The sly smile on Anna's face already gave Noel enough information that she was planning on doing something.
"We don't have time to do that, Noel. Don't you think it's better for us to bath in it together?"
"…" Noel was speechless by her question. The answer to that question was obviously yes. But never in his wildest dream that Anna would suggest it.
As a noble woman, she had to maintain the purity of her body. That was what she had been doing until now when taking a bath in a river or lake.
When she asked him to use the Spirit Seal to tell the truth, he was shocked at first because he had to touch her waist.
There was an instance where she embraced him, but that was for the sake of hiding from an imminent danger, so he thought nothing much about it.
That was why the time when she slept on the same bed as him baffled him that much. He believed that Anna wouldn't dare to do it because she had to maintain her image.
If people knew that she had slept with him, whether something happened or not, she would be judged by the people's eyes. Yet, she dared to do it with an excuse.
And now, Anna asked him to bathe together. It was already beyond what they had done this whole time.
If they had to take a bath together, it meant Noel could see her body. She didn't seem to be a noble anymore.
"You…" Noel bit his lips. If he took advantage of it, he would certainly benefit from it, considering Anna Stargaze was considered one of the most beautiful women in the kingdom. However, there was a line that he shouldn't cross.
If people knew that he had taken a bath with her, his reputation could be smeared as well, causing a lot of trouble. Even the marquis might forget about the relationship with his father and come to take his life.
Anna might know about this and took advantage of his situation. She knew that Noel couldn't say anything about them bathing together because it would cause his downfall as well.
Noel didn't realize that Anna thought nothing of it. Her train of thought was simple. She would provoke him to make him take a step back, showing her dominance. This would give her the confidence to defeat Noel who had beaten her twice.
There wasn't a single perverted or scheming thought in her mind.
"What's wrong? You're going to back off today?" Anna smirked, teasing Noel. "It seems that I won't be the one chickening out."
"!!!" In that instant, Noel understood Anna's motivation in doing this. His expression was distorted. "You… You're doing something like this just for that? Are you serious?"
"You have defeated me twice, so I'm going to win this time!" Anna nodded with a serious expression.
Noel facepalmed, annoyed. "Are you dumb? No, you are dumb! Have you forgotten the fact that you're a noble daughter from a marquis household? Do you know what it means to bath together with someone, especially a man of the same age?"
Anna widened her eyes and forgot about this. It might be due to the fact that Noel's father was her father's best friend, she thought it would be fine doing this. After all, the Ardagan Family was as strong as the Stargaze Family. Their rank might be lower, but their financial power closed that gap.
In other words, the worst case scenario would be them hiding this fact. However, she forgot the fact that the Ardagan Family had lost their power.
Anna felt slightly embarrassed for getting obsessed in defeating Noel that she forgot about many things.
But if she admitted she forgot about it, Noel would take that opportunity to fight back. So, she could only use her trump card.
"Are you chickening out, Noel? If you are, just admit it." Anna smirked. "This is between us, not between the son of the Ardagan Family and the daughter of the Stargaze Family. If you are afraid, then just admit it."
"…" Noel was speechless. On the one hand, he had to avoid staining his own honor as a former noble. On the other hand, there was also an opportunity in this small battle.
He was going to use his second identity soon and Anna was the only one who knew his plan. However, Anna didn't know what kind of appearance he would have again.
It would give him a leverage in their situation, allowing him to take advantage of the rumor and strike her.
Meanwhile, if Anna spread the rumor that Noel had taken a bath with her, nothing would change because he was a former noble while Anna was the most talented woman in the kingdom. In the end, she would only smear her own reputation.
In other words, there was nothing to lose if he continued.
With that thought in mind, Noel suddenly took off his shoes and dropped his bag as if he was planning to take off his clothes. "Afraid of you? In your dream."
"Haha, is that so?" Anna also unbuttoned her shirt as if planning on doing the same.
Noel's eyebrows twitched as he closed his eyes to avoid any impure thoughts. After all, the moment he made his move, Anna would win.
Noel also forgot about one thing. Dimitri was tailing him in order to protect him.
At the top of the hill, Dimitri was flabbergasted when he saw Noel and Anna taking off their clothes. From what he found so far, they were going to take a bath together.
When he watched their action, Dimitri's eyebrows were twitching. His hand reached for his sword. "That whore. How dare she seduce the young master? Is she going to sully the young master's reputation? No, wait…"
Dimitri paused for a moment. "Now that I think about it, Master loves the story about our ancestor… If I'm not wrong, the ancestor's wife… Don't tell me, Master's real plan is to make them fall in love like what happened to the ancestor? From enemy to lover situation?
"Then, what is actually my role? Protecting the young master? Or making their love bloom? That's right. That Anna even dared to sleep on the same bed as the young master… Then, should I kill all those people from the Supreme Devil Organization to give them more time? No, they assumed those people would be finding this place soon and I shouldn't interfere if it wouldn't kill the young master even if it means losing a precious treasure. What should I do then?"
Dimitri never expected that the biggest dilemma in his life was caused by the rash action of two young people.
