Chapter 225 - Hot Spring, Part Five

I woke to softness.

The snow outside hadn't stopped. Light filtered through the paper door with that particular pale quality winter carries, washing the whole room in quiet. The fire in the wood stove had burned down to almost nothing.

The air still held it all, the warm, woody smell of burnt timber, the lingering dampness from the hot spring, the faint scent of my wives. And underneath all of it, the unmistakable aftertaste of last night.

They'd kept me up nearly until dawn.

The hot spring hadn't been enough. Once we were back in the room, Aisha and Eris had wanted to keep going...

I let out a quiet sigh.

"Rudy, sighing first thing in the morning will give you wrinkles~"

Sylphiette mumbled against my chest, still half-buried in sleep. She hadn't fully woken yet. Her green hair lay soft against her cheek, and lately, with the pregnancy, she'd taken to curling into my arms like this. Right now her whole body was pressed against me, warm and still.

Like a small animal afraid of the cold.

"Are you awake?"

"Mm... half..."

Eyes still closed. Her voice was soft all the way through.

Last night she and Roxy hadn't been able to really join in, because of the pregnancies. But still,

No.

Better not revisit that.

Especially the part where Sylphiette had gone bright red and whispered, "Rudy~ I know you have lots of different expressions, but this one's a first for me..." That particular memory was more than enough to make me want to sink into the floor.

A soft laugh drifted from nearby.

"Brother's thinking about last night again~"

Aisha had been awake for a while, apparently. She was lying on her side, cheek resting in one hand, smiling at me with the expression of someone who had been watching for some time and enjoying every second of it.

"Why are you this alert first thing in the morning..."

"Because I wasn't the one who was most tired last night~"

"..."

"And last night, Brother was holding me and said —"

"Stop."

"Pfft."

She laughed out loud. Her wine-red hair slipped down over her shoulder. She was in a genuinely wonderful mood, and I was somehow the only one who felt embarrassed about any of this.

On the other side of the bed, Eris was still asleep.

Terribly asleep.

Red hair scattered everywhere, one leg thrown over my waist. She'd been the wildest one last night by a wide margin, and now she was sleeping the deepest. Some kind of cosmic injustice at work there.

As for Roxy, she was curled quietly under the blanket, only half her face visible. Anyone looking at her would think she was the picture of gentle composure.

Which made it worse, somehow, to remember how she had leaned close to my ear last night and calmly, methodically analyzed the precise limits of my endurance.

Teacher has really gone off the rails.

Definitely Aisha's influence.

Just as I was making peace with this, Roxy opened her eyes. She blinked once, then looked over at me with perfect natural ease.

"Good morning, Rudeus."

"Morning, Roxy-sensei."

"You worked hard last night, Rudeus-kun~"

"I managed."

Roxy smiled. She rubbed her cheek lightly against mine.

"Though it seems your endurance really has been slipping, Rudeus. Last night Roxy-sensei only used her hands and my student was already done for?"

"With respect, there's a meaningful gap between real experience and just hands. Roxy-sensei is well aware of that, right?"

"Oh, I'm very aware~ But I'm on logistics duty right now, so telling me doesn't help much~ Though if Rudy wants to try something during the pregnancy... it's not impossible. It's still early, after all~"

I flicked her forehead.

"Don't say things like that. Your health comes first."

"I know, I know~"

She has completely learned bad habits. Completely.

And while I was internally condemning Aisha's corrupting influence, Sylphiette finally came fully awake. She was quiet for a moment. Then, clearly, the memories of last night caught up with her, because her whole face turned red in slow motion.

She pulled the blanket up and muttered.

"Roxy is terrible."

"Hm?"

"Where did Roxy even learn all of that? Did Grandma keep something from me?"

"Hmph~ Self-taught!"

Sylphiette kept her voice low, still indignant.

"Roxy is so mean. I actually felt sorry for Rudy~"

Aisha smiled sweetly.

"Sylphiette-nee's hands weren't exactly still last night either, you know~"

Sylphiette went scarlet.

"Aisha!"

One sharp whisper, and then she dove back under the blanket entirely. Aisha laughed until her shoulders shook.

The room was warming up, laughter seeping in around the edges of the morning quiet.

Then came the small footsteps from outside the door. Very soft, very careful. Two voices, kept low.

Lucy's first. "Dad's probably not awake yet, right?"

Then Tina's. "But I can smell breakfast..."

"Tina, that's coming from the main hall."

"Then should we go wake Mom and Dad for breakfast?"

One second of silence.

I sat up immediately.

"Wait —"

The sliding door was already open.

Christina came in first, then Lucy. Lara followed with a wide, knowing grin. Last came Windsor, walking in at her own unhurried pace.

Two seconds of absolute silence.

The children looked at us.

We looked at the children.

Then their gazes drifted downward to the thoroughly wrecked state of the bedding, and to the four of us more or less tangled together inside it. My wives were all under the futon. None of them were wearing anything. Only I could sit upright and face the children with any dignity, which was its own particular humiliation.

The sliding door.

Right. Because it was a sliding door, it didn't lock.

Ariel. This is entirely her fault. How does a woman that politically meticulous not think of something like this?

Lucy's face went red in an instant. "D-Dad! I'm sorry! We didn't mean to!"

Tina stared with wide eyes. "So adults really do all sleep squished together!"

Aisha, under the blanket, unruffled. "Because it's cold~ Mommies like to cuddle Daddy in their sleep. Daddy runs warm~"

Something clicked in Windsor's expression. "Oh, I see... hm...?"

She wasn't entirely convinced. But Tina was nodding with full sincerity. Lara had already started laughing. Sylphiette was mortified, face down. Roxy had pressed one hand to her forehead and closed her eyes.

Then Eris woke up.

"Eris, don't —"

Too late. She was already groggily pushing herself upright.

"Mm... why is it so loud..."

She blinked at the children.

Two seconds of quiet.

"Hm? When did you all get in here?"

Lucy immediately squeezed her own eyes shut and clapped a hand over Tina's. "Red Mama, get dressed first!"

Eris blinked again, nodded, and began reaching for the futon.

I caught her arm.

What are you doing?

If that futon comes up, my entire dignity as a father ceases to exist.

I cleared my throat.

"Windsor. Take your sisters out for a minute."

Windsor studied us for a moment with calm, serious eyes, then gave a short nod and shepherded everyone out.

As she left, Lara threw me a wink over her shoulder.

The door slid shut.

Silence settled over the room.

Then Aisha broke first.

"Pfft, Brother's face just now, that was too good —"

"Don't."

"You were so flustered, it was incredible~"

I pressed my hand to my forehead and held it there.

Roxy sighed. "Windsor is already starting to wonder, though."

"Yeah..."

She was right. Windsor was seven. Not sharp enough yet to work it all out, but old enough not to swallow "everyone sleeps together because it's cold" without some skepticism. Unlike Tina, who had accepted that explanation on the spot and would probably repeat it to people.

I sighed again.

Roxy laughed quietly. "But it means she's growing up."

"...Honestly, I'd rather she didn't."

"You always say things like that."

"Shall we get dressed?"

"Mm~"

We'd barely started pulling ourselves together when small footsteps came down the hall again.

"Dad."

Windsor's voice.

"What is it?"

"Lucy wanted me to ask when you're coming out for breakfast."

Her tone was perfectly even. Whatever had just happened behind that door, she sounded untouched by it.

I let out a quiet breath. "Soon."

"Mm."

She didn't leave.

A few seconds passed on the other side of the paper door.

Then: "Dad."

"Mm?"

"Last night... were you doing something important? Ghislaine-auntie told me a few things about it."

The room went very still.

Ghislaine.

So she doesn't just teach swordsmanship.

Aisha shoved her face into the blanket. Her shoulders were already trembling. Roxy turned her head away. Sylphiette pulled the covers up over herself completely. Eris had the expression of someone who thought this was probably fine and didn't understand why everyone else was acting like it wasn't.

I was quiet for two seconds.

Cleared my throat.

"...You could say that."

"I see. I'll go wait at the table for everyone, then."

Her footsteps moved off down the hall, measured and steady, until I couldn't hear them at all.

Aisha surfaced from the blanket.

"Brother~ what exactly was this important thing?"

"I genuinely didn't expect her to ask that seriously..."

Roxy smiled. "That's just how she is. Very earnest."

Sylphiette, emerging slightly from her fortress of blanket, added, "Windsor really is a lot like Eris."

Eris frowned. "How?"

Sylphiette counted on her fingers. "The earnestness. The directness. And she really loves her dad."

Eris listened with great attention.

Right. Windsor likes me, of course I know that. She doesn't act spoiled like Lara does, and she doesn't throw herself at me every morning like Tina, but I can feel it. I've always been able to feel it.

The thought made me smile without meaning to.

Eris leaned in.

"Rudeus."

"Mm?"

"Windsor's a good kid, right!"

Her face was bright with pride, the exact same expression she gets when she talks about a particularly well-balanced sword.

"Yeah, she is."

"Hehe..."

Eris was immediately, thoroughly pleased with herself.

They really are alike, those two.

A knock at the outer wall. A maid's voice carried through the door.

"Rudeus-sama. Princess Ariel would like to know if you would all prefer to have breakfast brought to your room."

Two seconds of quiet.

Then Aisha, perfectly easy.

"No need~ We'll be down to eat."

"Understood."

➤ Next: Hot Spring, Part Six