Chapter 369: That’s Not What Christina Told Me
As usual, the bathhouse was quite busy, but when the low-level servants and workers using the facility saw Lucas enter, they all hastily made way for him, opening up one of the limited stalls for his use.
Lucas had tried to refuse such preferential treatment and line up like everyone else many times, but when he did, everyone had fervently insisted that he skip the queue, all of them refusing to even consider showering until he agreed.
The ordinary staff were well aware that Lucas was the one who had designed this new bathhouse, and that he was the one responsible for convincing the higher-ups to allow them to have a free hot shower every day, so even if he wasn’t the Marquess’ Disciple, all of them would have treated him this way anyways.
After multiple failed attempts to get everyone to see him as an ordinary shower-taker, Lucas eventually decided to give up and accepted their goodwill, though he did tend to rush his showers so he didn’t take up too much time and make others wait.
I have to get the rest of the bathhouses finished quickly, then this one won’t be nearly as crowded, Lucas mused to himself as he rinsed the soap from his hair.
Doing so, he was reminded he needed to try making proper shampoo, but that was a lower priority right now.
Quickly finishing up, Lucas dried off, wrapped himself in his towel, and left the shower room.
Changing into clean clothes, the young boy walked out of the bathhouse feeling refreshed, the cool morning air causing him to shiver a bit in a comfortable way.
Just as he was about to head off to his next destination, though, Lucas heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind.
Turning around, he was about to wave and say hello to his cheerful big sister, but he promptly fixed his casual expression and placed his fist respectfully over his heart, "Greetings, Your Majesty, Commander Clark."
"Good morning, Lucas," Queen Natasha replied softly, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she lightly shook her shoulder-length blue hair, allowing the wind to dry it after having just finished using the showers.
Beside her, Vanessa Clark pouted slightly, "None of that, now! Call me Big Sister, Lucas!"
Brow twitching slightly, Lucas lifted his head and forced himself to not sigh as he declared, "I cannot be rude in the presence of a member of the Royal Family."
"Oh, really? That’s not what Christina told me," Vanessa quipped in a teasing tone.
"Er..." Lucas froze for a moment but rapidly recovered, "Christina is my Junior Sister Disciple, so of course we act a bit more casually with one another."
"Is my daughter really just your ’Junior Sister Disciple’?" Natasha queried, her voice calm and even to the point that Lucas wasn’t sure whether she was poking fun at him or being serious.
Having learned that getting riled up only made things worse in situations like this, the young boy said boldly, "Tina is a precious friend I cherish and respect greatly."
Meeting eyes with the young boy before her, Natasha Summers stared at him for a moment before her lips curled up just a bit more, "Good, since that’s the case, you can refer to me as Aunt Natasha."
"But Your Maj..." Lucas immediately tried to object, only to be subjected to a piercing stare, one that said it would brook no argument.
"Yes, Aunt Natasha," Lucas wisely relented while comforting himself, Well, at least she didn’t ask me to call her ’Mother’ like Queen Cynthia.
"Very good," Natasha nodded before musing amusedly, "I would have requested you call me big sister like you do with Vanessa here, but that would just make things more confusing in the future, so I’ll settle for Aunty."
And what is that supposed to mean!? Lucas groaned internally while working hard to keep his face straight and quickly change the subject, "By the way, Your Ma... I mean, Aunt Natasha, might I ask why you’re still here?"
The official reason for the Second Queen’s presence was to witness the Discipleship Ceremony of her half-daughter on behalf of the Royal Family, but that was 3 days ago.
As the one basically responsible for managing the economy of the Rockwell Kingdom, Queen Summers had to be incredibly busy, so Lucas couldn’t understand why she was still loitering in Misty City.
"Why, to make use of this amazing bathhouse you’ve built here, of course," Natasha joked before seemingly commenting casually, "Oh, how wonderful would it be if the palace and capital had similar facilities."
Not missing the faint glint in the depths of the Second Queen’s eyes, Lucas resisted the urge to smile wryly as he opened his Space Bag and fished around for a moment before pulling something out, "This is a full set of designs and schematics for the bathhouse and water system we used here. Please accept them, Aunt Natasha."
"How very thoughtful of you, Lucas," Natasha smiled winningly and accepted the gift, showing not the slightest hesitation.
And why would she? A mother accepting presents from her to-be son-in-law was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?
"Ahem," Vanessa, who had also gotten quite used to the showers in Redwood Town and now Misty City, cleared her throat audibly and gave Lucas a meaningful look.
The boy wasn’t blind, deaf, or stupid, so he knew what she wanted; unfortunately, he had only prepared a single set of spare blueprints and manuals, so he could only scratch his cheek awkwardly and avert his eyes.
Seeing this, Vanessa gasped exaggeratedly and placed a hand over her chest, like she had suffered a terrible betrayal.
Giggling lightly at their antics, Natasha quickly stepped in to placate her friend, "Now now, Vanessa, don’t make things difficult for my cute little nephew. I’ll make sure that the Golden Wings Legion receives a copy of these plans once we get back."
Even if Vanessa hadn’t ’subtly’ made this request, Second Queen Summers was already planning to widely distribute these plans, as well as to fund the construction of a number of large-scale public bathhouses throughout the kingdom.
While she had been in Misty City, Natasha had naturally spent quite a bit of time talking with her half-daughter about a variety of topics, and during one of their discussions, Christina had shared what she had learned about hygiene from Lucas.