In this life, her name was Fio Aestdragon, the strongest ruler of the Ice Dragon Clan. After nearly a century of being single, she’d finally gotten the chance to enjoy a little happiness.

Ahhh! Fio, you little sneak! You’ve actually got the guts to bathe with a girl! There can’t be anyone in this world more shamelessly horny than you!

Fio soaked in the hot spring, her face burning as she kept her head down and stole the occasional glance at the blonde girl beside her.

She had no idea where she’d found the courage to bathe with a young woman like Vivian.

“Holy crap… They really do float!” Fio muttered under her breath, a hint of envy in her voice.

She looked down at herself, feeling a little dejected. In human years, Fio was already old enough to have stopped developing. She’d be flat-chested for the rest of her life.

Whatever. That didn’t matter right now. What mattered was… Hehehe. I finally get to enjoy some fan service from a beautiful girl!

Even when faced with an S-rank girl like Vivian, Fio could still feel attracted to her. That only made her more certain her tastes were perfectly normal. There was no way she’d ever have weird thoughts about a man—especially someone like Leon.

Right. That sadistic, cold-faced, domineering monster of a man who was into little girls! So when Fio remembered how Leon had cornered her before they reached the fortune-teller’s shop, and how her heart had raced, it had to be because she was nervous and scared. There was no way it was because she felt shy and excited.

While Fio’s thoughts were full of Leon, Vivian struck up a conversation with her.

“Fio, what do you think my brother’s good points are?”

“You mean Leon?”

Vivian nodded. Fio’s first thought was: What good points could a creep like him possibly have?!

But telling her outright what was wrong with Leon wouldn’t do Fio any good. After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to make up some good points for him.

“Um… Leon is handsome.”

“Mm, true. He definitely catches your eye.”

“And he’s reliable. He protects people.”

“That’s true. My brother can always take the hit when things get dangerous.”

“And sometimes he’s surprisingly assertive… He’s good at taking the lead.”

The more Fio said, the more naturally the words came. She was stunned. Could she really spout lies without even thinking them through? She was socially awkward—she wasn’t usually this good at making stuff up.

“You summed him up pretty well, Fio. Those are more or less the same good points I had in mind.” Vivian paused, then asked, “Just to make sure, you’re not going to fall for my brother, are you?”

“Of course not, of course not…” Fio nervously looked away and hurried to agree. “He’s the reason I became a slave. I’m not a masochist—why would I like him?”

…

“We’ve been soaking for quite a while…”

Vivian stood up with a splash, showing off her graceful figure. Too shy to look directly at her, Fio stared at the water and awkwardly scooted backward.

But in the reflection on the hot spring’s surface, Fio noticed something was wrong. Vivian’s face had turned bright red, and for some reason her body had taken on a rosy hue too. She was swaying as she moved closer.

This mood… This mood was exactly like she was about to get pounced on! Fio finally realized what was happening.

“W-wait! I’m not mentally prepared for this!”

How could she handle such intense fan service?! Just bathing with Vivian had already pushed her to the limit of her embarrassment. If this kept up, she’d pass out from sheer happiness!

Fio covered her face with both hands and stood up, backing away as fast as she could. She wasn’t watching where she was going, slipped, and splashed into the water.

“Fio, have you been soaking so long that you’re getting dizzy too? I’m going to cool off for a bit.”

With that, Vivian climbed out of the hot spring, put on her robe, opened the door, and left.

Gurgle, gurgle…

Fio swallowed a mouthful of warm spring water. She flailed around underwater, and in her panic, grabbed hold of something. Using it for support, she managed to stand up.

Then she sat down, looking utterly foolish, and panted as she tried to catch her breath.

“Huh? Why does this feel so weird?”

Fio sensed something was wrong. A chill ran down her spine, and her rosy, adorable face went deathly pale.

She hadn’t backed up against the wall, but it felt like she was leaning against an invisible wall. There was something strange here.

As if there were someone here she couldn’t see…

“Mmph—!”

Fio tried to scream, but a strong hand suddenly clamped over her mouth.

Fio instinctively tried to run, but the person realized what she was doing and grabbed hold of her. Invisible arms locked around her, pinning the smaller Fio in place so she couldn’t move.

The silver-haired girl struggled frantically, but the person’s grip only tightened. He held Fio fast with unreasonable strength. Against his monstrous power, she couldn’t fight back at all.

Fear overwhelmed Fio, and she started to cry.

Fio was already slow on the uptake and had no idea how to deal with a sudden crisis like this. Her mind went blank, and she trembled like a frightened puppy, not knowing what to do.

“Leon, help me…”

As she struggled, Fio’s voice slipped out. Without realizing it, she’d called Leon’s name.

The person seemed to freeze, then loosened his grip and asked stiffly, “Fio, were you just calling for me?”

At the familiar voice by her ear, Fio turned around, overjoyed.

She saw Leon. The innocent smile that had appeared at the sight of her hoped-for rescuer froze on her face.

The terrifying person who’d attacked her was Leon. He had absolutely no shame—he’d slipped into a place men weren’t supposed to go, without even trying to hide himself.

What kind of depraved man would commit such a heinous act?

Leon paused, his gaze shifting uneasily. “Fio, what a coincidence. You’re here for a hot spring bath too?”

“Gross!”

Fio, blinded by anger, swung a slap at him. The worst part was that Leon dodged it, and Fio felt so wronged she could’ve cried.