Chapter 367: In the Hot Spring

After seeing off Artemis—who insisted on taking her Familia back to their temporary residence—and the Astrea Familia who left along with them, the residents of the Palais Mermonia finally felt the deep exhaustion of a long, busy day.

"You guys go take a bath first and properly relax," Aiden told Robin, Firefly, and the others. The girls nodded and walked together toward the highly anticipated indoor hot spring.

Only Tifa remained behind, silently beginning to clean up the mess left from the banquet. Aiden didn't leave; instead, he naturally walked over and started cleaning alongside her.

Seeing him, Tifa said softly, "I can handle this by myself. You should go rest too."

"No need," Aiden smiled, deftly stacking a pile of plates. "Besides, Robin and the others are bathing together right now. It's not like I can join them. I have nothing else to do while I wait, so I'll help you." He looked at Tifa's gentle profile under the warm lighting and spoke from the bottom of his heart. "Thank you for your hard work, Tifa. We're so lucky to have you."

He truly meant every word. Tifa worked incredibly hard; she handled nearly all of the Familia's meals and the vast majority of the household chores. On top of that, she maintained her daily training and was a highly reliable combatant in the Dungeon. In every aspect, Tifa was practically perfect. She had a gentle temper, cherished her companions and family, possessed formidable strength yet never slacked off, and was an amazing cook who kept the massive Palais Mermonia running in perfect order. Aiden couldn't even begin to imagine what a chaotic mess their home would be without her.

"You shouldn't say that." Hearing his words, Tifa stopped what she was doing. She turned to face him, reaching out her index finger to gently press it against Aiden's lips, her expression carrying a rare touch of seriousness. "I really love our life right now. And, it's not hard work at all."

Feeling the soft, warm touch of her fingertip pressing against his lips, Aiden acted on a sudden, instinctual impulse and gently licked it with the tip of his tongue.

"Ah!" Tifa yelped, yanking her hand back as if she'd been electrocuted. Her beautiful face instantly flushed crimson all the way to her ears. Embarrassed and flustered, she glared at him and scolded in a low voice, "Wh—what are you doing?!"

"You just looked so cute when you were being serious, I couldn't help myself," Aiden stated honestly, an innocent smile still plastered on his face.

"Is... is this how you coax Robin and Furina?" Tifa stammered, her face burning. Caught between anger and amusement, she gave him a mildly exasperated look.

"I'm not lying to you. You really are incredibly cute, Tifa," Aiden said, observing her rare, endearing fluster and deciding to press the attack.

"Stop it, no more teasing me!" Tifa's eyes darted around frantically, unable to maintain her usual composure any longer. She snatched the plate right out of Aiden's hands and practically fled into the kitchen in a panic, leaving him with only a hurried view of her back.

Watching her runaway silhouette, Aiden couldn't help but chuckle softly. To think that the usually calm and collected Tifa—who always seemed unfazed by everything—had such a panicked and easily flustered side to her. It was fascinating.

Despite her intense embarrassment, Tifa still tacitly accepted Aiden's help, and the two of them quickly finished cleaning up the remnants of the banquet. After placing the final plate into the cabinet, Tifa practically sprinted away, hastily muttering, "I'm heading back to my room," before hurrying off.

Aiden watched her leave, smiling in fond amusement.

He returned to his own room, took a quick shower, changed into a bath towel, and leisurely strolled toward the indoor hot spring deep within the palace, clutching a clean set of pajamas. By this time, Robin and the others should have finished soaking long ago and returned to their rooms. Now, it was his exclusive, peaceful bath time.

However, he seemed to have forgotten that there was one other person who, just like him, had only just finished her chores.

Pushing open the carved wooden door to the hot spring, a wave of warm, humid mist washed over him. As Aiden stepped into the bathing area, he saw a graceful silhouette wrapped in a pure white towel through the hazy steam. With her back to him, her long, elegant legs were slowly stepping down into the hot spring pool.

Hearing footsteps from the doorway, the figure paused and turned around from the water in confusion. When she clearly saw who had just walked in, her beautiful black eyes widened instantly.

"Tifa?" Aiden froze for a second before realizing his mistake. He had grown so accustomed to coming here at this hour, as it was usually only his turn after all the girls had finished. But he completely forgot that tonight, Tifa hadn't bathed with Robin and the rest. So, the two of them had walked right into each other.

"W—why are you here? Get... get out!" Tifa instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, the curves beneath her towel faintly visible. Her cheeks burned bright red, yet her eyes uncontrollably darted toward Aiden's bare upper body, where the defined lines of his muscles and pale skin were sharply highlighted by the mist.

Aiden stood stunned for a moment, then an understanding smirk crept onto his face. He walked closer, his tone carrying a hint of mischief. "Did you forget, Tifa? This is usually my scheduled bath time."

"T—then you bathe first. I'll... I'll leave," Tifa said in a panic. She hastily stood up from the water, her bare feet stepping onto the tiled edge of the pool as she prepared to flee this heart-racing, awkward situation. But the moment she took a step, a large, warm hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Since you're already here, let's bathe together." Aiden grabbed Tifa's wrist, a burning smile in his eyes. Without leaving any room for argument, he dragged her right back into the warm water.

Tifa let out a soft gasp, her mind spinning as Aiden pulled her back into the hot spring, splashing a small spray of warm water. Submerged once more, she felt so profoundly bashful that she simply sank half of her head beneath the surface. Only her beautiful, obsidian-like eyes remained exposed, peeking at him with nervous, timid shyness.

A man and a woman, alone together in the mist-shrouded hot spring. The air felt as if it had frozen, leaving nothing but the increasingly loud sound of their racing heartbeats and the steamy vapor rolling off the water's surface. Naturally, the atmosphere became hot and deeply intimate.

Aiden didn't say a word. He simply stared at her with eyes that burned like fire, slowly leaning closer. The warm pool water rippled outward with his movements, eventually lapping gently against Tifa's body.

"D—don't come any closer," Tifa's heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of her throat. She instinctively backed away, but her shoulders hit the cold, hard tiled wall of the pool. She had nowhere left to run.

Aiden stopped right in front of her. The distance between them was so incredibly close that they could feel the heat of each other's breath.

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