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The river's water was cold from snow runoff but clean and refreshing.

Bending down again, she dipped her head in the water, using her fingers to dislodge as much dirt from her scalp as she could. For a moment, she wondered if she should just untie her hair and wash all of it.

"The maids in Mevani would scold me if they could see me now," she giggled to herself. "Bathing with my hair tied up and my undergarments still on."

When Taegus first suggested the idea of sneaking off to take a bath, she rejected it immediately. How could she possibly slip away in the middle of a patrol and expect nobody to notice?

Taegus assured her he was prepared, however. He'd even produced a pair of fresh undergarments that had been hidden under his tunic.

"Eh? W-what.. Where?" Kel questioned awkwardly as the boy extended the underwear toward her.

"It's mine, but don't worry! It's clean. You can give me some of yours tomorrow to replace it," the boy had whispered with a smile.

Kel paused at his words.

Was this kid actually a pervert?

In the end, Kel had turned down the offer to share underwear but somehow let herself be convinced to sneak away for a quick dip in the water.

"It's strange though, right?" she wondered, pushing her hands back and forth against the river's calm current. "Why was that punk so concerned about my bath?"

Her first instinct was that Taegus was setting her up for a trap.

She just couldn't quite imagine what kind of trap he could stand to gain from in this situation. Anyone he brought to observe a man bathing alone in the moonlight would only get the same impression Kel had gotten.

That this kid was a pervert.

It could also be that he wanted to get her alone and vulnerable to hurt her, but, as she'd concluded before, he would have already done so if he wanted to.

And, after all, she did really need a bath.

I'll give that kid the benefit of the doubt, she thought to herself, sinking back into the water. Just for now.

Kel had just barely decided to let her hair down after all, when she heard a faint splash nearby.

Moving quietly toward the nearest bush, Kel sank deeper into the river, until only her eyes and nose were above the water.

"I was a fool to trust that stupid kid!" she hissed, her heart sinking as she feared the worst.

She glanced toward the shore where her clothes were folded neatly next to a tree, contemplating if it would be better to grab them and run. If she could get dressed and rejoin her patrol quickly enough, she would be out of danger.

"Come out."

A painfully familiar voice commanded before Kel could make a single move.

"No way.." she breathed.

The person who had just stumbled upon her bathing (or perhaps, she'd unwittingly stumbled upon his) was the Dragon Emperor.

If he sees me, I'm dead, Kel thought to herself.

Instead of revealing herself as ordered, she stuck a single hand out from behind the bush and gave a clumsy greeting.

"I'm sorry, Sir!" she shouted, mustering the deepest voice her vocal chords could manage. "Please don't mind me and continue on your way."

"... Why are you here?"

Soft waves lapped against her body as the emperor made his way toward the bush she was using as a shield.

"W-Why are you here, Your Majesty?" Kel responded nervously. "For some peace and quiet, right?"

Her heart was threatening to stop beating altogether. At this rate, she was certain she would die before the emperor even discovered who she was.

"Come out," the emperor commanded again, his tone noticeably more irritable.

"Eep! Uh, I mean.." Kel stammered, pulling herself farther into the scanty branches, "I'm not presentable right now if, uh, if Your Highness knows what I mean."

Her voice cracked as she tried to release a manly chuckle.

The waves stopped.

"You're courting death, Soldier."

I know!! Kel screamed internally, scrunching her eyes shut.

Just at that moment, when Kel could not have been any more certain of her impending doom, the unthinkable happened.

"Kel!"

Taegus's voice came floating out from the trees.

"Psst! Kel!"

Taegus, you fool! Kel sobbed. How could your whisper be so deafening?

A sudden deadly aura sent chills down her spine.

Whether this was Taegus's plan or not, it appeared he would be resoundingly successful in disposing of her.

The aura intensified as a stick near the shoreline snapped under what must have been Taegus's feet.

For the top swordsman out of all the recruits, that kid sure makes a lot of unnecessary noise, Kel sighed.

Out of all the times she'd thought of how dangerous he was, why did she never properly consider the threat posed by his clumsiness?

"I'll be going first," the emperor, to Kel's surprise, conceded.

Kel listened as the splashing sounds of the man moving through the water gradually got farther away before daring to peek out from behind her bush.

Was it true? Had he left her alone just like tha-

!!

Kel froze as her eyes landed on the emperor's distant figure. Below the ominous black dragon scrawled across his back, just above the water's calm surface peeked two round, gleaming bulges.

"B-b-butt..cheeks?" Kel gulped.

But last time she saw him bathing in the river, he had definitely been wearing pants, so why-no wait, why was she still looking?

"Am I the pervert?" she whispered, retreated back behind the foliage.

By the time Taegus appeared on the shoreline, still hissing for Kel, the emperor had disappeared entirely.

Kel, dazed by the unexpected encounter, hardly noticed as the boy pulled her up onto the banks and began tugging her tunic over her head.

"You didn't answer at first," he remarked, pulling a stocking over her wet, sandy foot. "So I thought maybe you had drow-why are you blushing like that?"

The boy stopped, his own cheeks reddening as if he had just realized what he was doing.

"I-I didn't mean anything by it. You look like a boy anyway so.. Kel?"

"... I'm not dead," Kel murmured, still staring off in the distance.

Eventually, Taegus and Kel rejoined the patrol, none of them questioning where the two had disappeared to. Even the fact that she was dripping wet went by unnoticed. Honestly, Kel was impressed at how reliable Taegus had proved to be.

"What excuse did you give them, then?" Kel asked Taegus as they walked back toward the infantry division together.

"Oh.." the silver-haired boy paused.

"I told them you had an 'explosive' bathroom emergency."