“Xiao Lian, over here.”
Within the swirling mist, thick with the Scent of Flowers and Sandalwood Fragrance, Lian saw Vera waving to her from afar.
This was a lavish, resplendent Bathhouse. Its illumination came not from lamps, but from some kind of Light Stone embedded in the dome above.
The light they emitted shimmered across the carved decorations and the rippling waters of the baths, making every inch of space seem brilliantly open.
Lian walked to the edge of the pool and sat down beside Vera, next to the Corinthian column where Vera was leaning.
The entire pool was rectangular, and Vera was gently stirring the water with her calves.
“The water’s just right… Xiao Lian, come try it.”
Even though she was wrapped in a bath towel, Lian still didn’t dare look directly at Vera’s body.
Imitating Vera, she dipped her own feet into the water filled with fine bubbles—
“Wah~”
A surge of warmth spread up from her feet, soaked in the bathwater.
This pleasant sensation made her taut nerves relax in spite of herself.
“Do you like it?”
“Of course… Who wouldn’t like bathing? Especially in such a luxurious place. Where’s Feiyin?”
“I’m here.”
Feiyin’s voice came from nearby. Lian looked left and right, but couldn’t spot her.
“Right here.”
Suddenly, she felt something grab her foot under the water.
Startled, she quickly pulled her leg out of the pool—
From the surface of the water in front of Lian, half a silver-haired head slowly emerged.
“Do you have to appear in such a creepy way every time?”
“What’s wrong… blub blub blub blub… Every time I show up like this, Young Miss is always so surprised.”
“That’s not surprise, it’s shock! And quit talking until you’re all the way out of the water, stop blowing bubbles!”
“You’re so boring. Your life must be so dull every day, right?”
“Who do you think I have to thank for that… Wait, why aren’t you wearing a towel?”
Feiyin, standing up slowly from the water, teased her with the same unchanging expression as always.
But there was something different about her now—she wore nothing at all.
The long silver hair she usually kept neatly coiled now floated on the water’s surface, blooming like a silver-white lotus.
“?”
“What’s with the question mark? Hurry up and put some clothes on!”
Staring at Feiyin, whose face bore a giant question mark, Lian blushed furiously and covered her eyes with both hands.
“You say strange things. Isn’t it improper to wear clothes in a bath?”
“Feiyin, don’t be like that, put on a towel. Xiao Lian will get embarrassed…”
“Even you, Lady Vera, are saying such things. We’re all women—why should we be embarrassed about each other’s bodies? In my opinion, you should hurry up and take off that bothersome towel and get in properly.”
“Bot-bothersome…”
Even Vera’s face flushed slightly as she turned her head aside.
Because to her, Feiyin’s figure was simply too perfect— so much so that it seemed every part of her had been sculpted and refined, like a work of art.
She’d never thought Feiyin looked this extraordinary before… Was it because she was getting older, and so felt inferior to Feiyin’s youthful pride and elegance?
She glanced down at her own chest, wrapped in a towel, then felt her waist and stomach…
I train every day… I shouldn’t be too bad, right?
Even though I’m older than these girls, it’s not by much… Xiao Lian looks about nineteen, and Feiyin should be just over twenty…
“All right, then. It’s true that wearing a towel here isn’t really appropriate.”
Maybe it was the steam muddling her head, but Vera reached out and undid her own towel, revealing her body.
“Vera?!”
Now Lian dared even less to let go of her hands covering her eyes. With the two of them flanking her, her heart pounded faster than ever before.
“Now you’re the only one left, Miss Lian. In this moment of mutual honesty, are you really going to hide? Take off your towel.”
“I-I can’t!”
“Why can’t you? You’re not a man. Besides, this is the Bathhouse—this is the perfect place for young girls to bare their hearts, speak frankly, and confirm their feelings with words, with gazes, and with their bodies.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?! At least two of us here aren’t even girls!”
“…Xiao Lian?”
Vera’s emotionless voice compelled Lian to lower her hands.
She turned her head mechanically, trying to ignore the crucial areas obscured by the steam and focusing only on Vera’s face.
“…I’m not a girl?”
Vera’s face was red with anger, and she even pouted.
Isn’t it obvious?
But of course Lian dared not say it.
…
……
………
Just as the three “girls” in the bath were having their fun, Selene was in the Changing Room, carefully examining a Short Sword.
She drew the blade from its sheath, wrapped her palm completely around the edge, then closed her eyes.
“What are you doing?”
The sudden voice interrupted her actions.
She quickly sheathed the sword and looked up in alarm at the newcomer… It was a Bathhouse Maid with striking long black hair.
And that Maid’s face was one she knew all too well.
“Are you crazy? Even if you’re disguised, if you reveal your true form here—”
“You don’t need to worry. I didn’t go to the men’s bath. I told the maids there that I was going back early to rest. But you—what are you planning, stealing that thing?”
The black-haired Maid fixed Selene with a cold gaze.
Her eyes were the eerie purple of Demon Eyes— this was none other than the Demon Race member they jokingly called “Royal Highness.”
“It should be obvious. If I take this, that woman is done for. Isn’t this eliminating a huge Obstacle for our Plan?”
“…This is the Duke’s Household. Stealing something so important here, do you want to be arrested immediately?”
“Don’t lump me in with idiots like Aoke and Vlad Chesterton. Did you forget who created the ‘Imitation’ you’re using? With my skills, it’s nothing to make a fake that’ll fool her for a short time. Our Plan is tomorrow, right? Once it succeeds, we’re out of here… and we’ll have rid ourselves of a major threat.”
“Stop trying to be clever. Even if you manage it… what if she loses control again tonight? We can’t risk the mission failing—eliminating the Sword Saint isn’t part of the Plan. Besides, if you stay out here this long, you’ll be the first one they suspect. Put it back.”
With that, “Royal Highness” stepped forward, grabbing Selene’s hand in an attempt to take the sword away.
“I can’t let this chance go… You have no idea how terrifying that woman is! You’ve gone mad for the mission… but what’s wrong if I go mad wanting her gone from my mind forever?”
Selene backed up a few steps, showing no intention of handing over the sword or putting it back.