Hyacine's voice trembled and stammered slightly. As she spoke these words, a blush rapidly spread across her pale face, which was truly a startling sight.
Such a swift change in expression would make anyone want to study her a bit closer.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little worried about you two." After looking at Castorice and then Hyacine and seeing no obvious problems, Lumina smiled at them.
Then she turned her gaze back to Herta once again.
This time, Lumina did not intend to take a hard approach.
She was going to try a soft approach.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and a beautiful smile appeared on her face. Blinking her small eyes at Herta, she said with a hint of temptation in her voice, "Little Herta, don't you want to... see my wet figure in the pool?"
"Especially..." Lumina paused for a moment, her gaze falling on the two outfits in Herta's arms, as if hinting at something.
Herta: "..."
Hearing this, Herta's expression shifted, seeming genuinely tempted.
Seeing this, Lumina did not immediately press her advantage.
Instead, she waited a moment, taking in Herta's entire reaction, before slowly speaking with a hint of charm: "Wearing those two outfits you're holding, I'll slowly enter the pool, letting the clothes soak through and reveal a glimpse of my figure..."
"Don't you want to see a scene like that?"
Lumina's voice was like a warm stream, flowing into Herta's body through her ears, bringing a wave of warmth and a surge of heat.
It caused Herta's mind to involuntarily drift into wild thoughts, letting her imagination run wild based on those words.
Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad?
Looking at Lumina's pale face, now tinged with a hint of seduction, Herta inwardly cried out that she couldn't take it.
Lumina's face was the kind that was full of ethereal grace, pure and innocent.
And yet now, she was using that very face to show an expression... that should never have appeared on such a peerless visage.
Such a fresh and novel sight, not only Herta, but even White Herta would be completely unable to resist it if she were here.
Therefore, a thought suddenly took root in Herta's mind: Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just go along with it, to do exactly what Lumina said.
One could even say that if Lumina's plan were actually carried out, Herta would be the one with the most to gain.
Of course, this would have to happen exactly as Lumina described, and specifically in the exact pose Herta had been picturing.
If Lumina were to make even the slightest change to the process, there was a very high probability that an irreversible change would occur. A change that Herta absolutely would not allow to happen.
Should I gamble on this?
Hmm... I guess I can't.
No matter how Herta looked at it, this bet simply could not be made.
If Lumina had hesitated just a little, or shown even a hint of reluctance, Herta might have actually gone through with this "agreement."
But Lumina's confident demeanor just now was precisely what made Herta so worried.
She must have already devised her own strategy for this.
If she agreed to this now, the one who would lose in the end would definitely be Herta, not Lumina.
When the time came, she might not even get to see anything good from Lumina.
While Lumina, on the other hand, would be able to see Herta completely...
No matter how she looked at it, this was absolutely out of the question.
But... but Herta really wanted the images in her mind to become a reality.
What if...
She just took a gamble?
Gamble that Lumina actually had no way to make good on her promise and was just playing a psychological game with her?
Herta was suddenly plunged into a state of inner conflict.
Although Herta knew that gambling always led to loss.
But the thought that if she won the bet, the reward would be seeing Lumina's flawless, jade-like body, made Herta's heart itch with anticipation.
What if?
Herta meant, what if?
What if Lumina was also gambling, betting that Herta would refuse this "invitation"?
After all, in so many previous bets, she had lost utterly every single time... Was Lumina betting that she wouldn't dare to keep gambling with her?
But, but was it possible that she was overthinking it?
Herta's mind was racing with a thousand thoughts, yet she still couldn't make a decision.
In front of Herta, Lumina observed her every expression. Even with Herta's powerful control over her facial expressions, Lumina couldn't tell much.
But with how well Lumina knew Herta, she must be struggling, struggling with what to do.
Actually, Lumina might as well just give a straightforward result.
Whether Herta agreed or not, Lumina wouldn't lose out.
This wasn't some grand scheme or conspiracy; Lumina admitted she didn't have the brains for that.
She had simply designed a dead end.
And it was just a dead end she'd designed for Herta on the side, while her main focus was on Castorice and Hyacine.
In the end, Lumina's point remained the same.
Absolute power grants absolute authority.
Why bother with all those conspiracy theories? It's simply that I'm stronger, simply that I can crush you.
So when Lumina designed a scheme, she could just think about the consequences for a moment and then execute it directly.
Failure? Was that important?
Not at all?
If she failed, she'd just act like a sore loser and flip the chessboard.
How simple was that?
Lumina snorted softly in her mind, her heart full of pleasure and playfulness.
Poor Little Herta, still attempting to gamble with a "god."
How laughable.
Though it was true she had let her "lick a few pieces of meat" just now...
"Alright, stop overthinking it, and hurry up with an answer." Lumina looked through the open door of the dressing room at the tightly closed door of the bathroom inside, not wanting to spend too much time on this question.
Not one more, not one less, Lumina was still very satisfied.
Polyxia was still waiting for her, and if she spent too much time here, she would get impatient.
Just thinking about her coming out of the bath and having to wait alone on the sofa or by the sink for a while... the mere thought of such a scene made Lumina's heart ache.
"We're all girls, so there's no problem, no need to worry about anything," Lumina waved her hand, uttering a very classic line.
We're all girls, what bad intentions could there be?
Even if there were bad intentions, they wouldn't have the means to carry them out, right?
So, what was there to worry about, what was there to be concerned about?
"You're the one we're guarding against." Hearing Lumina's words, Herta was instantly left speechless.
Herta agreed with the sentiment that we're all girls, what bad intentions could there be.
If only Castorice, Hyacine, and Polyxia were present, Herta would be completely unconcerned and without a single worry.
But with Lumina there, the situation changed drastically.
She wasn't a man, but she acted like one.
It wasn't that she looked like a man, but rather, her gaze and the little schemes in her heart were just like a man's.
She wanted to take advantage of the beautiful girls through this bathing process.
And compared to men, she even had a greater advantage.
She could openly use the excuse of "we're all girls" to share a bath with three or even four beautiful girls at once.
And when taking advantage of them, she only needed to manipulate things a little to make the beautiful girls thank her while she did so.
It was truly a bit much.
Although the beautiful girls would seem very willing and feel very happy, from a third party's perspective, Lumina's behavior was utterly excessive.
Playing with the hearts of beautiful girls would one day bring retribution!
"Hurry up and give me a result, stop wasting time with nonsense," Lumina's face was full of a gentle smile, but her tone betrayed a hint of impatience.
Lumina would never truly show impatience to a beautiful girl, but she could certainly act it out.
Little Herta's reaction had left Lumina very, very disappointed.
She had to pressure her a bit to get her to agree.
"Fine... alright, let's do it." Her small eyes spun slightly as Herta felt the two pieces of clothing in her arms, neither too thin nor too thick. After a moment's thought, she finally agreed.
Herta was an Emanator, after all. Why hesitate over something like this?
The issue of exposing herself while bathing was not a big deal.
When the time came, Herta could simply use her power as an Emanator to create a "Holy Light" around herself.
As for the possibility of Lumina getting handsy, that was even less of a problem.
If she tried to make a move, Herta would just make a move right back!
Since that was the case, what reason was there to refuse?
"Good, good, good." Having secured Herta's agreement, Lumina lowered her head slightly to look at the shirt and "pants" in her arms. A look of satisfaction spread across her fair and stunningly beautiful face.
The corners of her lips couldn't help but curl upward, as if a peerless scheme had succeeded.
"Go on, go on, Little Herta, go take your shower first."
"Hey, the one in the hallway, the environment there is the same as this bathroom outside."
Before things could develop further, before Herta could say anything, Lumina placed her hands on Herta's shoulders and pushed her out of the dressing room.
Herta: "..."
She glanced at Lumina faintly, seeing the smile fully plastered on her face, and Herta, adhering to the principle of not striking a smiling dog, decided to ignore her.
But at the same time, she also didn't follow Lumina's words and walk toward the bathroom.
Simply brushing off Lumina's little hands resting on her shoulders and trying to control her body, Herta walked back into the dressing room and turned her gaze to Castorice and Hyacine.
Without speaking, she simply gave them a reassuring look, signaling them to say whatever they wanted to say, that she would back them up, and Lumina wouldn't be able to force them.
Having received this reassuring glance from Herta and seeing the interaction between Lumina and Herta come to an end, Castorice and Hyacine looked at each other, their little faces flushed red, and weakly asked, "Um... Sister Lumina, what about the clothes?"
They only had one shirt in their hands. If it were any other time, like before going to bed, the two of them would have gritted their teeth and put it on.
After all, compared to the pajamas they wore last time, this shirt seemed very warm.
After all, this shirt was a full size larger than Castorice and Hyacine's bodies. When worn with a waist belt, it could even be worn as a dress.
When worn, as long as they didn't deliberately make some... embarrassing poses, nothing would be exposed.
But after taking a bath, they wouldn't be sitting on a sofa or lying on a bed, but bathing in the pool with everyone else.
In this situation, wearing this white shirt, no matter how you think about it, it wouldn't be very good, would it?
Especially since they would only be wearing this white shirt. When bathing, if the water wet it, wouldn't their whole bodies be seen?
At that time, the fabric would cling to their skin, and the picture of their whole bodies being fully exposed would be... wouldn't it be even more embarrassing than wearing those pajamas back then?
So no, no, even if the shirt had to be white, at least... at least they should have one more "pair of pants" like Big Sister Herta.
Otherwise, what's the difference between this and bathing naked?
But Lumina seemed completely unaware of this. Hearing her words, Castorice and Hyacine asked back with confused faces, "Clothes? What other clothes?"
"Just the clothes in your hands."
Lumina began to play dumb.
"Go take a bath quickly. There's another bathroom. After washing up, put on these clothes, and we'll enjoy our bathing time together."
Lumina urged them gently, sounding like a caring big sister who was already a mother.
Her voice was incredibly pleasant to the ear, making one feel comfortable and unconsciously obey her words without question, taking action.
Hearing this, Castorice and Hyacine pressed their lips together and lowered their heads, saying nothing.
They were conflicted, they were hesitating.
In this situation, as long as Lumina said a few more words, coaxed them a little more, they would push the bottom line in their hearts back a little...
"Ahem." In this situation, Herta kept her previous promise and stepped forward.
She coughed lightly, bringing everyone's thoughts back to reality.
"One piece of clothing? What if you catch a cold?"
"At least there should be two pieces of clothing, right?"
Herta waved her hand, gesturing to Lumina.
She wanted to join Castorice and Hyacine in ending Lumina's period of dominance.
"Cold? If the Chrysos Heirs would feel cold in this constant-temperature weather, then they should all the more wear it like this." Lumina raised an eyebrow slightly, but she didn't show any flustered expression, still wearing that same smile.
"I will help them examine their bodies to see what is actually wrong with them, to the point where they would feel a chill in this kind of weather."
"Or rather..." Lumina paused, glancing at Herta, "Is it because you are cold, that you would say such words?"
"..." Hearing this, Herta didn't bother to argue with Lumina, turning her gaze to Castorice and Hyacine and asking, "Little sister Castorice, Hyie, do you say it is cold?"
"If it's cold, then wear more clothes."
While Herta asked them, she also gave a simple hint.
"I..." Hearing this, the two understood Herta's meaning and were just about to give an answer.
"Little sister Castorice, Hyie, you can just answer truthfully." But just as their words were about to fall, Lumina gently smiled at them.
For a moment, looking at Sister Lumina's smile, they forced themselves to swallow the words they were about to say.
A moment later, they answered truthfully:
"It's not cold."
Herta: "?"