Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Behind Ryuka came Kania's flirtatious yet enthusiastic voice, along with the sound of her bare feet on the stone bricks.

“Miss Kania… what is this…” Melanie across from her suddenly widened her eyes. Ryuka followed her gaze and turned to look, revealing an expression of 'I see'.

Although she hadn't transformed into her witch form, Kania's alluring figure was accentuated by a stunning swimsuit. The purplish-black two-piece swimsuit perfectly showcased Kania's fair skin and perfectly proportioned curves. The lace embellishments and the skirt at the hips added a touch of sophistication, preventing it from being overly revealing…

"Isn't it pretty? This is something called a 'swimsuit,' which Ryuka came up with~"

Kania lifted the hem of her skirt and twirled around, her smooth, fair back flashing past Liuxia.

Hmm... This is perfect for cupping. Seeing Kania's happy and boastful expression, Ryuka couldn't help but want to tease her and see if she would hiss in pain.

"Hmm~~~" Melanie glanced at it meaningfully a few times, seemingly quite fond of the beautiful and glamorous swimsuit design, which looked much better than the loose and plain cotton underwear she wore under her towel.

After all, the world's general values ​​were still quite conservative. Even when farm girls went to play in the river, they wore only shirts and shorts. Noble ladies were similar, except that their conservative styles had some small embellishments, and they wore underwear specifically for playing in the water.

Although Ryuka followed her own desires and proposed a modern swimsuit design, she did not intend to promote it. Clothing concepts should be aligned with social productivity, education, and local customs and culture.

It started as a casual sketch to satisfy my imagination, but it quickly became a reality after Kania discovered it.

His female companions reacted with a range of reactions, from excitement to shame and rejection. For example, Atina and Lindsay couldn't accept appearing in public wearing such 'clothing' for the time being.

But Melanie, like Hetia, Anjaberg, and others, seemed to be full of interest; these ladies seemed to be more open-minded and rebellious.

But she still gave Liuxia's face a playful look and scratched it hard twice.

"You little pervert."

"Hehe." Liu Xia twitched the corners of her mouth twice. Ever since Melanie found out about her physical relationship with Hetia, she would often poke herself with her lips.

Liuxia watched as Melanie suddenly stood up from the hot spring, grabbed a towel, and ran to Kania's side, asking her about the swimsuit with great interest.

She came today mainly to provide Liuxia with some information: Earl Duke of Sochi will soon send a delegation to visit Linhu Town. Besides redeeming his second son, they seem to be proposing some cooperative terms. Others in the Third Prince's camp are quite dissatisfied with this, considering it a betrayal. (The last line appears to be unrelated and possibly a separate comment: "Mei ne zai Lin you yong kong ni Lin zai zai mei ne...")

After finishing her business, Melanie immediately indulged her desires and pulled Kania, with whom she had recently become acquainted, aside for a private chat. Of course, Ryuka's assessment of their relationship was 'superficial sisters'.

Liu Xia soaked in the hot spring for a while, thoroughly relieving the fatigue from work. Since the previous snow mountain incident, in addition to developing hot springs and building roads, how to deal with the discovered Snow Spirit Cave has also become a major problem.

After discussion, Ryuka decided to keep the matter a secret from those present that day, as it involved Vitris's true identity. As for the high-concentration, icy-blue magical crystals on the cave walls, Vitris generously offered to take them after waking up.

This young Snow Spirit lost its mother, 'White Goddess,' at a very young age. The White Goddess's early death appears to be a consequence of forcibly unleashing a large-scale magical attack using the Snow Spirit Clan's sacred stone.

After all, once she learned the truth, her anger had outweighed her reason.

Regarding the Snow Spirit race, their secrets and mission, the last pure-blooded Snow Spirit, 'White God,' did not tell his daughter Vitris about them... Therefore, there are still many things that Ryuka doesn't know about the Snow Spirits and Vitris.

But this doesn't prevent the two from becoming good friends.

After waking up that day, Vitry did not accept Ryusha's invitation to live with them in Linhu Town, but insisted on staying in the deep mountains.

However, the hot spring resort under development is very close to her territory, so Vitris would come to visit Ruka from time to time.

Hmm... the main purpose is to take the prey I caught to Ryūka for cooking.

For example, right now.

"Ryuka, Ryuka, barbecue, barbecue!"

On the wall, Vitry was carrying a roe deer and waving wildly at Ryuka, who was still soaking in the hot spring.

"Vette, didn't I tell you there would be a victory celebration party today? There's plenty of delicious food prepared outside, why did you still bring your prey?"

Ryuka laughed as she stood up, wiping her muscular body, which was only wearing shorts. Well, the rather wild Vitris didn't seem to care about such things.

"I forgot, there were so many delicious things..."

Vitry blinked, lost in thought for a moment, but quickly shook her head.

"I want Liuxia grilled food, it's delicious."

As she spoke, she jumped down from the wall and grabbed Liuxia's hand, ready to rush out of the yard.

"Wait, wait! I haven't changed my clothes yet!!!"

Chapter 2 The Ruined Victory Celebration

"Vitliss! Wait a minute!"

Vitris grabbed Ryuka's hand and rushed towards the corridor outside the courtyard. The fully recovered Snow Spirit girl's strength was astonishing, and Ryuka felt as if his arm was being dragged by a truck.

"Why?!!"

Several screams rang out, and three girls appeared before them: Atina, Evelyn, and Elena. They stared blankly as Ryuu, who was wearing only shorts, was dragged along by the white-haired girl, their faces quickly turning red.

The trio of girls originally worked at a public bathhouse in Linhu Town, but after the hot spring resort was completed, they planned to come here.

Atina's rare expression was one of surprise, shyness, and disbelief, while Evelyn was quite nonchalant, staring at Vitry, whom they had only seen a few times from afar and who was still somewhat mysterious to them.

Elena covered her eyes with her hands, but her gaze peeked through her fingers, wandering over Ryusha's body before settling on the bulge between his legs, her ears turning bright red.

The thought that she didn't know what the madam who taught her etiquette and 'skills' had taught her made Ryuka feel that she was in a bad state.

For some reason, the three of them were carrying large trays piled high with food and drinks. Elena was even carrying a whole roasted suckling pig, but it had just fallen to the ground, thankfully without tipping over.

"Gurgle~"

Looking at the roast suckling pig with its crispy skin coated in honey and sauce, Vitry made a distinct swallowing sound, and the roe deer on her shoulder fell to the ground.

"What happened?"

Hearing the screams of the three girls, Kania and Melanie walked over from the other side.

Melanie had changed into a blue swimsuit, which was a little ill-fitting; it seemed to belong to Kania, who had made several for herself.

However, the upper part of this swimsuit is designed to wrap around the neck and be tied into a bow, so it is relatively forgiving on Melanie's smaller bust.

Her lower body was dressed in a similar style of swimsuit as Kania's, only the skirt wasn't as long. Although Melanie was slightly shorter than Kania, when the two stood together, Melanie's legs appeared to be more toned and slender, radiating a jade-like luster.

"Well--"

Upon seeing Melanie, Vitry's expression turned strange. It was unclear whether Vitry had also witnessed her part of the story during that illusion. After waking up, she felt a complex mix of repulsion and acceptance towards Melanie, a state of inner turmoil.

"Ha—I advise you not to go outside..."

With just one glance, Kania understood what had happened. She sighed, tossed the towel she was carrying to Ryusha, and then helped Elena pick up the roast suckling pig.

"Why?" Ryuka quickly wrapped a towel around her body, and Atina and the others stopped staring at her.

“Luminova and Hetia are drunk…” Kania gave a tired smile, then glanced at Vitris and winked at Ryusha.

"Hiss~~~ Why is Luminova here too?? And who made her drink?!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xia shuddered.

"There was nothing we could do. When Anjaberg went to invite Lindsay, Luminova was supposed to be asleep, but she happened to get up to use the bathroom and that's when she heard us..."

Kania shrugged.

Luminova, this white-haired, long-haired, shark-toothed, big-breasted, brainless, and somewhat insane nun, wasn't the only one giving Ryuka a headache...

First, she was sent by the Holy City of the Vatican, possessing immense power and unclear motives, and harboring strong hostility towards 'heretics'.

Secondly, she's a terrible idiot...

Although Luminova is usually cheerful, enthusiastic, and outgoing, which makes her very likable, she is overly cheerful; even "social butterfly syndrome" doesn't quite capture it.

Especially when she's drunk, she likes to randomly grab people to listen to the goddess's teachings and her complaints about her time at the convent, or she'll arm wrestle, wrestle, or play other drinking games with them.

Her overwhelming aura of holy power left no one with the right to refuse.

If we add Hetia to the mix...

Liu Xia rubbed her throbbing temples and asked, "What's it this time? An arm-wrestling contest or a real-life barrel-wielding pirate show?"

“Tug-of-war,” Kania said calmly.

"While playing tug-of-war with one hand, you have to drink beer one glass after another within a set time until you pass out."

"The drunk townspeople, engineering students, and knights have been mixed together into two teams of fifteen each, while the rest are cheering and jeering."

"Lindsay has been captured and used as a referee; there's no saving her. Kira is arranging for Atina and the others to 'take refuge,' and the salvaged food is being moved little by little to the backyard..."

Atina and the others nodded and quickly resumed their work of moving things, while Vitry was also drawn away by the roast suckling pig and joined in eating as they moved.

Listening to Kania's words, Ryuka could imagine the hellish scene that had unfolded at the victory celebration outside. While relieved that she wasn't there, she also regretted not appearing earlier to stop it.

Past lessons taught him that, at this point, all he could do was lead his men to clean up the battlefield the next morning. (The last two lines are a nonsensical string of characters and don't translate directly.)

"Where is Anyaberg?" Ryuka felt somewhat helpless thinking about the guy who leaked the information and attracted Luminova's attention.

Upon hearing Ryusha's words, Melanie extended a finger, made a wrapping gesture around her neck, and then lifted it upwards into the air.

"Is that so? You've had a tough time." Ryuka sighed. Melanie was still the best at dealing with her junior.

Of course, this gesture didn't strangle Anya Berg, but it was a punishment that left her half-dead, because she hadn't done her job well.

"And Hetia..." Ryuka was furious. If she couldn't deal with Luminova, she could at least deal with Hetia. She would definitely teach her a lesson when she sobered up tomorrow!

"Whoa~" A crisp, clear sound came from Melanie, who was whistling as she watched the towel slowly being lifted off Liuxia's lower body.

"What!" Liu Xia turned away awkwardly and asked Melanie angrily.

Kania was amused by the scene and could barely stand up straight.

"It's nothing~ It just seems like your methods for disciplining Hetia are a bit 'harsh'~"

Melanie laughed quite boldly, her eyes clearly showing provocation.

She was fully aware of what was going on between Ryusha and Hetia, and had always been extremely interested in how her nemesis had been manipulated.

Through their intermittent interactions during this time, her woman's intuition told her that there were problems between Kania and Ryukyu. Kania didn't try to hide it, so Melanie boldly made risqué jokes in front of Kania.

"Are you that interested, Miss Ice and Snow Grand Magician?"

Ryusha sneered at Melanie's teasing, not taking it seriously at all, and retorted with a sarcastic remark.

Chapter 3 The Heat Within the Ice

Ryusha's words made Melanie's eyes widen. She seemed somewhat intrigued and very curious about how Ryusha had managed to make Hetia make such wanton moans.

But the 'entrance fee'... Hmph... Melanie isn't stupid; she naturally knows what Ryukyu's provocation means.

"I have no interest in children's 'play'."

Melanie adopted a haughty demeanor and turned her head away. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentence.)

Melanie Snowfield, age 21, single for 21 years. Many people in this world often experience the forbidden fruit in their teens, and even conservative aristocratic families cannot prevent the stirrings of passion during adolescence.

For young masters, the plump and beautiful maids in their homes or the girls from ordinary families outside were easy targets. As for the dignified young ladies, they would meet the men they liked at book clubs, banquets, or even outings, either fantasizing about a romantic love story or indulging in the thrill of immorality, and self-righteously stepping onto the ladder of adulthood.

But none of this had anything to do with Melanie. Not to mention her aloof and withdrawn personality, her entire teenage years were spent in self-torturous, high-pressure training.

Hetia was similar to her, so Melanie was very curious about how Hetia had fallen for her so quickly as soon as she arrived.

Is it really that fascinating?

The atmosphere among the nobility was often extravagant and open; many people didn't hide such things, but rather took pride in them. Therefore, the less experienced Melanie was, the less she wanted to expose this fact.

"Ha~ Your body is far from being able to interest me. You'll have to develop for a few more years before you get interested~"

Melanie feigned experience and scoffed, waving goodbye to Ryusha as she prepared to return to the courtyard to continue enjoying the food and hot springs.

Kania glanced at the 'towel tent' erected between Ryusha's legs, then at Melanie's back, and chuckled.

Melanie definitely has no experience, right?

If this thing continues to develop, even she, the witch, would be terrified.

"What's wrong? What are you laughing at?"

Hearing Kania's laughter, Melanie frowned and turned around.

"It's nothing~ I just found it amusing that our Ryuka was being mocked for being small~"

Over the past period, Kania has shown her talent for learning magic to the outside world, and has also taken the initiative to ask Melanie for advice under the guise of an apprentice magician. Her cheerful and friendly social attitude made Melanie not dislike her, and the two quickly became friends and mentors.

As they got to know each other better, Melanie naturally became aware of the ambiguous relationship between Kania and Ryusha, but that was nothing unusual, since there were many more open-minded people in the aristocratic circles of the capital.

So Melanie wasn't surprised when Kania said "our Ruka," just thinking she was trying to save face for her little lover. But Melanie's competitive nature still made her retort.

"Isn't that right? He's only fifteen years old."

“He’ll be sixteen soon,” Liu Xia muttered to himself. This petty arguing about age made Melanie think he was still a child.