Even so, telling her to go into the bathhouse was completely against common sense, wasn’t it?
While she was still hesitating, Madam Rosalie urged her on once again.
[Hurry up and follow him inside.]
“…Can’t I just wait here until he comes out?”
[No. He looks seriously sulky right now. Timing is everything in situations like this.]
“…….”
Elysia tried to resist as much as she could, but Madam Rosalie was adamant.
[Come on, let’s get inside. I need to see with my own two eyes exactly what that bastard is doing in there right now.]
“…….”
She wanted to watch him bathe. At this point, wasn’t sightseeing honestly more of her goal than treating him?
Elysia could not shake the suspicion that Madam Rosalie had some ulterior motive.
[System]
Administer treatment within the time limit.
[Time Remaining - 00:14:59]
As though it had been waiting for this moment, the System started a time attack. Somehow, it felt as though Madam Rosalie and the System had teamed up to shove her into the bathhouse.
[System]
The wound is worsening in real time.
The conditions for a specific ending are being fulfilled.
[Expected Ending Upon Failure]
<Tristan Loch Route> - Ending 13: Love Born from Guilt
‘…A Holy Knight losing an arm. I’ll take responsibility for you, at least.’
So if she left things as they were, she would end up seeing that ending, which meant she had no choice but to force herself to go inside.
I have to go. What else can I do?
Having finished assessing this utterly ridiculous situation, Elysia held her breath and entered the bathhouse.
***
The bathhouse was damp, like a cavern submerged in dense fog. The farther she pushed through the thick steam, the closer the sound of running water became. And with every step, Elysia’s feet dragged more heavily.
Shhhhh—.
Hot water poured from a bronze pipe connected near the ceiling. When the vague outline of a large figure appeared through it, Elysia stopped dead.
It was Tristan.
He stood motionless with his head lowered, letting the water pour over him like torrential rain. His wet hair looked even darker than usual. Befitting a knight who knew nothing but the sword, his hair was short, but the way it scattered across his forehead and the nape of his neck with the flowing water was reminiscent of a black waterfall. Her gaze naturally followed the streams of water tracing his body, drifting lower and lower.
His broad shoulders and solid back looked as powerful as a massive boulder.
The dim light reflected off the water, making the contours of his body even more distinct. Even the small scars scattered across his tanned skin and the defined lines of his muscles were clearly visible. Droplets of water slowly ran over the firm flesh that shifted with every movement. His thick rib cage, the heavy swell of his pectorals, the tightly defined muscles of his abdomen—and the instant her gaze dropped below that, her breath caught.
This was, well….
[Wow. That’s insane.]
An unabashed exclamation rang in her ears. It was Madam Rosalie’s voice.
“Elysia Gray.”
At that moment, her body stiffened at the low voice.
Pitch-black eyes flashed through his wet hair. And that piercing gaze was aimed directly at her.
“What are you doing? You.”
Only then did Elysia snap back to her senses. Her ears instantly burned hot.
The moment their eyes met, Tristan’s expression twisted fiercely.
“Are you crazy?”
He immediately demanded an explanation. He had clearly told her to leave, yet instead of leaving, she had followed him all the way into the bathhouse. She had no excuse even if she had ten mouths, so she was left speechless. Elysia’s lips opened and closed helplessly.
“You have no sense of fear. Do you even know where you’ve barged into?”
“No, I….”
“This is the men’s bathhouse. Have you lost your mind?”
His voice was full of anger. Even without him spelling it out so thoroughly, Elysia was perfectly aware of how bizarre her behavior was. She had only been shoved in here by the System’s machinations and her teacher’s coercion. It felt unfair, but she could hardly explain the truth. She wanted to come up with some excuse, anything at all.
[What a spectacular view.]
Madam Rosalie even whistled. She seemed too preoccupied with admiring his body to have any intention of helping.
“Tristan. I’m sorry, first of all.”
“It’s not about being sorry.”
When Elysia hurriedly apologized, he added irritably,
“Do you seriously have no awareness of danger whatsoever?”
So apparently, he was not angry because she had seen him naked. He was angry because she had recklessly walked into a men’s bathhouse without any thought for her own safety. What was she supposed to say to that? Sorry for having no sense of self-preservation?
“Right. Of course. You don’t even see me as a man.”
While she was still deciding what to say, Tristan reached his own conclusion.
[Hey, look between his legs.]
At Madam Rosalie’s voice, her gaze naturally drifted there, and what she saw was… something truly enormous.
[Congratulations.]
The instant Elysia’s eyes widened upon realizing what it was, his thigh muscles contracted tightly. Then the heavy column of flesh rapidly began to swell, rising upward past his navel.
…Why is that getting hard? Does getting angry make it stand up?
“Fuck.”
Tristan ground out the curse, abruptly turned around, and hurried into the bath.
[It’s seriously no joke when it’s hard. A masterpiece.]
The sound of water overflowing from the tub was accompanied by Madam Rosalie’s enthusiastic cheering. Elysia desperately wanted to tell her to shut up, but because Tristan was there, she could only bite her lip.
“Get out. Don’t piss me off even more.”
Apparently thoroughly irritated by the situation, Tristan splashed water over his face with one hand and snapped at her brusquely. He looked as though he were forcibly swallowing down his rising anger.
[System]
Administer treatment within the time limit.
[Time Remaining – 00:12:30]
But there was something Elysia absolutely had to do if she wanted to survive.
“It’s bad if water gets into your wound, Tristan.”
She could not simply back down now. Elysia clenched her fists tightly and spoke firmly.
“You need to disinfect it right now if you don’t want it to get worse.”
“Let it get worse.”
He answered without even looking at her. The marble bath was large enough to accommodate several people at once. Tristan sat at the far end, leaning loosely against the wall.
“I told you to stop worrying about me and leave.”
Once again, he ordered her out.
Elysia’s gaze landed on his injured right hand. The wound must have reopened, because the bandages, stained red with blood, were already soaked through and clinging messily to his skin. It looked precarious. At this rate, it was certain to get worse.
[You’re not seriously going to leave just because he told you to, are you?]
Now that his lower body was submerged beneath the water, Madam Rosalie finally seemed to regain her senses and started saying something useful.
[Ignore him and get closer. He’s still seriously sulking, so let’s coax him gently.]
[System]
Administer treatment within the time limit.
[Time Remaining - 00:11:52]
Even while she hesitated, time continued to tick away.
“You have no intention of coming out, do you?”
With no other choice, Elysia began approaching the bath. The closer she came, the paler Tristan’s face grew.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to treat you.”
“Enough. Stop talking nonsense and get out.”
“You’re already in the water, so this actually works out. I’ll try not to look at your body at all, so just your hand….”
“You’ve already seen everything there is to see, and now you’re saying just my hand?”
Tristan scoffed as he snapped at her. Whatever. She had to soothe him and treat his wound if she wanted to end this situation, so she could not back down. Since he was at the far end of the bath, she would have to get into the water herself.
[You’ll get wet. Lift your skirt first.]
Elysia took a long, deep breath and lifted the hem of her skirt, which reached all the way down to her ankles. As her pale legs were exposed, Tristan’s expression gradually filled with bewilderment.
[You’ve given him a little glimpse of your legs, so get in already. That bastard looks like he’s about to come inside the water at this rate.]
Shh. Elysia muttered so quietly that he could not hear. She wanted to clamp a hand over Madam Rosalie’s mouth for spewing such vulgar remarks, but she did her best to ignore her and stepped into the bath.
When she dipped her foot into the water, she discovered that the bath was deeper than expected, reaching halfway up her thighs, forcing her to lift her skirt even higher. The embarrassing situation was driving her insane, but there was no other good solution.
“Elysia Gray. Are you seriously determined to drive me insane?”
Tristan asked in disbelief. The hot water rippled against her thighs. Elysia forced strength into her trembling knees and carefully took one step at a time, trying not to fall. The closer she came to him, the more it felt as though the compressed air between them was growing hotter and hotter, making it difficult to breathe.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“It’ll only take a moment.”
“I told you to get out!”
As she reached him, the water in the bath surged like a wave.
Just then, she heard someone outside.
“Do you know what’s wrong with the Commander?”
“Does the reason matter? When he gets like this, the best thing to do is just leave him alone.”
The footsteps of the Holy Knights were drawing closer and closer.