It was an unforeseen accident in the middle of a soak.
An unexpected... yet, in a sense, entirely clichéd development.
I had run into Celestine Crocus.
"Wait... this is the men's bath... no, did I accidentally walk into the women's bath!?"
"Please calm down, Rest-san. This inn only has one open-air bath, you see. It is apparently for mixed bathing."
"What!? M-Mixed bathing!?"
Had this open-air bath actually realized a man's dream to this extent?
You could see the moon, the stars, the sea... and even a girl's bare body. Wasn't that a bit too much to see? Please, show a little more restraint—but also, thank you very much.
"C-Calm down... I'm losing it. Calm down. Just breathe..."
With my thoughts in total disarray, I clutched my chest, trying to quiet my heart, which was pounding so hard it felt like it might rupture.
If the people who had appeared here were Viola or Primula, I probably wouldn't have been this surprised. I bathed with those two on a fairly regular basis.
Or even if it had been Yuri, I wouldn't have been this flustered. If that free-spirited girl had been staying at the inn with me, she undoubtedly would have barged into the open-air bath.
(But... I never imagined Lady Celestine would show up!)
I couldn't even fathom the idea of Celestine, the lady of ladies, entering a bath with a man.
The only men she would ever do that with would normally be a blood relative or a husband.
"N-No... is it the opposite? Maybe when you reach Lady Celestine's level, you don't care if a lowly man sees your skin? Has she classified me as nothing more than an animal...?"
"No... you are a Count now, Rest-san, and I certainly do not think you are lowly...?"
"I was thinking out loud again!"
Since when?
Since when had I been blurting out such idiotic things?
I was aghast, but I tried my best to somehow pull myself together.
"Umm... did you perhaps come in without realizing I was here? If so, I'll head out..."
"No, this was no accident. I came in because I wanted to have a quiet talk with you, Rest-san... May I join you in the water now?"
Celestine's shoulders trembled slightly.
Leaving her standing out there in the cold air had apparently chilled her quite a bit.
"Ah... sorry! Please, come in!"
I hurriedly made room—though, truthfully, there was more than enough space without me needing to move an inch.
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
Celestine picked up a wooden bucket and slowly poured the hot water over her body, which was wrapped in a bath towel.
Even the simple act of rinsing herself was so refined it reminded me once again that she was someone born and raised in an entirely different world from mine.
(How should I put it... she's truly beautiful. No, not just her appearance—her every movement.)
Viola and Primula were certainly well-versed in etiquette, but even they weren't as sophisticated as Celestine.
A Marquis house and a Duke house. Both were high-ranking nobles who supported the nation, but the gap between them was clearly no small matter.
"...I feel a bit embarrassed being stared at so intently."
"Wah! Sorry!"
Celestine spoke with a troubled look, and I hurriedly turned my face away.
Having doused herself with water, her towel clung to her body, highlighting her voluptuous figure.
I had been staring at her as if trying to sear her image into my brain. It was, quite frankly, an incredibly rude thing to do.
"Excuse me..."
Celestine slowly entered the water, starting with her toes.
She sat down a short distance away from me and let out a long, slender sigh.
"It has been a long time since I've been in a hot spring. I never imagined I would find one in a place like this."
"...So you've been in one before?"
"Yes. A few times during inspections of the southern Aiwood Kingdom."
The southern part of the Aiwood Kingdom was apparently home to mountain ranges and plenty of hot springs.
I had never been there... but I hoped to travel there with Viola and the others someday.
"Umm... you said you had something to talk to me about? What is it?"
I broached the main topic while enduring the awkward atmosphere.
Was the feeling that my head was about to boil over due to the heat of the water, or the semi-clothed beauty in front of me?
"Yes... there is something I wish to tell you today, Rest-san."
Celestine looked directly at me and began to speak.
"I should clarify beforehand... what I am about to say is something that has already received the consent of His Majesty the King, His Highness the Crown Prince, Marquis Rosemary, my father Duke Crocus, and even Viola-san and Primula-san."
"............?"
So Marquis Rosemary and the sisters already knew?
If it had been cleared with the King and the Crown Prince, it must be an incredibly serious matter.
(No... are you really going to discuss something that important in a bathhouse? Isn't that weird in its own way?)
"Rest-san."
"Yes...?"
"It has been decided that you and I are to be married. I look forward to being in your care."
"...Pardon?"
I blinked repeatedly at the words that had just tumbled from Celestine's mouth.
I thought I had misheard... but she immediately drove the point home.
"Rest-san and I are going to be married. From this point forward, we are fiancés, so I look forward to our future together."
"Whaaaaaat!?"