‘Goddess! What in the world is happening now? Why is that old woman coming to bathe at this hour!’
Lisbeth was utterly stunned by Hilda’s sudden appearance.
Simultaneously, her large, fluffy tail, which had been submerged in the bath, shot upright, a clear sign of her intense nervousness.
Yet, Lisbeth knew that in such moments, panic was her worst enemy. Her mind raced, desperately trying to formulate a plan during the brief window before Hilda dared to approach and confirm her presence.
‘Calm down, calm down, me! First, I need to observe my surroundings.’
With that thought, Lisbeth instinctively surveyed her surroundings.
She quickly realized this was a private bathroom, its space surprisingly confined.
There was only one exit, a single door.
Fortunately, that door was still ajar, not fully closed, meaning Lisbeth wasn’t entirely trapped in a hopeless situation.
“So what do I do now?”
“Shrinking here would be pointless; the space is too open, and any movement would immediately give me away. That old woman doesn’t seem like the type to let anyone off easily.”
“It seems there’s only one trick left I can use.”
Although the situation was dire, Lisbeth, with her future magic, wasn’t entirely without options.
As Lisbeth remained silent, hidden behind the stone, Hilda’s voice grew progressively colder.
“Not speaking, are we? You, hiding behind that stone.”
“I’ll give you one last chance. Come out now, and I might show you leniency. But if I have to drag you out, you’ll face a death sentence.”
“…”
Still, only silence answered Hilda.
Witnessing this, Hilda slowly raised her right hand and uttered two words.
“Ice Flame.”
The moment Hilda’s words faded, a ball of eerie blue flame ignited fiercely in her palm.
The next second, she held the thin bath towel draped around her with one hand, while the other cradled the dancing flame.
She advanced slowly, deliberately, towards the stone.
“Hmm!?”
In short order, Hilda reached the other side of the stone.
However, when she peered around it, all she saw was the tranquil water of the bath, utterly devoid of any person.
‘Could it be that Lisbeth’s antics today have made me a bit paranoid?’
While Hilda had indeed heard a sound moments ago, the dense mist in the bath had prevented her from actually seeing anyone.
Perplexed, she tilted her head, then extinguished the flame in her hand.
“Ha… never mind. I must have been mistaken,” she sighed.
“After all, this is the personal maid’s exclusive bath. Surely, no one else could possibly enter, right?”
Having concluded that no one was there, Hilda slowly returned to her original spot.
The question remained: where had Lisbeth, who had been hiding behind the stone, vanished to?
‘Phew… that scared me to death…’
As Hilda settled back into her position, Lisbeth slowly exhaled.
Her own location hadn’t changed; she remained exactly where she had been hiding.
Her ability to evade Hilda’s sharp gaze was all thanks to a life-saving magic she could only use once a day.
‘It’s a good thing I learned this ten-minute invisibility spell; otherwise, I would have truly been caught this time.’
Indeed, Lisbeth had eluded Hilda because she was currently invisible.
While this invisibility seemed incredibly useful, it came with numerous restrictions.
Firstly, Lisbeth could not be touched by anyone, or the spell would immediately break.
Furthermore, it wasn’t true invisibility, but rather a magic that made her body nearly transparent.
This meant that if someone stared intently at her location, they could still detect a subtle distortion.
Nevertheless, Lisbeth had, for the moment, escaped danger.
Once she confirmed Hilda had relaxed her guard, Lisbeth quietly climbed out of the bath.
She then moved slowly, cautiously, towards the half-open door.
‘Good, just a little more.’
Given the small size of the bathroom, Lisbeth reached the door swiftly.
However, just as she was about to push the door open a fraction wider and make her escape, it suddenly swung inwards.
A petite figure, accompanied by a delicate voice, appeared before her.
“Hilda, how’s the water temperature today?”
‘Demon Lord!! Why are *you* also coming to bathe at this hour!!!!!!!!!!!’
At that moment, Lisbeth yearned to scream to the heavens, yet she dared not utter a sound.
It suddenly made sense why the bathroom door had been left slightly ajar—someone else was expected.
Thankfully, Kristia’s arrival had inadvertently pushed the half-open door even wider for Lisbeth.
All Lisbeth needed to do now was wait for Hilda to fully turn her attention to Kristia.
Once Kristia entered the bath, Lisbeth would have ample time to make her escape.
However, the very next second, a heartbreaking scene unfolded before Lisbeth’s eyes…
“Demon Lord, please close the bathroom door properly,” Hilda instructed.
“It’s a habit one simply must cultivate.”
“I know, I know~ Hilda, you’re such a busybody~”
‘Hey! You old woman! She’s the Demon Lord! Why are you teaching her the good habit of closing doors!!!’
In essence, thanks to Hilda’s unwitting words, Lisbeth was once again trapped within the small confines of the bathroom.
And her invisibility spell had only seven minutes left before it dissipated.