While the magnificent palace in the capital of the Larkvood Kingdom was currently filled with immense curiosity and serious debate regarding the non-human race, the situation at the resting place of the entourage from the Garveon Kingdom was quite the opposite.
Inside the luxurious pavilion provided specifically for the kingdom's VIP guests, there was no political tension or suffocating curiosity. Instead, there was only a relaxed and very intimate atmosphere.
At this moment, Kazien and his three fiancés were enjoying their rest. They were bathing together in a pavilion bathroom that was exceptionally spacious, resembling an indoor natural hot spring.
The walls were made of polished marble, while the clear warm water emitted a very pleasant aroma of soothing herbs, washing away all the fatigue after days of long-distance travel.
Inside the large bathing pool, Kazien used his perfect physical clone creation magic. Thanks to this high-level magic, there were now four identical versions of Kazien, sitting back in a relaxed manner side-by-side at the edge of the pool.
His three fiancés: Alvin, Allen, and Arken, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the moment. Without a single thread of clothing, each of them sat on the lap of one of the Kazien clones. They were positioned face-to-face with one another. Their legs were wrapped around Kazien's waist, while their arms tightly hugged the shoulders and neck of the silvery-white-haired boy with a feeling of profound peace.
With this face-to-face position, their chests touched directly, allowing the warmth of their bodies and their heartbeats to greet each other while soaking in the soothing warm water.
However, the scene that should have been filled with romance and the monopoly of affection from the three fiancés was slightly disrupted by an unusual sight.
Felix, the handsome blue-haired prince from the Garveon Kingdom, was casually bathing with them. What was worse, the youth was now sitting face-to-face on the lap of the fourth Kazien clone. Just like the others, Felix wrapped his arms around Kazien, hugging him very comfortably as if the place belonged to him.
Seeing this sight, which was highly irritating to his eyes, Allen, who usually remained calm and did not openly show his possessiveness, finally reached his limit. Cracks began to appear on his mask of tranquility. He looked over from the shoulder of the Kazien he was hugging, staring sharply beside him toward the prince.
"Felix..." Allen called out in a tone he tried to suppress to remain calm, yet it sounded distinctly cold, his hands unconsciously hugging Kazien's neck tighter. "Why are you even bathing with us? Have you no shame, sitting face-to-face on his lap and hugging our future husband's body like that right in front of us?"
Hearing Allen's reprimand, Felix did not feel intimidated at all. Instead of feeling awkward or immediately moving away, the blue-haired prince only made himself more comfortable in his embrace on Kazien's body.
"Just ignore me!" Felix answered in a relaxed and somewhat stubborn tone, his hands pressing against Kazien's back to make their hug even tighter. "Before you three were around, I was the one who always held Kazien on my lap when we were kids. He even used to praise my face every time he sat on my lap! So, is there anything wrong with me hugging him now?"
Felix's defense, bringing up childhood memories, caused the atmosphere in the hot spring to change drastically. Arken, who possessed a far more aggressive nature and always acted without hesitation to protect his fiancé, immediately turned around with a gaze as sharp as a dagger.
"Do you actually like our fiancé?" Arken asked suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence sharply and piercing straight to the heart of the matter without any small talk.
Arken's question made the rising steam seem to freeze for a moment. Felix met Arken's sharp gaze, then let out a soft sigh before answering.
"Honestly, I do like him." Felix admitted truthfully, without a hint of a lie in his blue eyes. "But I have no desire to be one of his fiancés like you all. My feelings for him do not lead to that kind of bond."
Hearing such a contradictory confession, Alvin, who was on the lap of another Kazien, furrowed his brow. His mint-green eyes stared at Felix with deep scrutiny and disbelief.
"If you truly don't like him enough to want him for yourself, then why are you being so intimate with him?" Alvin countered, his tone calm yet full of pressure. He did not believe the prince's words. "It's impossible for someone who doesn't want him as a fiancé to act like you are! Naked on his lap in a face-to-face position like this... I bet your shaft is erect right now while you're hugging his body so affectionately!"
Alvin's frontal and daring accusation regarding the biological reaction made the room tense up slightly. However, Felix had no intention of backing down or denying the facts of his own body.
"I'm acting like this because I really missed him!" Felix dodged without hesitation, his voice echoing in the room with full conviction. "And yes, right now my shaft is indeed erect while hugging him directly like this without any clothes. This reaction of my body is normal. But I swear in the name of Goddess Nirfelia that I truly have no desire to be Kazien's fiancé like you all."
The vulgar confession combined with the bold oath made by Felix successfully left Kazien's three fiancés frozen. Their mouths hung open slightly. The three of them truly never expected Felix to dare to risk everything by swearing in the name of Goddess Nirfelia directly in front of Kazien, who was the direct envoy of the goddess herself.
Kazien, who had been enjoying the soak in the warm water with his eyes closed in their embrace, immediately opened his eyes. He looked at Felix's face from a very close distance with a serious gaze, realizing the weight of the sentence the prince had just uttered.
"Felix, don't mess around with that oath of yours!" Kazien warned him with a heavy tone. "You know very well this isn't a joke. If you lie, you'll face the consequences yourself."
However, Felix stared back into Kazien's sapphire blue eyes in front of him with unshakable determination.
"Because I know the risks, that's why I dare to swear in the name of the Goddess!" Felix asserted in response to Kazien's words, assuring the boy that he was in no way playing with the great goddess's name.
Felix glanced briefly toward Alvin, Allen, and Arken. Then returned his gaze to the Kazien's handsome face in front of him.
"If I didn't swear in this manner, your three fiancés would surely always be suspicious of me when I clearly have no desire to be engaged to you!" Felix continued explaining his reason in a loud voice so the three of them could hear. "I am doing this so they will stop suspecting me every time I am near you!"
Hearing that explanation, Kazien watched Felix's eyes closely. There was no hesitation, lie, or hidden intention in the gaze or the words coming from the prince's mouth. Kazien was truly convinced that the handsome prince, whom he already regarded as a best friend and brother, indeed had no romantic feelings for him.
However, realizing how absurd their current situation was, Kazien could no longer contain himself. Suddenly, he chuckled softly in front of Felix. The sound of his crisp laughter echoed against the bathroom walls.
"Anyone would be suspicious of you, Felix!" Kazien said amidst his laughter, shaking his head at the prince's behavior. "Because you are the one intentionally sitting face-to-face on the lap of a man while being stark naked with him, then hugging him so affectionately in front of that man's three fiancés. This behavior of yours certainly invites great suspicion."
Felix snorted softly, not wanting to lose the argument with Kazien.
"You are did the same!" Felix shot back quickly in his own defense. "When we were kids, you always praised my looks and stroked my face without the slightest hesitation in front of both my parents! You even did it in front of many people at the palace while you sat comfortably on my lap! If we look back, your behavior then was much more suspicious than what I'm doing now!"
Attacked by the facts of his past, Kazien could not refute Felix's words. His mouth, which was about to argue back, immediately clamped shut. He could only stay frozen while looking at the blue-haired prince's face, then awkwardly scratched his head, which didn't actually feel itchy at all.
To divert his awkwardness, Kazien looked at Felix, who was still comfortably sitting on his lap.
"Are you really that comfortable sitting face-to-face on my lap like this?" Kazien asked, truly wanting to know, surprised to see a royal prince so at home in such an intimate position.
"Of course!" Felix answered without the slightest doubt. He hugged Kazien's body again and closed his eyes to enjoy the warm water and the embrace. "Finally, I understand why you looked so calm and happy when you sat on my lap before. It really is this comfortable."
Hearing that honest and innocent answer from Felix, Alvin, who had been watching their interaction and noticed the shift in the aura around them, immediately spoke up. The golden-haired high elf stared at Felix with a gaze full of serious warning.
"I hope you don't provoke Allen into becoming extremely jealous by continuing to act strangely more than that." Alvin suddenly gave him a firm warning. His gaze flicked toward Allen, who was now silent, relaxing on their fiancè's lap. "Just so you know, he is very possessive. If his patience runs out, his level of possessiveness and his actions will even exceed mine and Arken's."