Steam lingered in the bathroom, so quiet that one could hear the tiny sound of water droplets falling from the faucet onto the water surface.
"Is our bathtub really this small?"
Vincent couldn't help but think this thought. After his aunt entered a corner of the bathtub behind him, a fair and delicate long leg stretched straight past his waist, resembling a top-tier ivory artifact amidst the hazy steam and warm water.
Her alluring black hair cascaded like a waterfall, falling over her shoulders and onto the water's surface.
Diana's heroic eyebrows relaxed slightly. Since the bathtub was a bit crowded with two people, her other foot could only bend slightly and press against her chest. Despite this, Vincent could still feel his back occasionally touching, separating, and then pressing against her knee.
Vincent distinctly smelled a beautiful fragrance, like violets. This was because it didn't come from any bath liquid or shampoo in the bathroom, but was unique to one person.
Behind him, his aunt's calm voice suddenly came, "Do you remember how long it's been since I last bathed you?"
"I stopped bathing with you when I was ten," Vincent realized he seemed to be underestimated again and couldn't help but grumble, "Don't always treat me like a child. I'm sixteen now, after all. According to Washington state law, I'm already of legal age to marry."
"Yes, it's been sixteen years. Time flies so fast," Diana said softly.
Vincent fell silent, trying his best to empty his mind.
He really didn't want this warm moment to be ruined by some bodily instinct.
When he was ten, Vincent proactively suggested bathing by himself from then on, also out of self-restraint, fearing that his emotions would spoil in the face of something perfect.
If such a situation truly occurred, for Vincent, it would be the greatest blasphemy of his two lives.
However, he hadn't expected it.
Diana would proactively suggest, "Then, for old times' sake, let me bathe you."
"Mm." Vincent, with an empty mind, subconsciously responded, then quickly reacted to the meaning of the words: "Mm mm?!"
"Close your eyes," Diana urged.
Vincent opened and closed his mouth, then could only close his eyes.
He vaguely heard the sound of a bath bottle being pressed. Immediately, a pair of warm, jade-like hands, carrying shower gel, were placed on his head, gently rubbing with the warm water.
Foam gradually covered his hands and hair. The electric-like tingling sensation on his head made Vincent begin to enjoy this incredibly luxurious treatment.
While helping Vincent wash his hair, Diana's beautiful eyes and face showed an unprecedented gentle expression. She softly recounted, "When I was little, whenever I got covered in mud, my master, who was also my aunt, often washed my hair like this."
"My Lord's master?"
Hearing his aunt talk about her childhood for the first time, Vincent couldn't help but open his eyes, only to be stung by the foam falling from his head.
"I told you to close your eyes," Diana said, but her body immediately moved closer, scooping up clear water with her hand to rinse Vincent's eyes.
Vaguely, Vincent saw a beautiful half-arc of a hill, even more stunning than the snow-white peak of the Alps, and quickly closed his eyes again.
"Yes, my master, she and my mother, both live in a place called Themyscira," Diana continued. "There is a barrier left by Zeus, King of the Gods, which has kept it isolated from the world for thousands of years. We Amazons live on Themyscira."
Calm and ordinary.
While gently washing Vincent's hair, Diana spoke as if she were recounting a very common and ordinary event.
Vincent also hadn't expected to hear about the astonishing secrets left by the ancient Greek gods in such an informal setting as a bathroom.
Diana continued, "I was originally a princess of the Amazons, always carefully protected by my mother and master. Until one day, a fighter jet crashed into the sea near Themyscira, and I left Themyscira to come to the outside world—at that time, humanity was in the midst of World War I."
"Later, I discovered that Ares, the God of War, was behind the human World War. So, I participated in that cruel war, which was a human catastrophe."
Subsequently.
Diana not only revealed her origins and background but also her experiences entering the world, participating in World War I as "Wonder Woman," and ultimately choosing to remain in the human world.
From initially yearning for humanity to becoming utterly disillusioned with them.
As a demigod, she hid as an ordinary person, living in human cities for nearly a century.
Without a single omission, Diana's expression was natural, as if she were teaching common knowledge to a child at home.
Those mythological legends, untouchable by humans, now became casual family matters discussed at night.
Wonder Woman?
Princess of a clan?
Daughter of Zeus?
Vincent was stunned, not expecting his aunt's identity and origins to be so profound.
If Zeus were still alive and saw the scene in the bathroom now, would he strike him with lightning?
Vincent couldn't help but wonder.
After recounting her identity, background, and experiences entering the world, Diana's gaze was slightly complex as she said, "I believe you already know. The old photograph from World War I that you saw this morning, the woman in it was indeed me. Regarding my identity, I actually intended to tell you after you turned eighteen, and I didn't mean to deceive you."
"I know, My Lord," Vincent exhaled softly and said, "You have always protected me, never letting me be harmed by extraordinary things, and it has been like this for sixteen years."
Diana's hands, which were rubbing Vincent's hair, paused slightly, and she asked, "Are you not angry or afraid about this?"
"Why would I be angry, and why would I be afraid?" Vincent shook his head and said with a smile, "Even if My Lord suddenly said that I am actually a demon, or a Hachishaku-sama, and she was going to eat me, I would willingly accept it. What's more, My Lord, you are actually a descendant of the legendary gods!"
"Living with a beautiful Goddess and Superhero for so long, and even having the private treatment of bathing, what do I have to be angry or afraid of?" Vincent became a bit unrestrained, gesticulating wildly, which resulted in water splashing everywhere.
"What Goddess, Superhero, calm down," Diana tapped Vincent on the head and reprimanded playfully, "Call me My Lord!"
"Yes, yes, My Lord," Vincent covered his head, wincing slightly. Afterwards, both he and Diana shared a knowing smile.
The tense atmosphere and estrangement that had existed between them completely dissolved at this moment. In its place was harmony and tacit understanding, where they always considered each other.
Diana's slender fingers suddenly pinched Vincent's ear and said, "Oh, right, about you wearing my clothes, running outside, and fighting a green monster, tell me everything."
"Please spare me, I was just about to tell you!"
Vincent raised his hands in surrender and organized his words slightly: "Actually, about a week ago, I accidentally awakened a certain superpower. I call it—'Lord of the Retinue'."
Without hiding anything from his aunt, Vincent truthfully reported the extent of the ability he understood.
"Intimate contact with the opposite sex, with an exchange of 'liquid,' allows you to master the other person's abilities?" Diana furrowed her brow, a hint of understanding in her eyes. "So that's it. You triggered this ability when you were having dinner with me."
"Yes," Vincent said with a wry smile, "Even I didn't expect that just a used water cup as a medium could trigger the ability."
"The main thing is, there was an exchange of liquid between you and me, that should be the most crucial point," Diana's eyes sparkled with wisdom, and she said with even more surprise, "This superpower seems to follow a law of causality. But, it can even control the bloodline abilities of a god..."
Diana thought of the Wishing Stone she had encountered before; only sacred artifacts left by the gods possessed such extraordinary effects.
However, although Vincent's ability had a time limit, it had no negative side effects and required no cost whatsoever!
Diana suddenly thought of many things, her beautiful eyes lit up slightly, and she murmured to herself, "I said that I would give you the opportunity to choose your path in the future, and I didn't expect you to actually have such conditions to choose from."
"My Lord, what are you saying... what conditions?" Vincent was confused.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about this superpower you awakened."
Diana didn't explain this, but instead posed a question: "I was thinking. If we merely exchanged cups, and there was an exchange of saliva in boiled water, you could still master all of my abilities."
"That's indeed the case," Vincent nodded. "However, it only lasts for about four hours. Is there a problem with that?"
"What I'm thinking is," Diana took a deep breath and mused, "If, and I mean if. Instead of neutralization, there was a direct exchange of liquid, or even an increase in the amount of liquid medium, what kind of effect would your ability manifest?"
Vincent felt his aunt's idea was dangerous.
However, he truly hadn't thought of that.
Could it be that the manifestation of the Lord of the Retinue's ability would vary in duration or intensity depending on the amount of liquid exchanged?