An unforeseen accident during a soak in the outdoor bath.
Who would have thought… yet, in a way, this was the kind of development you could almost call a foregone conclusion.
He ran into Celestine Crocus.
"W-Wait… this is the men's bath… No, could it be that I'm the one who wandered into the women's bath…!?"
"Please calm yourself, Rest. This inn only has one outdoor bath, you know? I'm told it's shared between men and women."
"What!? A-A mixed bath!?"
Could it really be that this outdoor bath fulfilled a man's dreams to such an extent?
Being able to see the moon, the stars, the sea, and even girls' bare bodies all at once — wasn't that just way too much? Could you maybe dial it back a little? Thanks.
"C-Calm down… I'm all scattered, calm down. Calm down…!"
Rest tried to rein in his racing thoughts while suppressing his heart, which was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.
If it had been Viola or Primula who showed up here, he wouldn't have been this surprised. He bathed with the two of them on a fairly regular basis.
Or even… if it had been Yuri, he wouldn't have been this flustered. That free-spirited girl would have definitely come barging into the outdoor bath if they were staying at the same inn.
(But still… to think that young lady Celestine would be the one to show up…!)
The idea that Celestine — the most proper of proper ladies — would bathe together with a man was simply unthinkable.
If anyone were to see her in that state, it would have to be a close relative or a marriage partner at most.
"N-No… wait, could it be the opposite? That someone of young lady Celestine's caliber wouldn't mind a lowly man seeing her skin — is that the logic here? Has she written me off as being no different from an animal…?"
"No… Rest, you're a perfectly normal count. I don't think of you as lowly at all…?"
"You said it out loud!"
Since when?
Since when had he started saying such stupid things out loud?
Rest was stunned, but did his best to steel himself and calm his nerves.
"Um... could it be that you came in without realizing I was here? If so, I can leave...?"
"No, it was not an unfortunate accident. I came in because I wished to have a proper talk with you, Rest... Would you mind if I joined you in the water soon?"
Celestine's shoulders trembled slightly.
It seemed that standing out in the cold air had chilled her body considerably.
"Oh... sorry! Come on in!"
Rest hurriedly made room for her.
Of course, there had been more than enough space to begin with.
"Then, if you will excuse me."
Celestine picked up the wooden bucket and slowly poured hot water over her towel-wrapped body.
Even the simple act of bathing with a bucket was refined and elegant, making it clear all over again that she was a person born and raised in an entirely different world from Rest.
(She's... truly beautiful. No, I don't mean her appearance—her mannerisms.)
Viola and Primula had no trouble with etiquette either, but even so, they lacked Celestine's level of refinement.
A marquis household and a ducal household. Both were upper nobility that propped up the kingdom, but the gap between them was by no means small.
"...I grow a bit self-conscious when you stare so intently."
"Ah! Sorry!"
Celestine said with an amused look, and Rest hurriedly turned his gaze away.
After bathing, Celestine's towel clung to her body, accentuating her voluptuous figure.
He had been gazing at her as though burning the sight into his eyes. It was, to say the least, extraordinarily rude behavior.
"Excuse me..."
Celestine slowly entered the hot spring, toes first.
She settled into the water a short distance from Rest and let out a long, soft sigh.
"It's been quite some time since I've had a hot spring bath. Who would have thought I'd find the chance in a place like this."
"...You've been in one before?"
"Yes. A few times, during an inspection tour of the southern regions of the Kingdom."
The southern part of the Kingdom of Aiwood was said to be lined with mountain ranges and home to many hot springs.
Rest had never been there himself, but... someday, he'd love to travel there with Viola and the others.
"So, um... you said you had something you wanted to talk to me about? What is it?"
Rest tried to push past the awkward atmosphere and steer the conversation toward the real subject.
Whether the heat inside his head was from the hot spring or from the half-naked beauty before him, he couldn't quite tell.
"Yes... I do have something I'd like to discuss with you today, Rest."
Celestine looked him straight in the eye and began.
"Before I begin, let me make one thing clear... What I'm about to share has already been approved by His Majesty the King, His Highness the Crown Prince, Marquis Rosemary, my father Duke Crocus, as well as Viola and Primula."
"............?"
So the marquis and the sisters had already been informed.
If even the king and the crown prince had been looped in, this had to be something extraordinarily important.
(No... but if it's that important, is the bath really the place to discuss it? Isn't that a little strange in its own right?)
"Rest."
"Y-yes..."
"You will be marrying me. I look forward to working with you…"
"Huh…?"
The words that tumbled from Celestine's lips left Rest blinking rapidly, over and over.
He thought he must have misheard… but before he could process it, the killing blow landed.
"Rest and I will be getting married. From now on, we are engaged, so please take good care of me."
"Wha—!?!"