Because of the completely unexpected first meeting between Lucian and Cerydra, Aglaea immediately ran off while carrying Cerydra away in a princess carry, disappearing almost as fast as she had arrived.
Even so, faint shouts of 'Death penalty! Death penalty!' and similar cries could still be heard echoing from the distance, gradually fading away into the corridor outside.
"Alright, she's gone. You can let go now."
Lucian, whose eyes were still firmly covered by Cipher's hand, helplessly raised his own hand and lightly patted the back of hers.
Only then did Cipher finally release him, though even after doing so, she remained on guard, warily scanning the surroundings from left to right while making sure no other women were hiding nearby.
Thankfully, aside from the warm spring water flowing gently across the bath and the white jade beast-head spout continuously exhaling thin mist into the air, only the two of them remained inside this spacious and quiet bath.
"Phew…"
Cipher finally let out a long breath of relief, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
However, the expression on her small face soon darkened once again, and her cheeks puffed up with visible dissatisfaction.
"Hmph, she actually tried to seduce you? Darn it, that seamstress is seriously way too scheming!"
As she spoke, Cipher crossed her arms in annoyance, her tail swaying irritably behind her. In her eyes, the whole incident was obviously part of some carefully prepared seduction scheme arranged by Aglaea to steal Lucian away from her side.
*Smack!*
Lucian could not help but laugh as he lightly knocked Cipher on the head.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lucian said, rolling his eyes at her over-the-top reaction. "Seriously, that was obviously just an accident. Can't you tell?"
"What..." Cipher mumbled under her breath, her cat ears drooping in frustration. "She's obviously not even bigger than me, and she doesn't even look that good either..."
"What're you mumbling about over there?" Lucian asked helplessly before casually starting to unbutton his clothes at an unhurried pace, his movements calm and completely natural. "C'mon, go wash up already, and don't forget to put on your swimsuit."
Watching his actions, Cipher's drooping cat ears immediately perked straight up again, while her eyes lit up slightly. In the next second, she quickly jogged over to the edge of the pool, her steps noticeably lighter than before.
"Coming, meow!"
Cipher swiftly began stripping off her clothes without the slightest bit of hesitation, her nimble movements even faster than Lucian's. In just a few smooth motions, like peeling apart the skin of a fresh, juicy fruit, her youthful body was completely revealed.
Beneath the drifting mist and rising steam, her fair skin carried a healthy pink hue, making her already soft and delicate appearance seem even more alluring to the eye.
Swimsuit?
If only Lucian had been here, then there absolutely would have been no need for a swimsuit, since she did not feel even the slightest embarrassment about him seeing her bare body.
Besides, over the years of living together with him, they had often bathed openly like this, so it had long since become completely second nature to her. Even after gradually growing up and beginning to understand the differences between men and women, she still did not feel awkward or overly self-conscious around him.
*Splash!*
Cipher jumped straight into the pool with a cheerful splash, allowing the pleasantly warm water to instantly envelop her entire body.
"Ahh~ so comfy!"
Cipher let out a deeply satisfied sigh as her completely relaxed body slowly sank deeper into the water, leaving only her fluffy head exposed above the shimmering surface.
As a cat person, she did not naturally enjoy water all that much, but because Lucian was in the water with her, she found herself enjoying it as well.
A few strands of her damp, light gray hair drifted gently across the surface of the pool, while her blue eyes appeared especially bright and clear within the hazy mist. Without even realizing it herself, her gaze remained fixed on Lucian as he calmly removed his final piece of clothing, revealing the firm, well-defined contours of his sexy muscles and perfectly toned physique.
'Lucian's body is so nice…'
Cipher, who was only just beginning to awaken to such feelings, could not help secretly admiring the kind of male physique capable of making one's nose bleed.
Remembering the earlier incident, she instinctively glanced down at her own breasts, quietly comparing them to those of the others in her mind. Even though she could not compare to Aglaea, she still felt she had the advantage over that blue-haired shorty from earlier, which somehow made her feel a little more confident.
Just then, Lucian slowly stepped into the pool.
As the pleasantly warm water gradually rose past his waist and he settled down beside Cipher, he let out a long, contented sigh. At the same time, as the faint ripples spreading through the water gently brushed against her body, Cipher's ears twitched slightly before she happily scooted a little closer to him.
"Lucian..."
"Hmm?"
"Between me and that shorty, who do you think has the better body?"
Cipher's blue eyes remained fixed on Lucian as she asked the question in an unusually serious tone, even deliberately lifting her chest slightly as though trying to emphasize her already well-developed breasts.
Lucian's gaze briefly swept across her pair of white peaks, crowned by soft pink cherries.
He had to admit that she truly had developed quite well. Even though they bathed together often enough for him to see her body practically every day, it somehow still carried a strangely fresh visual impact.
Meeting Cipher's expectant gaze, Lucian casually reached out and pinched her soft cheek.
"Why even bother asking? She's obviously nowhere close to my Fera."
"Really? Nowhere close in what way?"
Cipher's eyes immediately lit up with delight as she leaned even closer toward him, her fluffy tail swaying happily behind her without the slightest attempt at restraint.
Lucian looked at her face now only inches away from his, the anticipation in her eyes almost impossible to hide, before his attention slowly shifted toward the tiny droplets of water sliding down her smooth forehead, tracing along the bridge of her delicate nose, then finally dripping onto her slightly pouting pink lips.
Combined with the faint blush already spreading across her fair skin, the sight was honestly a little too tempting.
"In every way. My Fera's the best-looking."
At some point, Lucian's hand had already moved away from her cheek and slid to the back of her neck, his fingers gently stroking that small patch of delicate, sensitive skin with slow, absentminded motions.
As soon as he touched her there, Cipher's body immediately trembled lightly as that familiar, faintly tingling sensation spread once more from the place Lucian caressed, causing a soft, purring-like sound to uncontrollably escape from deep within her throat.
"F-Fine… I'll admit you've got pretty good taste..."
Cipher muttered softly, her cheeks growing even redder as her moist, softened eyes gazed at him through a slightly dazed haze. Her body unconsciously edged even closer to Lucian, pressing tightly against him without even realizing it.
Even though the pool water was warm, her soft skin, her sweet and refreshing scent mingled with the faint fragrance of soap, and the closeness she displayed, filled with dependence and affection, made the surrounding air feel even warmer and softer than the water itself.
Lucian's hand never left the back of Cipher's neck. Instead, it slowly slid downward along her smooth and delicate curves, brushing gently past her rounded shoulder before naturally wrapping around her slender waist.
Although his movements were calm and unhurried, when he drew her slightly deeper into his arms, the quiet strength behind that action still carried an undeniable force that could not be resisted.
Cipher felt as though all the strength and tension in her body had completely melted away as she leaned softly into his embrace.
Resting her head against his firm, warm chest, she quietly listened to the steady and powerful rhythm of his heartbeat, feeling an indescribable sense of safety and comfort from his presence alone.
*Ba-dump!* *Ba-dump!* *Ba-dump!*
Hearing Lucian's heartbeat blending with her own beneath the water, so close and perfectly synchronized that they had become almost completely indistinguishable from one another, Cipher unconsciously curled her tail around his calf beneath the warm pool water, the soft coil gradually tightening little by little as though it were acting on instinct alone.
Lucian slowly lowered his head and looked at the girl resting in his arms, noticing how her misty blue eyes had gradually become half-lidded and unfocused, while a delicate flush spread across her cheeks.
Even her soft pink lips had parted ever so slightly, releasing faint, uneven breaths, as though she were unconsciously longing for a kiss.
'Is she... in heat?'
Seeing Cipher's condition, the thought surfaced in Lucian's mind almost immediately.
In the next instant, his Adam's apple bobbed subtly as a slow-burning desire quietly began to rise within him, spreading through his body along with the warmth of the water surrounding them.
Suddenly, the hand resting on Cipher's slender waist tightened ever so slightly, sending gentle ripples spreading outward across the water's surface in overlapping waves.
Just like that, an increasingly ambiguous silence quietly settled between them within the warm pool, while the shimmering surface of the water reflected their tightly intertwined figures, wavering softly beneath the dim light.
===
Meanwhile, inside a secluded changing room...
*BANG!*
Aglaea, having practically exhausted every last bit of strength, courage, and willpower in her entire life just to drag the 'human-shaped walking explosive' into this room, immediately slammed the door shut behind her and bolted it without the slightest hesitation!
Leaning heavily against the door, she gasped desperately for breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly as though she had just survived a brutal life-and-death battle on the battlefield itself, before her legs finally gave out beneath her and she collapsed onto the floor from sheer exhaustion.
"I've saved the world again..."
Meanwhile, while Aglaea was still trying to steady her breathing, the Imperator of Okhema and supreme leader of the Flame-Chase Army, Cerydra, had already been placed on a soft couch covered in thick velvet, her alluring body haphazardly wrapped in a large white bath towel.
Cerydra's exquisitely beautiful face had turned so dark and gloomy that it looked as though black clouds were about to drip from it at any second.
Her gaze was as sharp and cold as blades tempered in frozen ice, while her chest rose and fell violently with barely restrained fury, making it obvious that she was already standing right on the verge of erupting!
"A! GLA! E! AAAAA—!!!"
Cerydra roared furiously, every single word sounding as though it had been forcefully squeezed out from between her tightly clenched teeth.
"Summon Dux Gladiorum immediately! Daring to covet the Imperator's chastity is punishable by death! All of them—every single one of them—death penalty!"
At this moment, overwhelming humiliation filled every corner of her heart, almost driving her mad with embarrassment and rage.
She was Cerydra, the supreme empress who had ruled over Amphoreus for many long years!
Never—not even during her childhood—had any man ever seen her bare body before!
Yet today, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, her body had been thoroughly exposed to the eyes of an unknown man.
"Imperator, that was an accident! You must remain rational!"
Aglaea hurriedly advised Cerydra, her expression tense and uneasy as she carefully watched Cerydra's reaction.
"Rational?" Cerydra said grimly, her beautiful face already flushed a deep red from humiliation and anger. "How am I supposed to remain rational?! My dignity and purity have already been destroyed!"
"Have you forgotten the vision of the Flame-Chase?!" Aglaea continued, refusing to back down as she tried to reason with her. "Have you forgotten your ambition to conquer beyond the sky?! Please listen to me—think of the bigger picture! We could rival many demigods and accomplish things that were once considered impossible with his support!"
Her words were like a basin of cold water suddenly poured over Cerydra's blazing fury, causing the boiling blood and raging emotions within her to cool ever so slightly.
Seizing that brief opening, Aglaea quickly continued speaking before Cerydra could erupt again.
"If, because of this… this minor accident, you turn against him or even resort to arms, then everything we have worked toward will be lost."
"Will you truly allow the Imperator's glory and future ambitions to be destroyed just because a handsome, powerful, and highly strategic man happened to see your body…?"
"..."
Struck repeatedly by Aglaea's appeals to the 'bigger picture' and the 'ambition to conquer beyond the sky,' what else could she even do at this point?
In the next moment, while the flames of anger in Cerydra's heart still burned fiercely and the humiliation she felt had not disappeared in the slightest, reason gradually began to suppress her emotional impulses.
In the end, with a heavy and unwilling heart, she ultimately chose to let the matter go for now.
Lucian's power and value were simply too important, important enough to forcibly suppress the burning shame and intense killing intent surging within her heart.
Cerydra slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then gradually exhaled as she calmed herself down.
"Dux Goldweaver… you truly understand the human heart... Alright, as long as he does not speak of this matter to anyone else, then it ends here, as though it never happened."
Still, although she said that, Cerydra silently swore in her heart that she would always remember this debt.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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