“Princess Aseria, Princess Ase—ria…it is morning already.”

  Opening my still-heavy eyes, I turned to my side—it was Misaki, dressed in her usual royal maid uniform, calling me to wake up.

  “Ten mor–eee minutes—Misaki, just ten more… I’ll even giv–ee you…”

  “Did you stay up late again? Whatever excuse you come up with won’t work this time though. Even five minutes is not allowed.”

  “Her Majesty has ordered us to make sure you’re properly dressed for today’s ceremony.” She ignored my demand.

  A warmth brushed against my back. The sheet must have slipped when I turned to face Misaki. Opening my eyes again, I was met with the long shadow of my grand bed’s figure.

  Sitting up hazily, interlocking my fingers as I stretched my arms above my head. A small 'Nhh!' escaped my lips before I let my arms fall back down.

  A curl of long hair slipped from my side to my chest as my head drooped forward with a sigh. 'Haah.'

  What did she just say again? I thought, while playing with the curl of long hair that slipped. For a moment, confusion overtook my urge to embrace the bed once more.

  Cere-what again?

  “Wait… ceremony… Did you say something about a—ceremony?” I asked, looking at Misaki, who was pulling back the curtains.

  “Yes?” She answered hesitantly, tilting her head as she looked at me. I tilted my head in return, staring at her.

  Seeing my still-confused expression, she sighed.

  “It’s the coming-of-age ceremony. Today is the day you turn sixteen. Erm… Your Highness wouldn’t happen to have… forgotten—”

  Before she could finish, there was a soft knock at the door.

  “Eh—”

  “…”

  “Ehh—hhh!!! How could I forget something so important?! What time is it now? Am I going to make it in time?!” Pushing the sheets off my lower body on bed, I let out a scream.

  “Oh, that’s our Aseria-chan! As forgetful as ever, even on such a big day! Oh, by the way, I brought your favorite tea~” Rinako’s teasing voice rang out as she opened the door and entered the chamber, carrying a silver tray with a tea set on it.

  My voice must be loud enough for Rinako to hear clearly from outside judging by her response.

  “Ting—Ting—”

  I lowered my sight from Rinako's carefree face to the floor where she was standing while holding the stray with another hand still on the door handle.

  “Oops~ welp, not like it matters ~hehe~, Aseria-chan doesn’t use it anyways.”

  I could hear you, you know, Rinako. I was about to tell her that but Misaki spoke up first.

  “How many times have you dropped things from the stray right after you open the door? That’s the third time this week. Also, as I’ve always said, it’s either Your Highness or Princess Aseria, not—” Misaki lifted her head to face Rinako while tidying the sheets I had just pushed away, but Rinako cut her off before she could finish.

  “It’s fine~ You see, Aseria-chan isn’t annoyed by it at all!”

  “That’s not—”

  “Oh right, back to your Aseria-chan’s question. It’s still early, so don’t worry, we’ll make it in time~”

  “But first, let’s hurry and get Aseria-chan to wash up. The bath is ready!” Rinako cut Misaki off again without paying attention to her.

  Misaki just signed soundlessly.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Knowing that it was still early put my heart at ease. But if I were late for this big moment, even my soft-hearted father wouldn’t let me off without a lecture. Just picturing it made me shiver.

  Rinako playfully jumped onto my bed after setting the tray down on the small table in the middle of the room, grabbing my arm tightly and pulling me up cheerfully.

  “I can walk by myself, you don’t have to drag me like this!” I complained to her, but the energetic Rinako just ignored it.

  “It’s time to experience heaven again, together we march and—” She sang randomly, until Misaki flicked her lightly on her head with finger, snapping her out of her singing.

  Seeing them, I couldn’t help but give out a smile and laugh. It was fun watching them acting that way every day, I thought.

  We moved to the grand bathing area next door to my private chamber through the door at the middle of the chamber. The bathing area is connected to my private chamber just by the middle door of the chamber, separated by the wall.

  That is how Rinako will act each time when it is time for my bath. Once she’s in the mood, there’s no stopping her until Misaki brings her back.

  xxx

  The crystal-clear, fragrant water was warm—perfect for a morning bath. Soft red rose petals floated gracefully across the surface, their delicate scent filling the air with a soothing, luxurious aroma. I could never grow tired of this floral fragrance, especially these red roses which is my favorite scent.

  “This is truly heaven. I feel like I could die happily at any moment in this bliss~ Aseria-chan’s figure is truly amazing. No matter how many times I see it, I never get bored.”

  When I slightly turned my head back, I met Rinako’s perverted expression—her eyes narrowed, her mouth half-open as she sighed in bliss while brushing my back in the water.

  “Hyaah! That tickles! Rinako—you don’t have to wash these—stop touching them!”

  I cried out when an uncomfortable ticklish sensation crept up at my chests.

  “Heee~ What’s wrong with it?”

  “We, as the Vēru Empire's royal maids serving Princess Aseria Vēru Aria who is the treasure of the empire, must ensure Her Highness always stays beautiful and elegant. Every single part of her perfect figure must be clean thoroughly, without a single flaw—including her lovely, generous bust—”

  She stood up, brought her fist to her chest, standing tall as her other hand rested behind her—a gesture of absolute devotion, speaking out loud proudly in a playful tone.

  "A–Ahh! Not that loud, it’s embarrassing!" Quickly standing up, I clamped my hand over her mouth to stop her from blurting out any more nonsense. Water splashed around us as we moved, rippling across the grand bath.

  Heat rose to my already flushed face, the warmth of the water doing little to hide my embarrassment.

  Luckily, my bathing area is so large that people outside shouldn’t be able to hear what she just shouted from where we were, the middle of the bath.

  Hmm, they shouldn’t be able to, right?

  The maids outside didn’t bother to check in after Rinako’s loud voice, so it should be fine…

  Instinctively, I glanced at the door, still shut. A rose petal resting on my hand slipped off, drifting onto the water’s surface.

  Bonk—

  “Ouch! That hurts! What are you doing, Misaki?!” Rinako blurted out as Misaki smacked her head with the wooden bath bucket, pulling her out of her lewd thoughts.

  Misaki gave her a deadly glare.

  “But Aseria-chan seems to always enjoy it! It’s my duty to—”

  Bonk—

  Another loud smack. Just how much force did she just use? I doubt I could withstand that direct hit from Misaki. Subconsciously, my hands moved to cover my head even though Misaki was smacking her, not me.

  “Just be quiet already! And you are a royal maid, that’s not how you give a salute to Princess Aseria.”

  Misaki yelled at her, this time also pulling her ear to force her to behave.

  “Ahh—ok—ok! I give up, I give up so please stop!”

  “Your Highness, you are free to smack her head whenever she harasses you during bath time or while changing if I am not around. You’re way too kind and soft on her.”

  Misaki said in a soft yet formal tone, completely different from the one she had used when yelling at Rinako, while performing a salute befitting a maid—one of her hand instinctively moving as if to grasp the edges of a nonexistent skirt—before lowering herself slightly, one foot behind the other, and bowing her head gracefully.

  The motion felt almost absurd, given our completely bare state, with not a single piece of clothing on us in the warm bathwater filled with red rose petals and its scent.

  She then gave Rinako another glare.

  “But—doesn’t that hurt?” I pointed at Rinako and asked worriedly, glancing at Rinako, whose ear was still being pulled by Misaki’s other hand.

  “It’s fine. Rinako is sturdier than she looks.”

  “Right~ Rinako-chan?” Misaki said, giving Rinako a wry smile while narrowing her eyes before finally letting go of her ear.

  “Mooo~ I swear I won’t do it anymore—”

  A pause.

  “during this bath session today, at least…”

  The last part of her sentence was so faint that I barely caught it, even though I was right next to her.

  As we continued bathing, the water settled slightly around us.

  “Princess Aseria, we’re finished. Let’s return to your chamber to get you dressed.” Misaki said while Rinako went to grab our yukatas from the wooden bath bucket, which was sitting right next to the water’s edge.

  Prologue is written in present tense, while Chapter 1 is written in past tense. This was done intentionally to show the different timelines of the events.