Chapter 1416: Intermission 5: The Stalking Girl (8)

We all headed toward the inn that I rented, walking through the quieter part of the district while the sounds of the city slowly faded behind us.

Calling it an inn honestly felt a little misleading.

The place was enormous.

It was the sort of building that immediately screamed money the moment you laid eyes on it. Huge stone walls, polished windows, decorative carvings everywhere, and guards standing around looking way too serious for a place that had apparently evolved into a luxury brothel. At some point, somebody definitely sat down and thought, "You know what this place needs? More gold." And apparently nobody stopped them.

This wasn’t built for ordinary travelers.

It was designed for people who could casually spend more money in one night than most families would see in years.

Originally, the place had been made to accommodate royalty. In times of emergency, if the main castle ever fell under attack, the reigning King and his people could retreat here and use it as a temporary stronghold. Honestly, calling it a "backup" castle was probably more accurate than calling it an inn.

The structure itself still carried traces of that purpose. The walls were thick, the entrances heavily reinforced, and even the layout felt more defensive than welcoming. It had that strange mix of luxury and military practicality that only nobles could somehow make look expensive.

Though these days, things were obviously different.

The place had changed over the decades.

Instead of serving kings and royal families, it had become a gathering spot for nobles looking to waste money on pleasure. Prostitutes, drinking, private entertainment, secret affairs, probably enough scandals to destroy half the kingdom if anyone ever wrote them down properly.

Honestly, nobles really had too much free time.

At this point, the inn was basically a high-class brothel pretending to still be respectable.

And somehow, it worked.

Right now, though, I was leading Ella and Charlotte toward the room I rented earlier.

The room itself cost a hundred gold coins.

A hundred.

Even saying that in my head still felt stupid.

That was an absurd amount of money just to sleep somewhere for a night. Honestly, part of me felt like the owner looked at wealthy people and thought, "How much can I charge before they physically recoil?" then doubled it for fun.

Still, I had more than enough money for it. Spending a hundred gold coins didn’t actually hurt me financially.

Did it still feel expensive anyway?

Absolutely.

Money losing value emotionally after getting rich was apparently a myth.

After a while, we finally reached the room.

The moment I opened the door, the size of the place immediately stood out again. The room was massive. Huge enough that it almost felt closer to a noble’s private chamber than an inn suite.

The bed alone could probably fit five people comfortably.

Honestly, whoever designed it definitely knew what kind of activities usually happened here. Nobody accidentally makes a bed that large. That thing practically radiated bad intentions.

The room itself looked expensive in the most obvious ways possible. Soft lighting illuminated the walls, polished wooden furniture filled the space, and decorative curtains hung around the room in a way that somehow made the atmosphere feel warmer.

And suspiciously sensual.

The entire place had this atmosphere that quietly whispered, "People definitely have sex here."

Subtlety had been murdered long ago.

Even the scent in the room felt intentional. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, relaxing enough to lower your guard without being overwhelming. Combined with the lighting and oversized furniture, it honestly felt like the room itself was trying to seduce people.

"Well, this inn really has become the sort of place people use for having sex with prostitutes," Charlotte commented casually as she looked around.

She basically said exactly what I was thinking.

And honestly, she wasn’t wrong.

"This place used to be where people of high caliber gathered," she continued. "Now it’s turned into this."

Ella looked slightly awkward after hearing that.

"W-Well, that’s because fewer people of high standing started using this place," she explained nervously. "The owner decided to turn it into a high-quality brothel instead. That way, the business could continue making money rather than just slowly losing guests."

She paused for a second before continuing.

"So now it serves both purposes. Wealthy guests can still stay here, but... there are also additional services."

Additional services.

That was one way to put it.

Honestly, Ella sounded like she was trying very hard to make prostitution sound professional.

Still, what she said made sense.

The inn probably started declining once it stopped being regularly used by royalty and nobles. Rather than letting such a huge establishment slowly die out, the owners adapted. They turned it into something far more profitable.

And apparently, business was booming.

Judging from how polished and well-maintained everything still looked, the decision worked out incredibly well for them.

At the same time, the place still functioned as a legitimate inn.

Which was why we were here in the first place.

"Now then," Charlotte said with a small smile, "I suppose we should start?"

The moment she said that, Ella visibly gulped and glanced toward me.

Honestly, that reaction was pretty easy to notice.

Was she already thinking about that?

Actually... she looked more nervous about it than I was.

Her eyes kept darting toward me for some reason before quickly looking away again. The tension in her shoulders made it obvious her thoughts were running wild right now.

Charlotte suddenly laughed softly.

"Fufufu, that’s not what I meant by start, Ella."

Ella froze slightly.

"What I meant," Charlotte continued teasingly, "is that we should prepare the wine first so the three of us can quickly get hot and bothered."

Charlotte really wasn’t trying to hide her intentions at all.

Then again, neither was I.

Still, she had a habit of saying things out loud without hesitation, which somehow made everything feel more real whenever she did it.

Ella looked embarrassed, though not exactly against the idea.

If anything, she seemed more apprehensive than unwilling. There was nervousness in her expression, but not rejection.

And honestly, with Charlotte here beside her acting completely relaxed, the atmosphere stayed surprisingly comfortable.

I walked over and started preparing the wine for the three of us.

The bottle itself already looked expensive enough to make ordinary people cry financially. The deep red liquid inside reflected the warm lighting of the room as I poured it carefully into three glasses.

After handing them out, Charlotte became the first one to drink.

"Oh..." she softly muttered.

Her eyes widened almost immediately after tasting it.

That reaction alone made me curious enough to take a sip myself.

And the moment the wine touched my tongue, my own eyes widened too.

It tasted incredible.

Honestly, calling it "wine" almost felt inaccurate.

The flavor was rich and smooth without feeling overwhelming. There was a deep savoriness mixed into the taste that made it feel far more refined than ordinary alcohol. The aftertaste lingered pleasantly in my mouth for several moments after swallowing, refusing to disappear quickly.

It wasn’t just sweet or bitter.

It had layers to it.

The kind of flavor that made you pause for a second because your brain needed time to process what exactly you just drank.

And somehow, it only made you want another sip immediately afterward.

Yeah.

Now I understood why it cost so much.

Ella carefully raised her glass next.

Unlike Charlotte, she drank more cautiously at first, almost like she was worried she might dislike it.

Then her eyes widened too.

"I-It’s so good..."

The surprise in her voice sounded completely genuine.

Even Leonamon wine didn’t compare to this.