The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 73

“That’s not it.”

“Ah… I see.”

Her hopeful voice, which had held its own expectations, immediately sank, and it was heartbreaking.

The image of her youthful face, sniffling near the border while looking at the forest with fearful eyes, was still vivid in his mind. He embraced her back, which had stopped its joyful trembling, and consoled her.

“What I meant was that I’ve put a lot of intense vital energy into your body, so you should be fine for a while.”

“…Yes.”

Evelyn’s voice, tinged with embarrassment, became even smaller.

“Well, I think we can go in now.”

“Ah…!”

He lifted himself with her in his arms and entered the heated bath. We should wash our bodies first before entering, otherwise we’ll completely dirty the water. The excuse to escape from his embrace only circled within Evelyn’s lips.

Once actually in the bath, both her body and mood became languid. It was good enough to make her quickly forget both the elation and disappointment from her earlier small misunderstanding. As her fully loosened hair floated gently on the clean water, he reached out his hand.

“I’ll put it up for you.”

He skillfully shook the water from her long hair, twisted it, and tied it into a simple round shape. How did he do that without a hair tie? Evelyn, who wasn’t particularly dexterous, admired it.

“That’s amazing.”

“You’re pleased by small things.”

After casually dropping this comment, his hand moved beneath the water, soon carefully rubbing her lower abdomen. As the slick bathwater and his touch approached simultaneously, Evelyn flinched.

“Ah…!”

“Don’t think about falling again, Evelyn. We came in to wash, remember.”

“Yes. But… May I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

There was something she had always found fascinating whenever she entered this bath. However, she couldn’t ask others about it because the bath’s size was much larger than the sizable pond near her village.

Evelyn did have some tact. She had always kept this question to herself, feeling this space should be exclusively for Cassis’s use and knowing it would be pointless to ask since she couldn’t hear the spirits’ voices. Today, being alone with him in the morning for once, it felt appropriate to ask.

“What about the water currents coming from that side? Does the water move on its own?”

Indeed. When in this bath, although it was often calm, water would stealthily surge in from either side, or sometimes just from the left or right side as it was doing now. It was truly fascinating, separate from how perfect it was for washing away bodily fatigue.

Cassis gently rubbed the bridge of her nose where water droplets had splashed as he answered.

“Water moving on its own… From a distance, I suppose you’re right. Yes, those waves are controlled deliberately. Stronger currents are absolutely disabled so you won’t be swept away.”

“Which part do you touch to make it move?”

She must have been genuinely curious, as her body moved closer to him.

That look he hadn’t seen in a while. Like twinkling stars, those green eyes full of curiosity urging him to answer were lovely, but the thought that he shouldn’t give in firmly held him back. Instead of a straightforward response, Cassis pulled her hair back and kissed her exposed ear.

“Ah…!”

“There are many things better left unknown, Evelyn. I won’t allow your water games.”

“……”

As if her lips were filled with sweet honey, tender kisses landed one after another on both her cheeks as she couldn’t pull away. Those retreating lips then found her tightly closed eyelids and touched them too. Her startled reaction made his smile deepen.

In the end, she never learned where the control for the small waves or currents in the bath was located. After finishing their bath, she was carried in his arms back to the bedroom where she changed into a thin dress. The daytime temperature must have warmed considerably, as Cassis didn’t comment on her lighter attire matching the weather, though he did add a condition.

“If you’re going out, be back before sunset. You know better than anyone how fearsome Jupiter’s winds can be, right?”

“Yes! But… would you like to have breakfast together?”

After gathering her nonexistent courage to make this invitation, the subtle smile on his lips spread into a grin revealing his white teeth.

“Let’s do that tomorrow. Morning has already passed by.”

“What?!”

Not morning anymore? Evelyn opened her eyes wide at the unbelievable statement, but soon accepted it. The day after spending a night with him, she often lost track of her usual waking hours and became lazy. So it must be around lunchtime then. As she stubbornly tried to change her invitation to lunch instead, his hand played with the ends of her still-damp hair.

“You don’t feel very hungry, do you?”

“No…”