Chapter 165: The First of Firsts (2)

Ah… my head is really killing me.

Last night, my stomach suddenly ached for no reason, and I wondered if it was an allergic reaction. I tried several times to get up and drink some water, but the piercing pain drained all my strength, leaving me unable to even move a finger. My consciousness drifted in the pain, but my body felt as heavy as lead.

I planned to wait until dawn to see if it would get better. As the sky gradually brightened, I finally regained control of my body. Curled up in bed, the stomach pain hadn’t improved at all, and now my whole body began to ache. Especially my lower back—even though I was lying down, the pain made me frown, and I had to keep my mouth shut to suppress any sound. My head felt like it was stuffed with wet cotton, buzzing loudly. My usually sharp mind was now as sluggish as a rusted gear.

The worst part was that drowsiness surged like a tide, but dawn had already broken. No time to sleep. The unbearable pain, like a frog slowly boiled in warm water, was gradually eating away at my will.

Until… Ophelia appeared. She directly flipped open my blanket, meow! Can’t she leave me some dignity?

Besides… I had been half-asleep the whole time. After Ophelia came, when I tried to sit up, I realized the sheets were sticky underneath, and the feeling was different from being wet with water.

No way… Did my period really come? My mind was foggy, and I finally realized… maybe that was it. What a complicated feeling. Even though I had mentally prepared myself to be a girl, I had never actually experienced this before. Sigh…

My head really hurt, my temples throbbing violently, and occasionally it felt like sharp steel needles were stabbing into my brain. I had to open my mouth wide, gasping like a fish out of water, trying to ease the waves of pain. I was like a surrendering soldier, raising my hands high and letting myself be at someone’s mercy.

I sat dazed on the bathroom chair, letting Ophelia wash me. Honestly, it really helped… I felt like I didn’t even have the strength to move.

Ophelia looked at me with a resentful little gaze. “Meilin, there’s a limit to lacking femininity! If you’re uncomfortable, just say so, okay? In the end, it’s your mother who has to clean up after you.”

I knew “clean up after you” was just a metaphor. But! Right now, Ophelia’s fingers were sliding along my inner thigh, personally washing my most private area! The warm touch made my already feverish cheeks flush bright red. Shame triggered my reflexes, and my previously limp body tensed up.

“I-I didn’t ask you to wash me there! I’ll do it myself!”

Ophelia got anxious too. Her usual elegance and composure were replaced by irritation. Seeing her daughter’s blood-soaked sheets and pale face had already made her worried enough, and now she was being inexplicably rebellious. So exasperating…

“Like hell you can wash yourself! You’re weak from your first period, and you can’t even stand without my help. What are you going to wash!” This made the shy me even more reactive.

The steam in the bathroom gradually dissipated. I obediently raised my hands like a kindergartener, letting Ophelia wrap me in a thick, soft towel and carefully dry every drop of water. After thoroughly rinsing me, she said, “Be good, hurry up and get out. Don’t catch a cold.” Wuwuwu…

Midway, I looked toward the door.

“Oh, right.” Ophelia smiled as she helped me put on an easy-to-move cream-colored dress. “Your friends are here.”

What!? No way, no way, no way!!

The steam from the bathroom hadn’t completely dissipated, lingering around me. I was wearing a light beige off-shoulder dress that reached just above my knees. The ends of my hair were still dripping, the droplets sliding along the elegant curve of my neck. My face was flushed from the hot water, but a trace of weakness and fatigue from my illness still lingered between my brows.

Ophelia’s arms were firmly wrapped under my knees and back, carrying me in a princess hold back to my bedroom. She even deliberately bounced me a little to settle me more securely in her arms.

Wuwuwuwu… So embarrassing, so embarrassing. I was so ashamed I covered my face with my little hands.

“Don’t move, Meilin. What if you fall?”

I was forced to nestle in her arms, my nose almost touching Ophelia’s well-defined jawline and the skin visible above her V-neck dress. I could clearly feel the warmth radiating from her body. This made me completely afraid to move. I could only purse my lips and turn my head away, the tips of my ears burning red.

Don’t I have face?! Not long ago, I was still a boy! Having my first period is bad enough, but being taken care of like this? As we walked down the hallway toward my bedroom, all I could hear was the clear, rhythmic sound of Ophelia’s high heels clicking against the floor. So embarrassing! And now… wuwuwuwu!

As I looked out the window, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye. Orino was rolling up her sleeves, sitting quietly next to a large wooden basin, carefully washing the sheets I had changed. In the sunlight, Orino’s expression was calm and focused, her movements gentle, as if she were handling a precious work of art. She wasn’t looking this way, but I knew she must have noticed.

It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, it’s so over! I actually made Orino, whom I just met not long ago, wash my sheets… How shameful! What are you doing? Did those sheets absolutely have to be washed? If I were living alone, I would definitely find a chance to burn them. Just seeing those red stains made me blush.

“Um… could I wash the sheets myself?” Especially seeing Orino carefully scrubbing the bloodstains by hand for me—too shameful.

Ophelia looked at me. “Now you say that? Good girl.”

“Sick people… just rest well. Don’t think too much about unnecessary things.” As Ophelia turned her head away, I caught the slight curve rising at the corner of her mouth.

You did that on purpose, didn’t you! How did my own mother become so mischievous?

“Oh, right. Lucia and Mahina are already waiting for you.”

“What?! Why did you let them in?”

“I couldn’t just leave guests waiting outside, could I?”

I lowered my head. “I guess…”

Ophelia averted her gaze, walked straight to my bedroom door, and gently pushed it open with the tip of her high heel. I saw Mahina and Lucia standing by my bed, their backs to the door, as if they had just finished something. Clearly, they had just put clean, fresh sheets on my bed. And Mia was there too.

“Princess Lucia… um, and Mahina, you didn’t have to trouble yourselves to change the sheets. I could have done it myself.”

Mahina acted as if last night’s argument had never happened, speaking naturally to me. “Come on, if you’re feeling unwell, don’t push yourself. We’re all girls here; everyone understands the struggle. And it’s just changing the sheets. What’s so hard about it?”

At that, I really had nothing left to say.