As always, Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
January 2nd, S1200.
Valleria Lakeshore.
Beachside Villa.
8:00AM.
Creaaaack.
Toward the villa's entrance, the two large wooden doors that were painted white suddenly began to open. The doors opened slowly, causing the scattered rays of the sun to peer into the luxurious villa. A sole figure darted out, sporting a new swimsuit they had put on from the wardrobe Renne mentioned only moments ago. If one looked closely, the insignia of the Auslese royal family could be seen on the center of the opened doors.
Musse was the first to dash out of the entrance. She had changed her outfit. She previously wore her St. Astraia uniform, but she was now in a one piece lime green swimsuit with a cute wave design going across her waist. A cold breath of the wintry air escaped from her lips, causing Musse to remember the time of month it was.
"I had my doubts at first, but then Renne said it was fine for us to change into swimsuits. It's pretty cold out.", Musse uttered as she enjoyed the sun's rays striking against her. Still remained on the doorstep, Musse looked around, and began to observe how big the courtyard was. She could see many snow-covered trees surrounding the villa too, but strangely enough, there wasn't a single snowflake or wet spot on the pavement before her.
As for the courtyard itself, there were several planted trees going down each side. Filling the center, a large open foot-bath that allowed several people to use it altogether could be seen in-between the trees. It was constantly releasing steamy air, signaling that it was filled with hot water.
"His Highness installed a foot bath out in the open like this? I heard the one back in Ymir is quite popular. Did His Highness perhaps go to Ymir? Its style looks similar to it...", Musse uttered, seeing the large, low-raised bath before her. It was elevated enough to allow people to sit around the bath, letting them dip their feet into it and relax.
Back in Ymir, a bath like this was available for all of its people to use, in the town's center. Ymir was quite cold for several months, considering its position in the mountain ranges so this foot-bath allowed its people to relax and warm up at the same time.
After observing the foot bath in the distance, Musse looked back at herself, and took a moment to observe the new swimsuit she was in. Her breasts were still budding, and it revealed her slim figure. Her head slanted, and she revealed a smile as she placed her hand over cheek.
"Still, His Highness really had a wide variety we could choose from. He really prepared a lot for this villa, didn't he? It is to be expected, if His Highness really intends to use this place for that royal harem of his...", Musse uttered, pondering for a moment.
"Well that is a given. There's only a couple girls in Big Brother's harem, but it will for sure expand in the future. That's why this villa is so big in the first place.", Renne's voice called out to Musse, causing Musse to turn around. She now saw Renne standing inside the open doorway.
"Emma, Ennea, and Miss Angelica, right? And that new engagement announcement with Her Highness, but considering Her Highness's position, she most likely won't enter His Highness's royal harem, unless she decides to manage it herself. Do you think Her Highness will, Renne?", Musse asked Renne.
"It's a toss up. I'll have to introduce you to Kloe sometime. Her Highness Alfin isn't the only one aiming for that top spot with the position of Queen.", Renne responded with a smirk. Musse's eyes turned wide hearing that.
"That...rather surprising actually. I imagined it was only Her Highness who was approved to have an engagement with His Highness for that spot. But you are saying there is someone else in the competition now?", Musse asked with interest.
"It hasn't been officially announced to the public yet unlike Her Highness Alfin, and likely won't. Keep it under wraps yeah?", Renne asked.
"Of course.", Musse nodded.
"Good girl. And you know, Big Brother's door is open for you too, hehehe.", Renne giggled as her lips curved upward. Musse also giggled in response to that remark.
"You dare say that to a maiden like me? You should know the implications of what you have just said, Renne.", Musse retorted.
"Of course I do. That's why I said it. You constantly get pestered with marriage proposals right?", Renne asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. They happen on a regular basis too, despite me trying to hide my name. The other nobles probably use their connections, but I just shred them apart each time. Most of them don't even reach Uncle's ears. Apart from you girls, only a select few know that I am of the Cayenne House.", Musse answered with a nod.
"Your Uncle huh? That's Duke Cayenne, isn't it? Isn't he in charge of the growing noble alliance taking place in Erebonia?", Renne asked.
"I'm afraid so. He has a way with petty promises and likes to twist the tongue. Thankfully, I'm staying with Grandma and Grandpa most of the time so I don't have to dabble in his tiny little politics he sees as just. It does make me wonder how Ordis remains afloat though.", Musse wondered.
"That just means your so-called petty Uncle does his job well, I suppose. With what Big Brother has planned, he might face off with Duke Cayenne.", Renne also wondered. This was the Infernal Castle they were talking about, and once Duke Cayenne sees the erect Infernal Castle, he will likely get shocked. He had his own plans to resurrect it, but Naoto's actions were already underway. It'll be too late by the time Duke Cayenne tries to take the Vermillion Apocalypse for himself.
It was a gigantic castle that was visible for miles. Let alone the immediate surroundings, it could likely be seen from cities like Ordis, where Duke Cayenne resided.
"Just what is it His Highness plans to do in Erebonia, exactly? You can spill a secret or two, considering I'm now partying with you, right~?", Musse teased.
"Hehe, you'll eventually see it for yourself, as the rest of the world will. Why spoil the fun now?", Renne retorted.
"Bah, you're no fun. I'll kindly reject you on your offer then. My heart is sealed~", Musse teased again.
"All you need to say are three simple words you know. You left a good impression on Big Brother. He's in a relationship with one of the Great Houses, do not forget that.", Renne said in a more serious tone. Seeing the seriousness in Renne's eyes, Musse stopped playing around and nodded her head.
"It's still too early for me to judge on these things, I'm just a little ten year old girl still. If you didn't confide earlier, I would hardly believe you're a year younger than me.", Musse replied with a nod.
"There's plenty of time at least. The more you stay here, the more you'll realize you don't want to go back to that boring place.", Renne said with another smirk.
"Now, now, you shouldn't dive into the matters of a girl's heart like that, Renne. Musse is still young and you know it. The same goes for you, Renne. You can only go so far with the teasing.", Ennea's voice called out to the two.
Musse and Renne cocked their heads to the side, and saw a beautiful and busty blue-indigo haired woman come down to meet them. A lot of her skin was now revealed, as she was only wearing an ocean-blue two piece bikini. Each step she took, Ennea's breasts jiggled up and down. It was difficult to tell whether Ennea or Emma had the bigger bust, but Ennea's was still big regardless.
"Oh it was just a little banter, nothing special. I do thank you for letting me come here though, Renne. This place looks very relaxing.", Musse said with an expectant look in her eyes.
"I know, right?", Renne nodded. "The foot-bath and the expansive wardrobe aren't the only secrets Big Brother's villa has to offer. Go take a couple steps, Musse.", Renne suggested as Ennea reached Musse and Renne. Once Ennea stepped outside, a cold breath of the wintry air escaped her lips. Even to her, it was still chilly, especially since she was in such a revealing swimsuit.
"It's pretty cold out though. Are you sure it's fine for us to be out like this? It's the middle of winter.", Musse frowned, letting more cold air escape from her lips as well.
"You'll only feel cold for a few more moments at most. Big Brother named this villa, Eternal Spring, for a reason.", Renne explained.
"Now you're only making me more curious, but alright.", Musse nodded.
Taking Renne's suggestion, she descended the doorsteps. She was currently barefoot, only in her one piece swimsuit. It wasn't a lot of protection to cover herself against the cold atmosphere. But to her surprise, Musse suddenly felt a warm feeling start spreading out from underneath the soles of her feet. It felt quite warm, and her body temperature started to rise, despite releasing more cold breaths from her lips. It was almost as if she was taking a lukewarm bath outside with a great view before her.
"Heated pavement?", Musse's eyes lit up as her body temperature started to regulate and balance itself. As each passing moment was spent, it started to feel more and more cozy to Musse.
"Feels nice, doesn't it?", Renne asked, taking a moment to descend the doorsteps, and joined Musse on the pavement. She too started to get warmed up thanks to the heated pavement system that was installed.
"Now I can start to see why this villa has such a name.", Musse responded.
"It isn't just the pavement either. You'll see.", Renne said, causing Musse to raise her eyes at her.
"It isn't just the pavement...?", Musse uttered in surprise.
"Courtesy of Ouroboros, at Big Brother's expense. Since he's in cooperation with us, The Professor whipped some orbal tech up and installed it in this villa. I can show you what it all does later. This system cost more than the villa itself, so it'd probably have at least a running value of ten to fifteen million mira, or perhaps more.", Renne explained.
"That is quite an exorbitant amount of mira. Just how big is His Highness's wallet anyways?", Musse said, sucking in a cold breath of air.
"Even I'm almost afraid to ask that myself.", Renne also wondered.
"Haha, some details are better left unknown.", Ennea shrugged with a laugh.
Unable to find an answer, all three girls shrugged their shoulders.
"You can do this Emma. You look really cute!", Angelica's voice suddenly called out to the three.
"Guess the rest of the calvary finally decided to join up.", Renne smirked, hearing Angelica's distant voice.
"...", A second voice tried to utter, but found no words. It didn't take long to see Angelica come into view, pushing Emma's back, slowly but surely.
To the three girl's surprise, they saw Emma frozen stiff, beet red from top to bottom. She was as stiff as a frozen popsicle. Like Ennea, she was wearing a two-piece swimsuit, and was pink in color, which suited her hair. Beside them, Fie showed up, wearing a stylish white one-piece swimsuit. Fie's gaze remained on Emma's frozen body as she refused to speak.
"It's the first time I've seen Emma like this. Just what did you do?", Fie asked as she nonchalantly walked beside Angelica, joining up with the three other girls. Her eyes remained on Emma, her entire skin was flushed red.
"I dunno. We were changing into our swimsuits just fine, but right after I invited Emma to partake in the naked photo shoot Ennea and I will be doing shortly, she's been like this ever since.", Angelica shrugged.
"P-Pardon?", Musse stuttered, not believing what Angelica just said. Even her cheeks blushed in response. "Did I just hear that right?", Musse asked.
Renne just stared at Angelica, before shrugging her shoulders, and sighed.
"You need to hold back on what you say sometimes, Angie. I guess this response is to be expected.", Rennie sighed, shaking her head. Her eyes then shifted toward the white-haired girl beside Angelica. "You got this, Fie?", Renne asked.
"Already on it.", Fie said, suddenly approaching Emma who was still in a frozen daze. Despite Emma being taller and more built, Fie reached her hands out, and suddenly lifted Emma up. She still showed no response, and was now being carried by Fie.
Fie just walked out, stepping down onto the courtyard and proceeded to where the foot-bath was while carrying Emma. Musse just stared on with a blank look in her eyes, recalling what Angelica had just mentioned. The blush remained on her cheeks...