Thanks to Dre for the Ko-Fi and this chapter, enjoy~
ED: LonelyMatter
Part 3
It was a relief to hear that the emergency stop was not a particularly serious accident.
Chris, however, suffered a new set of hardships when she arrived at the castle.
In the great hall, Martha said to the three of them who had just returned to the castle.
“I am sorry, but the bathroom in Chris-sama’s room seems to be malfunctioning… We apologize for the trouble, but would you mind using any other bathroom but yours today?”
“…I was going to take a bath because it was cold, but that’s not an option then.”
“Huh, doesn’t Chris have to work after this?”
“I’m──”
“Ain-sama, Chris-sama is off-duty. The reason she went to pick up Ain-sama is because she wanted to go herself and asked Dill to switch places with her.”
Chris’s cheeks instantly blushed when the situation was revealed to him.
“~~~Why are you telling him?”
“Even if you say so, Chris-sama, it is nothing to hide from Ain-sama.”
Chris held her head in her hands as she was told the story in a very frank manner. It’s not something that should be kept secret, but it’s embarrassing.
“By the way, how about your bath, Chris-sama?”
“R-right! For the bath… I’ll be using the bathroom for the servants or for the knights for the time being! “
Chris thought and walked out at the same time.
This was at the same time Chris was about to walk away with that thought.
“Welcome back, Ain.”
Olivia appeared from the stairs, approached Ain, and said to him with an admiring look on her face.
“Oh, Chris, why are you looking so down?”
“Actually, my bathroom seems to have broken down… so I thought I’d borrow another one for today.”
“Well, since we haven’t shared a bath in a while, why don’t we have one together?”
“Together, you say…? Olivia-sama?”
“Now, now, let’s get going.”
When Chris saw Olivia halfway forcibly proceed with the conversation, she hurriedly followed after her. The three people left in the great hall were all aware of what would happen.
“Then, Ain, I will go to work now.”
“Hmm, okay. Just let me know if you need anything.”
“No. Ain is off today, right? So you can take a good rest.”
With these words, Krone left Ain.
Ain was thinking about using today as a rest day, as he was told.
Then Martha reminded him.
“There is a letter from Warren-sama. I already have it on the desk in your room, so please check it when you are free.”
“Letter… Oh!”
He wondered who the letter was from, but he had just heard about it from Krone.
The letter is definitely from Krone’s father, Harley.
“I’ll go check it out!”
He replied and, with quick steps, headed for his room located on the upper floor of the castle.
As Ain walked up the stairs while exchanging a few words with the knights, butlers, and servants who passed by, he took a different kind of hurried step than usual.
Then──.
“Is that it?”
When he arrived at the room and looked at the desk, he saw a letter on the desk, just as he had heard.
He took off his uniform jacket, hung it on the sofa, and put the bag he was carrying on the table. He went to the desk, sat down in his chair, and picked up the letter. He took out a piece of parchment. Turning to look at it, he saw that the words were written in masterful handwriting similar to Krone.
“…I apologize for how I have greeted you in this way.”
The letter began with these words, and many words were written in it. He apologized for the way Ain had been treated since his birth and for the treatment Ain had received at Roundheart. An apology for the inadequacies at the unveiling party. Then, an apology and heartfelt gratitude for letting his father and daughter cross the sea. And then sincere appreciation for the kindness Ain had shown to his wife in the port city of Magna.
──At the end of the letter, he also stated why he stayed in Heim.
He was a brave man. He wrote that instead of being taken care of, he intended to stay in Heim and see what he could do. He continued by asking Ain to take care of Tigre and his wife.
“When things settle down, I’ll be sure to reward him… I hope he doesn’t mind.”
Ain finished reading the letter and put the letterhead back in the envelope.
Then, as if at the right moment.
“Ain-sama, may I have a word?”
It was Lloyd’s voice that came from outside the room.
“Please come in.”
“Excuse me, sir. Mm? You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”
“Ah, this?”
Lloyd looked at the letter that Ain had just finished reading.
“I thought he was a fine man. …Ah, no, it’s kind of pompous for me, a young man, to call a superior person respectable…”
“Hahahaha! But I understand that, Harley-dono indeed seems to be a good nobleman.”
“I was born in that family, so I’m just jealous of that.”
“I can understand that. But the previous Count Roundheart was a pleasant man.”
“I think I’ve heard that before. As I recall──”
“Yes, I believe I told you about him when Ain-sama came to Ishtalika.”
As Ain recalled, this was about the investigation into Olivia’s marriage.
Normally, it would have been customary for her to marry into the royal family.
“As a result of the investigation that was conducted before Olivia-sama’s marriage, the Roundheart family was chosen because of the character of the previous generation. In addition to the circumstances of the secret agreement, there were no royals of the right age in the Heim royal family at the time.”
As Ain knew, when Ain was nominated as the next head of the Roundheart family, the condition was that the Roundheart family would become a ducal family.
“So much for the old story. So, what happened? It’s unusual for Lloyd-san to come to my room.”
“Yes. I have just received this information.”
Lloyd’s expression changed, and he approached Ain with a grim look on his face. He stood in front of the desk where Ain was waiting for him and took out a folded map from his pocket.
“As you can see, this was the defense line of Birdland.”
This was the southern part of the Kingdom of Heim.
And the red line between Birdland and the Kingdom of Heim is located almost in the center of the continent. This was the front line in the battle between Heim and Birdland.
Now, however, the red line is marked with a cross.
“As of midday today, this line of defense has been breached.”
“…It was supposed to take a little longer as of this morning.”
“You are right. But they must have thought that victory was assured. It seems that the Birdland forces were helpless in the face of the huge army that swarmed into the city.”
The response of the hired adventurers was twofold.
One was to retreat back to Birdland as a matter of course, while the other was to join Heim’s forces in this war out of obedience, so to speak.
“It is only a matter of time before Birdland falls. The city has strong walls, but they are not strong enough to hold off Heim, who is gaining momentum.”
“And what of the so-called disaffected elements?”
“Unfortunately, our scouts have not been able to confirm this. That said, I have heard that Heim’s army is even stronger than before and that they are like a dead army.”
“It makes sense to assume that something was up… I understand.”
“…I, for my part, think we should drop the port city of Roundheart right away.”
“I do hear that. And that Warren-san stopped you from doing so, saying that it was not a good idea yet.”
By no means was he doubting Warren’s ability. He just wanted him to share more of his concerns.
There’s no way he’s going to back down.
It was because he strongly believes that Warren was such a man that he wants people to know about it.
Lloyd crossed his arms weakly and let out a sigh before saying.
“Well, that’s all I have to report.”
“Alright, thanks.”
“I will come back to you when there is movement. ──Well then.”
He bowed his head and left as quietly as he had come.
Once he was alone, Ain got up from his seat and went to the window just behind him.
He opened the window and let out a white breath into the cold wind.
◇ ◇ ◇
At the same time, Chris was in a large bathhouse reserved only for royalty.
The bathtub was huge enough to fit even a common house but not large enough for her and Olivia, who had brought her there by force.
But it is usually a similar situation…
“…Blub-blub-blub.”
Soaking in the tub corner, Chris folded her knees in hot water and sunk the lower half of her face into the water.
It was nothing out of the ordinary in terms of manners, but Olivia was the only one here. When Olivia was a little girl, the two of them had been in the bathtub together, so she had let her guard down.
“Is your forehead okay?”
Olivia, sitting at the sink nearby, asked with a wry smile.
Chris’s forehead was red, but this was not from the water train.
“I wonder what it is?”
“Chris got a little excited after coming to the bathhouse after a long time, and because she was the only one there, she let her guard down and fell down and hit her forehead.”
“Why are you going into so much detail?”
“It’s Chris’s fault for being so careless, don’t you think?”
“Mm… I don’t deny that, but…!”
Chris gave up on her rebuttal and put her arms on the bathtub’s edge and put her face on it.
As it was, she looked at Olivia, her hair flowing at the end of the steam.
Her long hair hid the attractive limbs that had captivated so many of the opposite sex. Even to Chris, who was also a woman, her appearance was glamorous and beautiful.
Even without a stitch of clothing on, she wore an air of elegance that was so out of this world that even she was embarrassed when she saw it.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought you were as beautiful as ever.”
“Ara, it’s an honor to be told by a girl like Chris.”
The appearance of Chris, whom Ain called the moon goddess, was also of overwhelming caliber.
Her skin was clear and bright, with not a speck of dirt on it.
Her eyelashes, still damp, asserted their presence and swayed with each blink.
“Olivia-sama…”
“Yes, yes, what’s wrong?”
“Why did His Majesty the First entrust that sword to Ain-sama?”
“You can ask all you want, but did you really think I would know?”
“Maybe there’s something in the royal family’s secrets or something…”
“Even if there is, I can’t tell you if it’s a secret.”
“T-that’s certainly right!”
Chris must have really loosened up. She narrowed her eyes at the warmth of the hot water.
“But yes ── I’ll tell you one thing.”
Olivia stood up and stepped over to the tub where Chris was soaking.
She gently stretched out her legs and soaked herself in the tub.
She let out a coquettish exhale and stretched out.
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“──Please tell me about it!”
She asked Olivia, who was sitting next to her, expectantly…
“That sword…”
“Yes!”
The result would cause Chris to let out a sigh.
Olivia put her index finger to her lips with a giggle and said with a mischievous smile embedded in her good looks.
“It can’t be used by anyone but Ain.”
Was this really necessary to say so?
Chris was taken aback.
“…Huh?”
“That’s why that sword can only be used by Ain.”
“I know that! Mouton-san had told me that!”
“Fufu.”
It was a strangely meaningful way of saying it, but nothing else was said. The princess sitting next to her just smiled.
“Geez, that’s enough!”
She made another rude gurgling sound and hugged her knees in dissatisfaction.
“Arara, you’re sulking.”
Olivia looked up at the steamy ceiling as Chris sank cutely to her face next to her. She listened to the sounds coming from next door and the sound of the flowing hot water.
The bath, which they hadn’t shared in a long time, lasted until they dried their hair after the bath.
Thanks for the chapter
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Hehehehehehe … me and my corrupted mind *siiigh*
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