"Welcome home, Master! A bath is ready for you"
Upon his return to the residence, Edrick was immediately greeted by Jingyi, the maid bowing and having seemingly been waiting behind the front door for at least a little while.
"Already? Good job" he praised.
It was somewhat late into the night now, and usually, his wives would have been waiting for him instead, but there laid one of the good points of having servants, you could have them do stuff whilst you did something else, though, the concept of going to sleep and not wait for him to come home like dogs had been introduced by Anoteros himself, those four definitely would have been there otherwise, but considering what he was planning, they really shouldn't stay up everytime, that could hurt their sleep schedule.
"Thank you, Master–Did your stroll go as expected?" she asked, following a few steps behind him, even with the dark clothing, she could clearly see the fresh blood illuminated by the candles that were currently lit up.
"It did, but I have to admit that I was rather disappointed, I thought that I had gotten lucky when the house I randomly picked turned out to have a young couple inside, but those two were incredibly boring, it was honestly a let down, no resistance at all… No interesting reactions… And I must say, compared to that girl, I much preferred how you used to cry when I forced myself on you, Jingyi" he spoke casually, not even turning around to look at his maid's reaction.
Jingyi looked down.
"Y-You flatter me, Master… Should I cry again next time we…?"
"No need" he spun on his heels and leaned forward, raising the blushing girl's chin.
"We are past this point now, are we? There is no point in simulating, I prefer to hear you express your heart's content, understood?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Good girl" he arrived into the bathroom, and as she had said, a bath was already prepared, though, it wasn't the giant bath in the middle this time, this one was for group activities.
Being the wealthy man that he was, Edrick had multiple bathtubs in just this one bathroom, different designs, most serving the exact same purpose but simply around to shake monotony, the smaller ones were best if he only bathed with a single one of his wives for example, or some were best to attended to during it if he felt like it.
The room was warm and filled with steam, and truly, he didn't know why, but Edrick felt that a lavish bathroom was perhaps the peak of expressing one's wealth, it was when submerged in water that he perhaps felt most cozy and at peace, that sensation further enhanced when he had been doing most odious things moments prior, the image of the ruthless executioner just enjoying himself and sighing in content after taking lives and destroying families was especially humorous to him.
He swiftly undressed under Jingyi's gaze, and put everything that had been used by him during the night, minus what had been sourced from the outside, into a bag nearby.
"You do remember the procedure Linmin taught you, right?"
"Of course, Master!"
"Perfect, but don't rush" he stopped the maid as she was about to go about with it.
"Leave that for later, stay in here for now" he turned completely to face her, and Jingyi couldn't help but look that at the fifth limb hanging in between his legs, marvelling and in awe at the fact that this massive club wasn't even close to its peak even right now.
She nodded and stood in place as he got into the water, Jingyi a bit nervous as she hadn't been a maid for that long, and so, it was the first time she had prepared the bath for Edrick without Linmin around to correct any mistake.
Jingyi wanted to ask, but knew that she should stay silent unless he said something about it as if it was fine, she would be addressing the master for no important reason, maids weren't supposed to just chit chat with the lord of the residence on their own volition, it had to be initiated by the master, or require a good reason.
"Your poker face is good, but could still use some improvements, Jingyi… Don't be so worried, you did well with the bath" despite training in the mirror everyday to maintain the expression of a doll, the maid was still being read like an open book by Anoteros, and that, despite the fact that he had not even placed any crest upon her, she was just that easy for him to see through.
He raised one finger and prevented her from giving a response.
"Don't apologise, it is merely a remark, not a critic, come closer" she nodded and stepped forward, secretly hoping that he would order her to undress and join him, since that first night during which he had taught her true pleasure, he hadn't even touched her inappropriately, since then, Jingyi had been boiling in anticipation for the next time her master would wish to make use of her body, but she couldn't show that trepidation, and had to somehow try to satisfy her urges by herself.
He tapped behind one of his shoulders.
"Show me how much you've improved your massage technique"
"As you order, Master" Jingyi rolled up her sleeves and focused, it wasn't what she yearned for, but the simple authorisation to get to touch him was already enough to fluster the girl.
Her small, pale hands looked small and insignificant when compared to her master's wide and powerful shoulders, any occasion to get to touch any area of his body was a valuable one, and something she hadn't actually done that much when he had bedded her, much too caught in the moment to appreciate the feel of Edrick muscular, masculine body.
Although muscles on men in the sect weren't exactly uncommon, it was undeniable that Anoteros looked totally different to any other man in that regard, not only was his physique unique for a human, but the way his body was built was probably the closest thing to what one could achieve without any special means such as cultivation, it had all been forged and tempered through pure, physical training and it simply looked perfect.
All muscles were perfectly balanced with one another, and although big, he had also trained to make himself as flexible as was naturally possible, she had seen him training a few times, and Edrick was basically as good as a contortionist.
She put her hands upon his flesh, and did the motions that Linmin had taught her, doing her best not to daydream and fantasise too much whilst doing it.
"Very good"
'Yes! Please praise me more, Master!'
"Let's speak a little bit while it's only the two of us, shall we?"
"Of course, Master, what do you wish to discuss?"
Without showing a hint of the turmoil inside of her head, Jingyi maintained the professionalism that had been drilled into her skull, but Anoteros chuckled nonetheless, clearly aware of what Jingyi was feeling and thinking.
"We'll talk about you…"