After leaving the evening party venue, I noticed his feet were going in a direction other than his room.
With Freed"s arm around my waist, I couldn"t see hesitation in his steps.
I thought of asking him about it, but one answer came to my mind.

―――― Ah, the bath.

Which reminds me, I made such a promise.
Or rather, too many things happened so I completely forgot. To have the promise fulfilled in this situation, Freed is too carnivorous.

As I was made to use the bath yesterday, I somehow remember it.
That"s right, there"s probably no mistaking it.
While Freed was fixedly watching me, I finally nodded convinced.
As our eyes met, he gently smiled. For some reasons my cheeks felt hot.

Hau.

Instinctively I hung my head.
… What should I do. I got startled.
After all I might be just a little bit faint-hearted from Crown Prince Maximilian"s matter.
Though I felt somewhat embarra.s.sed, while walking we arrived at our destination. It"s the royalty quarter bath for the exclusive use of royalty.
Unusually, n.o.body is around, so we opened the door ourselves and went inside.

The place we entered first was the s.p.a.cious changing room, but unlike the usual it was still as death.
In the changing room so s.p.a.cious that many people could use it, usually court ladies would be lined up. And yet, why only today there"s not a soul here.

"Huh? There"s no one here?"

Freed answered my doubt like it was nothing.

"Ah, it"s because I contacted them in advance. We"ll be using the bath together after the evening party, so don"t disturb us no matter what"
"I… see"

I thought there"s n.o.body here, but it seems it had already been arranged. He made the necessary arrangement too fast.
Certainly I wouldn"t like court ladies witnessing us getting into bath together and scattering before our eyes, but what did the court ladies think when told he"d be taking a bath with his fiancée. Even as a rumor it"s too embarra.s.sing.

"Uuugh… embarra.s.sing"
"What are you saying this late. It"s already well-known we have such a relations.h.i.+p, there"s no need to mind"

To smoothly do that, I wonder if Freed left his shame behind somewhere.
He truly doesn"t look like he minds at all.

"That"s not the problem"

I wish you"d understand the embarra.s.sment of a maiden a little.
But, it seems pointless to say that to Freed. Not quite understanding, he tilted his head.

"It doesn"t really matter, right? We"ll become an officially married couple in a few months. Now, turn around. I"ll remove the corset"
"Mu… Please"

A villain called corset. It"s not like I can"t put it on and remove it by myself, but it"s a very troublesome article. Especially with how today it was constricted by a court lady with all her strength, I"ll be saved if he takes it off.
I got a strong suspicion this was not the first such exchange for him, but anyway, I obediently followed his words.

As I turned my back towards him, Freed"s hand gently touched my bare skin.

"Hiya?"
"Ah, sorry"

The texture that stroked me was silk.
He removed the gloves he"d still been wearing and once again touched me.

"I"m taking it off"
"… Nn"

One by one he carefully undid the large round b.u.t.tons on the back of the dress.
The dress lightly fell to my feet all too quickly. His movements aren"t stopping.
He reached for the corset like he was used to it. He nimbly loosened and undid the lace. The occasional contact with my bare skin felt good. Freed said grumblingly.

"I think it every time, does Lidi even need a corset? It"s not much fun to embrace Lidi who"s preciously fluffy when you get all stiff"
"Fluffy…"

I smiled wryly at Freed"s words.
It"s a little difficult to take off, I was a little astonished as he grumbled like that.
Just who"s the one who always nimbly takes off clothes.

"Well, I dislike corsets too. They"re painful and you can"t eat properly. But Clara joyfully constricted me"

I wish she"d stop, as I spilled that I could feel Freed smiling from behind.

"Ah, come to think of it, Clara got worked up that Lidi"s waist is the ladies" ideal"
"… I"m troubled having the ideal pushed on me"

As natural, when I eat the weight goes to my waist, but recently no matter how much I consume, I don"t gain weight at all. The reason is simple. The man behind me who"s now undoing the lace of my corset is to blame.
This man persistently requests we do it many, many times each time we have s.e.x, but as he embraces me until I faint, my stamina is in the red zone. Perhaps because the calorie expenditure is extreme, I see no signs of gaining weight.
I"m grateful that I can eat without gaining weight but… No, after all it"s no good.
Doing it too much is bad.
Probably in these few days I"ve even slimmed down a little.
Like when we did it until morning the day before yesterday.
Some people treat s.e.x as a workout, but I can"t help but feel doing it all night long is not the natural outcome of that.

While I was standing there with complicated feelings, the corset finally came off.
After all, it seems to have been awfully tightened. Before I noticed a breath escaped me.

"Fua… thanks"
"Not at all"

Even though he said that, Freed didn"t move from behind of me.
When I looked back feeling suspicious, his arms tightly hugged me from behind.

"Freed?"
"Nn?"

Don"t nn? me.
Freed buried his face in my shoulders and his right hand that was hugging my half-naked body touched my right breast.
Involuntarily I reacted with a start.

"Hey… in such a place"
"Isn"t it fine. Just a little"

What just a little.
While binding me from behind, Freed started crumpling my breast. His left hand is firmly hugging my body. With the movement of his fingers that give off a straightforward impression of love affair, my body began reacting on its own, completely poisoned by the act. I feel pathetic for being swept away so easily.

"N… jeez, it"s not good… Aan"

As if inspired, once in a while he pinched the tip of my breast, and so I was helpless against my voice leaking out. My unbelievably sweet voice reverberated as if pleading. n.o.body would think I hate it when I make such a voice.

"Fuu… nn"
"Ah, you"re s.h.i.+vering. Cute. You"re feeling it?"
"W… wro… aan"

Sure enough, pleased by my reaction Freed got excited.
With the tip of my breast kneaded inside of my belly tingled. Even when I tried to seize his hand reproachfully, he smoothly dodged.

"Hey, be obedient"

Freed laughed in a sweet voice into my ear. My back s.h.i.+vered as his tongue crept on the nape of my neck.
My body responded exaggeratedly to the gentle tracing movements.

"Haah… nn… hey, so… the bath…"
"Yup… I know. So that Lidi understands whose you are, I"ll first place it"

As Freed nodded to my rebuking voice, he strongly stuck to the nape of my head.
I can"t see it, but from my experience until now, he probably left a kiss mark.
I wonder if he"s aware that his favorite thing is to leave kiss marks in the middle of the act.
He often sticks to me however he pleases as if to mark me. The other day too, he thoroughly placed them with it"s fine since it"s out of sight.
There"s the "King"s Flower", so I was a little amazed by Freed going this far to claim my owners.h.i.+p.
This time too he happily kept sticking to my neck. It"s not that I particularly hate it, but would it be an extravagant request to wish he"d think about the location a little more.
Won"t they inevitably stand out on the nape of my neck.
When I thought so I realized.

Ah, I see. The evening party is over, so he stopped worrying over the location.

When I looked at Freed, who unsatisfied with just one, kept changing spots and repeatedly left kiss marks, somehow I ceased feeling like stopping him and in the end decided to let him have his way.
I raised my idle left hand and stroked his head stuck to the nape of my neck.
Yup, it might be cute.

Perhaps satisfied, after marking various spots on the nape of my neck Freed"s lips separated.
Before I realized, the hand fiddling with my breast also went away.

"Haah…"

After being thoroughly played with, my body that was left idle felt hot.
Freed smiled happily as he casually supported me.

"For now, is this fine. Ah, it wouldn"t be good to catch cold, should we get in soon?"
"… R i g t h"

I suppressed the urge that came up at once to retort just whose fault is that, and patiently nodded.
I unskillfully provoked him, so we"ll continue here… I want to avoid that development.
No, I also want him to hold back in the bath, but I can"t afford something like doing it in the changing room.

Prompted by Freed who cheerfully threw off his clothes I resolved myself and silently took off my underwear.

… It"s been long. Finally, I could soak in the bath.
I stretched my legs in the s.p.a.cious bath and leisurely submerged in it. Fuu, I felt my fatigue disappear as I breathed out.

"Feels good"

My love for bathing is probably influenced by my previous life. The love of cleanliness of a former j.a.panese is not just for show.
Loving baths more than others, I often enjoyed bathing even in the mansion.
In this world, frequent bathing in hot water is a luxury. I"m glad from the bottom of my heart to have been born a n.o.ble so I have access to hot water at any time.

I wrapped up my hair and submerged myself until the neck.
Even I was surprised when I saw it for the first time, this s.p.a.cious bath, just as you"d expect of the bath made for royalty, was impressively splendid. The white marble bath, s.p.a.cious enough to fit a few dozen people, seems to have herbs that serve as replacement of bathing salts changed every day, today citrus smell wafted.

"You look quite pleased with it"

Next to me was Freed who similarly submerged himself in the bath.
Of course, neither of us boorishly wrapped ourselves in a towel.
If there"s a good time to violate the rule of bathing in a towel, it"s exactly now.
Since I"d decided to enter, I resolved myself and unashamedly tackled bathing nude.

"Lidi, in such aspects you"re truly gallant, or perhaps I should say masculine"

With a somewhat astounded smile Freed said so seriously.
By the way, when he"d watched me vigorously undress as if I"d gotten over something, for some reason Freed had muttered "Yup… That"s Lidi" dejected.
… What the h.e.l.l.

"Since we did agree, I thought it"d be better if I immediately undressed. Was there something strange?"
"No, I don"t think that was wrong? But, you know"

When Freed, who perhaps though I"d be a little more embarra.s.sed, glanced at me with narrowed eyes, I glared at him with upturned eyes.

"… Of course I"m embarra.s.sed. Isn"t that natural"

I have no experience in bathing with the opposite s.e.x.
Even if it"s with Freed who I have such a relations.h.i.+p with, this is this and that is that.
Honestly, it"s so embarra.s.sing I"m burning with shame. Or rather, somehow I"m amazingly bashful.

"Really? Considering that you threw off the last article with unexpected vigor"
"Ah, it"d be impossible without such vigor!!"

I thought undressing forever while continuing the talk would be too embarra.s.sing.
Since I"d have to take my clothes off sooner or later anyway, I tried going through with it quickly.
Thinking so, I simply carried out the plan.

"Hmph, then, are you… still embarra.s.sed…?"

I nodded affirmatively to Freed who asked with a nasty face.

"He? Ye… yes"
"Truly?"

Quickly shortening the distance between us by just a little, Freed pulled me in.
Since we"re in a bath, the buoyancy made me easily fall into his arms while still sitting.

"Woah"
"Fufu, caught you"

As hot water got in my face, I reflexively closed my eyes.
When I opened them, Freed"s graceful face was in front of me.

"Wha… what"
"Ah, it"s true. I couldn"t tell with all the steam, but you"re bright red… Cute"

The last words he whispered were like a long breath. As we unintentionally a.s.sumed a form like we were embracing each other, I felt blood suddenly gather in my cheeks.
We"re both naked, in a bath hugging each other with nothing to separate us…
And what"s on my mind the most in this situation is the condition of his lower half that"s close.
I"m sitting on his lap facing him, but being tightly hugged I can strongly feel its existence.
Its already a.s.serting its existence around my stomach, somehow it"s standing tall grandly.

I can"t help but have the feeling of the hot flesh rod around my stomach on my mind.

"F… Freed… um"
"Nn? It"s touching? … Fufu, bashful Lidi is also cute"

That cheerfully smiling expression means he definitely understands what"s happening.
As I panicked, Freed pulled me into his embrace with more force and whispered quietly.

"You"ve antic.i.p.ated this, right? Hey, can I have my fill of Lidi soon?"