“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.