Lily rejoiced that she had escaped from Ayaka’s clutches for the time being, but she also felt a void in her heart. However, she wasn’t sure if it was just her senses messing with her mind.
It wasn’t as if Lily didn’t like getting along with Ayaka, but she was afraid that she would cross the line one day and felt that she needed to set clear boundaries in their relationship.
“I lack enough training,” Lily soliloquized as she walked along the pathway leading to the hot spring alone and discovered a scenic hot spring behind the mansion.
Lily felt nostalgic when she heard the murmurs of water and felt that she really needed to relax by taking a dip in the hot spring to wash away all the fatigue that had piled up over the past few days.
Lily wasn’t worried that anyone would walk in on her as she had heard Ayaka mention that men were prohibited from coming close to the hot spring since it was used by her. She took off her ceremonial dress and tossed it over the stone beside the hot spring before dipping into the hot spring while hiding her front with a towel.
She felt a current of pleasure pass through her as she dipped into the lukewarm water within the misty hot spring and felt all the fatigue that had piled up from the intense battles melt away.
Lily had stated that she planned to move out of the mansion, but that was something she had just cooked up on the spot to stop Ayaka from teasing her.
“I hope Sister Ayaka isn’t angry about what I said to her…” Lily blamed her foolishness for making up such a reason as she wandered within the mist aimlessly.
Lily had resisted Ayaka just moments ago, and even rejected her feelings clearly, but she felt worried about her again after just a few minutes.
She convinced her mind that there was nothing wrong with this as she was just repaying Ayaka’s kindness with kindness, and her gaze naturally fell on the jade bracelet over her wrist.
Lily just didn’t want to become Ayaka’s lover and had no qualms with offering her loyalty to the latter. She was also worried about her and didn’t want to make her sad.
“Huh?” Lily saw the back of a woman within the mist as she walked through the hot spring.
Is it Ms. Ayaka? That’s not possible since I just parted ways with her and came here alone.
Lily looked closely and noticed that the woman’s figure was much smaller than Ayaka’s and that she had her hair styled in a ponytail.
“Who’s there?!” The woman turned around and covered her front with a towel.
Lily also covered her breasts and approached the woman before finally making her out as Murasaki. This left Lily in an awkward position.
Murasaki also revealed a tense and hostile attitude when she realized the other woman was Lily, and if it weren’t for the fact that they were both covering their fronts with towels, Lily was certain that a fight would’ve broken out for sure. At least, that was the impression Lily got from Murasaki’s stare.
“It’s you, huh, Kagami Lily!” Murasaki stated hostilely.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you… Ms. Ayaka told me I was free to use the hot spring here. I just didn’t know that you were using it and ended up startling you,” Lily stated embarrassedly.
“Ms. Ayaka told you that you’re free to use the hot spring? Why did she tell you that?” Murasaki asked tensely.
“Huh? W-What do you mean by that? I hope you aren’t taking this the wrong way.” Lily blushed and continued, “Ms. Ayaka just wanted me to wash away my fatigue from the tournament battles…”
Murasaki sized up Lily suspiciously within the mist, which just embarrassed Lily even further. Lily wondered if Murasaki thought that Lily had come to wash off the fluids on her after doing the deed with Ayaka.
Lily kneeled down in embarrassment and hid her body underneath the hot spring’s water, leaving just her shoulders and head visible above it.
“P-Please don’t look at me like that… We both work for Sister Ayaka, don’t we now?” Lily turned her face away to look at the murmuring water.
“You better not refer to Ms. Ayaka so affectionately in front of me. This is why I hate you so much. You pretend to be a naïve woman in front of everyone, but you go around seducing everyone close to you with or without your knowledge! You enrapture everyone, and even end up harming those who’ve treated you kindly! Tell me. How does it feel to act so innocent all the time? You’re just a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ in my opinion!” Murasaki expressed her resentment towards Lily emotionally.
Lily was kind and gentle, but that didn’t mean she was someone who’d just take such words lying down without retorting them. She pulled the towel closer as she stated, “Ms. Murasaki! I won’t blame you for saying such rude things to me today since you seem to be in a bad mood today, but when have I harmed others? You better take that back!”
“You want me to take my words back? How could you not realize it when everyone says you’re so intelligent, Kagami Lily. You’re playing the fool, aren’t you? How could you make Ms. Ayaka kiss you in public knowing that it would affect her reputation and standing within the court? Y-You even kissed her so passionately and hugged her…” Murasaki’s face flushed up as she recalled the scene, but her expression morphed in pain from the heartbreak she felt.
“You think I wanted to do that?! It was…” Lily paused in her words as saying that Ayaka had kissed her forcibly would be unfaithful.
Lily pondered on it for a moment. It was true that Ayaka’s position within the court was sensitive and that she shouldered a lot of pressure, both inside and outside the court. The kiss had given Murasaki grounds to talk back against her.
A moment of eureka struck Lily as she stated coyly, “Yes, I seduced Ms. Ayaka. What about it, though? You can feel free to tell the whole world that I’m a natural seductress and persuade everyone that I had seduced the Chief Advisor for personal gains. You can even have the imperials and magnates judge me with their rules and regulations if you want, but you better not blame Ms. Ayaka for it!”
Lily stood up bravely after making her statement and this caused the wet towel to stick close to her divine body which was vaguely visible now. Murasaki felt a sense of inferiority when she saw such a blessed body in close proximity and felt her anger reduce significantly.
“D-Do you really feel that way?”
“You think I’d try to deceive you just because you say rude things to me? I would’ve cleared things to you even if I hated you to be honest. Moreover, I know you spoke rudely to me for the sake of Ms. Ayaka. We’ve both offered our loyalties to her, so there’s no need for us to bicker like this, is there?” Lily approached Murasaki as she said this.
“Don’t come closer! A-Are you really willing to go that far for Ms. Ayaka? It looks like I’ve misunderstood you all this time…”
“Indeed, Murasaki. We’re both Ms. Ayaka’s retainers, so isn’t it natural for us to work together as one to serve her1?” Lily offered her hand to Murasaki.
Murasaki just tensed up further, though.
“Just tell me the truth… Do you really love Ms. Ayaka that much?”
“Huh?” Lily blushed hard and revealed a baffled look, feeling surprised that the woman before her had failed to understand even a single thing she had just said.
“You better not deny it now! There’s no way you’d be willing to tarnish your reputation for Ms. Ayaka if you didn’t love her deeply! I thought you were just a seductress who wanted to get in bed with her, but it seems like I really underestimated you. You’re a really ambitious woman…” Murasaki pointed at Lily, “You’re planning to become Ms. Ayaka’s wife, aren’t you2?!”
“HAH?!”
