Morrigan was not responding to him anymore. He had called out to her multiple times from outside the bathing room, but her reply was merely a sleepy-sounding 'I am fine'. Azrael had a bad feeling about this. Imps had the innate ability to put people in a daze, confusing their minds and talking them into giving them their possessions.

While he had thoroughly investigated this particular town before the journey and found no suspicious activities in the past, it didn't mean that the imps wouldn't try anything. Especially on the Crown Princess. They could take her hostage, demand a ransom or even worse.

I am so stupid. I never should have left her alone. Her maids are also unresponsive. Something must have happened.

There was a small voice in the back of his mind, it sounded a lot like Lady Eirwen's voice, which told him that just barging into a bathing room where women were undoubtedly naked wasn't the most chivalrous thing to do. Especially if Morrigan was there. If King heard of it, then he would no doubt put his head on a pike.

Maybe it is alright…

"Princess!" he called out again, in hopes that she'll reply and dispel his suspicions. But instead of Morrigan, an imp answered his call.

"The dearest princess is alright. Please, do not bother her while she is relaxing," the imp said, and Azrael heard a cackling sound from somewhere deeper inside the bathing room.

"No, that's it. I am going in!" he said resolutely. Azrael kicked down the door and ran inside. The room exploded into screams as the demon maids began swearing at him and throwing wet rags in his direction. The imp woman also snarled angrily, swarming around him and preventing him from seeing Morrigan.

"Why is a man entering a woman's bath? Out! Out!" The imps growled angrily.

"Lord Azrael, this is too much even for you!" The demon maids sounded just as angry as imps.

"Why isn't the princess answering?!" Azrael growled, trying to scatter the imps away from his view.

"Because… I am trying to relax!" resounded a furious shout from somewhere behind the cluster of imps. They scattered and what Azrael saw was a very angry-looking Morrigan, wrapped up in a towel with a bright blue fireball in her hand. "Get. Out!"

Without a second she flung it at Azrael. He erected a forcefield to protect himself from it, but once it collided he was surprised by its strength. He had to supply the forcefield with more magic to withstand her attack. While blue flames were certainly strong, it still shouldn't take this much energy to block it.

"Answer a guy when he calls," he grinned and turned on his heel to leave.

"Get out!" Morrigan growled and flung another fireball at him. He blocked it again, this time the fireball being a bit weaker. But if the Princess had thrown it at anyone besides him and the King, they wouldn't be able to just block. No, likely the damage would be permanent.

It seems like Morrigan has gotten stronger because she received the mark from the Spirit of Magic. How strong is she going to be by the end of this journey? At this rate, she'll even surpass Alphegor.

***

Morrigan was fuming. For the first time since the start of this journey, she could finally enjoy a nice, relaxing bath. But the Azrael just decided to burst, daring to act all worried about her, and ruin it all.

Lecherous pervert. I bet he just wanted to catch a glimpse of me naked, so he just made up some story about being worried about me and came waltzing in. I'll never forgive him for this.

Although Morrigan had to admit that imps' odd cackling had put her on edge a little bit. It felt like they didn't mean any harm, but Haku's behavior did worry her a little bit. The dragon had a really good danger sense, so just ignoring it outright would be foolish.

"Does the Princess feel relaxed now?" one of the imp women asked, fluttering uncomfortably close to Morrigan. One of her maids gently pushed the imp further away, scrunching her nose at the little demon.

"Yes, thank you. The bath was amazing," Morrigan confirmed.

"Wonderful, wonderful. The feast shall be ready soon and we'll sing in honor of the great Crown Princess," the imp woman said and then fluttered out of Morrigan's room for the night. It was decently sized with a rather normal bed. Simple but at the same time elegant and cozy. It would certainly qualify as a three-star hotel on Earth.

"I don't like those imps," one of the maids said suspiciously. "You should be wary of them, Your Highness. Imps are known for playing tricks on other demons."

"Yes, it feels like they are plotting something," the other maids agreed while bustling around Morrigan's attire for the night. Since it was supposed to be a feast, a slightly more elegant dress was found for the occasion. Not one of the big gowns she'd wear in a castle but something a bit nicer than her regular travel clothes.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I'm sure it'll be alright," Morrigan said, but then added after a moment. "However, being cautious certainly wouldn't hurt, so keep your eyes open."

A short while after the maids were done dressing her, the imp women returned and beckoned her to follow them. As she went downstairs to the inn she was staying at, she saw Azrael standing by the entrance, no doubt waiting for her. She glared at him while he smiled back pleasantly and waved.

"Ready to go, Princess?" he asked as if nothing had happened.

"Yes," she grumbled in reply, still glaring at him.

"Now, there's no need to glare so viciously at me. Your pretty face might forever get stuck with that unsavory expression. And what would your dearest father say then?" he cackled.

"I wonder what he would say if he heard that you broke into the bathroom while I was washing up," she retorted with a satisfied smile. Azrael chuckled awkwardly, a bead of sweat flowing down his forehead.

"There, there. There's no need to mention that to him, is there?" he chuckled awkwardly.

"I think I should. After all, such behavior is completely unacceptable for the Court Mage, isn't it?"

"Oh, please. You know he'd lop off my head the moment hears about it," Azrael whined, staring at Morrigan with giant piteous eyes. She did not know how it worked on her, must have been a magic of some sort, but eventually she sighed.

"Then don't do that again! Ever!" she warned him.

"But what if–"

"No, what ifs, buts, or other hypotheticals. Just don't do it," she cut him off. Azrael's shoulder slumped and he nodded.

"Fine, I won't," he finally relented. Morrigan narrowed her eyes at him and stared for a moment. "I really won't, okay? It's not like I wanted to see you naked. Come on, there's nothing even to see there!"

Azrael said and pointed at her rather small chest. Morrigan's cheeks flushed and a blue fireball appeared in her hands. Without a second thought, she threw it at Azrael. "Go to hell!"

"Your Highness, please control yourself. I understand your outrage, but such behavior could be taken out of context and turned into some unsavory rumors," one of the maids whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry. Let's just go and eat," she said with a sigh, and without looking at Azrael anymore, walked out of the inn.

She was surprised to see that the whole main street had been transformed. Tables had been brought out, and tons of food piled on top of them, while ribbons and bioluminescent flowers were strategically placed in the darkest spots. Morrigan had to admit that it was beautiful for merely a few hours of work.

"Come, Princess, come! Your friends are already waiting for you at the table," the imps beckoned and Morrigan followed them. Just as they had told Viana and Deziara were already sitting at the table, chatting among themselves. Both of them looked fresh and much, much happier than before.

"Morrigan, come sit with us. The food here is great," Deziara called, her plate already filled. She nodded happily and took a seat next to her, while Viana remained on Deziara's right.

"You two look well rested," she noted with a chuckle.

"Yes. I do not know what imps use in their baths, but it certainly hit the right spot, so to speak," Viana said with a faint smile.

"We use water heated at a volcanic spring near our town. It is our specialty, and is great at rejuvenating tired demons," one of the imp women said proudly as she brought more plates of food to the table.

"Coincidentally, these dishes are also cooked in the same type of spring, enhancing their flavor," another imp said.

"So this must be a highly sought out place by demons, isn't it?" Deziara asked and the imps paused.

"Sadly not. Other demons do not trust us imps very much. They think we would steal from them," one of the imps admitted, her lips curling downward. But it was only there for a minute and she quickly regained her toothy smile. "But you are here now and you can enjoy how wonderful our town is."

Morrigan felt bad for the little imps, so she started putting food on her plate as well. "Yes, thank you for the wonderful meal. And the wonderful bath."

"Please, eat, eat. Later we shall sing and dance," the imps said and returned to work, bringing out more plates of food to them and the guards who were also slowly joining the dinner table. The maids and servants resisted joining at first, but once Morrigan invited them, they joined as well, and soon happy chatter and merriment could be heard all throughout the town.

Before long, Galandir joined them as well, boldly taking a seat next to Morrigan. Normally that was where Azrael sat, but he didn't dare this time, instead opting to take a seat next to Viana.

"How's Haku?" Morrigan asked as he dug into the food in front of him without any hesitation.

"Nervous. Not sure why. I tried to understand whether it's the imps themselves that he doesn't like or something else. I couldn't quite tell. I think it's this place specifically that's making him agitated, not the imps. Although I'm not sure," he said in between the bites.

"The imps said that there are some volcanic springs near the city, maybe that's it?" she guessed.

"Maybe. Let's just stay vigilant," he said, and Morrigan nodded.

However, as the evening went on, everything continued peacefully. After the feast, the imps arranged for music and began singing and dancing for their guests. Well, Morrigan wasn't sure if it could be called dancing exactly. The imps were fluttering about, doing all sorts of weird and acrobatic maneuvers. It seemed silly at first, but after a while, she realized how coordinated their movements were with the music.

Not a single step was out of place, not a single flutter of wings mismatched. It all went together with music, creating a beautiful performance. Morrigan, no, all of her retinue couldn't believe the display of the little imps. And once their performance was done, they played music that everyone could dance to and enjoy.

Morrigan danced with her guards, with Galandir, with her sisters, and even Azrael. It was one of the most fun times she had experienced in the Doppelta so far. And all thanks to those little, hard-working imps.

I want to repay them for all the hard work they've done. So I'll create something for them in return.

Her mind made up, Morrigan requested her maids to bring her painting supplies and got to work.