“Am I washing you right?”


    —That was when it happened.


    The wooden door opened, and Machina entered, wearing only a loincloth.


    I don’t know why, but for some reason, I was staring at Mika’s passionate eyes, and then I came to my senses. In contrast to my calm head, the heat was gathering in my face at an incredible rate.


    (Uwaa! Wha-! What am I doing…?!)


    However, this must be because of that.


    Probably because of the alcohol and this sweltering steam… I made a bitter excuse, and managed to settle the strange atmosphere in my head.


    Mika also seemed to come back to his senses for a moment, then he glared at Machina and said,


    “You… You’re not a personal knight, and yet you come barging in when His Highness is taking a bath. It’s rude.”


    “Fufufu. I just came to see if you’re about to do something ruder, Mika. Anyway, you keep boasting about your position as a personal knight, but you know what? I’ll be in charge of assigning your rest days when the summer break ends.”


    “I won’t take a break.”


    “Ugh, you’re scary.”


    Seeing Mika and Machina arguing with each other, I rubbed my chest in relief.


    The air had felt so lewd earlier, and suddenly I felt more relaxed now. I laid my head on my arm and gently closed my eyes against the soft warmth of the stone table.


    I recall both Mika and Machina saying that even in the royal capital, bathhouses are a place for socializing.


    I wondered just how much aristocrats and merchants were trying to expand their connections, that they would even think of socializing in a place like this. I couldn’t understand it, I thought as a chuckle escaped me.


    “Excuse me, Your Highness. May I join you? It seems that Mika was able to make the foam correctly.”


    “I told you, I can do it myself. Get out while the foams are still there.”


    “Did Mika really wash you? How indecent~”


    “What? You’re the one who told me to do that.”


    Their conversation feels more and more distant.


    Today, after a long trip, seeing Parthenios, and then having dinner with Marquis Lambert, I think I must have been quite tired.


    (I also drank alcohol after a long while…)


    As I was dozing off, I had some vague recollection of Mika pouring hot water on me, washing my hair, and washing the parts I should have washed by myself.


    But while my head feels hazy, I looked at Mika’s abdominal muscles and wondered vaguely how they could be shaped like that. Then I feel like I remembered something for a moment, but it was quickly swept away by sleepiness.


    After that, Mika was lying down next to me, and the two of them kept talking to each other. It was like a gentle lullaby, and I seemed to have fallen asleep.


    When I came to, I found myself greeting the morning, comfortable in the bed that had been prepared for me.