Chapter 4 : It Became Stiff

The next day arrived.

On the second day after the accident, once again, it was a girl’s voice that awakened Usher from sleep.

“Saintess, it’s time to cough medicine.”

He fought through the grogginess and opened his eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling, a barren room with no decorations, and a woman with short, chestnut-colored hair.

Only after taking all of this in, did he remember what he had forgotten.

‘Oh, right.’

His body had changed.

He had hoped he might return to normal upon waking, but it seemed that was a foolish thought.

Despite the sense of powerlessness welling up, there was nothing he could do.

Usher slowly crawled out of bed, and at that moment, Darin opened the curtains.

Shhhhhh—

“Ah!”

The sunlight made him frown.

Startled, Darin quickly bowed her head.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“Oh, no, it’s… it’s fine. It helped me wake up. Thank you.”

“…Excuse me?”

Darin’s expression turned peculiar, as if wondering, ‘Why is she acting like this?’

Usher’s heart froze.

He suddenly remembered something he hadn’t thought of in his drowsy state.

– Take a suitably authoritative tone with Darin. If you let down your guard even a little, she’ll start asking personal questions.

Ah, he’d made a mistake.

Usher felt a chill of nervous sweat down his back.

His head spun, and in that state, he barely managed to utter words he thought sounded commanding.

“F-from now on, let me know before you open the curtains!”

“…Ah, yes.”

Darin seemed to accept it.

Though she was still glancing at him suspiciously, Usher didn’t notice.

‘Phew, close one!’

Thinking he had avoided a crisis, he let his guard down.

This tendency to relax too quickly was a bad habit that even Sir Whale, the commander of the Holy Knights, had pointed out in Usher.

Darin, the servant of Saintess Bersia, thought to herself.

Today, she seemed… strange.

‘Something…’

Why did she seem so gentle?

To put it more bluntly, why did she seem so unguarded?

This wasn’t like Bersia.

Usually, she would lie flat, hands folded over her stomach. When awakened, she would slowly open her eyes to show she was awake.

After that, she would say nothing more.

The Bersia that Darin knew was a person who, unless required for formal occasions, always maintained a cold, expressionless face, exuding silence.

But looking back on today…

‘Even her sleeping position was odd…’

Today, she had slept curled up, hugging the blanket tightly like a shrimp. That alone was odd, but maybe she was just dreaming, so Darin decided to overlook it.

– “Oh, no, it’s… it’s fine. It helped me wake up. Thank you.”

Why did she say that with a troubled yet considerate smile?

– “F-from now on, let me know before you open the curtains!”

And after saying that, why did she smile so happily?

Aside from those things, there was something else that was really odd.

“Saintess, your arm…”

“…!”

It was time for her bath.

Normally, without needing any prompt from Darin, she would silently go to the bathroom and leave herself in Darin’s care.

But today, when Darin mentioned it, she hiccuped! Her face turned red.

Then, after a long moment of hesitation, she finally nodded and shuffled into the bathroom with stiff steps.

From the moment she began undressing, her whole body was tense.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, leaving no room for even a thread to slip through, and every time Darin’s hand touched her body, she flinched.

Kneeling behind her, Darin narrowed her eyes.

When she lifted her hair, she noticed Bersia’s ears and neck had turned bright red.

As Darin continued to watch her, Bersia trembled.

“…Saintess, are you feeling unwell?”

It didn’t make sense, of course.

Bersia was renowned for her overwhelming holy power, to the extent that people said she was favored by the world itself.

Her body, imbued with this miracle, was like an impenetrable fortress immune to illnesses, poisons, or curses.

Her response confirmed it.

“N-no… I’m fine.”

Could it be the temperature of the water?

Or perhaps, was it due to the revelation from the previous day?

‘Ah, that might be it.’

Though she was usually so composed, Bersia had been in such a hurry the previous day that she had rushed out in a panic.

It must have been something weighing on her mind related to the revelation.

Thinking this, Darin brushed off Bersia’s unusual behavior.

More than anything, Darin noticed that she was talking more and expressing a wider range of emotions.

Unlike other servants, Darin hadn’t yet gotten close to Bersia, so this change was actually welcome.

“Please let me know if you feel uncomfortable anywhere.”

“Mm…”

Darin smiled brightly as she continued assisting her with the bath.

It was a great relief for Usher.

He felt as though he was about to die from the sense of blasphemy.

Was it like he was glimpsing into Bersia’s private life?

The feeling that he was doing something forbidden filled him with a sense of guilt, and he trembled.

After the bath and getting dressed, he went straight to prayer.

‘Lead me not into temptation…! Watch over me with Your merciful care…!’

In truth, he felt a mix of resentment and frustration towards the Holy Father, but there was nothing he could do.

Maybe if he prayed this earnestly, he might take pity on him and restore his body.

It took him about 20 minutes to finally calm down.

Usher let out a sigh, shoulders slumping.

“Saintess, it’s time for your grooming.”

“Mmm….”

Usher sat in front of the mirror, letting Darin take care of him.

He knew he needed to get used to this quickly, but it still felt so embarrassingly awkward.

Swoosh, swoosh, Darin combed Usher’s hair.

Usher glanced at Bersia’s reflection in the mirror.

No matter how many times he looked, the thought was the same.

‘She really is beautiful, the Saintess.’

Her translucent, sky-blue hair felt like silk under Darin’s gentle touch.

Her sharp eyes and long lashes exuded mystery and elegance.

Her skin was so pale that even the faintest blush stood out prominently.

Usher bit his lip.

As he stared, the reflection of Bersia seemed to blush, making his heart race.

He was strangely captivated.

Like someone entranced by their own reflection, Usher continued to gaze at Bersia in the mirror, his eyes eventually fixating on her lips.

And at that moment…

—”Wow, a chili pepper.”

Thud!

Usher froze.

The hint of embarrassment in his expression instantly turned cold.

He closed his eyes, silently cursing Bersia.

‘Ah…!’

Because Bersia spent the whole day using crass language, he couldn’t help but imagine her saying something as unrefined as “chili pepper” with that face.

How was he supposed to revere her as he once did?

With shame and guilt overwhelming him, Usher’s body trembled just as Darin finished brushing his hair.

“All done, Saintess.”

“Th-thank… er, yes.”

He wasn’t supposed to thank others.

Suppressing his usual habits was harder than he thought.

Usher took a deep breath, shakily getting up from his seat.

That’s when Bersia arrived.

Knock, knock

“Saintess, may I come in?”

“Oh, you’ll be under the knight’s guard starting today?”

“Mm…”

“I’ll be off to tidy up your bedding! Have a great day with your schedule!”

Darin answered cheerfully, smiling brightly.

How could she remain so kind when Usher was acting so unpleasant?

Usher felt a faint twinge of guilt at her kindness and replied with a faint smile.

“Yes, see you later.”

Darin smiled back, hugging the blankets as she opened the door.

There, standing gracefully, perfectly dressed, and smiling elegantly, was Bersia.

Usher’s feelings grew complicated.

‘Why… why does it suit her better than me…?’

What was this sense of defeat?

His fists clenched, trembling with frustration, as Darin bowed to Bersia and left.

Once they were alone, Bersia entered the room, closing the door behind her, then greeted him.

Gone was her knightly composure from moments ago.

“Good morning. Or is it? Anyway, did you sleep well?”

Usher relaxed his shoulders, trying to ease his nerves as he responded.

“Yes… did you sleep well too, Saintess?”

And then it happened.

“Haha, well…”

Bersia’s eyes sparkled mischievously as she smiled.

She seemed so lively, and that made Usher nervous.

His tension began to rise again.

‘…Why?’

Why was she smiling like that?

No, Usher knew why.

He was trembling in fear.

Even though it was only the second day, Usher had been tormented by Bersia all day and instinctively felt she was about to say something he’d rather not hear.

He tried to cover his mouth in anticipation.

But, once again, Usher was a step too slow.

“When I woke up, it was stiff like a chili pepper.”

“…!”

Crack, Usher froze.

The shock left him feeling like his very identity was shattering as he stared blankly up at Bersia.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

As time passed, his face turned beet red.

His eyes welled up with embarrassment beyond measure, and even his hair stood on end.

But Bersia was ruthless.

“When I tried to pee, I had to adjust the angle—”

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Usher covered his ears, screaming as he ran to the corner of the room.

Bersia followed him with large strides, continuing her crude remarks.

“Should I take it off? If I stay still, it does shrink back down, but it takes a while…”

“Stop! Stop! I don’t want to hear it!!!”

“It’s your own body. Why are you so embarrassed? Did you take a bath? How does it feel to be naked in front of a young girl…?”

“Aaaahhh!!!”

Usher wanted to die.

In that moment, he was sure of one thing.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Since we’ve switched bodies, can’t you share at least that much?”

If Usher were to pass away, the cause of death would surely be “death by embarrassment.”