The stone house fell silent for a moment, save for the continuous and inviting sound of trickling water coming from behind the frosted glass door.
“Well then… we’ll go right ahead,” Onyxia said, breaking the silence first.
She walked to the center of the room and began removing her outer layers.
Her movements were natural, as if this were nothing more than a routine preparation for bed.
Her gaze swept fleetingly over Celia, who was still standing in place.
“What are you dazing off for? Aren’t you going to soak?”
Ilyas’s face was so red it looked ready to steam.
She hardly dared to look at Onyxia undressing, let alone Celia.
Like a startled quail, she kept her head down, her fingers clutching her collar tightly.
She shuffled toward the hot spring door but hesitated, caught between immense shame and an inexplicable sense of anticipation.
“I… I’ll go get ready first,” Celia finally spoke, instinctively turning toward the small room nearby.
Onyxia immediately replied, “Ready? Celia, let me remind you that you are the Dark Elf here. In the stories Sister Traka told me about your kind, she never mentioned Dark Elves being this shy. Isn’t being honest with your bodies as natural as breathing for your race?”
Celia’s movements froze completely, her foot destined for the small room pinned to the floor.
Onyxia was right. If it were any other member of her kin in this situation, they probably would have been the first to strip bare.
But she was different.
For so many years, Celia had been forced to live an ascetic life.
That damned System had even increased her body’s sensitivity in a borderline malicious prank after she came of age.
At this moment, the mere thought of ‘removing my clothes in front of the two of them’ made the blood beneath her skin accelerate, sending a faint heat blooming behind her ears.
‘If Onyxia notices… if she catches this unnatural physiological reaction…’
Celia worried.
‘If Ilyas finds out, she would probably just blush and stutter some harmless jokes. But if Onyxia sees through this physical weakness… then I’ll be truly finished. What dignity will I have left?’
Before Onyxia, she would likely become a plaything to be manipulated at will.
She had originally hoped to use future System missions or methods to quietly lower this annoying sensitivity before making any moves…
At least that way, she could retain some initiative.
Now, the simple act of undressing might expose the embarrassment she was trying so hard to hide.
But refusing to do so would be worse.
Deliberate avoidance and unusual shyness would only trigger Onyxia’s deeper suspicions.
The cornered Dark Elf lady had no choice but to grit her teeth and strip.
‘If I move quickly, fluidly, and as normally as possible, maybe Onyxia won’t get suspicious,’ Celia thought.
For her first move, Celia untied her high-bound, silver-white hair.
Her locks cascaded down like a waterfall over her shoulders and back, offering a sliver of coverage that was better than nothing.
Then, she undid the first buckle at the top of her outer robe.
The faint *click* of the metal rings separating was terrifyingly clear.
She could feel Onyxia’s steady gaze.
Ilyas seemed to be holding her breath as well.
Then came the second buckle.
Then the third.
As the front of her robe opened, the cool air brushed against the skin suddenly exposed below her collarbone, triggering a slight shiver.
The trembling had nothing to do with the cold; it was purely an overreaction caused by her sensitive state.
Visible to the naked eye, a faint crimson began to spread rapidly from her neck.
Celia’s breathing rhythm didn’t change at all—she even intentionally made it long and steady—but she could feel her heart pounding heavily in her chest.
Forcing her fingers to remain steady, she continued downward to untie the sash at her waist.
Her outer robe slid off her shoulders and piled at her feet, revealing the form-fitting dark undergarments beneath.
The fabric was soft and thin, tracing the smooth, lithe lines of her waist while failing to hide the slight rise and fall of her chest from her nervousness.
The hardest part arrived.
The undergarment had no complex buckles, only thin strings on the side.
When her fingertips touched the knot, she trembled imperceptibly.
She could feel those two pairs of eyes — one burning like a torch, the other trembling with shyness — locked onto her fingers and the skin that was about to be revealed.
She couldn’t stop now.
She caught the knot and gave it a gentle pull.
Free from its restraints, the fabric slid quietly down her curves.
Her upper body was completely exposed to the warm, humid air, revealing skin as fine as jade, beautiful shoulder and neck lines, and her ample chest.
‘Stay calm. Just like Ashriel. I’m a Dark Elf; this is nothing.’
Celia silently invoked the name of her cousin, the most lecherous woman among the Dark Elves, hoping to draw courage for her facade.
She did not look down at her exposed skin, nor did she make any attempts to cover herself.
She simply used all her strength to maintain a calm expression.
The gazes were too intense; she couldn’t stay standing there any longer.
Celia forced herself to move.
In a final act of desperation, she turned her back to them.
The movement fully showcased her graceful lines.
As she walked, she reached out and untied the final strap at her waist.
Her leggings slid down her straight legs and onto the floor.
Without a moment’s pause, she even intentionally quickened her pace toward the hot spring pool.
It was only a few steps from the room to the edge of the pool, yet it felt as though she had exhausted all her composure.
When the warm spring water finally washed over her feet and calves, quickly enveloping her waist and chest, a sigh of relief almost escaped her throat.
The water rippled, and the rising steam instantly concealed most of her body.
Celia sank into the water until it reached her chin.
Only when the churning white mist blurred everything below her collarbone did she finally allow herself to relax.
Watching Celia retreat toward the water with her entire body flushed red, Ilyas turned to Onyxia.
“Are we being a bit too much?”
“Too much? Not at all.”
Onyxia stepped slowly to Ilyas’s side.
She did not look at the girl’s blushing face, as her eyes remained fixed on the hot spring.
“Look,” she whispered, “hasn’t Celia already accepted it? She didn’t sternly refuse, she didn’t insist on separate rooms, and now… she’s even tacitly allowing us to be here. Doesn’t that say enough?”