Having finished bathing, the group—Liliana, Ophelia, Aina, and Lily—made their way from the lavish bathhouse inside the manor of the Margravine of Ishurias to the adjoining relaxation room.
The room was filled with the airy openness created by its soft lighting and high ceiling, and the delicately carved walls immediately drew the eye.
Plants placed here and there added quiet color to the space, while the gentle fragrance drifting from the censer soothed the heart.
In the center of the room lay a row of plush mattresses, and the aromatic oils arranged beautifully on silver trays served as the perfect finishing touch to the space.
Each time Aina's fingertips glided from her shoulders down across her back, Liliana could feel her body relaxing of its own accord.
"Mmm... Aina, right there... that feels wonderful..."
The sweet sound that slipped from her lips startled her, and in embarrassment she hurriedly buried her face in the towel.
She could not stop the heat rising in her cheeks.
And yet each time Aina's fingers kneaded the tension from her back, comfort wrapped itself around her whole body.
"Thank you. Your body is very delicate, Lady Liliana, so I'll be sure to care for it gently."
At Aina's soft whisper by her ear, Liliana felt herself loosen even more.
Feeling the softness of the mattress through the linen towel covering her chest, she caught her breath.
This... is so soft... How on earth did Lord Yuri make something like this...?
Amazed by how it felt nothing like the wooden tables usually used for treatments, she felt a slow heat gather deep in her chest.
"Lady Liliana, I'm going to apply the oil now. It may feel a little cold, so please forgive me."
Prompted by Aina's gentle voice, Liliana gave a small nod, tension and anticipation mingling inside her.
"Yes... please..."
A cool line of oil fell across her back and slid down in a single trail.
Her body gave a small shiver at the sensation.
"Ah..."
But the chill faded at once.
Each time Aina's warm hands worked the oil into her skin, the cold touch turned into a gentle heat, and comfort enveloped her all over.
"This oil is blended with rose and lavender. It not only has a strong relaxing effect, but should also be good for your skin."
At Aina's soft whisper, Liliana felt her body relax even further.
As those smooth fingertips traced her shoulder blades and then drifted down to the small of her back, the exquisitely judged pressure worked its way into muscles that had been stiff with tension.
"Lady Liliana, this spot is a little tight."
There was no pain in the circles her fingertips drew. If anything, a sweet, tingling pleasure spread through her whole body.
Liliana tried to steady her breathing, but every time the towel over her chest shifted even a little, she became absurdly conscious of it, and she could not stop her breathing from turning uneven.
For some reason I can't settle down... and yet it feels so good...
Beside her, Ophelia lay with nothing but a towel on, her full breasts pressed into the mattress, her supple back on display.
Each time Lily's hands glided over her back, the sounds that escaped Ophelia's lips filled the room.
"Mmm... ahh... that feels wonderful..."
That refined yet sultry voice reached Liliana's ears, and she found herself closing her eyes.
So even Lady Ophelia... makes sounds like that...
Seeing this new side of the woman who was usually so calm and unshakable, Liliana felt both surprise and, strangely, reassurance.
Even so, those sounds lingered in her ears with peculiar persistence, as if tugging at her awareness.
"Hehe, Lady Ophelia. You're making such sweet sounds."
When Lily said that with a smile and let oil fall across her back, a faint flush colored Ophelia's cheeks.
"Lily... do try not to tease me too much. More importantly, would you put a little more pressure into the right side of my lower back?"
"Of course, Lady Ophelia."
Even beneath the mattress, the bed gave a faint, rhythmic creak.
In time with that sound, Ophelia's voice leaked out in broken intervals.
"Ah... ah... ahh..."
A sweet, sensuous voice wholly unlike the dignified woman she usually was.
Each time those sounds overlapped with the creaking, Liliana could feel a slow heat building deep inside her chest.
Whenever Lily's fingers pressed more firmly into her lower back, Ophelia's skin quivered, and with those small movements, sweat slid from the nape of her neck and scattered into the air in tiny droplets.
Even the faint sound of those droplets striking the floor sharpened the room's silence and lent it a strange tension.
Ophelia's lustrous hair clung damply to her forehead, and her wet skin gleamed with a smooth sheen.
Her back arched slightly, and the breath she squeezed out only thickened the air further.
I'm starting to feel strange myself...
Liliana tried to avert her eyes, but the sweet breaths reaching her ears and the sound of sweat falling refused to leave her mind.
Even the faint vibrations she felt through the mattress seemed to stir her very consciousness.
Still, trying somehow to compose herself, she forced herself to change the subject.
"By the way, Lady Ophelia, may I hear the rest of what you were saying earlier?"
Lying on the plush mattress, Liliana asked without lifting her face.
Aina's hands moving smoothly from her back down to her lower back felt far too good, and she could not stop her voice from turning soft and sweet.
"Of course. You mean the matter at the tailoring atelier?"
Ophelia answered in a composed voice.
Though her tone retained its usual calm, each time Lily's fingers slid over her back, the faintest sweetness seeped into the edges of her words.
"Yes. I heard Lord Yuri visited the Belclair Tailoring Atelier, and I was curious about the details..."
Even as Liliana continued, her attention was split between Ophelia's breaths reaching her ears and the pleasure washing over herself.
The pale skin of Ophelia lying beside her shone smoothly beneath its veil of oil.
Each time Lily's fingers moved at her lower back, a small tremor ran through her back, and the motion stole Liliana's gaze without fail.
"There seems to have been a bit of trouble at the atelier. People from the Rosenkreuz Trading Company caused a commotion..."
When Lily's fingers pressed into her lower back, Ophelia's body responded with a small, startled bounce.
A faint tremor ran through her shoulders, and Liliana caught the little motion of her breath hitching.
Each of those subtle movements looked strangely sensuous, and a restless stir ran through Liliana's chest.
Why can't I stop looking...? Am I losing my mind?
Trying to wrench her attention back into place, she asked,
"So what did Lord Yuri do?"
But just as her curiosity sharpened, Aina's fingers traced the inside of her thigh.
At that unexpected touch, Liliana caught her breath, and in that instant a sensation like heat spread through her whole body.
"Well, it was very like Lord Yuri, I suppose... He apparently drove them off by staging a little bloodshed... ah."
A small sound escaped Ophelia midway through the sentence.
Each time Lily put force into her lower back, a flicker of tension crossed Ophelia's face—only to melt away the next moment.
That faint change made her look so soft, so alluring, that it almost made Liliana forget the firm, unshakable woman she usually was.
"Bloodshed...?"
Liliana's eyes widened in surprise.
But when Aina's fingers found a deeper point, the word dissolved into a sweet, trembling breath.
Her hand clenched the towel of its own accord.
And yet the comfort Aina's fingers produced was impossible to resist, and Liliana could not stop the heat from spreading through her body.
Any thought of continuing the conversation was drowned out by the pleasure.
"Apparently... to save Miss Belclair... he dove in face-first... and used some technique called the Hong Kong Spin."
Speaking through breathy little pauses, Ophelia swayed faintly each time Lily's fingers pressed harder into her lower back.
Sweet breaths spilled from her lips, and they reached Liliana's ears as if they themselves were making the air tremble.
"Face-first... and the Hong Kong Spin?"
Startled by the absurd phrase, Liliana lifted her head.
She tried desperately to hold back the laughter welling up inside her, but the pleasure pouring through her body pulled her awareness away again.
The instant Aina's fingers touched a deeper spot, Liliana nearly let a sound slip and gripped the towel tighter.
"And as a result... it seems the commotion subsided... ah...!"
Ophelia's voice shook sweetly, as though drawn along by the motion of Lily's hands.
Every word fell on Liliana's ears with strange, pleasant clarity.
In time with Lily's hand pressing into her lower back, Ophelia's skin moved in supple, wave-like ripples, glimmering with oil.
And each time it did, droplets of sweat clinging to the hair at her nape caught the light and slid down her neck.
The sight stole Liliana's breath before she realized it.
A faint flush tinged Ophelia's cheeks, and the way she drew her lips tight as if biting them looked oddly defenseless, heightening the fragile beauty about her.
Because Liliana knew how composed and unyielding she usually was, this sight held all the more allure.
Lady Ophelia like this, so utterly defenseless... Is she this passionate with Lord Yuri as well...?
That restless feeling stirred in her chest, and yet Liliana could not look away from Ophelia.
"So then, Lady Ophelia... was Lord Yuri hurt in any way because of that incident?"
Trying to hide her own feelings, Liliana forced the topic onward in a softly trembling voice.
But each time Aina's oil-slick fingers slowly stroked her thigh, the heat spreading through her body steadily loosened her tension.
"It seems it never came to anything serious. But... ah... his reckless behavior truly did take me by surprise..."
Letting out a sweet breath, Ophelia's eyes fell half-shut.
Her voice seemed to mingle with the fragrance hanging in the room, reaching Liliana's ears with soothing softness.
Honestly... he keeps doing dangerous things... He really is the sort of man you can't take your eyes off of...
Yuri's reckless bravery rose in her mind, and complicated feelings swirled in Liliana's chest.
Worry, admiration, and the faintest touch of fear.
As Aina's hands stroked smoothly over her back and the spreading warmth wrapped itself around her whole body, Liliana gradually ceased trying to resist it.
Her thoughts melted into pleasant sensation, leaving her with no choice but to surrender herself to the moment.
I can't anymore... I don't want to think about anything...
The last thing that surfaced was a sweet feeling tinged with her feelings for Yuri.
Holding that feeling quietly in her heart, Liliana closed her eyes and let herself sink deeper into the luxurious pleasure.