A Japanese meal followed by a dip in the hot spring—that was the proper order of things.
The inn offered an indoor bath, but I had my heart set on the open-air bath.
I stripped in the dressing room and, wrapping a towel around my waist, stepped through the door leading outside.
"Whoa... this is the real deal!"
The moment I stepped out, the biting night air stung my skin. But that chill was forgotten the moment I laid eyes on the bath itself.
Wisps of white steam curled into the air. The stone-lined tub was massive, easily capable of holding a dozen people with room to spare. The design was unmistakably Japanese, and a surge of nostalgic warmth filled my chest.
The staff had told me that the Queen Dowager—Shoko Sanada—had made a habit of visiting this place daily to enjoy the waters. When she’d commissioned the inn, she had been incredibly particular about the design of the open-air bath.
"Was this her design too? She really was trying to recreate Japan..."
She must have been desperately homesick. At the very least, she had wanted to spend her final years surrounded by a landscape that reminded her of home.
A wave of sentimentality washed over me as I took up a cypress bucket, scooping up the hot water to rinse myself off.
"God, it’s hot... or maybe it just feels that way because of the cold air."
The Marquis Rosemary House had its own lavish bathrooms, but it didn't have anything like this. Soaking in hot water while exposed to the open air was a unique sensation.
"Ngh... it's hot, but it hits the spot!"
I slowly lowered myself into the tub, starting with my feet. Bubbles rose from the far end of the bath, marking the spot where the natural spring water welled up.
"A private, source-fed natural spring all to myself... talk about luxury."
As I soaked, enduring the initial heat, I eventually grew accustomed to the temperature. The chill of the night air faded into the background, replaced by a deep, core-penetrating warmth.
Under normal circumstances, this bath was open to the local villagers, but it had been reserved for private use today because of our stay. I felt a pang of guilt for displacing the locals, but Celestine was paying a premium for the exclusivity. If anything, the employees seemed thrilled; their beaming faces suggested the village would prosper from the patronage.
"The moon and stars above, and the sea stretching out before me. This really is a magnificent spot," I muttered lazily to myself.
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and the moon shone with a brilliant intensity. The sight of countless stars twinkling was something one would never see back in Japan, where the night was dominated by the hum of electric lights.
Although the bath was surrounded by a wooden fence, one section had been left open. That side overlooked a gentle cliff, providing an unobstructed view of the ocean.
"Is that the western side? I should have come out sooner."
I let out a regretful sigh. Had I bathed before dinner, I could have watched the sun dip below the horizon from right here. To soak in a hot spring while watching the sunset over the sea—now that would have been the peak of indulgence.
"Hmm... maybe staying another two or three days wouldn't be such a bad idea. Lady Celestine will probably head back to the Royal Capital, but I could stay just a little longer—"
"Oh? If that's the case, I would be delighted to join you."
"Ah, you'll stay with me? Well, that would be... wait."
I reflexively started to reply to the voice that had so naturally interrupted my monologue before the anomaly registered.
"Huh...?"
I'd been so relaxed that I'd let my Life Search magic lapse. I turned around and saw a woman who shouldn't have been there—someone who definitely shouldn't have been permitted to enter.
"Would it be alright if I joined you, Rest-san?"
"Pfft!?"
There she stood: Celestine Crocus.
The daughter of the leading noble family, House Duke Crocus. The paragon of ladylike virtue.
The woman with the most prestigious bloodline in the kingdom stood before me, her bare skin wrapped in nothing but a single towel.