Dark Fairy Tale: Tyrant, Conquered Cinderella at the Beginning

Now, he didn’t need to worry anymore.

The reason for his concern wasn’t due to any moral high ground; Richard was never one to hold himself to high moral standards.

It was simply that he wasn’t interested in most women in this world.

The people of the lower classes were all unattractive, and even the noblewomen had a strong body odor. In the original world’s battlefield, they wouldn’t even need poison—just standing upwind would knock out a whole camp of enemies.

Moreover, people in this world generally didn’t like to bathe, so Richard couldn’t do it at all!

Having held back for over a decade, he now wished he could turn this world upside down!

Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if, as his body grew stronger through the system, one day he might fail to find a pleasing woman and end up having a spring dream while sleeping, accidentally drilling a hole right through the earth, right?

The thoughts of a young man are always active, with a mind as wide as the sky, like that of a lunatic. After snapping out of it, Richard quickly forgave his overly imaginative mind.

But when facing reality, he felt even more helpless towards this stupid world.

However, the Cinderella he encountered this time was quite different; he had noticed this the first time he met her.

At that time, because Cinderella’s face was covered in ash, her true appearance couldn’t be seen, so he thought she was just a rare, clean peasant girl.

When he learned the truth, Richard was overjoyed.

His stern and cold demeanor back then was just to scare Cinderella on purpose, so she would stay.

Fairy tale characters truly were different from ordinary people.

Even though she was abused by her stepmother and bullied by her two sisters, and constantly had ash thrown on her, she still managed to keep herself odor-free.

Based on Richard’s objective assessment.

Cinderella was, after all, an ordinary person; no one had trained her to have a habit of bathing, and it was unlikely that she would bathe regularly. Under normal circumstances, she would probably go with the societal flow.

But because she was bullied by her stepmother and sisters, she had to clean herself daily, which over time became a habit.

If that were the case, it could be regarded as a lucky coincidence.

Richard took a sip of the apple juice that the maid handed over, thinking how today’s Cinderella resembled a fresh apple, her innocence making him smile.

He was in a good mood at that moment, so he glanced at the maid and said:

“The apple juice is quite good. I’ll give you half a day’s rest this month. When you need it, go ask the head of the guards.”

The maid covered her mouth in surprise, “Thank you, Viscount!”

Richard smiled and waved her away.

Although the maids around him couldn’t attract him, at least they didn’t have any strange smells on them, which was one of the basic requirements to be a maid in the castle.

This alone kept many girls away.

Bathing every day was just too much trouble for them!

Perhaps it was just like how men couldn’t understand why women would spend an hour every day putting on makeup before going out.

The citizens of the Viscount’s territory also considered this a peculiar habit of the Viscount.

There were even rumors that the Viscount made everyone bathe every day just to have more opportunities to peep at them.

Such rumors naturally didn’t spread widely, only in hushed circles, since people valued their lives.

However, the male guards in the castle were also required to bathe at least once every two days, which baffled everyone.

They could only sigh inwardly, “The nobility sure is complicated.”

Some ambitious young men, even if they had no chance of working in the castle, started grooming themselves and occasionally “accidentally” passed by the castle.

After noticing this happening more frequently, Richard couldn’t help but be speechless.

Maybe this is the pain caused by the change in lifestyle habits?

This is too much! I really don’t like men!]

…

Meanwhile, Cinderella, led by two maids, arrived at the bathing area.

Although Cinderella had a hard life and had no maids to attend to her at home, she easily accepted this treatment because she was used to seeing it at home.

But just because she could accept it mentally didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid; she just didn’t dare to resist.

It could be described as the mindset of “the knife is in another’s hand, and I am the fish,” pitiful and helpless.

Quickly, with the help of the two maids, she undressed and stepped into the prepared warm water bath.

Although she had washed her face with the water earlier, her body still had quite a bit of dust, and the bathwater soon became dirty.

After changing the water twice, the water in the tub remained clear even after she bathed.

And in the process, they used quite a bit of soap.

The technology of this world was roughly at the level of medieval Europe.

Soap had already been invented, mainly a mixture of lime and salt.

The salt was extracted from either animal fat or petroleum; the nobles in desert areas used petroleum-derived salt, while those in Long Eagle territory used animal fat-derived salt.

Of course, commoners couldn’t afford this and used soapwort instead.

They rarely bathed, partly because soapwort was difficult to gather and partly due to the inconvenience of water resources.

But if the nobles didn’t bathe, that was really a personal issue.

After being cleaned with lavender-scented soap, Cinderella’s skin became soft and flawless.

Freshly washed, she was wrapped in a cotton cloth and carried to Richard’s bed.

When the maids left with knowing smiles, Richard locked the door and returned to the bed.

He lifted the cotton cloth.

In the candlelight, two shadows moved; their eyes met, both captivated.

Looking at Cinderella before him, Richard felt momentarily entranced.

If the earlier Cinderella was a pearl that had been wiped clean, the one in front of him now was an immaculate jade.

Both of them now gave off the scent of lavender after their baths.

Yet the scents blended differently with their respective bodies.

Richard’s lavender scent was mixed with the masculine aroma of his hormones.

While Cinderella’s lavender scent carried the sweet, pure fragrance of a maiden.

The phrase “young and beautiful” popped into Richard’s mind, and he couldn’t help but marvel at the wisdom of the ancients.

The term used to describe a young girl was indeed the pinnacle of descriptive genius.

He remembered the first time he looked up images of a specific plant and was surprised that he could have such a reaction just from looking at plant pictures.

The stages of that plant’s growth, from bud to fruit, were each filled with enticing thoughts.

But no matter how beautiful the plant, the person in front of him was the real-life embodiment of that metaphor!

Nothing could distract him now.

The scent in the room grew thicker, becoming overwhelming.