Chapter 49: Sinful Desire

I don’t think I will survive my brothers’ wrath if they find out their little sister is wandering in a brothel at 1 AM in the morning.

Sinful Desire was the most expensive brothel in Illisa, the capital of Adelstein—and, arguably, the most prestigious on the entire Ceras Continent.

Lydia had visited it often enough in her previous life to remember the layouts and several familiar faces among the guests.

Since the brothel prohibited guests from wearing hoodies, Lydia had chosen a butterfly mask from a prostitute to hide her identity.

She adjusted it over her face before walking farther into the building, careful not to draw unnecessary attention to herself.

Lydia didn’t want anyone to recognize her as a member of House Valendorf. But she had her reasons for coming here.

Loud noises came from the red rooms along the west wing of the second floor. The doors couldn’t block all the sounds, and the guests inside weren’t trying to keep their voices down either.

"Ahh... yes, harder! Please!"

"Spank me, spit on me, Master!"

"Such a slut. Yes, just like that—"

Lydia continued walking as if she couldn’t hear a thing. After all, she had come to the right place. The wealthiest nobles in the Empire might maintain impeccable reputations in public, but their private lives were another matter entirely.

Isn’t that Baron Marley’s daughter? And over there... Count Karl with his mistress? I know that tiger masked man. He just visited Brother Sylvain last month.

Interesting.

Most of the guests were Sentinels looking for Guides who could guide them, but not all of them came for that reason.

A few Guides were also there, hoping to find Sentinels willing to share their beds for the night.

Just as Lydia was about to continue toward the third floor, she accidentally bumped into a tall, tan-skinned woman with enormous breasts.

The thin-strapped bikini barely covered her body as she flashed Lydia a welcoming smile.

"Which do you want for tonight, love? A Sentinel? A Guide? Men or women? We have it all."

Lydia glanced at the woman before looking past the stairs behind her.

"Oh, oh. That part is forbidden, darling. I’m afraid you won’t be able to—"

Before the woman could finish, Lydia jabbed a thick wad of cash between her breasts and leaned closer.

"Room 303. I’m good. Just give me some love tonight and leave me alone, ’kay?"

The woman’s eyes widened at the money. Her professional smile immediately grew brighter as she accepted the payment.

"Yes, darling!"

She quickly stepped aside, allowing Lydia to pass without another question.

As soon as Lydia entered the spacious VVIP room, a man and a woman arrived carrying several buckets filled with chilled wine and whiskey.

When Lydia was about to sit on the plush sofa, a fox Sentinel brought her a collection of small silver boxes.

Soon, a handsome sheep Guide presented an incense burner and several sex toys on the sleek metallic table in front of her.

"Leave me alone! Can’t I bawl my eyes out peacefully?! Go away you animals!"

Lydia threw several wads of cash toward the naked man and woman.

Sorry, Miss Fox. Sorry, Mister Sheep. Sure, you’re beautiful and tempting, but I’m not into these kinds of things. Here, have some money and get out quickly before I vomit, okay?

"U-understood, Miss! Just call us if you ever need anything!"

Both attendants scrambled toward the exit, their faces breaking into enormous, greedy grins.

They had no intention of complaining when their young customer was generous enough to pay them for doing absolutely nothing.

Great. Now Lydia was finally alone.

After making sure nobody was around in the hallway, Lydia locked the door and took out her rapier from her bracelet.

With practiced movements, Lydia located the concealed CCTV cameras throughout the room and pierced all of them with the tip of her weapon, disabling them one by one.

"They’re still in the same places. How lame."

After checking the room several times again to ensure that nobody was hiding inside, Lydia finally turned her attention to the silver boxes.

A soft tap on the sleek surface made the lid of the silver box open automatically.

Each box has different colors and types of pills and vials inside them, each carefully arranged in its designated compartment.

"So this was why Elite Sentinels often came here back in my previous life." Lydia examined the contents with a knowing expression.

"Hell, I even still remember all the secret code words to get past the security and reach this hidden, exclusive floor. Sentinels sure had it rough, huh? They even had to call these stupid things ’love.’"

She opened the remaining boxes, carefully examining their contents.

Forbidden drugs had been one of the reasons Sinful Desire was so popular among certain high-ranking Sentinels.

Since carrying such dangerous drugs was risky, Lydia made sure to put them away inside her bracelet to investigate later.

SLAM!

"What was that? Is there a fight?"

Someone had slammed a door hard enough to make the walls vibrate. They had to be nearby!

Curiosity got the better of Lydia, and she peeked through the doorway.

A tall blonde Guide with porcelain skin and a pair of bunny ears was being thrown out of room 302.

"Get out of here, bitch! Don’t touch me with your filthy hands!"

The Guide stumbled into the corridor, but before she could say another word, the man flung a thick wad of cash at her face.

"Just leave me alone!"

The money struck her before scattering across the floor.

The blonde Guide quickly bent down to gather it, and despite the way she had been thrown out, she was grinning from ear to ear from her payment.

That man sure was generous.

What kind of man would visit a luxury brothel like this only to throw a sexy woman out of his room?

Why was he so furious? Had he come here merely to obtain the forbidden drugs, or was there something else going on?

She leaned forward to get a better look at the man inside Room 302. Even from a distance, Lydia could recognize his tall figure and familiar presence.

What’s Senior Zachary doing here?!