An Ominous Omen

A sigh escaped my lips involuntarily.

Sitting still with my shoulders submerged in the slightly hot water, the only thought remaining in my head was how good it felt.

It was as if all the jumbled thoughts from before had been a lie.

I scooped up some water with both hands, washed my face, and looked at Princess Yupe sitting across from me.

She was enjoying the bath just as much as I was.

Her porcelain-white skin had a faint flush from the warmth of the water.

Looking at her like this, I thought there really was no difference between royalty and someone like me who had once been drowning in poverty.

There was a saying that noble blue blood flowed through aristocrats' veins, but once you got in the bath, everyone was naked, and soaking in hot water felt good regardless.

The steam had turned the entire bathroom white.

If we stayed in much longer, we might get dizzy from the heat.

"Huh, why are there fruits in a place like this?"

Princess Yupe spotted something in the bathroom and stood up to retrieve it.

In the corner of the room was a basket filled with yuzu citrus.

"Are we supposed to eat them while bathing? I've heard of people drinking sake in the bath, but…"

"No, no, that's not it. You do it like this."

I got out of the tub, grabbed about three yuzu from the basket, and came back.

Then I dropped them all into the bath.

"You put fragrant citrus fruits into the bath. The hot water warms them up and the scent fills the whole room. It's supposed to be good for circulation, too."

We'd done it a few times at home during the cold winters.

One of the Luido people must have left them for us.

"Oh my. Kind of like aromatherapy? I can definitely smell something refreshing now."

"Have you never had a yuzu bath, Princess Yupe?"

"Never. I quite like this, though."

Princess Yupe picked up one of the yuzu floating in the tub, brought it to her nose, and took a sniff.

Then she let out a soft laugh.

I wonder if she liked it?

Wanting to enjoy the yuzu bath a bit more, we got back in, and only after soaking until our skin started to prune did we finally get out.

Towels and a change of clothes were laid out in the changing room.

Master must have prepared them.

I quickly dried off the water clinging to my body.

But Princess Yupe just stood there.

Droplets fell from her long hair and her beautiful figure, drip by drip.

"Aren't you going to dry off? You'll catch a chill."

When I asked, puzzled, Princess Yupe spread her arms wide.

She was completely exposed.

"Would you dry me off, Azu?"

"Huh?"

"I'm feeling all warm and cozy right now. I don't want to move."

"Seriously…?"

She appeared to be completely serious.

I looked at her face, but there was no teasing expression there.

If I didn't dry her off, she'd probably just stay like that.

"Fine. Honestly, you're hopeless!"

"Thanks."

A wink from her did nothing for me.

I quickly pulled on just my underwear, then spread out an unused bath towel and began drying Princess Yupe's body.

Drying her hair was a struggle since she was taller than me.

Wow, so smooth… and soft.

The sensation came through even through the towel.

It was alluring enough to make even someone of the same sex's heart skip a beat.

"I've finished your back, so I'll move to the front now."

"You may proceed."

"What are you even saying?"

Moving to the front, two large swells greeted me at eye level.

I looked down at my own chest.

It wasn't like I had nothing compared to before, but the difference was painfully obvious.

I dried her roughly in silent protest.

They were very soft…

It didn't take long to finish drying her.

"There, will that do?"

"Thanks. That felt lovely. Oh, and your chest can still grow, so don't lose hope."

"I didn't ask…"

I might not be cut out for dealing with this person after all.

The change of clothes was a casual shirt and trousers.

Probably meant as sleepwear.

Princess Yupe's outfit was something like a negligee.

That was probably Elza-san's. Nobody had expected Princess Yupe would be staying overnight, so they must have repurposed Elza-san's clothes.

She couldn't go out in front of people like that, so I had her put on a bathrobe too.

Even so, fresh out of the bath, the sex appeal was incredible.

She put on her choker and the outfit change was done.

When we moved to the living room, Master was there with drinks prepared, writing some kind of document.

Even at a time like this, he kept working without rest. He really was dedicated to his work.

I wanted nothing more than to help, but with my level of education, I couldn't be of much use.

I envied Orleans.

"Oh, you're out."

"Yes. Thank you for letting us use the bath first."

"Looks like you managed to relax properly."

"A-ahaha. Yeah, it was fine."

That much was nothing unreasonable.

He poured me a drink and I downed it in one go.

Sweet and sour. The usual apple vinegar mixed with water.

It soaked right into my flushed body.

"I'm going to work until I reach a good stopping point, so go call Elza before the bath gets cold."

"Understood. I'll go get her."

I headed toward the door to call Elza-san.

Princess Yupe sat down across from Master and was drying her still-damp hair.

"What's this?"

"Chilled apple vinegar with water."

"Oh, is that so. Not that, I meant those documents."

"I'm putting together a detailed report on this visit. To submit to Her Majesty Tianis."

"Can't that wait until we're back? We're finally somewhere with no one watching."

"I am technically here on business…"

"It's boring for me to just watch."

"Ah, so that's your real concern."

Wondering if it was really okay to leave those two alone together, I headed off to where Elza-san was tending the fire.

Outside, evening had arrived, and the world was painted red.

That deep crimson that lasted only briefly each day.

It felt a little eerie somehow.

"Elza-san, thank you. I'll take over now, so please go take your bath."

"Okay, got it."

Elza-san stood up.

She was a bit sweaty from sitting by the fire.

"Azu-chan, about Princess Yupe…"

"What about Princess Yupe?"

"No, it's nothing. Well then, I'll go take my bath."

"Sure, go ahead."

What had Elza-san been about to say?

It seemed like she was on guard around Princess Yupe somehow.

From what I'd seen, there was nothing unpleasant about her.

She could be demanding, sure, but she was surprisingly easy to get along with.

Our first meeting had been terrible, but she definitely hadn't been herself back then.

I added firewood to the furnace to keep the bath from cooling down and fanned the flames to strengthen the fire.

After that, I just needed to maintain the temperature Elza-san liked.

Sounds came from the bathroom.

Elza-san must have gotten into the tub.

"Is the temperature okay?"

"It's fine!"

I sat and watched the fire.

Since I'd just taken a bath, I kept my distance so I wouldn't start sweating.

All that was left was to go to sleep.

As I reflected on the day, thinking about all the things that had happened…

A creeping sensation ran up my spine, like insects crawling along it.

I jumped to my feet immediately, scanning my surroundings with vigilance.

The red landscape was already growing dark.

Luido didn't have many streetlights, so once it got like this, it was dark.

"Elza-san!"

No response.

No, I heard the sound of water, so she had probably already gotten out of the bath.

I went inside to regroup, and there I found Princess Yupe collapsed on the floor.

Blood was flowing from the scar on her neck, the one hidden by her choker.

Master was holding her up, but I could see the panic on his face as he tried to figure out what to do.

What on earth…

Elza-san came out still dripping wet and immediately began treating the wound on her neck.

"Princess Yupe… what happened?"

"I don't know. She suddenly clutched her neck, and then this happened."

Fortunately, the bleeding stopped quickly.

A scar remained, but it was supposed to have been fully healed. So why?

"It seems like someone absorbed the power that was taken from Princess Yupe. This is probably the aftereffect."

"Someone…?"

"I'm fine now."

Princess Yupe regained consciousness.

She slowly sat up, but she was still a little unsteady.

"It's hard to explain, but I just know. The one who absorbed my power was Crispus, the former Secretary of Military Affairs. Not only did he betray me, it seems he's even abandoned his humanity."