As soon as Margaret notices that Arthur is back, she joins him and Nyx in the bath, which lasts a full hour.
Both he and the girls would have liked it to last longer, but the sun has already risen over Lakeview and the remaining nobles at Josephine's house are almost ready to leave.
"Ah..." Arthur steps out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, letting out a relieved sigh. There's still hunger in his gaze, but he feels much lighter after releasing his lust on Margaret and especially on Nyx.
"Darling?" Aria is in front of the bathroom, looking at him with a curious expression, her eyes quickly drawn to his bare, wet chest. "Aren't you ready yet?"
"I just need a minute," he smiles as he moves toward the door of his bedroom, gazing at her with those hungry eyes.
Aria can't maintain eye contact and looks away. "Don't take too long; Josephine is preparing breakfast for her guests to see us before they leave."
"Fine," he senses the tension between them and decides giving Aria some space is best, so he heads directly to his bedroom to put on clean clothes.
After a few seconds, Margaret exits the bathroom, also wrapped in a towel. Her steps are unsteady due to her weak legs, and her cheeks are flushed, but her expression is one of pure satisfaction.
"Ah! Master?" She is surprised to see Aria near the door and blushes even more.
Aria rolls her eyes, trying to hide a glint of jealousy deep in them. "Don't worry, dear, just get dressed to stand by Arthur during breakfast to assist Josephine and her family."
"Of course," Margaret knows that what Arthur and Aria are doing for Josephine and her family is because of her, so she is immensely grateful for it.
Margaret enters the bedroom with Arthur, and Aria can hear a cute moan followed by laughter before they come out dressed after two minutes.
"Ready?" Aria asks with her tone clearly a bit bitter.
"Yeah," Arthur smiles and extends a hand to her while holding Margaret's hand as well.
"Huh..." Aria lets out a low sigh as she accepts Arthur's hand. Instinctively, her body reacts, and she intertwines her arm with his just as Margaret does. "Let's go."
Arthur's smile broadens even more with Aria on one side and Margaret on the other. He can't help but think about Nyx and speaks to her mentally. 'You are with me, too, honey,'
'Closer than anyone,' she comments proudly.
"So let's go," Arthur leads the way down the hallway with Aria and Margaret at his sides and Nyx inside his Nexus. "What about little Eve?"
"She's sleeping," Aria quickly responds. "It's good for us to finish this quickly; I also want to sleep. Last night was too long..."
"I can't say I'm sleepy, but..." Arthur glances at Margaret, and she blushes. "I also want to go to bed soon."
Aria rolls her eyes again, and the trio continues to the patio, where they find dozens of nobles, some sleeping on the tables and others still drinking wine and beer.
Josephine's servants are cleaning the place and arranging a large table in the center for breakfast.
As soon as Arthur and Aria appear, they immediately become the center of attention again. But Arthur's initial impression as a violent devil is rooted in the minds of those nobles, and they dare not look directly at Aria and Margaret.
"Arthur!" Oliver, on the other hand, only has friendly looks for Arthur and his family. He waves to the trio and pulls chairs for them at the center of the large table. "Come on, let's have breakfast together!"
The surrounding nobles, including the Drummonds, are puzzled and concerned. A leader from another influential noble family in Lakeview, unable to contain his curiosity, questions her. "Lady Drummond? What is it about? Has something bad happened?"
"A tragedy..." She sighs. "The Viscount's family has been attacked."
"An attack?"
"Who would dare?"
"How are they?"
"Any injured???"
"Why did you say tragedy???"
A stir rapidly grows among the nobles, shock and confusion etched on every face except for Arthur and Aria, whose expressions remain icy and calm.
"Some guards entered the house and found the Viscount and his family..." Josephine covers her mouth as if about to vomit from the content of the letter. "It was a massacre... no survivors..."
"No survivors?!?"
"How is that possible??"
"Goddess, have mercy..."
The other nobles are genuinely shocked, but while no one truly mourns the Viscount, they fear for their own safety, and especially, they all share the same doubt.
"What will happen now?"
When someone asks that question aloud, all eyes turn to Josephine.
She feigns an attempt to compose herself and maintains a thoughtful expression. "The head of the guard is summoning the major families for a public assembly to restore order..."
She pauses and looks at the nobles. "But since no member of the Whittlee family in Lakeview is alive, it's natural that the command of the city should pass to the head of the Wymane family until Count Whittlee appoints a successor for his son."
"Lord Wymane?"
"That makes sense; they were the main allies of the Viscount..."
The nobles begin to discuss the future of Lakeview and their own safety.
While Josephine also pretends concern over the matter, Arthur leans close to Aria and whispers in her ear. "It seems we have our next target for tonight."
"Oh my~ you can hardly wait, can you?" She asks in an animated tone.
Arthur brings his lips even closer to Aria's ear. "I didn't know hunting could be so delightful when accompanied by the right person..."
"Fufufu~" She giggles.