''Hah... ngh...''

  ''...Good night, my princess.''

  With a gentle kiss to the forehead, Rachael sent my exhausted self to sleep. Even though I hated to admit it, I had come to fear these intimate times a bit.

  They took energy, took some sort of peace in my mind, but mostly, I always came out of them feeling unsatisfied. That does not mean I was disappointed with my partners' performances, of course. Just... I had to hold in my instinct each time, and it was honestly daunting.

  ''Heheh...''

  But... if it was for these women... then I wouldn't mind. Not one bit.

  ''You stubbornhead.''

  ''Ugh...''

  Nudging my cheeks with her palms, Rachael stared at me intently. This was right before she departed from the mansion, obviously busy with state affairs. As she contempted something, her expression suddenly turned down a notch with a sigh.

  ''...Take care of yourself better, Cecilia. Don't worry me or your little sister anymore, okay?''

  ''I know...''

  ''The next time I get a text from your sister, I'm seriously locking you in my room.''

  ''Isn't that kidnapping...?''

  ''What do you think?''

  The moment Rachael's eyes gleamed a red shade, I realized something wasn't quite right. I felt a chill running down my spine, but... she wouldn't really do that, right...?

  Nonetheless, I kissed the imperial princess on the lips once and sent her back to the pace soon after.

  Now then... I should probably pay more attention to my body, first and foremost. Did Lucy not have something like a chart for my physical condition?

  It was one thing that I wasn't too intimately familiar with Cecilia's body as I hoped I would be, and it didn't help when that same body wasn't functioning as intended most of the time.

  Still, even if I wanted to make Rachael happy, I couldn't do much.

  ''Hah...''

  ''Big sis.''

  ''Ah, Lyra.''

  Almost too naturally, my little sister, who was quite literally taller than me, slid her arms under my armpits, pulling me into an embrace. I used to be the one doing that, but time changed, I suppose.

  Turning around, I smiled at Lyra, who held her face closer to mine than expected.

  ''Did you have breakfast?'' I asked. ''Should I make something?''

  ''That's the chef's duty, not yours. Besides, I want to ask you the same question.''

  I think I'll just have lunch... is what I wanted to say, but remembering the lecture I was given the day before, I auto-corrected the words that came out of my mouth instantly, ''I think I'll have breakfast now. Would you join me?''

  ''Sure.''

  So, the day proceeded as usual.

  After finishing the first meal in the morning, I sent Lyra to her css and y down for some more hours of sleep, then came lunch. Of course, I had lunch with my little sister, and since she had afternoon csses, too, I spent time... sleeping.

  Somehow, despite napping practically all day, I could still easily fall asleep. In fact, had I not carried mortal worries, I was sure I could hibernate for years or even decades.

  Well, I had nothing in particur to do anyway, and that was perhaps fortunate. It was peaceful.

  Around te afternoon, Lyra once again visited my room and woke me up.

  ''Do you want to bathe first or have dinner first?''

  ''Nn...''

  Still a bit eepy, I sat on the edge of the bed, contempting. Eventually, I decided on the former. I was the type of person who couldn't go about my day not showering at least once, and I especially liked finishing my bath before the sun went down.

  A routine thing, I guess.

  ''You don't need to...''

  ''No.''

  And, of course, Lyra insisted on preparing hot water for my bath. I mean, there was a separate instaltion made just for heating water, but I couldn't just throw away my sister's sincerity, right?

  Feeling somewhat emotional, I took off my capelet and opened the closet. Lots of clothes inside, but I usually only wore one style anyway. Just a pin, white dress would do. Underwear... towel...

  ''It's done.''

  ''Oh, thank you.''

  Lyra, having just come out of the bathroom, was adjusting her rolled-up sleeves, hair slightly damp from the vapor. How should I say... that long pants and white shirt aesthetic matched her really well. My little sister would surely become a woman magnet in the future.

  I still missed the timid girl sometimes, though.

  ''...?''

  As I entered the bathroom and turned around to close the door, Lyra was there—no, not 'there' as in outside but inside.

  ''I'll help you.'' She nonchantly said, tying her long hair into a ponytail. ''Just rex and leave everything to me.''

  ''N-N-No, what do you mean...?!''

  I was fbbergasted.

  Just the mere idea of that was somehow outrageous to me, who firmly considered the bathroom to be an absolute personal space. If I had done this with Lyra before, then it wouldn't be so shocking, of course.

  But... I never did that.

  Moreover, I was an adult woman, one most capable of ordinary tasks like cleaning myself. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if I needed my little sister to assist me?

  Now, those thoughts couldn't save me from Lyra, as I would find out.

  ''Ah—no, wait...!''

  The bundle I was holding was quickly taken away, and once it was pced on the nearby counter, I found myself being spun around.

  ''Get this quickly over with.'' She said quietly.

  I tried to fil around a bit, practically panicking, but when my little sister began to pull my dress's zipper down, I knew she wasn't going to back down. It seemed the incident the day before really got her worried.

  ''Hah...''

  So, I backed down instead. It would be much faster to have her bathe me than fight over it here. Yet, the sheer embarrassment coming from being seen naked by my little sister was immense. I could feel my body heating up.

  How did it come to this...?

  Worse, being who I was, I could tell Lyra's gaze contained something other than just pure intent to help. Perhaps that was natural, seeing the original Lyra still swung that way. She was still in her puberty, after all.

  ''...Let's go in.''

  At least she had the decency to look away, I suppose.

  Not like Penelope, who would stare harder when I told her not to.

  But I gradually calmed myself down as I stepped into the actual room where the tub was. Thick steam lingered in the air, and everything felt hazy. One saving grace was that it deeply warmed me on this cold winter day.

  I sat on the chair used for washing one's body before submerging in the tub, waiting for Lyra to move.

  ''...''

  ''...''

  At some point, some sort of strange tension developed between us. I wondered if my body looked bad. Maybe too skinny.

  Ah... thinking about that made my thoughts chaotic again.

  And that was when Lyra finally leaned down, grazing her breath against my nape. Her slender hands perched on my bare shoulder, transmitting a certain heat.

  ''...Are you ready?''

  ''Y-Yes...''