Liam watched her profile in the firelight. The way her jaw was set tight, the way her tail had gone stiff behind her. He picked up another cube of wagyu with the tongs and held it out toward her mouth.

"Here."

Elizabeth blinked. Her ears flattened against her head, and a flush crept up from her neck to her cheeks. She stared at the meat, then at his face, then back at the meat. Her mouth opened slightly, and he placed the cube on her tongue.

She chewed. Her ears stayed down. Her whole face had gone the colour of her hair.

"Thank you," she mumbled, staring at the ground. "It’s... It’s yummy, I guess."

She stood up so fast she nearly knocked the plate over.

"ANYWAYS!" Her voice cracked. "After this, I’m going to the bath, in our new one alone, don’t follow me."

She grabbed one more wagyu cube and walked toward the bathroom without looking back, but her flushed ears and wagging tail gave her away.

Liam watched her go, then looked down at the plate.

Midnight uncoiled from his shoulder armor in a shimmer of pale light, scales lengthening, body thickening, until she sat on his lap, in her half-human form.

"Master! Master! Feed me! I want to be fed too! Please! Please!"

Liam chuckled. He picked up a cube and held it out. Midnight snapped it up with a happy little growl, her tail whipping back and forth so hard it thumped against his leg.

"Yes, yes, okay, don’t worry, Midnight. Here you go."

She swallowed and pressed her head against his hand. "Thank you, master! It’s so good! You’re the best master! Feed me again?"

He gave her another cube. She ate it with her eyes closed, making a sound that was almost a purr.

He ate one himself, then gave her the next. The pattern settled in, him, her, him, her, and Midnight seemed perfectly content to stay there on his lap forever, her weight warm against his thighs, her scales catching the firelight in soft iridescent flashes every time she shifted. He still didn’t fully understand why she’d attached herself to him with such ferocity. He wasn’t anything special. Just some guy who happened to cook decent meat. But she was here, and she was happy, and he wasn’t going to question it.

From the bathroom, water began rushing into the tub, the massive stone one, big enough for eight people to stretch out in. Then a clatter, metal hitting tile, followed by a muffled "Shit" in Elizabeth’s voice, and then a quieter "Damn it, damn it, damn it, why am I always so cringe ahhhhh" under her breath.

He chuckled. Pat Midnight’s head. Ran his fingers through the soft, white, light blue hair between her horns. She leaned into the touch like a cat, eyes half-closed, making that almost-purr sound again.

He kissed the top of her head. Her whole body went still for a moment, then she pressed harder against his chest, her tail curling around his wrist.

’What the hell is my life?’

The thought floated through him without much weight. He looked around the room, the new house, the fire crackling, the plate of wagyu, the window open to the night air. Definitely better than real life. Definitely. Here he was loved, here he could cook, here he had a roof and a fire and two beautiful wives.

"Master? Master?"

Something was poking his cheek. warm fingers, insistent.

"Master, are you dead? Don’t die. I love you. Master?"

Liam blinked, then looked down.

Midnight was staring up at him with those huge, baby blue eyes, her lower lip pushed out, both hands on his face now. Her pale blue hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders, and the firelight caught the curve of her collarbone, the way the scales along her arms faded into smooth skin at her wrists. God, she was sexy and cute. The combination shouldn’t have worked, but it did, and he felt his chest tighten in a way that was becoming familiar.

"It’s okay, Midnight. I’m okay. Don’t worry." He smoothed her hair back. "Why don’t you go join Elizabeth for a bath? We’ve been travelling all day. You both deserve to relax."

Her face lit up. "Okay!"

She launched off his lap so fast the chair rocked. By the time he’d steadied it, she was already halfway across the room, and her shirt was on the floor. Then her pants. Then everything else, shed in a trail behind her like she’d decided clothing was an obstacle between her and hot water.

Her breasts bounced as she ran, full and heavy and pale, and her ass, oh my god her ass...

Liam leaned back in the chair.

Her ass was nice. Round and firm and moving with each step in a way that made his mouth go dry. He watched her disappear around the corner, the last flash of bare skin, and then he just sat there, staring at the empty doorway, the sound of water still rushing from the bathroom.

THWUMP.

A massive splash. Water hit the walls; hell, he could hear it from here.

Status: Tsundere Heat Signature: Critical.

The Crimson Ear Broadcast: Elizabeth, attempting to perform an elite, cool-girl exit after receiving a hand-fed piece of wagyu, has been entirely compromised by her tail actively wagging in a [180-Degree Arc]. The system notes that muttering about her own "cringe" levels while locking herself in an 8-person luxury bath has successfully triggered the [Internal Sputter Loop].

The High-Velocity Wardrobe Shed: Midnight, initiating a maximum-speed sprint toward the bath while shedding her garments in a linear trail across the living room floor, has completely bypassed Liam’s defensive cognition. The system confirms his primary visual sensors locked onto her rear-quarter trajectory, causing a [Mouth Dryness Debuff].

The Tidal Wave Incident: Midnight launching a full-body cannonball into a naturally heated stone pool has successfully generated a localised [Tsunami Event]. Elizabeth’s immediate transition from quiet pouting to screaming about wet hair proves that communal bathing mechanics in a Level 3 thatched cottage are inherently chaotic. Liam eating the last cube of meat in complete, deadpan silence remains peak tank behaviour.