Their carriage continued driving for quite a while even after entering Coldora. When they got out, they were at a high point overlooking the entire city.

“This is House Aberdeen’s private hot spring. There are open-air baths down there too, but we can’t use those places.”

“Wow.”

This seemed to be House Aberdeen’s villa in Coldora. Befitting a lord’s villa, it was built in the best location and was isolated.

“Let’s rest in our rooms for a while and meet at the hot spring. A maid will guide you.”

“Okay. Got it.”

While the maid unpacked and organized, Saena took Yolly out of the basket and laid him on the bed. Since they were going quite far, she had brought him along.

“You’re sleeping so much today too.”

Seeing how he had briefly woken up in the morning before falling back asleep, she wasn’t worried. While stroking Yolly’s head and whispering for him to sleep well and wake up, Saena also lay down for a bit.

About an hour of rest passed.

The maid came to inform her that preparations were complete.

Saena lightly tapped Yolly’s nose bridge twice and followed the maid’s guidance out.

After leaving the building and crossing the back garden, there was another building made of marble beyond it.

‘Oh, it’s a building?’

Since she had vaguely imagined an open-air bath, the proper building seemed somewhat unexpected.

Was it a setup where they drew in and collected hot spring water?

Wondering about the structure of the bath, Saena went inside. And once inside, she understood.

The building was designed to appear enclosed from the outside to prevent external views and intrusion, but inside, it was almost completely open-air. Only the changing area had a roof, with the rest open to the sky, and there were no walls on the side opposite the entrance. Instead, that side featured carefully arranged landscaping for privacy.

It was structured so that one could calm both body and mind by taking in the greenery while soaking.

“Saya! Come in quickly!”

When she entered, Floria was already in the bath.

True to her active nature, she was quick.

“Oh, wait a moment.”

Saena changed into a thick robe with help from the waiting maid in the changing room and entered the bath area.

The hot spring water was not clear but slightly milky white, though she didn’t know what components caused this. It felt slightly slippery when it touched the skin.

“So this is hot spring water.”

“Is this your first time at a hot spring?”

“Yes.”

“That’s great! I hope it’s a good experience.”

“Yes, it’s so fascinating. Thank you for bringing me here, Floria.”

“It’s nothing! Ahem ahem.”

Perhaps because of the hot water, Floria cleared her throat with reddened cheeks. But before long, Saena’s cheeks also turned pink.

Even though the air itself was cool due to the high altitude, staying in the hot spring for a while made her feel somewhat hot.

After some time passed, the maids brought light snacks and drinks. Among them was lemonade with floating ice cubes that they could drink to cool down.

At some point, they brought eggs that had been soaking in the hot spring, saying they were done cooking. They peeled and ate them with just salt. The boiled eggs eaten by hand with salt were surprisingly delicious. Perhaps it was because they were a specialty that could only be eaten at hot springs.

The two soaked in the water, eating various things and making small talk.

“By the way, Floria…. Do you remember when you fell asleep yesterday?”

Saena carefully brought up yesterday’s events.

“Hmm? No. I remember emptying the bottle… Come to think of it, when did I fall asleep?”

“Don’t misunderstand when you hear this. You… suddenly collapsed right after emptying one bottle. Your face looked so normal that I didn’t even know you were drunk, but you suddenly collapsed. Do you know how surprised I was?”

“Eh…? I did?”

“It would be terrible if that happened outside, so you should know your exact alcohol tolerance and drink accordingly. Or just drink a little when you’re out.”

“Ah… So that’s why Brother said that.”

Floria suddenly pressed her forehead and frowned.

“Then is this a hangover? I felt fine this morning, but somehow since getting in the hot spring, my head has been hurting.”

“Really? Then it probably isn’t good to soak for too long?”

“Ugh….. You’re right.”

“We’ve soaked enough, let’s get out quickly.”

“No. Saya, you stay a little longer.”

“Huh? But it’s fine…”

“Actually, in about ten minutes, bubbles will rise from the center there. They come up around this time every day. The water color gets really deep then.”

“Really? That’s interesting.”

“You have to be soaking then. That’s the real thing.”

“But…”

“I come often so I don’t need to. Saya, you absolutely must stay until then. It’s really good for your skin.”

“Okay.”

At Floria’s insistence, Saena decided to stay a little longer.

“I’ll rest for a bit, then let’s have a delicious dinner together later!”

“Okay.”

When one of them left, it suddenly felt too quiet, but that passed quickly. After a while, it started to feel not bad at all.

There was a certain charm in sitting in the water and watching the distant trees occasionally swaying in the wind.

Bubble bubble bubble.

After some time, just as Floria had said, bubbles began rising intensely from the center of the hot spring. Then the already milky water became as thick as real milk.

Fascinated by this phenomenon, Saena stirred her hand in the water to see if there were any differences. It seemed more slippery than before, and the temperature seemed to have risen slightly too. And there was a slightly different smell from the water than before. It was similar to sulfur but had a mysteriously calming effect on body and mind.

Saena became drowsy. Given how quiet, peaceful, and warm it was, feeling a bit sleepy was perhaps natural.

“Mmm…”

How long had she dozed like that?

Saena woke up due to a strange sensation. Like someone licking her nape…

‘…Constantine?’

Since Constantine was usually the one who touched her like this, his name naturally came to mind first.

But as some consciousness returned, she realized it couldn’t be Constantine.

He didn’t do that these days, and this was… Coldora…

‘…Then who could it be?’

As soon as that awareness hit, she felt the tongue licking her nape again, and Saena screamed in terror.

“—Kyaaaaaah!”

She saw something whitish. Though she didn’t know what it was, as she hurriedly tried to avoid it, Saena lost her balance and completely fell into the hot spring with a splash.

“Urp!”

Being too startled, she flailed around helplessly even in water shallower than her height. She was literally in a state of panic.

“—Kyaaang!”

But then. A familiar roar filled the air.

“Kyaah! D-Duchess!”

Someone seemed to be calling out to the flailing Saena.

“Miss!”

“Saena!”

Shortly after, someone’s hands pulled Saena out.

“Breathe, breathe!”

“Hic… cough! cough!”

Suddenly there was great pressure on her back, and Saena instantly vomited. The hot spring water she had swallowed while flailing came pouring out.

“Kwaaaang!”

“Puruk?! Pururururuk!”

While she was still coughing and trying to catch her breath, the familiar roar shook the surroundings again. As that sound pierced her ears, she seemed to regain some consciousness.

Saena wiped her stinging eyes with her palms and raised her gaze. Her eyes naturally went to the direction of the deafening noise.

‘…Yolly?’

Yolly was there.

Biting down on what appeared to be a white horse’s horn.

‘—Horn?’

If it had horns… it couldn’t be a horse.

Horns and wings, the mark on its forehead.

Good heavens, it was an Erenhorn.

But why was Yolly…with Erenhorn?

Before she could think it through, Saena jumped up.

“Hey! Hey! Cough. Yolly!”

Her only thought was that she needed to stop Yolly immediately. She even forgot why she had been startled and fallen into the bath in the first place.

“Hey! You…! Let go quickly! What’s wrong with him again!”

“Pururuk!”

Erenhorn was shaking its head frantically to shake off Yolly, but despite his small size, his bite force was so strong that he absolutely wouldn’t let go.

Did horns have sensory organs? For some reason, Erenhorn looked very distressed.

“Yolly! Be good… come here, okay?”

Unable to get too close because Erenhorn was thrashing about, Saena tried to persuade Yolly instead.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

If anything, he seemed to get angrier.

The confrontation between the two ended unexpectedly. Erenhorn suddenly disappeared.

“Kwaaang!”

Yolly was still barking furiously as if his anger hadn’t subsided. He ran toward Saena while barking, and his momentum was so fierce that anyone who didn’t know better might think he was about to bite even his owner.

“Kyang! Kyang!”

But Yolly swerved past Saena. When she turned around in confusion, there stood someone unexpected.

“…Duke?”

It was Duke Aberdeen.

Flap. At that moment, a large cloak was wrapped around Saena’s body.

A wet, drooping cloak.

“Ah? Sir Rupert?”

What was this wet cloak?

Looking around and piecing things together, it seemed he was the one who had pulled her out of the water earlier. Not just the cloak, but his knight’s uniform was completely soaked too.

“Kyaaang!”

Yolly’s fury wasn’t over yet. He ran somewhere like mad and came back dragging a large towel in his mouth. He placed it in front of Saena and barked ‘Kyang!’

“Uh…”

Only then did she become aware of her appearance.

Never mind her hair that was completely soaked and clinging like seaweed, but her state under the cloak was quite a sight. Her robe had come undone while struggling in the water and wasn’t serving its purpose properly.

It was fortunate that the robe was thick and she had kept her undergarments on when entering the bath, otherwise it would have been a major incident.

Rupert picked up the towel Yolly had brought and wrapped it around her head as he spoke.

“You should dry yourself quickly.”

As she pushed back her wet hair with the dry towel and looked at Duke Aberdeen, he had already turned his back. His ears were red, suggesting he was quite flustered too.