Chapter 618: Just A Peek

Every single woman in that room, wives and maids alike, spoke of Cassius with the same dreamy, reverent glow.

How kind he was when no one was watching.

How he remembered the smallest things—the flower someone liked, the way another preferred her tea.

How safe they felt beside him.

How he made them laugh until their sides ached, then held them until the laughter turned soft and quiet.

How he loved fiercely and without reservation.

Aqua had tried to stay neutral throughout the conversation.

She smiled and nodded and passed the wine and snacks around.

But she couldn’t contribute the way they did.

She was his sister, after all.

Not a lover. Not even a prospective one.

That is until the topic swung inevitably in her direction.

"So what about you, Aqua?" Vivi, with her mischievous smile had teased, leaning forward. "There has to be someone back in the capital. A handsome mage? A knight? A poet who writes terrible poems about your eyes?"

The room had erupted in encouraging coos and giggles.

"Come onnn, tell us!"

"You’re too pretty to be single!"

"Spill!"

Aqua had laughed it off, cheeks already pink.

"No, there’s no one really—I’ve been far too busy with my studies. Magic doesn’t leave much room for...that sort of thing."

They hadn’t bought it for a second.

Diana, who had arrived late after a long shift at the hospital, still smelling faintly of antiseptic and herbs, had tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Just close your eyes for a second." She’d said gently. "Think about the person you love."

"Or...the person you want to get close to. Really close. The one you want to hold. To kiss. To spend your life wrapped around and there’s a high chance someone will pop up."

Aqua had hesitated, then—curious despite herself closed her eyes.

And the image had come instantly.

Cassius.

Not as the little brother she’d left behind years ago.

Not as family.

As a man.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Crimson eyes looking at her with that infuriating, gentle amusement he always wore around her.

His strong hands reaching for her.

His mouth brushing hers.

His body pressed close.

And she felt heat. Want.

The kind of want that made her breath catch even now, just remembering.

She’d snapped her eyes open so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

’No. No no no.’

She’d tried again. Forced herself to picture someone else.

Any prince. Any noble. Any faceless handsome stranger from the Capital.

But still nothing.

Only Cassius.

Kissing him. Holding him. Laughing with him in bed. His hands on her waist. His mouth trailing lower.

The thought of him inside her—

She’d launched a pillow at Vivi’s face before anyone could ask why her cheeks were suddenly scarlet.

"Pillow fight!" She’d shouted, voice cracking with desperation.

And thank every god in the heavens, it worked.

The room exploded into squealing chaos.

Feathers everywhere. Laughter drowning out questions.

Aqua had thrown herself into the fray, smacking pillows with manic energy until the dangerous thoughts were buried under layers of silliness.

But now, alone in the corridor, basket hugged to her chest—the memories crept back.

Why him?

She tried to rationalize it.

Maybe it was just...proximity.

She’d spent so many years obsessing over him in the capital—worrying about him, missing him, imagining what kind of man he’d grown into.

He was the only man who had ever truly occupied her thoughts for that long.

So of course, when asked to picture love, her mind defaulted to him.

It was innocent. Sisterly. Wholesome.

But the bed thoughts weren’t innocent.

The way her mind had conjured his hands on her waist, his mouth on her throat, his low voice whispering her name—that wasn’t sisterly at all.

She stopped walking entirely and leaned against the cool wall.

"Do I really not know why?" She whispered to the empty corridor. "Or am I just lying to myself because I’m terrified of the answer?"

Because the truth—the ugly, shameful, impossible truth—was that something had shifted the moment she stepped back into this mansion.

She’d walked in on him in that...compromising position.

Seen the evidence of his desire, his adulthood, in stark relief.

And instead of recoiling like a proper sister should, something inside her had...stirred.

And if that wasn’t enough, the night she’d ended up tangled with him.

His hands accidentally everywhere, her own body arching into his touch instead of pulling away.

Letting him knead her breasts.

Letting herself feel it.

Want it.

She hadn’t stopped him because she saw him as her brother in that moment.

She’d stopped him because she was terrified of how badly she wanted to keep going.

And now, she couldn’t unsee him as a man.

And not just any man, the most perfect man she’d ever known.

Kind. Gentle. Protective. Ridiculously wealthy. Devoted to the women in his life.

Patient. Funny. Considerate.

And yes—physically...more than equipped.

She’d glimpsed enough that first night to know exactly what the whispers were about.

He was perfect.

He was every woman’s dream.

He was also her dream man.

And if she kept letting herself see him that way—if she let the line between ’little brother’ and ’man I want" blur any further—she would fall.

Completely.

Irrevocably.

And she would become, one of his women.

The thought sent a shiver through her—equal parts terror and illicit thrill.

"No. Stop it, Aqua."

She shook her head violently, hair bouncing.

"He’s still your little brother. That hasn’t changed. It can’t change."

She pushed off the wall, gripped the basket tighter.

"Sure, there have been awkward moments. Sure, I’ve slipped up. But those are mistakes. Accidents. They don’t mean anything permanent. I can correct them..."

"...No, I will correct them."

She took a deep breath.

"I’ll just...be wholesome. Extra wholesome. Sisterly. Loving in the right way. The safe way."

With that final, shaky resolution, she straightened her shoulders, forced a bright smile, and resumed her little hopping walk toward the bathroom.

Aqua pushed open the heavy wooden door to the maids common bathroom.

She’d chosen this one on purpose—not the private suite attached to her guest room, but the shared bathhouse the maids used.

This was because ever since returning from the capital, the loneliness that had shadowed her for years had vanished.

She was surrounded by warm, laughing women who treated her like family, who pulled her into their circles without hesitation.

She wanted to keep that feeling alive, even during something as simple as a bath, so she decided to come here, where she thought she could bath with any of the maids inside.

But the moment she stepped inside, she immediately paused and was in awe at what she was seeing.

The space was enormous—far larger than any servants bath she’d ever seen.

Crystal floors gleamed under soft light, slick with condensation.

Multiple shallow pools of varying sizes dotted the floor like natural hot springs, each one fed by hidden pipes that kept the water perpetually warm and gently bubbling.

Along the walls stood rows of shower taps for rinsing, and in one corner a raised platform held stacks of fluffy towels and jars of scented oils.

Thick steam drifted lazily through the air, carrying the faint perfume of eucalyptus and rosewater.

It looked less like a servants facility and more like a luxurious public bathhouse from the old imperial spas.

Aqua’s lips parted in quiet surprise.

’Cassius...he really did this for them?’

She remembered the maids mentioning in passing how cramped and basic the old bath had been—barely enough room for a handful of women at once, cold water half the time.

Now it was this.

He’d renovated the entire thing just to make their daily lives more comfortable.

The thought made something soft and warm bloom in her chest.

And while thinking about how much he her brother took care of his loved ones, he set her basket on a low stone bench and began undressing slowly.

First the light blouse—slipping off her shoulders to reveal the full, heavy swell of her breasts, pale pink nipples already pebbled from the humid air.

Then her soft stomach, gently curved, leading to the slender dip of her waist and the graceful arch of her back.

Pants next—sliding down long, shapely legs that were slender yet powerfully thick at the thigh, the kind that looked delicate until they moved.

Her hips flared into a beautifully rounded, firm butt that jiggled faintly as she bent to step out of the fabric.

Finally, the last scrap of underwear peeled away, revealing the neat, puffy mound of her vagina.

Outer lips flushed a delicate pink, the delicate inner flower already glistening slightly from the heat and her own wandering thoughts earlier.

She folded everything neatly, tucked it into the cupboard, then wrapped a towel around her body and padded barefoot across the warm, slippery floor toward the main pool.

She was about to call out—hoping to catch a few of the younger maids who always seemed to bathe around this time—when she heard it.

Low voices. Soft laughter. A quiet, feminine whimper.

Exactly what she wanted: company.

Someone to gossip with while soaking.

Someone to chase away the lingering, shameful thoughts from last night.

She walked across the room, towel knotted above her breasts, peering through the drifting steam toward the largest central pool where the water still rippled gently.

Movement. Shadows shifting.

She smiled, ready to announce herself—

—but froze at what she saw.

Her heart slammed against her ribs and she immedietly ducked behind the nearest thick pillar so fast she nearly slipped, pressing her back to the cool stone, one hand clapped over her mouth to stifle the gasp.

’’No. No no no.’

She waited three pounding heartbeats, then very slowly leaned out just enough to peek.

It was him.

Cassius.

But right now he was completely naked, waist-deep in the steaming water of the main pool.

Broad shoulders glistening. Dark hair slicked back from his face. That easy, lazy smile he always wore when he was utterly in control.

And sitting on the wide stone ledge directly in front of him, legs dangling into the water, knees parted wide—was Portia.

The head maid.

The terrifyingly competent, glass-wearing, never-a-hair-out-of-place Portia who ran the entire household with iron discipline and a voice that could make grown men straighten their spines.

Except right now she looked nothing like that.

Her severe bun was gone; long black hair spilled wet and loose over her shoulders and down her back.

Her glasses were missing—set neatly on a folded towel beside her and her face was flushed a deep, embarrassed crimson.

But more importantly, she was naked.

Entirely naked.

Breasts full and heavy, nipples dark and peaked from the heat. Stomach slightly pudgey. Thighs trembling slightly.

And her legs...

She had them spread shamelessly wide, feet braced on the ledge, hips tilted forward so her pussy was fully on display for Cassius.

A neat triangle of black hair above smooth, swollen lips that were already glistening—not just from bathwater.

Portia—strict, disciplined Portia—was presenting herself like an offering.

And Cassius...

Cassius looked down at her with a lust-filled smile, one hand resting casually on her inner thigh while the other traced slow circles around her clit.

Every time he brushed it, Portia’s hips jerked and a tiny, broken whimper escaped her.

And witnessing this, Aqua’s breath caught.

She should leave. Right now.

Sneak away. Pretend she saw nothing.

This was private. Intimate. Wrong for her of all people to witness.

He was her brother after all.

But her feet wouldn’t move.

Curiosity. Hot, shameful, insistent rooted her in place.

She’d heard the stories last night.

The giggling whispers about ’Master’s other side.’

How gentle and doting he was by day...but at night or whenever the mood struck he became something else.

A beast. Relentless. Overwhelming. Ravaging them until they couldn’t walk straight.

She’d laughed it off then, thinking they were exaggerating.

The Cassius she’d accidentally touched, the one whose hands had wandered over her in the dark, had still been careful. Considerate. Restrained.

So, she wanted to see.

Just for a moment.

Just to know if it was true and if such a feral beast existed inside of her brother.

And Cassius...

...he did not disappoint her one bit and gave a her a show of a lifetime.