Chapter 170: Chapter-170

So no, the five consorts were ’not’ handling things well.

They were drowning in work, scandal, stress, and uncertainty.

And they definitely didn’t have time to coordinate with each other about the pregnancy situation because they were all barely surviving their individual disasters.

—

## Meanwhile: Heena and Larus

On the other hand, Heena and Larus were living their best lives.

As night fell over the palace, Heena literally ’rushed’ to her chambers.

Not walked. Not strolled. ’Rushed’.

Because for once—’finally’—all the urgent work was done, all the immediate fires were put out, and her aunt had promised not to interrupt them with any more “essential traditions” tonight.

She burst through the doors of her private chambers to find Larus already there, sitting by the window and reading a book, looking absolutely gorgeous in casual evening robes that made his gold-brown skin glow in the candlelight.

He looked up when she entered, and his face lit up with that warm, genuine smile that made her heart do stupid acrobatic flips.

“You’re here early,” he said, setting down his book.

Heena looked at Larus standing there by the window, looking absolutely radiant in the candlelight, and suddenly felt a surge of panic.

“Early!” she blurted out. “I’m late!”

Larus blinked, confused. “Late for what?”

But Heena was already rushing toward him with determined speed.

“Let’s finish this quickly before my aunt comes!” she said urgently.

Larus stood there completely dumbfounded, his face breaking into an amused smile, not knowing what to say or how to respond to this whirlwind that was his wife.

But before he could even open his mouth to ask what exactly they were finishing quickly—

Heena grabbed his arm, clearly intending to push him toward the bed in her characteristic efficient manner.

Then she froze mid-motion.

“Wait,” she said, stopping abruptly. “Uh… I need to bathe first.”

She pointed at him firmly, as if giving military orders.

“You. Stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

And with that, she turned and ’sprinted’ toward the bathing chamber like her life depended on it.

Larus stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened, and then burst into genuine, unrestrained laughter.

His wife—the cold, calculating, terrifying Empress who made nobles tremble—had just run away to take a bath in the middle of trying to seduce him because she’d suddenly remembered basic hygiene.

It was possibly the most endearing thing he’d ever witnessed.

—

In the bathing chamber, Heena was hurriedly scrubbing herself with the efficiency of someone who had exactly three minutes to save the world.

The System materialized beside the bathtub, floating with his paws covering his eyes.

“Host,” he said in a scandalized tone, “you’re a ’beast’.”

Heena paused mid-scrub to glare at him.

“And this beast pays your salary,” she shot back. “So shut up.”

“I’m going offline!” the System announced dramatically. “I cannot witness these types of scenes! This is inappropriate! I’m a professional system, not a—”

“Get LOST,” Heena interrupted, splashing water in his general direction.

The System vanished with an offended squeak.

Heena returned to her frantic bathing routine, muttering to herself about annoying systems and terrible timing and why did her aunt have to enforce a three-day separation ritual anyway—

The door to the bathing chamber opened.

Heena’s head snapped up.

And there, standing in the doorway, backlit by candlelight from the bedroom, was Larus.

Wearing a robe.

A ’transparent’ robe.

Like, not even subtly sheer. Full-on, might-as-well-not-be-wearing-anything transparent.

Heena’s brain short-circuited.

’What type of clothing even IS that?!’ she thought wildly. ’Who designed it?! Why does it exist?! Where did he GET that?!’

Larus walked slowly from the doorway toward the bath, and with each step, Heena felt her composure crumbling.

He was ’beautiful’. Like, objectively, scientifically, devastatingly gorgeous. The candlelight caught on his wheat-gold hair, made his sun-bronzed skin glow, highlighted the elegant lines of his body through that ridiculous excuse for a robe—

Larus paused at the edge of the bath, his face turning bright red, looking shy and uncertain.

“Um,” he said quietly, his voice slightly breathless, “I… I haven’t bathed yet either. So I thought… maybe… we could…”

He gestured vaguely at the large bathtub.

“…do it together?” he finished, his face now approximately the color of a tomato.

Heena felt her nose start to bleed.

Actually, genuinely, literally felt the warning signs of a nosebleed from sheer overwhelming stimulation.

She controlled it through sheer force of will—because she was the ’Empress’, damn it, and Empresses did not get nosebleeds from their attractive husbands even when said husbands showed up wearing transparent robes like walking temptation—

She looked at him with what she hoped was a seductive smile and not the slightly unhinged expression of someone whose brain had just melted.

“Yeah,” she said, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. “Why not.”

And then she ’pulled’.

Larus let out a surprised yelp as Heena yanked him directly into the bathtub with her, transparent robe and all, water splashing everywhere.

“Let’s save some water,” Heena said with a completely straight face, as if that was a perfectly rational explanation for what she’d just done.

Larus sat in the bath, now completely soaked, his transparent robe clinging to him in ways that were absolutely not helping Heena’s mental state, staring at her with wide eyes.

Then he started laughing.

Not nervous laughter. Not polite laughter. Full, genuine, delighted laughter that echoed through the bathing chamber.

“You—” he gasped between laughs, “—you just pulled me into the bath—”

“Water conservation is important,” Heena said seriously, trying to maintain her dignity while sitting in a bathtub with her fully-clothed husband who she’d just physically dragged into the water.

“The empire is facing a drought crisis?” Larus asked, still laughing.

“Potentially,” Heena said. “We should be prepared. Proactive conservation measures.”

“By sharing a bath?”

“Exactly.”

Larus’s laughter subsided into warm chuckles, and he looked at her with such open affection that Heena felt her chest tighten.

“You’re ridiculous,” he said softly.

“You’re wearing a transparent robe,” Heena countered. “You don’t get to call ’me’ ridiculous.”

“Fair point,” Larus conceded. “Though in my defense, I thought it would be… romantic?”

“It’s certainly something,” Heena agreed.

“Is it working?” Larus asked, his eyes dancing with mischief despite his still-pink face.

Heena pretended to consider this seriously.

“I’ll let you know,” she said, “after we actually finish bathing. Since apparently that’s what we’re doing now.”

“Conserving water,” Larus agreed solemnly.

“Exactly.”

They looked at each other for a moment, both trying to maintain serious expressions, and then both dissolved into laughter again.

And as they actually did bathe together—helping each other wash, talking and laughing, the initial awkwardness melting into comfortable intimacy—Heena realized that this was somehow better than her original frantic plan.

Less dramatic. More natural. Actually enjoyable instead of feeling like a race against time before her aunt could interrupt.

“I love you,” Larus said suddenly, quietly, his hands gentle as he washed her hair.

Heena froze for just a moment.

Those words. Said so simply. So honestly. Without fanfare or dramatic declaration.

Just… truth.

“I…” Heena started, her throat suddenly tight.

She didn’t say those words easily. Didn’t believe in them, usually. Didn’t trust them.

But looking at Larus—at his genuine expression, his warm eyes, his ridiculous transparent robe floating in the bathwater like the world’s worst jellyfish—

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