Chapter 496: The Beautiful Receptionist

‘Who knew how good the soundproofing was in this bathroom? If Elvire heard anything, they’d all be finished.’

But as it turned out, Elise wanted him to cover her mouth.

She loved the intimate yet suffocating sensation. It literally made her heart beat faster.

Elise’s eyes turned sultry. Gazing at Sean with a look full of feeling, she extended her tongue and licked his palm.

Sean felt a wet, soft, ticklish sensation and snatched his hand back as if he’d received an electric shock. “You’re playing with fire!” he snapped.

‘Elvire is still in there.’

Elise’s gaze was provocative. “Doesn’t that just make it more exciting?”

Sean: “?”

“If you have a death wish, don’t drag me into it.”

‘And she called *me* bold,’ he thought. ‘Elise is the one who’s truly audacious. If I let her do whatever she wants, who knows, one day she might try to pull something right in front of her friend. I have to stamp out these deviant tendencies of hers!’

With that, Sean decisively got up and returned to his bedroom.

Elise didn’t try to stop him, simply smiling at his slightly flustered retreating figure.

Just as Sean loved to see Elvire blush, she loved to see Sean blush.

Oftentimes, liking someone didn’t mean you had to do anything. A simple, lighthearted tease was enough to bring a sense of joy and happiness.

Still…

As Elise’s gaze drifted from Sean’s bedroom to the bathroom, the smile vanished from her face, replaced by a troubled expression.

‘How am I supposed to tell Elvire?’

You can’t hide the murderous look in your eyes, and you can’t hide it when you’re in love, either. Especially since they all lived together. The fact that she liked Sean would be discovered by Elvire sooner or later. Elise felt it would be better to confess to Elvire herself rather than wait to be caught in the act, but she was too scared…

Elise was deeply conflicted.

She felt guilty for “betraying” Elvire, but she couldn’t control her feelings.

She didn’t want to lose Elvire, but she didn’t want to lose Sean, either. ‘What should I do…’

Elise sighed.

She picked up her glass to take a drink, only to find it was already empty.

Sean had been too much of a gentleman, pouring only a shallow layer that was gone in a single sip. Elise had no choice but to go to the mini-bar and pour herself a full glass.

She sat at the bar, drinking and thinking.

Because of the angle, Elvire didn’t see her when she came out of the shower. And Elise, lost in thought, didn’t notice Elvire either. As the alcohol started to kick in, Elise grew too lazy to go back to her room. She ended up passing out right there on the bar, a half-full glass of wine beside her hand.

「The next day.」

It wasn’t until Sean got up that he found her.

“Why are you sleeping here?”

Elise groggily opened her eyes and saw the man frowning before her. She recalled drinking a bit too much last night, and feeling a little awkward, she said, “If I told you I like this bar more than my bed, would you believe me?”

“Heh.”

He picked up the nearly empty bottle of Champagne from the counter and swished it around. “Impressive. You drank almost the whole thing.”

For once, Elise looked like a guilty child as she explained in a small voice, “This much Champagne is nothing for me, you know that…”

She was trying to say she hadn’t been drunk.

Otherwise, drinking so much the night before something important would make her seem irresponsible.

Elise could indeed hold her liquor—Sean knew that. But what about the result?

“If you weren’t drunk, then why did you sleep here?”

Elise: “…”

‘He’s being so mean.’

“It wasn’t the Champagne that made me drunk, it was you,” Elise said plaintively.

“Give me a break,” Sean snorted. “I didn’t do anything. Don’t go pinning the blame on me.”

‘That way of talking…’

A hint of jealousy crept into Elise’s voice. “You’re starting to sound more and more like Eli.”

“What’s like me?”

Elvire pushed her door open just then.

Knowing they had plans, she had gotten up early too.

“Nothing,” Elise said, quickly changing the subject. “I’m going to get ready. Let’s get prepared to head out.”

With that, she slipped away to the bathroom to freshen up.

Elvire noticed the bottle on the bar and paused. “She drank that last night?”

Sean shrugged. “Who knows?”

“Maybe something’s bothering her.”

「An hour later.」

The trio, all ready, emerged from the suite.

The hotel provided a complimentary breakfast, but it wasn’t served on the sixth floor. Since they were heading out anyway, Sean decided against room service and planned for them to eat downstairs.

In the hallway, they came across one of the cleaning ladies.

Out of politeness, the woman pressed herself against the wall as they passed, bowing slightly and offering the trio a respectful smile. “Good morning, sir, ladies.”

Sean hadn’t paid her much mind, but her smile stirred a strange feeling within him.

Despite her age, the woman’s skin was also quite fair and remarkably well-kept, not at all inferior to the receptionist from the previous night.

‘Am I really that starved?’ Sean wondered. ‘Why is it that even an older cleaning lady is starting to look pretty to me?’

‘But I was just completely drained by Daeli last night. My body still hasn’t even recovered…’

‘How strange.’

Sean studied the woman for a long time, even twisting his head back to keep watching after he’d walked past her.

That is, until Elvire pinched him.

“Ow! What was that for~”