Glug glug glug.

Eleanor lifted her head from beneath the surface, her wet golden hair drawing a graceful arc in the air, exuding the wondrous charm of a mermaid.

Then she looked at Aske, who had the lower part of his face submerged in the hot water, blowing bubbles continuously to avoid looking at her body, and she couldn't help but laugh:

"Why are you so restrained?"

"I didn't know you were into mixed bathing." Aske said depressedly.

"What's wrong with mixed bathing?" Eleanor boldly moved closer, "Isn't it okay for your personal knight to attend to your bath and cleanliness?"

"I've never heard of a personal knight doing such things." Aske slowly backed away.

"Oh yes, they do." Eleanor cornered him, "If it's a male lord and a female knight, there's usually an ambiguous relationship; if the genders are reversed, it depends on whether the woman's family has strict restrictions on that sort of thing."

"But we... aren't in that kind of relationship."

"What do you mean 'not that kind of relationship'? We're already engaged, my dear squad leader."

"It's too early to be doing such things." Aske said, hardening his nerves.

"What things are you talking about?" Eleanor pretended not to understand, "I just want to give you a massage."

Massage... Cornered by the great beauty, Aske seemed to grasp a lifeline suddenly and exhaled a long breath of relief:

"Then let's go with a massage."

So Eleanor stood up from the hot spring without a care, flashed a tender smile at Aske, who had turned his head away, and then sat on the stone edge of the hot spring, dipping her slender, shapely legs into the hot water while patting her well-toned, firm thigh:

"Come on, lie down here."

This retreat-to-advance tactic made Eleanor quite adept, since Aske is this kind of character: If you directly tell him you want to massage him, he's likely to refuse; but if you first imply something more intimate, and then "compromise" to a massage when he refuses, he'll quickly agree.

Having been in the position of the Great Captain of the Empire Knight Order for so many years and dealing with countless great nobles, her tactics and foresight have long surpassed her former self.

Aske awkwardly used his hands to cover himself, eyes straight ahead, slowly walking over to Eleanor. Having seen through his embarrassment, the Knight Girl watched him intently as if with mischievous intent, until he rested his chest on her thighs.

Then, Eleanor began to knead the muscles of his back.

"Ah~" Aske let out a sigh of comfort.

"How's that?" Eleanor asked with a smile.

Leveraging the fine, meticulous Will Fog, she could easily sense all the tenseness, stiffness, soreness, and overfatigue of Aske's muscles, and gently work them loose with her delicate massage techniques.

"Top-notch skills!" Aske silently raised a thumbs up.

"After we get married, I can massage you every day." Eleanor timely extended an olive branch.

"Hmm." Aske was immediately tempted.

"Daily massages," along with "pillow lap ear cleaning," "morning kisses," "cooking delicious food," and "diligent housework," are all bonus points of being a wife.

Feeling his body soften, Eleanor's eyes curved into crescents with her smile, continuing to massage his shoulder blades and back.

As her hands moved downward, Aske instinctively felt something wasn't right, but soon relaxed again in the soothing state and eventually dozed off.

"Oh, has he fallen asleep?" Eleanor poked his cheek a few times, murmuring in slight disappointment.

She had wanted to continue massaging and create some ambiguous moments... but unexpectedly, the squad leader fell asleep just like that.

Does he really trust me this much? Thinks I wouldn't do anything like Medea?

The Empire's Princess silently asked herself, admitting she couldn't actively pursue such things the whole time. The original plan was only to use every means to tease her dear squad leader; if he couldn't hold back, she would then sheepishly and smoothly give in.

Even though over the years, she has matured and become more sophisticated, deep down she's still the pure, persistent, and passionate Knight Girl, never completely becoming like an Enchanting Demon who proactively seduces.

Sigh.

But this is fine.

Staring at Aske's sleeping profile, Eleanor's gaze gradually softened.

At least you're back...

She waited for more than ten minutes without wanting to disturb the squad leader's sleep, just sitting quietly. However, she soon couldn't help herself; gently lifting up his upper body, she secretly planted a kiss on him.

Hmm, still not awake.

So, the Princess stood up, cradling Aske in a gentle posture, quietly leaving the hot spring room.

The two maids waiting by the door, one immediately wrapped a bathrobe around her, and was about to cover the sleeping squad leader with a towel, but Eleanor shook her head and refused.

Afraid of waking the squad leader, she merely signaled forward with her eyes.

The maid instantly understood, quickly moving ahead to clear a path, ensuring no attendants accidentally interrupted the Princess' progress—though even if they did, Eleanor's Will Fog would detect it first.

The other maid slipped some cotton slippers on Eleanor and followed her toward the Octagonal Palace's bedroom.

The guest room wasn't far from the hot spring room, actually just on the same level between the second and third floors. The leading maid entered the guest room first, swiftly pulling back the neat bed covers, closing the open window, drawing the curtains, and lighting the bedside wall lamp.

Eleanor carried Aske inside, gently laying him on the bed. The two maids bowed to her and silently exited, closing the door behind them.

Slowly untying her close-fitting bathrobe, allowing it to fall onto the carpet, the dried golden-haired Eleanor approached the wardrobe, opened it, and picked out a silk nightgown.

She instinctively tugged at the sleeve of the nightgown, seemingly having the urge to forgo wearing it, but eventually suppressed that impulse and slowly put it on.

After tucking Aske in, Eleanor, dressed in her nightgown, crept into bed, comfortably leaning against the pillows, and picked up a copy of "Charlemagne's Biography" by her pillow to read.

Time passed before Aske finally awoke from the soft embrace of the quilt and mattress.

Hmm?

First reaction: Not in the hot spring?

Second reaction: Why am I not clothed?

Third reaction: Eleanor is actually beside me?!!

"You're awake?" Eleanor lazily raised her chin, putting on an expression like "I've already enjoyed myself," post-event, "You slept quite deeply, nothing could wake you."

Aske: ???

He instinctively reached down to check.

No such familiar feeling of "being completely drained" in the abdomen.

No suspicious bloodstains on the bed either.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why do you assume such things can only happen in a bedroom?" Seeing him relieved, Eleanor deliberately teased.

"Because there isn't that 'emptied body' feeling of exhaustion." Aske stated candidly.

Eleanor paused, then angrily grabbed a pillow, tossing it toward the obnoxious squad leader:

"You seem quite experienced, huh? Been exploring a lot with Medea! Empty body feeling? Huh?!"

"Wait a sec, that wasn't my intention!" Aske raised his arms defensively, warding off the harmless assault while pleading his case, "Besides, aren't you supposed to be my Knight Girl? When did a Knight Girl attack her own master!"

"Because I failed to guard your purity!" Eleanor fumed, "So I have to punish my negligence and oversight!"

"Then why hit me with a pillow!"

"Because when I hit you, it hurts my heart!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.