บท 16: Naked serpent
Nighttime arrived, the waxing gibbous moon hung in the dark night sky. Inside the general's room, Rhea was seen on the bed tossing and turning around in discomfort.
Her night dress was slightly damp due to the heat she was feeling. She had been trying hard to fall asleep for hours, but she felt extremely hot, a steaming heat that seemed like it would burn her skin. The room felt hotter than the devil's house cat, too hot for the time of the year.
Rhea angrily kicked off the bed cover as she sat up straight on the bed. For the first time in her life she realized how lucky she was to be born cold blooded. How could one survive in such heat?
When she was still little, whenever she saw her step sisters soaking in the tub for hours in summer, she couldn't help but feel unfortunate for not knowing the experience of heat, but now that she was experiencing it...
Heck, she wanted her ice back! And that serpent would have to explain to her what his poison did to her ice spikes.
It was already deep into the night, but yet she couldn't sleep. When would her flurry return? The loss of her ice really made her lose her sense of security. And living under the same roof with a serpent was a huge risk. He could choose to kill her if he wanted.
She didn't know if she should consider herself lucky for being with the imposter instead of the real ruthless general. It was said the general was the one to kill the woman he first married on the day of their wedding night while blaming her death on an animal attack.
Rhea wouldn't want her fate to end like that. She would have to urge that serpent to look for a way to open his barrier and give her back the treasure before he releases the real general.
But then, ever since they'd returned from that cave, the imposter had been acting strange.
Rhea sighed in frustration as she wiped away the sweat flowing down her neck. "Perhaps it would be best I soak in the tub." She muttered to herself as she made to step down the bed.
She was about to step down the bed when she realized the imposter wasn't on his sleeping spot on the floor.
"Where did he go at this time of the night?"
Could it be that he'd sneaked out to the town to go and cultivate his dark powers? Rhea thought, however she soon dismissed the thought as all she wanted right now was to get rid of this burning heat, she would deal with the serpent later.
Rhea took the lamp from the bed side and hurriedly made her way towards the tub room. But upon reaching the corridors of the tub room, her sensitive ears picked up a slight sound of water splashing.
She frowned deeply. Who could be in the tub room at this time of the night? That girl, Mielle, had clearly told her this tub room was special made for the general's previous wife, but it was hers now that she was married to him. So who dared to use it behind her back?
Curious, Rhea walked towards the door and slightly pushed it open. She peeked her head Inside while the rest of her body was outside. Her eyes immediately rounded at the sight that met her eyes.
GOOD HEAVENS!
Inside the huge bathing tub in the room was the imposter. He stood completely naked as if preparing to soak himself in the tub. But then, the bathtub itself was filled with huge ice cubes reserved from last year's winter.
The room was illuminated by the golden lights of the four lamps hanging on the walls. It was bright enough for her to see him clearly, she could even see the cold vapor rising from the tub, yet he was completely unaffected by the cold.
Instead of closing the door and turning her back, Rhea peeked her head further inside to take a clearer look. She felt the urge to be in that cold tub, but restrained herself. She watched how the man causally poured the icy water over his head, but he didn't even shiver.
Rhea frowned. Demon serpents were known to loathe anything cold because of their nature of absorbing fire magic to cultivate their demonic powers. But this one here didn't even flinch when his skin came in contact with the cold water.
After being with him for the past few days, she came to notice that he was like a stone, he didn't seem like any external pain or discomfort affected him at all. Even when the fire barrier was affecting him that day, he didn't budge.
Therefore, it could only be that he was silently enduring his pains.
People that are good at silently enduring things are actually the people one should fear...
The icy water he poured over his head flowed down his hair, face, long graceful neck, down to his firm well-built abs, she couldn't help but admire his taut arms and muscular body, that showed the evidence of relentless exercising. Her eyes slowly looked further below his waist, when...
His gaze snapped towards the door as if sensing her presence. The moment their eyes met, Rhea, who had been peeking through the door, lost her footing and clumsily stumbled into the bathroom, landing face down on the floor with a resounding thud.
Damn it!
As his face slightly turned down to look at her. The droplets of water that hung off his chiseled jaw were sparkling in the light of the lamps, his ice blue eyes seemed to be reflecting the golden hues of the room.
He continued to stare down at Rhea, and a hint of irritation appeared to be simmering beneath his surface. And...
Disgust.
It appears that there were a few things he found intolerable. As Rhea contemplated the situation, she swallowed deeply while experiencing a sudden cold shiver down her spine, caused by the intense gaze that seemed capable of penetrating her very soul.
Hastily rising from her seated position on the ground, she exclaimed, "My goodness, what brings you to the tubroom at such a late hour? I was merely here for a relaxing soak in the tub, not to spy on you." She spoke quickly, all in one breath.
However, he didn't attempt to hide his naked body and spoke in a cold voice, "Isn't this the time you should know to scram? Get out!"
"...!" Rhea quickly dashed out. Exiting the room at a fast pace, she neglected to glance behind her or shut the door on her way out. She sprinted as though her entire existence was at stake until she arrived at her bedroom and forcefully shut the door, panting heavily. Then, she rested against the door that was now shut.
In all her life, she had never laid eyes on a male body, let alone a serpent's with all the attributes of a man. In fact, he had everything one could imagine. Recalling the image of his unclothed form caused her face to burn with embarrassment.
Oh no!
She could never unsee what she just saw. The heat intensified in her body for some reasons. But she'd rather die from heat than go back to the bathing room!
Rhea hurriedly covered her flushed face and laid down on the bed. Her curiosity had made her look for so long.
But could one blame her? It was his fault for bathing in the tub meant for her.
Stupid serpent!
A serpent bathing with ice...that was new. This imposter was really strange.
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