Volume 6, Chapter 8 – The Bathhouse and the Vampire Princess’s Sweetness

Nightfall.

A spacious hall, bright, but with poor visibility.

The magic lights on the vaulted ceiling cast a soft glow on the floor, but the warm water vapor lingering in the hall completely obscured the view. Only the light laughter of young girls, mixed with the sound of water falling from a height into the bath, echoed within.

This was the bathhouse of the Twilight Palace. The girls, having finished a busy day and just returned from the festival, were half-reclining by the edge of the pool, enjoying the healing sensation of the warm water seeping into their skin.

Normally, one wouldn’t have the energy to bathe right after a full meal. But Fia’s group hadn’t just finished eating. The grand banquet hosted by the King, which almost all nobles could attend, had ended two hours ago. However, due to their respective noble statuses, high-ranking nobles had constantly come up to greet them and curry favor. The group had ended up staying in that frightfully spacious banquet hall for a full two hours. The muscles on their faces had grown stiff from fake smiling, to the point they had forgotten what a normal smile looked like.

“Ah~ A bath really is the best. Even I, a border noble, was tied down and endlessly questioned. Fia, your reputation is just too great.”

Letting out a comfortable groan, Estelle closed her eyes and let her delicate body slowly sink into the pool, until only her shoulders were exposed. Her pinned-up golden hair and head rested against the edge of the pool, her entire being savoring the water’s healing.

“The water temperature is just right, and there’s the fragrance of flower petals and milk. Such a huge palace and bathhouse, all built just for you. It’s good to be a wealthy royal. I bet even the King of the Bart Duchy doesn’t have it this good. I almost want to stay here and not go back.”

“If you like it, Estelle, you can stay. The palace is huge anyway; one extra person is no problem.”

Estelle’s body, mostly submerged, stiffened slightly. A trace of pink appeared on her face—it was unclear if it was from embarrassment or the high water temperature. She shot a reproachful glance at Fia, who was still standing on the bank.

“Is this how you tug at girls’ heartstrings and trick all these different types of beautiful girls into your hands? Telling me to ‘stay here’ is just like a declaration of love.”

If it had been anyone else, Fia would have definitely adopted a serious attitude and earnestly explained that she only meant Estelle could live in the Twilight Palace, and it wasn’t a veiled confession. But Estelle was not just anyone. She was her best friend, her sexual orientation was normal, and she also had the responsibility of continuing the Count of Oro’s family line. So, a little joking was fine.

While fastening her bath towel with a clip, Fia rolled her eyes and snorted in exasperation.

“That’s right, it’s a declaration of love. Estelle, you’re beautiful and kind-hearted. It’d be strange if I didn’t like you. Besides, vampires are naturally attractive. Just making eye contact, there’s a temptation, like my soul is about to be sucked into those captivating eyes.”

“Whoa, you became such a smooth-talker after losing your memory. How dare you make this kind of joke with me in front of your own ‘queen consort’? What if I actually say yes?”

The vampire’s gorgeous eyes were filled with traces of laughter. Estelle looked at Claire, who was sitting not far away, as if to stir things up. Claire was slightly taller than Estelle and wasn’t as relaxed, almost lying down, as she was. Instead, she maintained an elegant and demure sitting posture, so most of her snow-white bosom was exposed above the water—wrapped in a bath towel, of course. Elves’ love was not divided by gender, so even when bathing with the same sex, as long as they weren’t wives or family, they would dutifully wrap themselves in bath towels.

“It’s precisely because I know you don’t think that way, Estelle, that I can joke so freely.”

If it were Anastasia, I would have phrased it differently.

Standing by the pool’s edge for too long, Estelle might see things she shouldn’t. Fia was the last one to step into the warm pool. She then gradually crouched down, leaving only her head exposed. The feeling of heat rushing from the soles of her feet to her brain made her feel dizzy in her head and eyes, but this dizziness was not uncomfortable.

“Sister Estelle, this is when you should just say ‘yes’ and catch Big Sister completely off guard! She’d definitely turn bright red and sink into the water in a panic.”

Liti, at the side, sidled up to Estelle and pumped her fist, as if cheering Estelle on.

Estelle gave a wry smile.

“Jokes need to be kept in moderation. If you go too far, it becomes awkward for both parties.”

“It’s not awkward at all. Sister Claire would definitely like a kind and quick-witted vampire like you, too. Ah, speaking of vampires, I heard that when you’re bitten by a pure-blood, it feels so good it’s like you’re flying in the sky. Is that true?”

“Would Princess Liti like to try?”

Estelle smiled, pointed to her sharp fangs, and glanced at Liti’s snow-white, smooth neck.

Liti immediately hugged herself, a timid smile on her face.

“Ahaha, I feel like it would hurt a lot. Never mind.”

“Don’t worry. A pure-blood’s saliva numbs the nerves on contact with the skin, so you won’t feel any pain. Many people who feel their life is miserable just need to be bitten once, and they’ll cheer up and be filled with the will to live on. See?”

While speaking, Estelle’s demonic claws gradually reached for Liti. Liti, like a frightened rabbit, hurriedly retreated.

Rеaԁ on ΚаtReaԁіոɡСаfе

“Eek! No!”

“Hehe~ Once you’ve experienced it, you’ll be hooked forever. With a little blood-bag like Liti, I’d definitely indulge every day. Don’t move, my little cutie~”

In terms of strength alone, Liti was, of course, no match for Estelle. In just one round, Liti lost.

Estelle, like a prince from an otome manga, held Liti horizontally in her arms, face-to-face. Then, she deliberately looked into Liti’s eyes, bared her fangs, and slowly, slowly, pressed them toward Liti’s neck. Liti tried to squirm and struggle, but her whole body was pinned by Estelle. Aside from widening her eyes and fearfully watching Estelle approach, she could do nothing. Tears even weld up in the corners of her eyes.

“Ah… Aaah…”

“She’s just like a commoner girl saved by a prince. The forbidden love between a vampire and an elf…”

Tilulu covered her eyes, her shy gaze peeking through her fingers at Estelle and Liti. However, Estelle was just joking. When the atmosphere had been built up enough, she let go of Liti. As a result, Liti, not reacting in time, sank into the water with a splash .

“Hey, Liti!”

Since Liti didn’t struggle at all, Estelle became anxious and stood up to pull Liti out of the water. But all she saw were Liti’s rose-colored eyes, which had turned into concentric spirals. Her mouth, sputtering water, could only make “Awawa” sounds.

“She fainted.”

After pinching Liti’s cheek, Milu reported to everyone with a blank expression.

She loves to harass others, but she has zero resistance to this kind of thing herself? She faints if it’s too stimulating…? Maybe for Liti, offense is just a form of defense.

Fia withdrew her gaze from the now-chaotic Liti-situation and began to secretly plot how to counterattack Liti in the future.

“We can’t let the fainted Princess Liti stay in the bath. I will carry her back.”

“Leave it to me.”

Milu volunteered and carried Liti on her back. Since her ears were wet, Milu, standing up from the pool, forcefully flapped the wings on her ears, shaking off the water. Droplets scattered everywhere.

Anastasia clasped her hands in front of her, troubled.

“Going out now, she’ll catch a cold, not to mention it’s not good to be naked. We must dry her off first. Your Highness, please allow me and Euphimilu to leave for a moment.”

“Mm. Come back soon.”

Bowing to Fia at a dangerous angle that almost fully exposed her chest, Anastasia and Milu left with Liti.

Milu and Liti were about the same height. Normally, having a small girl of Milu’s build carry another girl would be a pitiful sight. But with these two, there was a subtle, harmonious atmosphere, like good friends who bickered all the time but would help each other at critical moments.

Fia wasn’t the only one who felt this way; Claire and Estelle did too. They gazed in the direction Milu had left, their smiles filled with the warmth of watching over their loving juniors.

“I feel like Milu and Liti are just like sisters. Milu is the older sister.”

“Well, little Milu is very responsible and calm, after all.”

“They’re identical in how much they like to cling to Fia.” As if searching for something, Estelle kept turning her head, observing the bathhouse. “Tomorrow, we shouldn’t have to distribute those glowing branches to those couples like we did this morning, right? We can finally relax a bit. Fia, you have teleportation magic. Can you take me to the Netherworld in the south to have a look?”

“Ahem.”

Fia cleared her throat. She felt her throat was a bit sore from talking so much during the day.

“My teleportation magic can only go to places I’ve been, so I can’t do that for now.”

Estelle couldn’t withstand supersonic flight speeds. As for Fia flying there first and setting a teleportation point… Fia didn’t really want to waste another precious anchor point within the Silvar Kingdom’s borders. The [Transmission Beacon] could set a total of fourteen anchor points, and she had already used seven. The World Tree Continent was vast. Before she truly learned teleportation magic, she had to be frugal. If Estelle really wanted to go, Fia could accompany her and fly there slowly.

With a “just as I thought” expression, Estelle sighed in regret.

Reаⅾ оո ΚatRеαⅾinɡСαfе

“It’s fine. It’s no big deal if I can’t go. My strength hasn’t improved at all; even if I got to the Netherworld, I wouldn’t be able to go deep.”

“Is it for Noreen?”

Noreen was Estelle’s pride and joy, her older sister, and the original heir to the Oro territory. Due to the Despair Demon General’s scheme, Noreen had died in the Chaos outbreak, leaving behind only her lingering attachment to protect her younger sister. This attachment had fused with the Chaos, becoming a special lifeform without self-awareness, but one that would protect Estelle.

Due to the rules of the World Tree Continent—that the souls of the living leave the body after death and go to a place in the Netherworld called the Kingdom of Death—if a soul was incomplete, it would become a “Wanderer.” It would be unable to pass through the Kingdom of Death’s Wailing Wall and could only roam the Netherworld aimlessly as a soul fragment. Therefore, Estelle believed that as long as she went deep into the Netherworld and found Noreen’s soul fragment, then fused it with the fragment remaining in the Chaos, and used a high-level life-restoration potion to reform her body, she might be able to resurrect her sister, Noreen.

Estelle bit her lip, her spirits a little low.

“Yeah. I want to find the rest of my sister’s soul as quickly as possible. Who knows what could happen in the Netherworld… I’m worried my sister is being bullied over there…”

“The undead can’t kill other undead, Lady Estelle. You don’t need to worry so- Ah! If worse comes to worst, you can ask Lady Fia?”

Tilulu, with cotton stuffed in her beast ears to keep water out, suggested as she lay on the edge of the pool. Although Tilulu was young, it didn’t stop her smooth, snow-white back from being alluring—her bath towel was nowhere to be seen.

Estelle shook her head with a smile.

“I’d be embarrassed to keep relying on Fia. I’ve already received so much help, I don’t have the face to ask for more. Vampires have long lifespans. It’s not too late to ask Fia after I’ve gained some strength myself. At least I have to get to a point where I’m not dragging her down.”

“I’ll also need to learn some suitable necromancy spells in advance,” Fia said reassuringly.

Her magic was too powerful, and mostly consisted of area-of-effect spells. If she went to the Netherworld and her magic accidentally injured Noreen, who was hidden among the undead, the situation would become very bad.

“Alright, alright, those things are too far off. It’s a downer to talk about them during a festival. Let’s not talk about me; let’s talk about you. That Fire Cat Tribe girl with a name so similar to my sister’s—I remember it was Nola, right? Where did she go? And Erin Slate and that sultry priestess… I don’t see them either.”

“Wait, Estelle, your hand… What about the Blood-Pledge?”

Fia didn’t answer Estelle immediately. Her attention was entirely on Estelle’s waving right hand. Originally, the back of Estelle’s right hand should have had a Blood-Pledge, but now it was completely bare.

“Er…”

Estelle’s expression stiffened instantly. She quickly hid her right hand, her gaze shifting to the side as if trying to change the subject.

“Well… it disappeared.”

“Disappeared? Why didn’t you tell me something so important sooner?”

“Fia, just don’t ask so many questions.”

It actually disappeared a long time ago.

Estelle stuck her tongue out in her mind, embarrassed. The Blood-Pledge on the back of her hand had vanished back when Fia killed the Despair Demon General. The crooked Blood-Pledge Fia had seen on her hand when they parted ways was actually a pattern Estelle had drawn on by hand. She felt it would strengthen her connection to Fia and make Fia remember her. Now, soaking in the bath, what she had drawn on was naturally dissolved by the water.

Her busy day had made her let her guard down, and she had forgotten not to put her hand in the water.

“How can you say ‘don’t worry about it’ when something so important has disappeared? I remember the Blood-Pledge relies on your subjective thoughts to determine if the contract is fulfilled. Does this mean you’ve unconsciously accepted my side of the story and believe it was all the Despair Demon General’s fault?”

“Yes, yes! That’s exactly it!”

As if greatly relieved, Estelle nodded repeatedly along with Fia’s words, like a chick pecking at rice.

“That’s not right.”

Fia stood up in the pool and took a step toward Estelle.

“That expression… It looks like you have a guilty conscience. It’s suspicious. Estelle, give me your hand. You didn’t make a deal with the Darkborn, did you?”

Reαⅾ οո KаtRеadinɡСafe

“How could I make a deal with the Darkborn! I want to kill them, not a moment too soon!”

As she spoke, Estelle, so nervous she stood up, hid her hands behind her back. But the more Estelle acted this way, the more Fia felt something was amiss. She moved right up in front of Estelle and reached for the right hand hidden behind her back, trying to pull it out. However, Estelle didn’t give up resisting. She brought her hand out and placed it in front of her chest, simultaneously bending over, trying to shield her right hand with her body.

This made Fia even more convinced that Estelle was hiding something. She decided to get tough, just as she usually did with Liti. She pressed down on Estelle’s shoulder with her right hand and grabbed Estelle’s right hand with her left, pulling it outward.

However, Fia had overlooked the fact that this was a slippery bath. With a violent sound of churning water, Estelle lost her balance after just a moment. With a wide-mouthed gasp, she fell backward toward the edge of the pool. Fia hurriedly tried to catch the falling Estelle.

“Eek!”

“Hey!”

When the water calmed down, the two of them were in an extremely… suggestive… position.

Fia had one hand clamping Estelle’s wrist, pressing it above her head, while her other hand was braced on the pool wall next to Estelle. Their two delicate bodies were pressed almost completely together, their faces so close that they would touch if either moved even slightly forward.

A delicate, gently rising chest and a chest developed appropriately for her age were pressed against each other. Despite the soaked, pure-white bath towels separating them, one could still clearly see the subtle curve formed as Estelle’s chest was compressed. Droplets of water, reflecting a moist sheen, trickled down Estelle’s graceful collarbone and into the deep ravine within her bath towel, tracing an ambiguous, damp line on her snow-white skin. The entire bathhouse was silent, save for the whooshing sound of water falling from above into the pool.

It was reminiscent of a taboo manga with a “coercion” tag—a forceful scene of pushing a delicate girl against a wall.

Their eyes met. Fia found it hard to ignore the soft sensation pressed against her chest, or the face before her, completely crimson. Although Estelle was trying to keep her face tense, she looked exceptionally cute from embarrassment.

Her long, lightly trembling eyelashes, her delicate, upturned nose, and her ruby-red lips that looked soft enough to break…

Estelle is a great beauty, too…

Her vampire fangs and blood-red eyes, combined with her pink ear tips and shoulders, made her pretty face exceptionally bewitching. Her bashful expression made one want to bully this cute girl mercilessly.

Perhaps it was Fia’s imagination, but she felt that underwater, Estelle’s thighs were tensed, clamping her own thigh tightly. While the skin of her leg felt the girl’s body heat, she also sensed Estelle’s body trembling slightly from the sudden situation.

Even though we’re just best friends, she’s acting like a weak little girl about to be forced into something.

That said, Fia wasn’t in much better shape herself. Estelle was a true beautiful girl. At this distance, where even their eyelashes were about to touch, Fia also felt her heart accelerating. A hot current seemed to surge through her chest, and her cheeks grew scalding hot.

“Y-You… how long are you going to stare?”

Estelle pursed her lips, seemingly angry, and glared.

“Ah, sorry.”

Fia quickly looked away, released Estelle, and backed up.

“You already have several wives, yet you’re still making a move on your best friend. Your desire is just too strong. Do you just want to possess every beautiful girl you see?”

“No… I didn’t mean that.”

Of course I know you didn’t mean that! But if I don’t say that, I’ll be the one who’s embarrassed and awkward!

Estelle screamed in mortification in her heart. She tried hard to appear calm, but her pounding heart wouldn’t let her. Everything Fia saw, heard, and smelled from Estelle, she could also sense from Fia. Whether it was her nation-toppling, exquisite face or the pleasant scent filling her nose, it all made her feel light and weak, as if she were on a cloud.

She tugged up her bath towel, which had slipped down slightly from Fia’s press, and snorted, feigning displeasure.

“Now you know I’m not working with the Darkborn, right? The Blood-Pledge disappeared, that’s all.”

“Ah… right…”

“Lady Fia’s forceful posture…”

“Don’t be surprised. Little Fia is like this sometimes, especially at night.”

Reαd οո KatReaԁіոɡСafе

Like a mother teaching her daughter, Claire smiled and gently stroked Tilulu’s head. The latter was watching them with a gaze mixed with shyness and anticipation.

I really feel like Claire is corrupting the children.

Thank goodness Liti and Anastasia aren’t here. Otherwise, this would be way too embarrassing.

Noticing Fia’s embarrassment, Estelle magnanimously waved her hand, letting Fia off the hook.

“Oh, forget it. I didn’t explain it clearly; it has nothing to do with Fia. More importantly, where did that Fire Cat Tribe girl go? Isn’t she Lady Claire’s niece? Why isn’t she here?”

“Miss Nola… I think she said she had something to do and wanted to stay in the dining hall a little longer.”

“Is it okay not to check on her? She’s been listless all day, like she’s lovesick. Something’s definitely not right.”

“Well…”

Fia looked back at Claire with a worried expression. Claire lowered her eyes and thought for a moment.

“I’ll go find her.”

“I’ll go too.”

“If Lady Fia and Sister Claire are going… I’ll go too!”

“Then I’ll just stay here. It’s rare to have such a comfortable bath; it’d be a waste not to stay a little longer. Besides, when Anastasia and the others come back, they’ll worry if they don’t see anyone.”

“Mm.”

Having made a decision, Fia began to move. She started walking toward the changing room from the pool, but before she had taken two steps, she turned her head to look at Estelle, who had already switched back to a comfortable, soaking posture.

“About what just happened… I’m sorry.”

Estelle waved her hand magnanimously.

“It’s nothing, just an accident. I’m not so petty as to get angry at Fia over that.”

Fia wanted to say more, but since Estelle had put it that way, it wasn’t good for Fia to press the issue. She twirled a lock of her wet, black hair around her finger and looked away, embarrassed.

“…Thanks.”

“Alright, go on. I want to enjoy some alone time.”

Responding to Estelle’s urging, Fia stepped out of the pool, removed her bath towel, and set it aside—the maids who came to clean later would take care of it. Then, along with Claire and Tilulu, who also set their towels aside, she walked into the changing room. With the sound of light footsteps, the bathhouse was soon left with only Estelle.

A minute of silence passed. Estelle, who had been enjoying the bath with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them. Her gaze flickered to the bath towel Fia had left behind her. She first touched her own towel, over her chest—where the sensation of being pressed against Fia lingered. Then, she quickly and fluidly stood up, picked up Fia’s towel, removed her own, and finally draped Fia’s towel over herself before slipping nimbly back into the water.

She didn’t close her eyes to enjoy the bath as before. Instead, she leaned forward slightly and, as if it were something precious, lifted the pure white towel wrapped around her body with both hands. She twitched her nose and, shyly and demurely, took a gentle sniff. An ordinary person would only smell the water vapor, but Estelle felt her olfactory nerves pick up a girl’s fragrant scent.

A rich, complex fragrance that brought happiness, an accelerating heartbeat, and a rising body temperature.

Her mind gradually became lost in it. A floating sensation, as if falling into a cloud, quickly made her forget everything else. She curled up her well-developed, delicate body, letting herself sink into the water, and then, without realizing it, slowly pulled the bath towel over her face, as if by doing so, Fia’s scent could fill her entire being and wrap her in its warmth.

“There’s no way to refuse… not like this…”

A girl’s voice, tinged with a hint of resignation, sounded out. The steam-filled bathhouse was still brilliant and warm, but now, compared to before, it also held the faint, sweet fragrance of a young girl’s budding love.