I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 236: Massage (2)

"...."

Having seemingly shaken off her fatigue, Charlotte stretched and left the room. After Yuria also departed, Sylvia, left alone with Aslan, unconsciously swallowed.

'Is it my turn now?'

She had always thought that her lord only had talents for harshly working people or distinguishing the scent of a child's body, but never did she expect him to have skills related to massages and stretching. If he had been hiding such abilities, he should have at least given her a hint.

Since Aslan and the bodyguard’s relationship was such that massages were probably difficult to do in front of others, but now that they were alone together, Sylvia stared at Aslan, her eyes glistening with expectation.

"Ugh. Doing things I’m not used to is making my hands ache. Could you brew me a cup of tea?" "Yes, my lord. Would you like to wait here?" "Wait? No, I’m heading to my office. Why?" "There’s no place to lie down in the office." "Why would you lie down? We need to work." "...."

With a look of disbelief, Aslan immediately made his way to leave the room, but Sylvia stood there, stunned, unable to move.

Charlotte had gotten a direct massage from him. Yuria had taken the massage coupon. And Yuria even got her own coupon from Charlotte... But here I am, with nothing?

Without saying a word, Sylvia slowly walked ahead of Aslan and, with an unmistakably intentional gesture, blocked his path.

"Ah... I've been using my body quite a lot recently, and my neck and shoulders have become stiff. I think I might need a massage..." "Yeah. You should make sure to get massages when you can. Don’t forget to stretch too. If you get injured, it’ll cause me trouble." "There are places I can’t reach by myself." "That's unfortunate."

Aslan responded with a mechanical, emotionless gaze, causing Sylvia to clench her fists in frustration. Why was she always treated like this?

She knew she couldn’t expect to be compensated beyond what was required of a servant, but still, being treated so differently from the children right in front of her was undeniably hurtful.

Should she throw herself onto the floor and protest? Surely, there was nothing more shameful than that.

It was one thing to feel slighted, but she couldn’t allow herself to cry and complain about being treated differently than children. She imagined how cold and disdainful Aslan would look at her if she did.

'I also want a massage...'

Was there really no other way? Was she really supposed to give up and resign herself to this?

As Sylvia struggled with these thoughts, suddenly, an idea struck her.

"Umm..." "Tch. What now?" "I really, really want a massage... Could it still be possible?" "How many times do I have to tell you? Bring me the coupon, and I’ll give you a massage."

"Then... Could you at least issue me a coupon?" "No."

Aslan’s stern, serious face looked down at her, and without hesitation, he rejected her request with a cold voice. He then began to walk past her, leaving Sylvia frozen in place.

She had thought she had contributed enough to the family, even if it was as a servant. While she knew she couldn’t ask for anything beyond what was required, still, it was hard not to feel a little upset at the glaring difference in treatment from the children.

But should she really protest openly? Throwing a tantrum like that would surely be even more embarrassing.

Then again, if she thought about it logically, she realized it was the children she was being compared to. What grown adult would cry over being treated differently from children? How ridiculous would she look?

Aslan would surely look at her with a much colder gaze if she gave in and started to act childish like that.

'Is there truly no other choice?'

Just as Sylvia was about to give up, a sudden idea popped into her head.

"Um..." "Ugh. What now?" "I really, really want a massage... Is it really not possible?" "How many times do I have to say it? Bring me the coupon, and I’ll give you the massage."

Sylvia reached forward, grabbing Aslan’s sleeve and pulling gently, her eyes filled with pleading desperation.

Turning around at the sensation of someone holding his sleeve, Aslan’s gaze dropped to find no one where he expected. Then, with a sigh, he finally looked down.

There she was—Sylvia, with loose clothes, holding onto his sleeve with an earnest look in her eyes, gazing up at him.

For a moment, Aslan’s eyes seemed completely captivated by her, his pupils shifting wildly. His hesitation was only momentary. Soon, a determined glint sparkled in his gaze.

"This time, just for you. Since you’ve contributed to the family, as a bonus, I’ll give you a one-time use massage coupon, effective immediately."

"Eh!? Seriously?"

In an instant, Aslan’s cold voice shifted into a warm smile as he quickly reached up and slid his hand under Sylvia's armpit, lifting her up effortlessly.

Sylvia was stunned, at a loss for words as Aslan’s sudden change in demeanor left her flustered. She had expected this to work, but she never imagined it would happen so quickly.

"My lord! Wait a second!" "The coupon expires in 10 seconds. Decide quickly. If you don’t use it, it’ll disappear."

"Y-yes... I will use it...!"

"Then it’s settled. Relax and let go."

With those words, Aslan gently placed Sylvia onto the sofa and began rolling up his sleeves, preparing for the massage.

Wait, wasn’t this the same man who was just complaining about his hands hurting from all the work? He was suddenly full of energy now.

Sylvia, still dazed by the sudden change, struggled a little, but found herself utterly helpless, unable to move as Aslan held her firmly.

Was this weakling actually this strong? Had his determination awakened some superhuman strength?

"Ahhh! My lord, your gaze is so scary!" "Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt."

Sylvia’s frantic resistance continued, but as she stretched her leg upward, her foot struck Aslan's face with a loud smack.

'Ah!?'

Even though it was an accident, to kick her lord in the face like that was a huge mistake. Sylvia’s face turned pale in that instant.

"As I thought, your struggle stopped. Looks like you're prepared now. Relax."

Sylvia had been expecting a scolding, but instead, Aslan pushed forward with greater force, overwhelming her.

Eventually, Sylvia gave in, surrendering to his relentless determination.

After much resistance, she reluctantly accepted the massage, and her reaction was...

"Ahhhh!!!" "Be quiet. I only pressed lightly on your shoulders. Do you really think a Swordmaster like you should scream like that from the hands of someone like me?"

"Y-yeah, but... what’s this feeling?!"

"The muscles are severely tensed. I can’t believe you’re still walking around with a body like this."

"Aahhh... what is this..."

Despite everything, it was satisfying.

"Mm?"

One envelope among several caught my attention. It had the imperial crest. It had been a while since I received anything from the palace by post. Usually, the imperial messages came through messengers or directly from the palace itself, so receiving it by mail was unusual.

We have received your proposal regarding the regulations on neodymium.Here’s the compromise plan we’ve discussed with the officials. Review it, and if you have objections, please come to the palace by tomorrow.

"Seems like it’s wrapped up nicely."

I had expected some bureaucratic delays since various factions' interests were at odds. However, with this compromise plan, it seemed my major demands had been met, so there was no need for further objections.

I could push for more, but I didn’t want to make my sister, the empress, busier than she already was.

'She must really be busy.'

I had heard the palace was in chaos lately due to the construction of power plants using mana-split theory, and the new laws regulating the distribution of dark magic and neodymium.

Both of these were unprecedented concepts, and the palace had to adjust its approach, making the situation quite difficult for them.

'It seems like my sister, the empress, has been so busy that she sent a message without even meeting me.'

At the thought, I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Suddenly, I heard a whooshing sound and, to my surprise, Sylvia appeared in front of me as if she had teleported. She was holding a pigeon in her hands.

"This bird was heading straight for you, so I caught it... It seems to be from the palace."

"Looks like it."

She handed me the note attached to the bird’s leg, and when I read it, my eyes widened.

"What’s going on?" "The empress is calling for me? This must be urgent."

I immediately got into the carriage and headed for the palace.

When I arrived at the palace, I quickly ascended the stairs and burst into the empress’s chambers.

"Your Majesty!" "Oh, you’ve arrived already? I just sent the note..."

The empress, sitting in front of her vanity in her pajamas, seemed completely at ease. It didn’t look like there was any urgent matter.

"Your Majesty, I came as quickly as possible, thinking it was something urgent. What’s going on?" "Do I have to have a special reason to call you?"

"No, but..."

"Are you very busy?"

"My schedule’s clear today, so no worries."

"Great. Let’s spend some time together."

"...?"

The empress smiled and turned to face me, her demeanor relaxed, and I froze in place, utterly confused.

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'Wait, is this a disguise?'

I realized something was off.

The person in front of me wasn’t the empress. Someone was impersonating her.