“Ascan?”

Upon calling him again, he responded a beat late.

“…Please get up for now.”

Ascan reached out his hand towards me. Considering it would be difficult to get up on my own, I didn’t refuse and held his hand.

Soon, he lifted me up with strong force. I realized once again that there was quite a close proximity between us.

In my thin nightgown, soaked and revealing the contours of my body due to the wetness, the situation felt somewhat uncomfortable, especially since the person in front of me was none other than Ascan. Instinctively, I stepped back, stammering,

“But at this hour, what could be… Oh!”

Trying to maintain balance with just one leg, I slipped again on the slippery bathroom floor.

Ascan quickly caught me before I could fall again. Unfortunately, instead of stabilizing himself, he ended up falling along with me.

Splash!

Both of us ended up in the bathtub filled with hot water.

In this situation, Ascan seemed to be trying to protect me, and he was beneath me, while I was on top of him.

“Ah…”

I tried to ask if he was okay, but I found myself unable to speak as I looked at Ascan in front of me.

He had been wet since he entered the bathroom, but now, he was completely soaked from head to toe. Water droplets clung to his long eyelashes. Not only that, his wet shirt stuck to his muscular body, revealing more than if he were completely undressed, leaving no room for my eyes.

Ascan swept the wet strands of hair away from his face. The sight was so sensual that a dry swallow occurred involuntarily.

“Uh…”

Ascan’s gaze shifted at the sound of my voice.

Thus, we looked into each other’s eyes, but neither of us spoke at that moment.

Thud-thud, along with the sound of approaching footsteps outside the bathroom, a low voice was heard.

“Miss, are you okay?”

I could identify the person’s identity just by hearing the voice.

The person coming closer right now was none other than Zen.

I was instantly conflicted about what to do.

If Zen entered the bathroom like this, he would witness Ascan and me entangled, and yet, telling him not to come felt like I had committed a crime.

Ascan seemed to have noticed my dilemma.

He glanced at me, wearing a nightgown, and slightly shook his head. I could instantly understand what he meant.

At that moment, Zen’s voice echoed again.

“Miss?”

“Oh, Zen? I’m currently bathing.”

“I apologize. I briefly looked around and came back, but I heard some noise…”

“It’s because moving is inconvenient due to my injured ankle. You don’t need to worry.”

“Understood. I’ll be outside, so if there’s anything, please call me.”

“Sure.”

The approaching sound of Zen’s footsteps retreated.
As I perked up my ears, it seemed like the door was closing with a creak. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily.

Now that we were alone again, I cautiously glanced at Ascan.

With an expressionless face, he looked at me and said, “How long are you planning to leave your hand there?”

Hand? Why my hand?

Reflexively, I looked down to see where my hand was.

Only then did I realize that, unintentionally, my hand was resting on his firm chest while I was atop him.

“Ah!”

Without realizing it, I screamed and pulled my body back.

It was absolutely not intentional. In an attempt to balance myself while sitting, I had unknowingly placed my hand on his chest.

Ascan quickly caught me as I urgently moved away. Then, with a slight frown, he spoke in a low voice.

“Do you want to fall again?”

“I-I’m innocent!”

“Are you making excuses now?”

“I’m sorry, but I really didn’t mean to.”

Watching me stammer in embarrassment, Ascan’s lips seemed to loosen a bit.

Holding my waist, Ascan spoke in a subdued tone, “Stay still. Don’t cause another accident.”

It felt unfair, but I couldn’t argue.

Ascan moved me to the side and got up from the bathtub first. Then, he hugged me with both arms and slowly walked out.

Even though the weight of an adult woman would not be light, he had an unaffected expression. Moreover, his arms holding me were incredibly stable, making me keenly feel the difference in strength.

Ascan gently placed me on the sofa and soon handed me a shower towel.

“Wipe yourself. I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Although I had experienced an unexpected situation, I roughly dried my wet hair and wrapped a shower towel over the thin fabric of the nightgown.

It belatedly occurred to me why Ascan had come to my room. I had asked a little earlier, but I hadn’t heard his answer due to the near-fall.

“But what brings you to my room?”

“I came to check if your injured ankle is okay.”

“Well, for that, you came all the way here…”

Suddenly, I noticed an ice pack at the entrance that hadn’t been there a while ago.

Wondering about it, I looked at Ascan again and asked, “Did you bring this for an ice pack?”

“To prevent wasting time due to your injury.”

His words were not particularly beautiful, but he had thoughtfully brought ice to prevent any delay after arriving at the accommodation in the pouring rain.