Go about your day.

You nod, "Well, I shall let you ladies continue about your day."

The three girls curtsy politely. Although you notice a tinge of disappointment on Victoria and Nera's faces as you turn and leave. Heading off into the castle, you decide to go down and take a bath. The castle was built on some hot springs which took quite a bit of work from his forefathers to arrange. The foundations of the castle had to be magically fortified, so they didn't sink down into the ground and that was not cheap. You walk in to find the cavernous room empty and strip off your clothes and slip in.

You wince a little as your skin touches the nearly hot water, but after a moment the warmth of the water began to overtake you. You lay there and wash off, wondering what you should do about Countess Marissa. It's clear that her erratic behavior isn't normal. You consider the possibilities, but most of the ideas that you have are fantastical. Either she's not really the Countess Marissa Loon, or she's being controlled by someone else by magic. Both ideas are silly, creatures with the ability to change form are few and far between. Demons won't likely care about a lowly countess. However, being controlled by magic is just as silly. Since the discovery of magic, courts of powerful or influential people have always been warded against such magics. If one was cast on Countess Marissa, she would be rendered incapable. A gibbering idiot who wouldn't be able to give orders until the spell wore off, or was broken. People would recognize that she was under the influence of a spell.

You sigh and get out of the pool. You're in the process of drying off when you spot a woman standing by the door. She's leaning up against the wall and watching you. In surprise, you jump and almost fall back into the water causing her to chuckle at you. "Heya" she says.

You scowl at her lack of formality, "I hope you're one of my subjects and not an assassin. If you are, then the proper greeting is 'your majesty', or at least 'King Bryce'."

She shrugs indifferently, "I don't really care for formality. Although i am your subject."

You squint at her, unable to recognize her in the shadow of the doorway, "Who are you?"

She steps out of the shadow and you immediately notice that she's not quite human. She has a feline tail and ears atop her head. A catfolk, a member of the beastfolk race. Her lithe frame is covered in the tightest leather armor you've ever seen and she has a short sword at her side. The hair on her head, ears, and tail are the color of mud "My name's Akina. Leader of your spy corps."

"I don't recall seeing you at court." you eye her suspiciously.

She shrugs, "Court is boring. I had my people watching, but there's little likelihood that you would have actually needed me."

You notice her eyes drifting down your body to rest on your manhood. She eyes it like a cat eyeing a mouse. Remembering that you're naked, you quickly cover yourself with your hands. She giggles, "Relax, It's not like it's something I've never seen."

You're surprised by the implications that her words bring, "You've been spying on me!"

She looks surprised at your surprise, "Uh...Yes. Leader of the spy corps" she points at herself, "but don't worry, any clandestine activities you're involved will be kept secret. I just came here to introduce myself."

The beastfolk are a wide and varied race. It's unclear about how their people began, but they're not too different from a human...outside of having animal features like a tail or ears. They can even breed with humans with half the children being beastfolk and the other half being human. They're uncommon, but mostly integrated into human society. Despite this, in most places they're treated as second-class citizens, or worse. It's only been during the last few generations that Itheria has allowed them more rights in society.

However, you're not sure how to deal with this seemly indolent catfolk. On one hand, she seems to enjoy avoiding work, but on the other hand, she seems quite good at her job. She did sneak up on you without you noticing.