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Everything hurt.

Rudolf didn't dare voice the sentiment for fear of a reprisal of the professors' 'just dodge it next time' nonsense, but it stood. Everything hurt. His hands were scraped from falling and countless little welts dotted his skin under his uniform where a wooden weapon had forced him to his knees - or worse. Thankfully he'd figured out pretty quickly how to reduce Professor Malathice's attacks enough that they left a mere tingly numbness rather than outright injury. The boy was slumped against one of the pillars encloistering the arena, bangs stuck to his forehead with sweat in complete disarray and mouth gasping futilely as he waged a war of attrition against the thin mountain air and the blackness that crept in on the edges of his vision. As it stood, the young Lord Bergliez looked poised to suffer the first military defeat of his career. Maybe he'd get lucky and crack his skull open when he inevitably fainted, then they could finally send him home.

Unfortunately, the Goddess was rarely so kind, and Rudolf remained conscious and mostly-upright to wallow in his torment. He grew briefly hopeful when the nurse spoke up, only be recommended a sauna. He didn't need to be naked in front of his classmates, he needed a doctor! Still, a hot bath [i]did[/i] sound nice. Maybe he could slip in after everyone was done. No, wait, he promised to meet with Kayden later. Then... maybe he could slip in without anyone noticing. As long as he kept quiet and didn't wince too hard when he moved a sore area, nobody would even notice the bony little pipsqueak hovering in the corner. Unless they did notice him for once and accused him of being a pervert that was sneaking around to peep on people. It was simply too risky. He'd just have to go back to his room and wait until he caught his breath enough to manage a healing spell for himself.

But that bath sounded so [i]inviting[/i]. Against his better judgement, Rudolf lingered behind as the rest of the class made their way up to the sauna, just long enough to quiet his breathing to the point where it wouldn't give his presence away. The pallid teen then peeled himself off the wall and trudged up the stairs as he willed his exhausted legs not to give out. Rudolf nervously hovered in the doorway of the changing room, mentally plotting out how to minimize his interaction with servants - any of them could've been a mole assigned to watch him, and he [i]really[/i] didn't want to be seen without clothes on. Once he figured his Crest was in full effect and no lingering eyes came to rest on him, he shuffled inside and began slowly removing the sweat-drenched layers of fabric from his body as inconspicuously as he could. He remained tense as he worked, ever fearful that an unexpected finger would jab into his ribs or one of the new tender splotches that now adorned his skin, already darkening into fresh bruises. Fortunately, his classmates were either less perceptive or more polite than his siblings, and Rudolf quickly swiped a towel to cover his princely parts and shiftly escaped into the bathing area unharassed. 

The public bathing area. Where he was still very much at risk of being spotted. He clung to the wall for cover as he inched toward the corner of the pool that seemed like it would receive the least traffic, then slowly let himself down into the water, careful not to disturb the surface too much and draw anyone's attention. Once submerged, any pretense of deliberate movement or furtive grace evaporated as Rudolf practically melted into the water's embrace. He curled up to hide as much of his exposed body as he could and sunk down so that that water line rested just below his nose like some kind of insecure alligator. Crimson eyes darted nervously around the room, though each time darting back down to Rudolf's knees in embarrassment when he caught a direct glimpse of someone else's naked form. 

Okay, he was in. Now how was he supposed to get out?

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