In the evening, Jin was escorted to the bathhouse by Laila, his royal secret maid.
"Oh, Jin."
"Oh, Count Kuzma."
Count Kuzma had just arrived to take a bath.
Jin tried to come back,
"Just as well, I wanted to have a little chat with you. Would you like to join us?"
The Count invites him to join him. Jin could not refuse the Count's offer. He decides to join them.
"Oh, you don't have to come."
The Count orders the ladies-in-waiting to wait outside the dressing room.
Jin prepared himself a little, wondering if there was something complicated to talk about. Well, as a matter of fact, Reiko, who had disappeared by stealth, was secretly following him.
"It feels good to take a hot bath, doesn't it?" said Count Kuzma.
Count Kuzma was relaxing in the bathtub, stretching his arms and legs. The bathtub is so wide that it is not too small even if the Count, who is about 180 centimeters tall, stretches out his body.
The Count is thin but has a good amount of muscle mass, and Jin is a little bitter about his poor body. No matter how hard he works out, he can't build muscles.
"So, what do you want to talk about, Count?"
He was restless, so he asked Jin to talk to him.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes.
The Count looked down as if he was thinking about something, then looked up, then looked down again, and so on.
He did this several times, and then, as if he had made up his mind,
"Jin, what kind of relationship do you have with Bina?
"What?"
Jin let out an unintentionally stupid voice. I thought he was asking me for some kind of difficult question, so I was even more surprised.
"I heard that you have been very much in love with Beena and even invited her to your base the other day. It seems that Beena has opened her heart to you.
Once he opened his mouth, the Count continued speaking.
"She's ...... healthy, yes, healthy. She has learned magecraft, raised her younger siblings, and is pure despite her hardships, even though she is not from a privileged background.
"Ha, ha."
Jin is overcome by the Count's enthusiasm.
"I also admire the idea of using his skills for the benefit of the common people. Besides, it's beautiful and ......"
After all those words, the Count finally came to himself, blushed and kept his mouth shut.
"The Count. ......"
Even the dullest of men would be able to guess what was going on after being told this much.
"Ha-ha-ha, laugh at me. It seems that she has lived in my heart since the first time I saw her.
* * * *
Jin wondered what to say to Count Kuzma as he got out of the bath and looked at him with a sideways glance, who was covering his head with water.
For a while after that, he had been told that he was in love with her.
The Count seems to be serious. He does not care about his status. He will make Bina happy.
"Phew..."
The Count wipes the drops from his hair with a towel and glances at Jin as if impatiently waiting for his answer. Jin sensed this and spoke his honest feelings.
"She (Beena) is like a sister who needs your help.
These were the same words he had used to answer Reinhardt. Count Kuzma's face lit up when he heard that.
"I see! She's a sister to you?
And his expression remained the same,
"Then, is Miss Elsa the one you love?"
he asks. He has regained his vivaciousness now that he knows there are no obstacles to his love.
No, no, she (Elsa) is a bit of a dangerous sister, isn't she?
Hearing this, Count Kuzma said,
"Hmm, so both of them are your younger sisters. Perhaps you prefer matured women like Lyanna of the Royal Secret Maidens?"
As the Count was saying this, there was a thud from somewhere.
"Hmm? Someone's here ....... So what do you think, Jin?