eight years old. I paid particular attention to the size, floor tiles, and ceiling.

The bathtub was filled using my magic, so it can be filled with water at the right temperature right away.

In fact, there is no culture of bathing in this world.

Due to the development of magic, there are magical tools that can produce water, so everyone just washes their heads and bodies.  However, this was a custom with the purpose of “keeping the body clean.”

There was no culture of “bathing” for the purpose of seeking comfort.

When I found this out, I was in despair.

I felt like I was going to die if I couldn’t take my favorite bath. And as I was dying, I came to an idea like Marie Antoinette’s:

If there is no bath, then why not make one?

Fortunately, I was reincarnated into a duke’s family. There was plenty of money. If I could get the head of the family’s permission, it would be possible to install a bath.

That said, my father, the head of the duke’s family, is strict and doesn’t particularly spoil me. He wouldn’t easily allow me to spend the duke’s money on a mysterious “bath.”

But my love for baths is not so shallow that I would give up just because of that. My bath spirit was ignited when I managed to persuade my father.

The benefits of baths… I spent every night creating materials explaining how it can help recover from fatigue, relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, and boost immunity.

 Furthermore, by opening the bath to the servants, I presented the benefit of improving the working environment and increasing efficiency for the entire duke household. In my original world, I worked hard, and my presentation skills were well honed.

However, I faced one problem when setting up the bath.

The bath was meant to be a way to relieve fatigue, but the additional task of “heating the bath” would tire the servants out.

Current magical technology can generate water and fire alone, but it cannot generate piping hot water.

Water magic must be used to produce water, and fire magic must be used to heat it. In other words, boiling water is quite a hassle.

I racked my brains for a few days trying to find a way to reduce the burden on the servants. One day, after racking my brains out, I tried chanting in desperation.

“Come, water warmed by the power of fire.”

I intended the loose phrase to be a joke.  I thought it would be difficult to generate hot water immediately.

However, at that moment, water magic and fire magic were activated in my hands at once, and for some reason I succeeded in generating hot water that was about 40 degrees.

This is the secret story of how I became able to use two types of magic.

After that, I was approached by the royal family about an engagement because I was a talented person who could handle two types of magic… Well, you can guess how that engagement ended.

After going through all these twists and turns, I was able to get permission from my father to install a bathtub, and I was able to fulfill my wish to take a bath in this world.

“Hm, I think it’s about time I went back to my room.”

Having warmed up enough, I got out of the bath and dried my body and hair with a towel. And then…

“After a bath, coffee milk is the best!”

I gulp down the coffee milk in one go.

 There is nothing more blissful than gulping down a cold cup of coffee milk after a warm bath.

After I finished drinking, I spent some time in my room when there was a knock on the door. I answered and my personal maid came in.

“Lady Lydia. The Duke is calling for you.”

“I understand.”

Originally, it was my father who arranged my engagement with Cedric. As the Duke’s family would have wanted to maintain their relationship with the royal family, my father must be very angry about the cancellation of our engagement.

I prepared myself and headed to my father’s office.

☆☆☆

“It’s about the cancellation of our engagement at the evening party earlier.”

When I arrived at my father’s office, he immediately started talking. His face was grim and I could see that he was very angry.

 “Why did you admit your guilt back then?”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to admit my guilt?”

“Did you admit to a crime you didn’t commit and agree to break off your engagement?”

“Oh my, I don’t know. I might have done it.”

“Answer me seriously.”

My father’s earth-shattering voice told me this was going to drag on.