Chapter Forty-One: If I Don't Wash It for Him, I Feel Uneasy

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Standing beside the sofa, Auxilyth bit her lip in torment as she stared at the sleeping brat. She twisted the towel in her hands so tightly it was nearly wringing out water. In the end, she simply couldn’t bear her inner struggle—how could anyone go to sleep without washing their feet? How could that possibly be comfortable? That damned boy!

Unable to restrain herself, Auxilyth took up the towel, intent on wiping Louis’s feet. But first, to prevent him from suddenly waking, the young witch blinked and cast a sleep spell on him. When she saw he had fallen into a deep slumber, she let out a quiet sigh of relief, though the feeling in her chest only grew heavier, as though her conscience were being thoroughly admonished.

“What am I doing? I put him to sleep? Isn’t this taking advantage of him?” Staring at the slumbering “little boy,” Auxilyth’s expression twisted with embarrassment. She had gone to the trouble of knocking him out just to secretly wipe his feet. The thought nearly drove her mad; she covered her face in shame, wishing she could strangle herself.

She never should have used that spell on the contract! Now she was suffering the consequences. Clearly, her own standards were too high. So proud—too proud. No, she had to find a way to remove this spell by tomorrow! But... the contract seemed to have been burned by her own hand...

Damn... No, this won’t do. I’m so clever, there must be a way to break it!

With this thought, Auxilyth regained her confidence. She resolved to study in the library tomorrow for a solution. Pushing away the mess of thoughts, she found herself unable to endure any longer. Blushing furiously, she slowly crouched down, hands trembling as she picked up the towel and began to clean Louis’s feet.

Not far off, Helen, clutching a bar of soap, peered through the crack in the door, having watched the whole thing. Her eyes widened in disbelief at her sister’s actions. Clearly, her own skin was thicker than Auxilyth’s. When she saw her elder sister wiping Louis’s feet, Helen couldn’t help but stifle a giggle—her sister looked just like a little house sprite at that moment!

It would be best if her sister always washed Louis’s feet and socks. So long as she kept her face thick, Helen thought, she’d never have to do this chore herself!

With that, Helen felt all her burdens lift. Seeing someone else do the foot-washing, all her anxiety and shame vanished. Auxilyth, too, felt relief, even starting to hum a quiet tune.

His feet are so big! And so much hair on his legs... Do all boys have hairy legs?

After finishing one foot, Auxilyth was hit by a sudden sense of accomplishment—of course, this is how one should sleep well! Wait, what am I thinking?

She buried her burning face in her hands, wishing to throttle herself all over again. With a touch of irritation, she scrubbed at Louis’s other foot, venting her little burst of anger.

Just then, from the dimly lit sofa, a sleepy voice murmured, “What are you doing?”

Auxilyth felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. She collapsed onto her knees, face drained of all color.

With a bang, Helen’s door slammed shut in fright.

“(Achoo) Could it be—Princess Auxilyth, pride of the Sacred Icon Tree’s legends, up in the middle of the night secretly cleaning my feet?” Louis yawned and rubbed his eyes, looking at the pale-faced Auxilyth. “I must still be dreaming.”

He scratched his head drowsily as if only half awake. That claim of “dreaming” was music to Auxilyth’s ears. She nodded vigorously, seizing the lifeline. Then she realized this wasn’t the time to nod, so she hurriedly blinked and cast a hypnotic spell, trying to make Louis believe it really was a dream, hoping he would forget the whole affair.

Most importantly, she could not let him know he had really mastered Apparition! At least not until these two curses—her agitation and her shame—were lifted. Otherwise, if he deliberately refused to wash his feet every day...

Ahhh!

Auxilyth thought she would go mad. Unfortunately, her hypnosis was likely useless; not even fire magic could affect Louis, so what hope had she with mental spells? Even the learned Stewart probably couldn’t hypnotize this scholarly wizard, let alone Auxilyth, still a novice. She realized, to her horror, that her spell had failed—perhaps from sheer nerves.

She quickly leaned in close to Louis’s ear and whispered, her words laced with magic, “Sleep, sleep, foolish Louis. Don’t dream... You’re dreaming—just think, how could a dignified princess of the Kingdom of Sorendo possibly clean your feet? Dream on... or don’t... Imagine I’m washing your feet, keep dreaming... When you wake, you’ll find you can’t use Apparition today—and you’ll forget all about this dream...”

It seemed to work. Louis gazed at her in confusion and nodded—(What the hell is happening? Can you not? I’m running out of ways to keep up this act!)

Seeing his muddled nod, Auxilyth let out a huge sigh of relief, patting her chest. She lowered her head and resumed cleaning his feet.

As she continued, she suddenly sensed something was off—Louis seemed rather cooperative.

She looked up, baffled, to see him grinning at her.

Lightning struck her heart again.

Before she could react, Louis’s large hand reached out and pinched her cheek. “Good girl, such a thorough job. Master is pleased—no need to wash my socks tonight. Go on, get some sleep.”

He patted her cheek and, leaving the dazed Auxilyth behind, stretched and ambled toward his room—pausing to glare at the crack in Helen’s door.

A gentle night breeze drifted through the window, stirring the sheer curtains and brushing across Auxilyth’s face.

She remained kneeling, unmoving.

After a moment, her face shifted from green to white, then to crimson.

“I—I must be dreaming... Or, Louis must be sleepwalking... Yes! The hypnosis worked—he thinks he’s dreaming, otherwise how could he be so bold!”

Suddenly, Auxilyth convinced herself (deliberate self-deception).

“That damned boy, daring to treat me so rudely, even in a dream...” Auxilyth gnashed her teeth, her cheeks so red they seemed about to drip.

She had just behaved like a maid! The memory of her foot-washing, the words Louis had spoken, his every gesture—Auxilyth was ready to die of shame and fury.

That wretched boy! She made a mental note to settle this tomorrow—Louis wouldn’t get away with it.

But then, holding her face, she almost wanted to cry. If word of this got out, she’d never live it down! If the Academy’s professors heard of this wager and discovered Louis’s Apparition talent, things would get interesting.

Everyone would say Auxilyth secretly washed her student’s feet—though she’d never admit to it. But who would believe her? People loved gossip! The “Chattering Chronicle” always made up juicy rumors about her—now those journalists would have a field day!

Just thinking of this made Auxilyth despair. No, she must find a way to break the spell! Her standards might be too high, but there must be a solution!

Even if she couldn’t lift the spell immediately, as long as she kept hypnotizing Louis, he wouldn’t know she was the one washing his feet and socks. And if she could convince him he hadn’t learned Apparition in seven days, then everything would work out!

With this plan, Auxilyth relaxed a little and slowly stood up, noticing her legs were numb from kneeling so long.

Then she saw Helen’s sneaky figure, soap in hand, slipping out of her room and into the washroom.

Auxilyth’s heart skipped a beat—did that little brat see her cleaning Louis’s feet? And what was Helen up to?

Curious and anxious, Auxilyth tiptoed to the washroom door and peeked inside. She saw Helen, using her wand for light, crouched over a pile of socks, washing them as she wept.

Hearing a noise behind her, Helen turned cautiously, her cheeks streaked with tears.

The two sisters stared at one another for a long time.

“Boohoo, sister, I—I really wasn’t sneaking out to wash Louis’s socks.” Helen wiped her eyes, stuck out her chest, and declared, “But if I don’t do it, I just can’t stand it.”

At that moment, the sisters felt a shared understanding, and nearly broke down in each other’s arms.

That night, the two mischievous girls went to Auxilyth’s room, thinking themselves very clever as they made plans. Tomorrow, they would turn the tables and reclaim their dignity! As for future sock and foot-washing... until the spell was broken, they’d just keep hypnotizing him and carry on.

Surely he wouldn’t realize he was dreaming and take advantage, right? And had he truly been hypnotized? Would he go out tomorrow morning and buy a washbasin?

What then?

Yes, she could hypnotize Louis and wash his feet while he slept.

But what difference did it make? If people found out she was sneaking in every night to wash his feet!?

“Sister? Louis won’t spread this around and use it to blackmail us, will he? He’s best friends with the editor of ‘Chattering Chronicle’ (that imp from the Belief family) and is always there snacking on seeds.”

“Helen, he wouldn’t. Don’t think so badly of Louis... But if he dares! I’ll give him a proper lesson in the arena!”

“But, sister, what if... I don’t think you can beat him.” Helen buried her face in Auxilyth’s arms, sobbing. “You have to win! Then we can write a new contract and turn the tables.”

Auxilyth rolled her eyes—“Louis? As if I couldn’t deal with him?”

“Really, sister, he’s amazing. Do you think Old Steya secretly taught him?”

Auxilyth’s heart skipped a beat.

“Don’t worry, Helen. Just wait and see how I handle him!” Auxilyth tried to reassure her, though for some reason she felt uneasy herself... How could she possibly fail to teach Louis a lesson?

Although, she hadn’t practiced magical combat in months—she’d better brush up, just in case she really did fumble.

With those worries, the two sisters tossed and turned, huddled together, until sleep finally claimed them.