“Sir, you...”
In the magnificent lobby of the Bay Hotel, the receptionist looked troubled.
He glanced at Elias, who was dressed in a sharp suit and exuded an extraordinary aura, and then at the plainly dressed woman beside him.
“Are you sure?”
The waiter's tone was filled with twelve parts uncertainty.
What kind of situation was this?
Clearly, a wealthy gentleman had brought a female companion to the hotel.
Yet, while he was staying in a luxury suite on the top floor, he was making his companion stay in a windowless attic?
Even the trashiest romance novels in Hope County wouldn't dare write a plot like this!
“What is there to be unsure about?”
Elias rested one hand on the marble countertop, speaking with total confidence and a natural expression.
“Two nights. How much?”
“Uh...”
The waiter was completely intimidated by this effortless scumbag aura, and for a moment, he even forgot to quote a price.
Standing to the side, Ophelia felt like she wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
Her face instantly flushed a deep red, all the way to her ears.
On one hand, she felt a deep sense of shame for the strange scenarios she had just been imagining—a lone man and woman in a late-night suite.
He hadn't intended to try anything with her at all!
On the other hand, she felt extremely embarrassed by Elias's almost non-human, blunt reaction.
Fortunately...
This Mr. Bruce truly had no improper designs on her.
Perhaps in the eyes of this cold-hearted profiteer, her documents were far more attractive than her body.
Unfortunately...
The receptionist and several guests passing through the lobby were looking at her and Elias with very strange expressions.
The air was thick with suffocating misunderstanding.
However, the receptionist soon regained his composure, relying on his professional training.
“Sir, I need to explain something to you.”
The waiter put on a professional smile and gave a slight inclination.
“Our Bay Hotel is a high-end establishment. We do not have what you call an ‘attic.’”
“Our cheapest single standard room is eight Shillings per night.”
The waiter pulled out a ledger and calculated quickly.
“Therefore, for your luxury suite plus this lady’s standard room, the total for two nights will be one Gold Crown and sixteen Shillings.”
Hearing this price, Elias didn't even twitch an eyebrow.
“Don't misunderstand.”
He waved his hand indifferently, cutting off the waiter's calculations.
“The luxury suite is for me alone.”
He pointed at Ophelia beside him, his tone as if he were discussing a piece of irrelevant luggage.
“She can pay for her own room.”
The waiter: “?”
Ophelia could no longer stand this social execution. She immediately stepped forward, her face still burning.
“That's right!”
“Just a regular room!”
She didn't want this arrogant man to look down on her!
Although she had given the money from the editor-in-chief to her parents, she still had a small amount of savings herself.
Furthermore...
Back at the train station, he had sarcastically tried to get her to leave just so he could take the information she had risked her life to collect.
She had to keep a close eye on this man!
“You have money?”
Elias turned his head, a hint of surprise finally appearing on his poker face.
“I do.”
Ophelia lifted her chin, retorting firmly.
Elias narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down.
“Then back on the train, you told me you hadn't eaten for two days...”
“And you had the nerve to leech a truffle roast chicken off me in my compartment?”
“...”
Ophelia was so choked up she almost lost her breath.
Was it because she didn't want to buy food?
It was because she didn't dare show her face in the dining car!
“Forget it.”
Elias waved his hand, not bothered to argue.
He realized that he had indeed been a bit prejudiced.
He had fallen into the habitual thinking of a modern person.
He always felt that if someone looked disheveled and said they hadn't eaten, they must be so poor they couldn't afford a meal.
Now that he thought about it...
This girl had leeched a meal off him in the first-class compartment simply because she had been chased like a rabbit by the Wayland Capital security department the whole way.
She barely had time to escape with her life, let alone sit down and buy a pie.
Elias wasted no more words.
He pulled money from his pocket to pay for his suite and signed the fake name “Bruce Wayne” on the registration ledger with a flourish.
Picking up the heavy brass key, he turned to leave.
Familiar with the layout, he followed the red-carpeted stairs toward the luxury suites on the top floor.
His pace was steady, his back cold and indifferent.
As he walked up the stairs, Elias couldn't help but feel a ripple of memory.
The last time he had come to the Bay Hotel, he had been a penniless man who had to calculate every penny.
Because he had to save his meager salary to buy Spark Festival gifts for Arthur and Charlotte, he had only dared to book a decent room back then, never daring to experience the top floor.
But this time...
Even though his funds weren't exactly limitless...
In order to maintain his fictional identity as the black-hearted capitalist “Bruce,” he had to book a top-tier room and properly experience the luxury of this era.
Of course...
The moment he pushed open the door, Elias couldn't help but criticize the place in his mind.
A so-called “luxury hotel” in this era was, at most, a room two or three times larger than a standard one, with a seemingly expensive Persian carpet.
The furnishings—the elaborate mahogany carved furniture and the dim gaslight crystal chandeliers—might be considered top-tier luxury in this era.
But in Elias's eyes, they always carried a hint of nouveau riche tackiness.
No smart toilet. One star.
...
Downstairs in the lobby.
Ophelia gritted her teeth as she watched the heartless back of the man who had just thrown down money and headed upstairs.
She also hurriedly pulled out her envelope, preparing to pay.
“Give me the room directly below his. For two days.”
However...
When the waiter smilingly quoted the price, Ophelia's heart bled.
She was shocked to find that staying here for one night cost as much as eight Shillings and fifty Fenny!
In other words...
Staying for these two days would cost her seventeen Shillings!
One had to realize...
After her desperate escape, she had less than five Gold Crowns left in total.
If the investigation into her brother's disappearance and the dark secrets of Wayland Shipping didn't yield results quickly, these five Gold Crowns would be her only means of survival for a long time to come.
Now...
Just because of a momentary, strange competitive urge and a bit of spite, nearly one Gold Crown had been spent like water!
Ophelia felt a pain in her heart so sharp she could barely breathe.
But she gritted her teeth and comforted herself that this was a necessary investment for the investigation.
If she didn't stay near that man, she couldn't even be sure who else in this unfamiliar Hastings Port could help her find the old captain who had taken her brother.
When the waiter asked her to register her name...
Ophelia held the pen, her fingers stiff for a long time before she managed to squeeze out a very common fake name.
“Alice Carter.”
After signing, she grabbed the key, clutched the hem of her skirt, and ran toward the stairs where Elias had disappeared.
...
Sixth floor, top floor.
Elias moved into Room 605.
And Ophelia, who came running up out of breath, used her key to open Room 505 directly below him.
Inside Room 605.
Although the decor seemed a bit old-fashioned to Elias, the bed was soft enough and the bathing facilities were quite complete.
Moreover...
Elias found an exquisite card with a pink rose pattern on the desk.
Written on it in flowery script was an advertisement for the hotel's exclusive “in-room bathing service.”
Yes.
The literal kind of “bathing service” that was a bit suggestive and required an extra fee.
“The service industry in Hastings Port is truly flourishing to a staggering degree.”
Elias tossed the card into the trash.
With his current exhausted body, even washing his face felt like a chore, let alone engaging in any special services.
The stinging pain deep in his soul was still acting up, reminding him that the aftereffects of the Soul Screams had not been completely eliminated.
Just as he took off his coat and prepared to go to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face to clear his head...
Knock, knock, knock.
The door was knocked.
The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of urgency.
Elias frowned slightly.
He didn't go straight to the door. Instead, standing where he was, a cold silver light flashed in his eyes.
【Moon Vision】 activated.
His gaze instantly penetrated the thick wooden door.
Outside...
A person with the spiritual silhouette of an ordinary person, lacking any supernatural fluctuations, was standing there nervously wringing her hands.
Indeed, it was Ophelia.
Elias sighed, the silver light in his eyes fading as he walked over and turned the doorknob.
The moment the door opened...
Before Elias could even ask what she wanted now...
Ophelia looked up, summoned her courage, and stared at him earnestly.
“Pardon the intrusion, sir. I must ask you to accompany me to Wayland Shipping tomorrow.”
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