<strong><b>Chapter 12</b></strong><strong><b></b></strong><strong><b>Stockings Temptation, Pushed Down Again</b></strong><strong><b></b></strong>


    In the room, Cindere was shy and timid, but Richard didn’t leave, clearly intending to watch her change clothes.


    She couldn’t, nor did she have the courage to ask Richard to wait outside.


    So, she had to forcefully calm herself down, and slowly took off her clothes in front of Richard.


    Her face was already as red as a ripe peach.


    After finally managing to put on this strange maid outfit, Cindere was a bit dazed.


    <em><i>This kind of clothing, is it really a work uniform?</i></em>


    <em><i>If she went out in it, wouldn’t everyone see everything?</i></em>


    She felt the wind blow in through the short skirt, cool and tingling, and her whole body went numb.


    Then, she looked at the remaining stockings and garter that she hadn’t put on yet, reaching out to pick them up.


    To be honest, she had never seen these things before.


    She examined the garter for a long time; it didn’t seem like it was meant for tying up hair, but if it was to go on her arm, it seemed it might easily fall off.


    She couldn’t understand the stockings at all either.


    <em><i>Are they a decoration on the clothes? Or a belt? But the middle is empty, with only one end open—is it a long bag to hang on her body for carrying things?</i></em>


    <em><i>Since it’s a part of my work uniform, using it to carry some tools seemed possible, but this material… wouldn’t it tear easily?</i></em>


    Finally, she gave up struggling, holding the two items in her hands, and looked at Richard with a confused and naive expression.


    “Master, Cindere doesn’t know how to use these, can you teach me?”


    Richard was still ready to continue enjoying the silly look on this little witch’s face, but when he saw her speak, he naturally reached out to take the stockings and garter.


    “Sit on the edge of the bed, and I’ll put them on for you!”


    “Ah, Master, you’re going to put them on for me, I can’t let you…”


    Cindere naturally didn’t worry about being taken advantage of, since she already considered herself wholly belonging to Richard. But as a person from this era, she instinctively believed that only servants serving their masters was normal.


    <em><i>And as her master, how could she, how dare she let Richard, the person she admired boundlessly, serve her in this way?</i></em>


    <em><i>Wouldn’t that turn the natural order upside down?</i></em>


    But when Richard nced at her, she immediately dared not say a word.


    <em><i>Yes, the master must see me as a toy doll, ying a dress-up game!</i></em>


    <em><i>Yes, that must be it!</i></em>


    She forcefully convinced herself to think this way, to calm her mind.


    Unknowingly, her self-assurance was actually somewhat close to the truth.


    Richard took hold of the stockings and lifted Cindere’s leg high.


    Her leg, a lengthy 1.8 meters, was soft and smooth as if sculpted from jade, trembling slightly, carrying a hint of coolness and a refreshing fragrance, very alluring.


    Despite all the hardbor Cindere had been forced to do over the years, it was remarkable how well she had kept her legs in such good condition. But then again, considering her identity as a witch, perhaps it wasn’t so impossible.


    Richard slipped the stockings over Cindere’s foot, slowly pulling them up.


    Cindere’s legs were naturally tender, and her skin’s nerve endings were highly sensitive. With the friction from the stockings, this unprecedented sensation transmitted an unfamiliar feeling to her brain.


    This immediately triggered a natural nerve response in her central nervous system, causing her body to tremble.


    After putting on the stockings, the faint, semi-hidden view became even more enticing.


    Then Richard ced the garter in Cindere’s hand and said:


    “Let me show you how to wear this.”


    Cindere, whose mind had gone nk, slowly came back to her senses and nodded foolishly.


    Following Richard’s instructions, she put the garter on her thigh.


    Once the stockings were on, her legs, entuated by the garter, seemed to have an indescribable allure, like adding the final touch to a masterpiece.


    Richard asked her to stand in front of him and then began admiring his work.


    The maid outfit was designed with a purple rose theme, as if she were wearing a violet rose itself.


    The three-dimensional purple rose ornaments and the semi-transparent purple gauze on the maid outfit floated gently as Cindere moved. Paired with the fine ck stockings on her long legs and the precisely ced garter, it perfectly showcased the mysterious charm and allure of the witch.


    The gold and red threads decorating the dress added a touch of elegance and nobility to the mystical purple ambiance.


    Richard, as a young man full of vigor, certainly wasn’t one to pretend to be a saint.


    The garter slipped down, hanging on her ankle, swaying like a pendulum in the castle.


    The wind outside howled, blowing through the forest, making the inside of the castle quite cool, though both of them still broke into a sweat.


    “Cindere, where is your home?”


    Richard leaned against the headboard, looking down at Cindere in his arms.


    He had just learned the surprising news that Cindere’s father was still alive, which, to him, was actually good news.


    He nned to send someone to notify him since a wealthy count was a great target for extortion.


    As for the fact that he was Cindere’s father, Richard didn’t care at all. This man clearly didn’t treat Cindere well.


    It is said that even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, but this father treated his daughter entirely as a maid, which was truly despicable.


    While he also made Cindere his maid, he gave her dignity, status, and emotional value.


    That was the fundamental difference.


    Cindere softly responded.


    “Master, my home is in Xinhe County, right near the royal city, quite close to here! I reached the forest where I met you not long after leaving home!”


    <em><i>Near the royal city?</i></em>


    <em><i>Quite close?</i></em>


    <em><i>??</i></em>


    Richard was puzzled.


    <em><i>This ce is tens of thousands of miles away from the royal city, isn’t it?</i></em>


    <em><i>Mountains and rivers are vast; otherwise, this ce wouldn’t be so impoverished.</i></em>


    But upon seeing the system panel indicating her witch status, he epted this setting.


    <em><i>Perhaps during her awakening, the witch asionally and inadvertently released magic, traversing hundreds of miles of forest without knowing it herself?</i></em>


    <em><i>Or maybe somewhere in the forest there was a portal or some teleportation device, which Cindere triggered identally while her magic was intermittently active?</i></em>


    <em><i>It might be worth investigating someday if there’s a chance.</i></em>


    With the system, he wouldn’t miss out on such adventures.


    …


    In Xinhe County, at the Temmann Count’s house.


    “Two days, it’s been two days, where on earth has that wretched girl gone?”


    Lady Temmann red with fury.


    Tracy spoke up.


    “Mother, I heard that Cindere went to the woods to gather fruit yesterday and hasn’te back yet. Do you think she ran away? Maybe she’s left home for good?”


    “I hope she dies out there; our Temmann family doesn’t need her! Just seeing her disgusts me. Her short-lived mother is dead, and she should be too!” Antasia sneered with contempt.