Chapter 57. Magic at the hot springs ( I )
"It’s beautiful." Kai ran her eyes around the yard, neat, trimmed hedges lining the road to the main building, the marble path glistening under the glare of the silver moon.
Aodh nodded, impressed.
Before he left this morning, the yard had been overgrown, the hedges bushy and unkempt.
Yet, after contacting the Count just an hour or two ago, he had been able to clean everything up so quickly.
...
"It’s soo big..." Kai marveled at the grand structure, internally comparing it to their humble abode.
Though the manor was simple relative to most Counts’ mansions, to her it was a palace.
"Are we going to stay here tonight?" She nudged Alaric, who walked beside her, the latter nodding with a smile.
With her mouth open in disbelief, she turned back to the building, her eyes running around the place.
"I am sorry... I will make sure to protect you..." Alaric felt a pang in his chest at the little girl’s innocence.
Though he never meant it, he had completely changed the little girl’s destiny and could only hope he could protect her until she grew strong enough to protect herself.
Alaric’s eyes ran across the manor as well, not out of excitement like Kai, but out of vigilance.
"Welcome, Your Majesty and Young Lord..."
They entered the manor, maids bowing as they greeted them.
Alaric bowed back, Raika walking past in indifference.
"Young Lord?" Kai turned to Alaric, her bright blue eyes blinking in confusion.
"Yes..."
"A... are you a prince?" she asked wide-eyed, shocked that the little boy by her side was a prince.
She had always dreamed of meeting a prince like those in fairy tales.
"Yes, I am. Ain’t I great?" Alaric joked, Kai beaming at his words.
"... Are you really a prince?" Her eyes twinkled as she leaned closer, Lilly’s heart threatening to jump out each time she got close.
She wished she could pull her away, but that would be beyond rude, as it was evident Alaric was enjoying the conversation.
Raika, on the other hand, looked at the child with narrowed eyes.
For some reason, she didn’t particularly like her. It felt like she would soon steal something from her.
"We have your rooms prepared as well..."
"Is that sulphur?" A faint whiff of sulphur escaped into the hallway, the sudden mention of sulphur bringing a smile to the Count’s face.
The last time Raika and Aiden had visited, she had, just like today, caught the whiff of sulphur from his private hot springs.
He had hoped the same thing would happen, and it did.
Raika had loved it, praising them for it, though he doubted she remembered.
And true to his thoughts, Raika didn’t.
"Yes, we have also prepared a bath to relieve your stress. It is mixed with spiritual herbs to help alleviate mental strain..." Like a salesperson, the Count began to rattle on, Alaric raising his brows in suspicion.
"He is trying too much..."
"We will use it." Raika beamed for the first time since entering the manor.
"Ok, I will make arrangements." The Count smiled, elated. This was the first step toward getting back into the good books of the Vulcan Kingdom.
"Make arrangements for them too, they will be joining us..." Raika added, tilting her head toward Kai and Lilly behind her.
"O... Ok..." The Count was taken aback.
Royalty wishing to share the same bath with commoners.
This was unheard of.
But who was he to disagree?
He bid her adieu as he went his way to prepare the toiletries. Lilly stood in shock.
"Did she point at us?... A bath with nobility... no, royalty..." Her thoughts threatened to blow a fuse as she stared with an empty gaze toward the decorated ceiling.
"Please, this way..." Aodh gestured for them to follow him to their prepared rooms.
Though he had only briefly known Raika, he knew she was someone beyond what nobles called normal.
He didn’t even comment.
"Is there a way we can share a room?"
Alaric wished the little girl was closer, but on second thought, he scrapped the idea.
Raika’s senses were sharp enough to notice any threat meters away.
As for him, he was but a First Resonance Mage, the skill available only when he became an Architect Mage, a Third Resonance Mage.
He could only trust Raika to sense danger if it arrived.
They followed Aodh into their separate rooms, Lilly mute in shock, Kai staring quietly at the prince.
...
The hot spring stood within a spacious indoor bathhouse designed with elegant stone arches that maintained their natural, cave-like patterns.
The steaming hot spring pooled at the center, broad and tranquil, the smell of herbs masking the natural scent of sulphur.
"This place looks familiar..." Raika stepped in with a large towel wrapped around her, her curves perfectly outlined by it.
Alaric walked in after her with a reluctant expression, his displeasure plastered on his face.
He was mentally a middle-aged man, a man who had enjoyed the pleasures of marriage without its commitment.
He wasn’t the child he looked to be dragged into a bathhouse full of women.
"Thank you for inviting us once again..." Lilly bowed as she and Kai stepped in.
Wrapped in a brown towel, Kai’s eyes widened as she noticed Aiden’s muscles.
"Your body is like that of the blacksmith..." she couldn’t help but comment.
Alaric grinding ear to ear.
He flexed for the little girl, showing of his toned body, something he had been proud of in both worlds.
Lilly would have covered Kai’s mouth at any other time, but she was unable to speak, oogling Raika’s body.
She believed in her beauty, said to be the flower of Pyrewood, her bright blue hair and slim body giving her the elegance of a mermaid, yet in front of Raika, she felt like a clownfish swimming alongside a betta fish.
"How can someone be so perfect..." she unconsciously voiced her thoughts, Raika turning to her with raised eyebrows.
"I am sorry, Your Highness." She bowed a straight ninety degrees, startling Kai.
"You like it?" Raika flexed her biceps, toned and in the perfect ratio of fat and muscle.
"... Hahaha..." She laughed nervously, nodding at Raika’s words.
"Let’s enjoy the bath and quickly leave, the heat might get to little Kai," Alaric chipped in.
"Wait, Kai... you haven’t yet shown your abilities..." he remembered.
The tension around her safety had pushed it to the back of his mind. They hadn’t even had a chance to see what she could do.
"My mana influenced her awakening... what if she ends up like me, unable to properly control the element?"