Luke was basically running the table at full trash-talk power now. Who cared about being cool and aloof when you'd just pulled a god-tier self-draw like that?
And seeing that familiar, obnoxious, punchable grin return to his face—
Crack.
It was like a mirror shattered in the girls' hearts.
Their looks went flat again. One by one, they pulled out their money.
Meanwhile, Luke had no idea he'd just missed a golden chance to improve his image. He was still riding the high of that self-draw, smug as could be.
"This was All Terminals, and I self-drew it with Three Concealed Pungs too. If you ask me, even the spectator should have to pay for a hand like this."
Self-drawing a Three Concealed Pungs All Terminals really did feel even better than someone else dealing into a Thirteen Orphans.
Hearing that, Sona's big eyes were full of confusion.
"Just ignore him," Lux said, glaring at him with irritation. "Can you play normally for once?"
Losing money already put her in a bad mood. Having to listen to him gloat nonstop made her feel like biting someone.
"Sure I can," Luke said, still hyped. "Just watch—I'm going to win you so hard you'll be left without underwear."
He was so excited he completely forgot he was sitting with three women.
Fiora raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely interested. "If you win our underwear off us… what exactly are you planning to do?"
Lux looked at Luke with open disgust.
Kahina lowered her head and pressed her thighs together.
Sona blinked.
Luke froze. A second later he sucked in a sharp breath and gave an awkward laugh. "Pretend I just… farted, okay?"
Great. Any "cold, untouchable male idol" image was officially gone forever.
Talking trash in mahjong was normal.
The not-normal part was that everyone at the table except Luke was a woman.
Thankfully, none of them took that line too seriously.
After a few rounds, the sky outside got darker and darker.
Then, on the final hand, Kahina discarded a tile and fed Fiora the winning tile—officially ending mahjong for the night.
For Luke, it was another day of raking it in.
That one Three Concealed Pungs All Terminals self-draw alone basically outweighed the swings of several rounds.
"This is a reward for you. Spend it carefully," Luke said in high spirits, tossing each of the girls a gold coin.
Seeing his arrogant face, every one of them wanted to whip the coin right back into his forehead and spit, Like I want your stupid money!
But thinking about the last couple days' losses—and their not-so-fat little stashes—they swallowed their pride and pocketed the coin.
Silently, they began to brew their revenge for next time.
With this single gold coin, they'd take back everything they'd lost.
"Bath time," Luke said, humming to himself as he headed for the backyard.
At that, the girls all lifted their heads.
They remembered the hot spring pool in Luke's backyard had apparently been finished today.
They exchanged glances and all saw the same temptation in each other's eyes.
No woman could resist the pull of soaking in a hot spring before bed.
Luke had already reached the backyard.
He went to the valve, turned it left, and at once a stream of steaming hot spring water burst from the outlet.
As time passed, the pool filled higher and higher. Because of the stone's color, the water looked faintly teal.
With heat steadily rolling off the surface, a thin mist soon rose over the pool and the surrounding area.
Luke crouched and tested the water with his hand. It was around 40°C.
Hot springs came in different temperatures, but the closer to body temperature, the better the effect.
And natural hot springs had plenty of benefits—boosting metabolism, improving circulation, easing skin tension, and more.
Fall and winter were the best seasons for a soak, but summer worked just fine too.
When he saw the water level continuing to rise, Luke turned around and went back into the main house to get things ready.
Inside, the girls watched him go back and forth—until this time he came out with a pile of herbs, heading toward the backyard again.
They looked at each other once more, then stood up in unspoken agreement.
Backyard.
Luke sensed a few people sneaking along behind him. He stopped, turned around, and looked.
Caught, Lux, Fiora, Kahina, and Sona stepped out without a hint of panic.
Luke eyed them. "What, you want to spy on me while I bathe?"
"Pfft!" Lux spat immediately, glaring at the guy who somehow managed to be irritating the moment he opened his mouth. "Who wants to watch you bathe?"
"Then why are you following me?" Luke asked.
Lux stared at the herbs in his hands, curious. "That medicated bath you mentioned before—what does it do again?"
The day Luke checked their pulses, he'd mentioned medicated baths. And from the look of it, he was obviously getting ready to soak now.
"Lots of effects," Luke said. "Relieves fatigue, brightens skin and fades scars, helps with a sensitive stomach, improves digestion, soothes the nerves, things like that."
He said a whole list, but the girls only heard one part:
Brightens skin and fades scars.
Even Fiora couldn't resist the lure of skincare.
And Lux, Sona, and Kahina had even less chance of resisting.
Just from the way their eyes lit up, it was obvious what they wanted.
Luke's lips curled. He didn't bother dragging it out. "So you want to soak, right?"
Lux nodded immediately, her eyes screaming, Not just want—desperately want.
Fiora hesitated a second, then nodded too.
Sona and Kahina nodded as well.
Luke's grin turned even more insufferable. "Easy. Each of you says one nice thing about me, and you can go in."
His eyes were practically dripping with mockery.
Oh, now you need me?
Weren't you just calling me a jerk a minute ago?
The girls' expressions tightened with frustration.
On one hand, they really wanted to soak.
On the other, they didn't want to flatter this guy against their conscience.
So they were stuck.
"Not talking?" Luke snorted. "Fine. Now it's two nice things each. That's the admission fee."
"You're going too far!" Lux snapped. "Forget it—this hot spring isn't worth it!"
She turned and marched off.
She made it two steps before spinning right back around.
Stopping in front of Luke, she dropped her gaze and forced the words out. "Your Highness is handsome and… imposing."
"Mm." Luke nodded, satisfied, and stepped aside.
Lux walked past with her cheeks puffed in humiliation.
Second was Fiora. Her cool eyes fixed on Luke as she sighed in resignation. "Distinguished-looking. And… graceful."
"Mm." Luke let her through too, then looked at the last two. "I'm sick of compliments about my face. You should appreciate my inner beauty more. Anything about looks doesn't count now."
Lux curled her lip.
Kahina, who'd already prepared something in her head, instantly panicked and started scrambling for "inner beauty" compliments.
After a long pause, she finally squeezed out two words: "Approachable. Broad-minded."
Luke considered it. "Barely counts. You pass."
Last was Sona.
Luke glanced at her and simply stepped aside without making it hard for her.
Sona smiled at him and walked through—truthfully, she could've come up with plenty.
They continued toward the hot spring pool.
Watching Lux and the others sulk in silence, Luke felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him.
The sweet, sweet joy of payback.
At the pool, the water level was nearly spilling over. Mist floated in a layer above the surface, along with that clean, natural hot spring scent.
Luke shut off the valve and went to the edge to prepare the medicated bath.
First, he took out pre-ground herbal powder and flung it across the pool, scattering it over the surface.
Then he tossed in the rest of the herbs whole, and even threw in a few rare exotic fruits.
The girls watched from the side, curious and fascinated.
They'd soaked in hot springs before, but this was their first time trying a medicated bath.
They saw the water slowly deepen in color. Strangely, there wasn't a bitter herbal smell at all.
Instead, a light, fresh fragrance drifted toward them—surprisingly pleasant.
They'd already prepared themselves to soak while breathing in medicinal stink. Finding out it wasn't like that was genuinely good news.
"Alright," Luke said, straightening and dusting off his hands after tossing everything in.
Seeing he had zero intention of leaving—
"You're not seriously planning to soak with us, are you?" Lux asked, instantly alert, backing up a step like she'd just spotted a wolf.
Fiora, on the other hand, looked more amused than bothered.
Kahina got tense again.
Sona blinked her smiling eyes, clearly thinking about something.
"What else would I do?" Luke shot back. "It's a medicated bath. If I don't soak too, you'll absorb all the medicinal essence. What am I supposed to absorb—your leftovers?"
Lux opened her mouth, then shut it again, her face turning a shade redder.
…That actually made sense.
Seeing them all act like they were guarding against a predator, Luke scoffed. "Good thing I saw this coming. I had Yurna prepare a curtain."
Right on cue, Yurna arrived, a bamboo pole tucked under her left arm and a curtain bundled in her right.
She set the pole into a pre-made slot a few steps from the pool, then hung the curtain and stretched it to the other side—splitting the hot spring into two halves with a sheet of white cloth so neither side could see the other.
"Now you either let me soak first and you refill later—though it won't be as effective," Luke said, "or we soak together right now."
"This batch of medicinal effect lasts at most an hour. Decide."
Luke had predicted they wouldn't miss a chance to soak.
So he'd prepared in advance.
And he wasn't about to lower his own standards. He'd tossed in plenty of rare exotic fruits.
Even if he had a lot of them from his daily pickups, if he soaked every day going forward, the supply still wouldn't last forever.
Plus, by himself he couldn't absorb everything in the whole pool. Anything left over would lose its effect after time and go to waste.
So soaking together was the best outcome.
Otherwise, it would be him first, then them afterward.
With the curtain in place, Lux and the others found it much easier to accept.
Because it was Luke. If it were any other man, they wouldn't be here at all.
Still… they'd only ever used women's baths before. Now it was suddenly mixed bathing. Even with a curtain, just thinking about sharing a pool with a man made them feel embarrassed.
Seeing them still hesitate, Luke stopped waiting. He walked to the left side and leaned his head back out to warn them, "Don't peek."
Lux, cheeks red, glared at the curtain. "Like I'd want to!"
"Good." Luke chuckled. He didn't really believe the only person who might get taken advantage of here was them.
He was still a pure, innocent young man too, okay?
Then he said to Yurna, "You should soak with them too. Shake off some fatigue."
Yurna bowed slightly and nodded. "Yes."
Luke went behind the curtain to the left side.
A moment later, the girls heard rustling.
Their hearts jumped for no reason.
They could tell Luke had started undressing.
The hot spring mist was thick and they weren't trying to look, but with the slightest turn of the head, the white curtain showed a blurry shadow.
Right now, Luke was stripping on the other side of a single thin sheet of cloth.
Without meaning to, tension rose in their chests.
This scene felt wrong no matter how you looked at it.
Fiora looked straight at the curtain and openly watched for two seconds—only two—then forced her gaze away, heat rising behind her ears.
She'd spent her life focused on swordsmanship. She'd never once imagined a day would come when a man taking off his clothes would throw her mind into chaos.
The backyard went quiet. No one spoke. Listening to the soft rustling, Lux secretly lifted her chin a little and glanced at the curtain.
At the perfect moment, the shadow showed Luke pulling off the last top layer, then placing his hands at his waistband.
Lux saw it for a single heartbeat, then snapped her head down again. The tips of her ears turned red at a visible speed.
And Kahina and Sona—who had never encountered a situation like this—grew nervous too.
Part of them wanted to look.
Part of them felt too ashamed to raise their heads.
In the end, they both stole a quick glance and caught the motion of Luke taking off his pants.
Before they'd even stepped into the hot spring, their faces had already flushed.
At this point, what twisted the girls up inside wasn't even the idea of sharing one hot spring with a man—
Fiora steadied herself, exhaled, and walked to the right side. She placed a hand at her collar and unfastened it. In a couple of motions, the first layer came off.
She hung it on the prepared rack and started removing the second.
From the beginning, she hadn't really minded soaking with Luke—especially with a curtain between them.
If anything, with how carefree he was about it, the ones overthinking it were them.
Seeing Fiora start, Lux shook her head, stopped spiraling, and followed.
Soon, the right side filled with the soft sounds of clothing being removed.
On the left, Luke had already finished undressing. Without hesitation, he stepped into the pool.
A slightly scalding warmth climbed up from his feet.
Then he lowered himself all the way in. The moment the water wrapped around him, goosebumps rippled across his skin, and he let out a long breath.
"So good…!"
It had been too long. In that instant, his entire body relaxed like never before.
Splash.
Not long after, a sound of someone entering the water came from the right.
Then Fiora's satisfied voice: "It really is nice."
Even her usual icy tone softened under the heat of the water.
Luke leaned back against the pool edge, eyes closed, voice lazy with comfort. "Told you. When winter comes, snow falling outside while you soak like this—that's what you call living."
Fiora smiled a little, unseen.
When you pictured it like that… it really did sound beautiful.
Yurna got into the pool as well. Fiora could see a hint of warmth in Yurna's usually cool face.
Then Lux entered. She tested the temperature with one foot first, and only after confirming it wasn't too hot did she ease herself in bit by bit.
As the water enveloped her, Lux—who hadn't soaked in a hot spring in ages—slowly relaxed into a blissed-out expression, lounging against the pool edge almost exactly like Luke had.
Every inch of her body felt better, and she'd completely forgotten her earlier embarrassment.
The thought that she could soak like this every day from now on put her in a genuinely good mood.
Two more splashes sounded as Kahina and Sona entered the pool.
Once their bodies were fully submerged, that deep, overwhelming sense of relief loosened the last of their tension.
Not long after, Lux felt a faint coolness spreading through her body. She opened her eyes, puzzled. "Do you guys feel kind of… cool?"
Kahina looked confused. "No. I still feel like it's a little hot."
Fiora and Sona glanced her way too.
Then Luke's explanation drifted over from the left side.
"That's because your body's absorbing the medicinal essence faster."
Lux's eyes lit up. "So that means I'm getting the best brightening effect too?"
Luke answered casually, "You can understand it that way."
Lady Crownguard's constitution really was something. Luke had expected it would take at least ten minutes for anyone in this pool to start absorbing the medicinal essence.
He hadn't expected Lux to start after only a minute or two.
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