Cassandra actually sat up in bed, the blanket falling away. "Help him... in the bath? Sister, that's..."
Seraphine laughed.
"Stop being dirty-minded," she said, her tone playful and teasing. "I just meant helping Father soak properly. Making sure the water temperature is right, perhaps adding some oils or salts if the inn has them. We're not going to bathe with him."
She paused deliberately.
"Unless he asks, of course."
Lyanna's face turned deep red. "Seraphine!"
Cassandra buried her face in her hands. "Why do you say these things..."
Julian couldn't help but smile, recognizing Seraphine's mischievous nature in full display. She enjoyed flustering her more reserved sisters and certainly enjoyed pushing boundaries just to see their reactions.
It reminded him of himself, actually.
"Well," Julian said, without taking any sides. "I'll be in the bath. You three can figure this out amongst yourselves."
He turned toward the washroom attached to his own room, leaving his daughters to their discussion.
Behind him, he heard Lyanna's voice: "We are NOT helping Father bathe! That's pletely inappropriate!"
"I didn't say we would," Seraphine replied innocently. "I just said we could. There's a difference."
"There's no difference!" Cassandra protested. "Both options are equally... equally..."
"Equally what?" Seraphine pressed, clearly enjoying this situation. "We've all seen Father training shirtless. We've all seen him use his power. What difference does it make if—"
"It makes a HUGE difference!" Lyanna interrupted. "Training is training! Bathing is... that's pletely different!"
Julian closed the door to his room, cutting off the rest of their debate.
Let them argue about it. It would give them something to focus on besides the stress of their mission.
Julian entered the washroom and began removing his clothes, setting them aside carefully. He stepped into the tub and lowered himself slowly into the hot water.
The heat worked its magic immediately. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the tub, letting the warmth seep into his body.
After about five minutes, there was a knock at the door.
"Enter," Julian called out, expecting perhaps Seraphine ing to continue her teasing.
The door opened, and he opened his eyes to see not just Seraphine, but all three of his daughters entering the washroom.
Seraphine led the way with a confident smirk on her face, clearly pleased with herself. Behind her, Lyanna and Cassandra followed with considerably less confidence.
Julian raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised at the scene. He had expected Seraphine's mischief to end at the door and didn't actually expect her to succeed in bringing her sisters along.
"Well," he said with amusement, "this is unexpected."
Lyanna clutched a basket filled with various bottles and containers. "We... we're just here to help," she said quickly, her voice higher than normal. "As daughters. Helping our father. With bathing. Which is pletely normal and not weird at all."
Cassandra had a smaller basket with what appeared to be salts and oils, and she was staring intently at the bottles as if they were the most fascinating objects in the world.
"pletely normal," she repeated quietly, her face bright red. "Just... filial duty. Nothing strange about it."
Seraphine looked absolutely delighted by her sisters' disfort. She moved to the small table beside the tub, setting down her own collection of items—soaps, brushes, and towels.
Julian looked directly at Seraphine.
"How did you convince them?" he asked. "I heard Lyanna shouting that helping me bathe was pletely inappropriate not five minutes ago."
Seraphine's smirk widened into a full, mischievous smile.
"I manipulated them," she said with plete honesty and zero shame. "I told them that if they really have no impure thoughts about our father, then why hesitate to help him bathe? It's a duty of children to help their parents, after all."
She picked up one of the bottles, examining it casually.
"Since our father has no son, we are his only support. And if they refused to help with something as simple as bathing, well... that would suggest they were thinking inappropriate thoughts, wouldn't it? Because why else would they be so unfortable?"
Lyanna's face somehow became even redder. "That's... that's circular logic! That's manipulative reasoning!"
"I literally just said I manipulated you," Seraphine pointed out reasonably. "I'm not hiding it. But here you are anyway, so clearly it worked."
Cassandra made a small grunt.
Julian couldn't help but laugh.
"Seraphine, you're terrible," he said.
"I prefer to think of it as strategic," Seraphine replied, pletely unbothered. "Besides, they both wanted to help really. They were just too embarrassed to admit it. I simply gave them a logical framework that made it acceptable."
"We did NOT want to—" Lyanna started to protest.
"So you're saying you wanted Father to struggle with bathing alone when we could easily help?" Seraphine interrupted innocently. "That seems rather unkind, sister."
Lyanna opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again, clearly unable to find a response that didn't trap her further.
Julian took pity on his flustered daughters.
"Well, since you're all here," he said, "you might as well make yourselves useful. What exactly did you bring?"
This gave Lyanna and Cassandra something concrete to focus on, which seemed to help their posure.
"Lavender oil," Lyanna said, pulling out a bottle and holding it up without quite looking at Julian. "And mint oil. The innkeeper said they're good for relaxation and sore muscles."
"Mineral salts from the northern mountains," Cassandra added, showing her own bottles. "Supposed to help with... with tension relief. And this one is scented with something called winterbloom. It smells nice."
"Very thoughtful," Julian said warmly. "Thank you, all three of you."
Seraphine had already moved closer to the tub and began testing the water temperature with her hand.
"The water's cooling slightly," she observed. "Father, should I have more hot water brought up?"
"It's fine as it is," Julian assured her.
Seraphine nodded and picked up one of the bottles Cassandra had brought.
"Winterbloom. This will work well." She poured a small drop into the bathwater, and immediately a pleasant, slightly sweet scent filled the room.
Lyanna stood frozen, clearly uncertain what to do now that they were actually here. Cassandra was in a similar state, clutching her basket like a shield.
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