Serious
Elizalina’s Side
After finishing their meal, once the Rodwell household servants cleared away the dishes, Felisiana spoke to Lux.
“Master, since I thought you must be tired today after the swordsmanship tournament, I prepared tea that helps with physical fatigue. If you would like, would you like to have some?”
“Yes, I’d love some! Thank you, Siana.”
“Yes! Then, please wait just a moment!”
Saying that, Felisiana bowed her head to Lux and left the dining hall.
Even if she would come back later, it was good for Elizalina to be alone with Lux for the moment, so she asked him a question.
“Hey, Lux, how close are you and Siana-chan?”
By asking this, she could gauge the level of Lux and Felisiana’s relationship.
Once she had that information, all she needed to do was figure out how to surpass that bond herself. That is why the answer to this question was an important indicator for her going forward.
“How close… It’s hard to describe exactly, but I think we’re very close.”
“I see. So what kinds of things have you done with Siana-chan up until now?”
Every time I call Felisiana “-chan,” it feels strange, but since we’ve only just met, if I called her without an honorific, Lux might think something strange of me. I have to be careful about that.
While thinking that, Lux spoke.
“We’ve had tea together, gone out places, and really done all sorts of things.”
“That’s nice too, but something easier to understand… for example, taking a bath together with Siana-chan.”
Well, no matter how close they are, I doubt they’ve done something like that.
She only thought that for an instant.
“Wha…!?”
Hearing Elizalina’s words, Lux’s face turned bright red.
Huh?
Seeing Lux’s reaction, Elizalina was honestly shaken.
I only gave that as an example to make a point, but his reaction isn’t just from hearing the word “bath.”
It was obvious to anyone, but to Elizalina, who had excellent insight into human behavior, it was even clearer.
“Could it be that you’ve already taken a bath with Siana-chan?”
Though obvious, she asked for confirmation, and Lux, embarrassed and with his face red, replied.
“Th-That… o-only once…”
“What!!”
She had guessed it, but hearing it confirmed directly from Lux stirred Elizalina’s heart.
I see. Even though I was planning to only embrace Lux today, holding back in other ways, Felisiana has already gone that far with him without me knowing.
Thinking that, Elizalina lowered her face.
All this time, I’ve spent every day wanting to meet Lux and talk to him… and yet I am the one who loves Lux far more deeply.
With her face still down, her jealousy toward Felisiana and her love for Lux intensified, causing her eyes to grow vacant.
If Felisiana has gone that far, then it’s fine for me to be honest about my feelings too.
Then, lifting her face, Elizalina decided to use all of her intellect, which had once mediated a whole country, along with her skills in psychological influence, persuasion, and insight, to make a serious approach to Lux.
Lux’s Side
When I took a bath with Siana, I ended up losing consciousness at the end, but the sensation of touching her body was so vivid that I still remember it clearly.
Remembering that, along with various other things from that time, my face grew hot… and just then, Elina-san peered into my face and spoke.
“Hey Lux, if you’d like, how about taking a bath with me today too?”
“Huh? …Eh!? Wh-Why is that!?”
“Earlier, you said you didn’t want me to feed you, so you wanted me to show my appreciation in another way, right? That’s why I want to heal you by directly touching your body.”
“Th-That’s… but taking a bath together today feels so sudden—”
Just as I was about to speak, Elina-san placed her right hand over my left hand and said.
“Like I said before, I want to spend time with you in a place where it’s just the two of us. Or is it that being with Siana-chan is fine, but you don’t want to bathe together with me?”
“N-No, it’s not that I don’t want to! It’s just that, unlike being fed in front of people, this feels embarrassing in a completely different way…”
“I feel embarrassed too, but don’t you think if we experience something like that together, we’ll grow even closer? I want to be even closer to you, Lux.”
Be closer with me… Elina-san came all the way to my mansion to show her care after my swordsmanship tournament, and now she is saying all this. Ignoring her feelings and rejecting her, only looking at the surface, is something I must absolutely not do.
“A-Alright… th-then, please take care of me!”
“If you’re that nervous, then even if we take a bath, you won’t be able to relax. But I’ll slowly ease that nervousness for you. So, shall we go right now?”
“R-Right now!?”
“Yes, because once Siana-chan comes back, we might not be able to be alone.”
“B-But, the tea…!?”
Just as I was about to mention the tea Siana made, Elina-san linked her arm with mine.
“Then let’s go! Show me the way to the bath!”
“Y-Yes!”
Shocked by her linking arms with me, my mind went blank, and I led Elina-san straight to the bath. After that, we each undressed in the changing room before entering the bath itself.