Lana looked up at the calm young man standing over her. From this low angle, his face seemed far away, almost distant. She couldn't quite make out how clear and sharp his jade eyes were in that moment. She simply lay there against his rough leg, damp and shivering, staring up at him as he clearly debated what to think or do — maybe just as lost and confused as she was.
"Hey."
"Hello," Auther replied quietly.
She sat up slowly, slapping his offered helping hand away with more force than necessary. She didn't want help right now. She needed to stand on her own. Once she was on her feet, she took a proper look around the bathroom for the first time.
It was… impossible.
Everything looked too clean, too sleek, too perfect for this world. The mirror on the opposite wall immediately drew her in. It was large, unnaturally smooth, and terrifyingly clear.
Lana walked across the cold marble floor barefoot. The stone felt even colder than the water still clinging to her skin. When she finally stepped fully into the mirror's field of view, she froze.
She was looking at herself — really looking.
Her pink hair was plastered messily against her face and neck. The faint red patches from Neon's acid were still visible on her cheeks. Her clear yellow eyes looked wider than usual, carrying a mix of fear and disbelief. And worst of all, her thin, soaked dress had turned almost completely transparent. Her nipples stood out sharply against the wet fabric like a sore thumb.
She had never seen herself in this much painful, unflinching detail before.
It was unbelievable.
"Hey majesty, can you come here for a second?"
Auther was soon standing beside her. For the first time, Lana truly registered their usual eight-inch height difference. She suddenly felt tiny. Small. Fragile. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide what the mirror had already shamelessly revealed.
She glanced at his reflection, then back at his real face.
It was a perfect representation. The mirror didn't flatter him even slightly. It simply showed him exactly as he was — unfairly, almost cruelly beautiful.
"Even I was shocked when I finally saw your face after I woke up in your bed," Auther said softly. "You are almost too beautiful."
Lana let out a small, self-conscious breath.
"You flatter too much," she muttered, still staring at her own reflection. "Still… I do look pretty."
Her eyes wandered over to the towel bar beside the tub. Auther's gaze followed hers.
"What are those?"
"Towels."
Lana blinked. "What do they do?"
Auther smirked faintly. He walked over to the rack, grabbed one of the thick towels, and came back. Without a word, he gently wiped her face and neck with it. The fabric drank the water instantly, leaving her skin warm and dry where he touched.
He then handed the towel to her.
"It helps in drying."
Lana took the towel in both hands and stared at it, then at Auther, then back at the towel again. She couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't simply given her one the moment she stepped into his room.
"Why didn't you give this to me earlier?"
"Simple," Auther replied. "I wanted you to take a hot bath before that."
Lana pointed at the large marble bathtub. "In that thing?"
"No, that's for soaking," he said, then pointed toward the shower head a few meters away, still within the same section. "That's for washing. But then I realized you'd probably need hot water, and I never quite got the heating element working perfectly in this room yet."
Lana made a small "oh" expression, though it was clear she didn't fully understand what he was talking about.
"Anyway," Auther continued, already turning toward the door, "you dry up. I'll get you something to wear."
He left the bathroom, leaving Lana alone with the sound of running water and her own racing thoughts.
She stood there for a long moment, still dripping, towel clutched in her hands.
That boy is an odd one… but I'm lucky he didn't do anything to me. Yet.
She peeled off her soaked clothes, letting them drop heavily onto the marble floor with a wet slap. Naked and still cold, she began drying herself vigorously with the towel. Once she was mostly dry, she slipped on the soft fur slippers she found near the tub and cautiously approached the shower head and faucet again.
She couldn't help herself. She started tinkering.
Turning knobs, touching pipes, watching water flow with mechanical precision. Everything felt impossibly smooth and advanced.
"I've never heard of anything close to this," she mumbled to herself. "How did this boy get hold of it? I doubt anyone created this and sold it to him… or else the nobles would be swooning all over it by now."
She paused, her hand resting on the faucet.
"Wait… did he make all this? How? This isn't alchemy… or anything I've seen or heard about before. And now that I think about it… the boy did use mana before he even awakened…"
Lana's eyes suddenly glowed with a strange yellow light, flecked with tiny green spots. She stared hard at the flowing water.
"No magic used… huh? So how do you work?"