It’s Not That Kind of Hotel
Past midnight. The date had already changed, and it was a time when most people were fast asleep. Even the hotel, which had been bustling with guests ever since its grand opening, finally had a moment of respite. Although her shift had ended half a day ago, Shion was still by Julian’s side, keeping him company as he handled the night shift at the front desk.
As his personal maid, butler, and secretary, it always pained her to leave before Julian. She wanted nothing more than to monopolize his time and stay by his side until the morning sun rose, but she was a working woman who had to be back on duty the next morning. Suppressing her regret, she spoke up, saying she would head upstairs first.
"You could have left much earlier. You stayed late only because of me."
Hearing the genuine guilt in her master’s voice, a dark, sticky desire stirred within her—a desire to see that expression on his face even more, even though she knew she shouldn't. With superhuman patience, Shion stifled her inner urges and replied that she was fine. She told him to call her anytime if he needed her strength, even in the middle of the night, and that there was no need to feel sorry for serving her master.
"Hey, you can't say that. The more precious someone is, the more often you should tell them you're grateful."
Did the young master even know what he was saying? Perhaps it was because he had recently started a relationship, but he was already charming enough, and now he was overflowing with a magnetism that was becoming impossible to resist.
"How about we go out for a meal together on my day off? It's been a while."
Her heart began to pound violently at those words.
"It would be nice if Arcelia could come too, but I don't think you'd be able to relax if she were there..."
His eyes, illuminated by the warm lighting, sparkled. The very lights he had installed to set the mood for couples were now doing their job perfectly.
"Just the two of us. How about it?"
She felt like she could fly at the mere thought, and her tail, losing all control, began to wag uncontrollably. 'But he's dating Director Arcelia... wouldn't eating alone with me be...' She almost refused, but as she reconsidered before speaking, it felt as if she were a romantic rival threatening Arcelia's position. Her? Arcelia's rival?
"Shion? What do you think?"
There were countless words swirling in her mouth, but in the end, all that came out was a single, "That sounds lovely..."
"Great. Well, I don't think this week will work because of meetings... let's try to set something up for next week or the week after."
He nodded and scribbled something down with a ballpoint pen, saying he needed to make a note of it.
"Oh, and on your way up, there's a shirt of mine in my room, right? Could you send that to the laundry? I meant to do it when I came down earlier, but it completely slipped my mind."
She replied that she would certainly do so, and as she headed to her room, she kept glancing back at her master, who remained alone at the counter.
The 15th floor, where his office was located. As she opened the door with her usual familiarity, she saw the white shirt hanging on the chair, likely left behind when he had changed in a hurry earlier. Having spent the whole day in the room, it wasn't sweaty, but it was saturated with Julian’s scent. Shion carried it out carefully, checked to make sure no one was watching, and hurried back to her room.
Only after locking the door with a click did she calm down slightly and look at his clothes in her hands. This had to be the reason she couldn't maintain her usual composure. Her sense of smell, heightened to the extreme, precisely captured his scent lingering on the fabric. She thought of his face, which he rarely showed to others. She thought of the kind, gentle man who always considered her, his loyal companion. Closing her eyes tightly, she placed the shirt gently on her bed and hurried to undress and wash up.
"Hoo, hoo...!"
Perhaps it was because she focused entirely on washing her body under the falling water, but by the time she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe and drying her hair, the overwhelming emotions that had threatened to run wild were gone. Thanks to the 'hair dryer'—a magic tool Julian had placed in every room—she was able to dry her long hair with ease.
"Is it already 2 AM?"
Feeling refreshed, she put on her underwear and checked the clock; it was already dawn. Her eyes were growing heavy, and she intended to put on her pajamas, but because she had rushed to wash up earlier, the only thing on her bed was Julian's shirt. The moment she realized that, before she knew it, she had already slipped into his shirt.
Because he had a larger frame than her, it was loose, and the sleeves were so long they covered her hands completely. Having put it on, her body was now thoroughly marked with Julian’s scent, as if she had been claimed. With a dazed mind, she let out a soft giggle and lightly bit the sleeve. Unlike when she was just smelling it, a violent wave of sensory information flooded her brain.
"Heh..."
Closing her eyes and curling her lips into a smile, Shion soon collapsed onto her side and fell asleep. Only the sound of her slow, rhythmic breathing filled the room. With the lights automatically turning off, her day came to an end.
Asteria, who had set the mood as if something huge were about to happen, just laughed "ho ho ho" and went up to her room. And, truly surprisingly, nothing happened.
A couple with a significant height difference did stop by in the middle of the night, but...
"I told you we should have booked a room earlier!"
"No, how was I supposed to predict that all the rooms would be booked out like that..."
"I told you, people, were, flocking here!"
"Argh! That's where I got scratched yesterday!"
Seeing the girl who appeared to be his girlfriend—who was being carried on his back—smack his back, they seemed to be on good terms. The girl's ears were red, so it didn't look like she was genuinely angry, which made it entertaining to watch. The guy had blue hair and the girl had orange-toned hair, so my eyes were naturally drawn to them. Couples who are actually fighting don't bicker like that. I just gave them a room and sent up a drink on the house, telling them to have a good time. Other than that, nothing really happened. I had been so tense, expecting some incredibly important guest, that I was more tired than usual.
"Good morning!"
"Yeah, good morning. There are sandwiches, so eat while you work."
"Oh, thank you, Boss!"
With nothing out of the ordinary, I swapped shifts with Delphi and headed up to my room. I didn't forget to tell her to contact my room immediately if anyone suspicious-looking arrived. Since I had broken down the wall between two rooms on the 15th floor to make a space connected to my office, the layout was convenient.
"Haaa-yawn..."
As I opened the door and entered, I saw the neatly washed and folded clothes on the bed.
"I asked for these last night, that was incredibly fast..."
Feeling exhausted, I went straight to the bathroom to wash up before changing. I was putting the clean clothes into the closet when I noticed the count didn't match what I remembered.
"What is this? Why is one shirt missing?"
Thinking it over, since I had dropped it off in the middle of the night, it was only natural that it wasn't finished yet. The others were things I had dropped off earlier, so they were done and here.
"It's a bit much to ask someone who's already busy to do this anyway."
Shion had insisted on doing it herself because she had been doing it since she was young, but... I worried if I was overworking her, as she was already swamped with her duties as my secretary. No matter how much of a beastkin bloodline Shion had, or how much she trained to keep her stamina up, she had been working overtime and pulling all-nighters almost every day lately. Anyone who has done night duty knows that even if you take a nap during the day, it feels like your maximum stamina is being chipped away. I felt like I was going to die doing the same thing in the military in my past life.
"But wait, am I the one doing that now?"
Since I had nothing to do today, I decided to just sleep. My nerves were on edge because of the warning—or rather, the prophecy-like thing—Asteria had given me. Well, as with those kinds of prophecies, it made sense that things rarely happened immediately. Just last time, after she told me to be careful, there were guys tailing us during our date.
"Wouldn't Nairin handle most things on her own?"
Thinking of her, who was already at work and working hard today, put my mind at ease. Hmm, this is why I hired a security team. Money is better spent when needed than just piled up, after all.
"If a problem can't be solved with money, maybe it's because you don't have enough money..."
As soon as I rested my head on the pillow, I surrendered to the wave of sleepiness, and my consciousness faded in an instant. I opened my eyes just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. Thanks to sleeping so soundly that I wouldn't have known if someone carried me away, the fatigue was gone. I yawned, stumbled out of bed, picked up the water bottle on the table, and emptied it in one go.
"Ah, a refrigerator is a necessity, too."
I had installed them in all the other rooms, but since I hadn't put one in my own, the water was lukewarm. Thinking, 'Well, at least my thirst is quenched, so it's all good,' I stretched, and then—knock, knock—a rapping sound came from the door.
"Young Master, are you awake?"
A familiar voice from beyond the door. I threw on some clothes and answered.
"Come in."
The person who appeared when the door opened was Shion. The cool, composed demeanor she always showed was gone, and she looked slightly flustered.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"Th-there is someone looking for you, Young Master."
"Huh? Me? Isn't Delphi still at the desk?"
"She is, but they specifically named you and asked to see you..."
Come to think of it, it was rare for Shion to use such formal, deferential language. "...Why? Did someone dangerous come?"
"Th-the Imperial Princess has arrived..."
"...Who?"
"She said she came to see the room that the Third Prince spoke so highly of..."
I felt my mind go blank and clutched my forehead. She is a dangerous person... an incredibly dangerous one at that...