n

n

nI swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

nThe destination of our short trip turned out to be obvious when I asked the brothel's guards to deal with the thief. Still, approaching the building and actually moving towards its doors caused magnitudes of difference in terms of pressure.

nI stood right on the doorstep and placed my hand on the doors. Even though I looked ahead, I could feel Mia's eyes drilling holes in my back.

n'There is no turning back now,' I thought, swallowing a gulp of saliva and pushing the doors open.

nIn an instant, the dim atmosphere of the street was replaced by the bright light of the brothel's main hall. The everpresent red candles gave off a red hue, clearly communicating the purpose of this place, even better than a horde of half-naked girls roaming the place and humoring the guests.

n

"Oh, it's the young master!

" an attendant appeared before my group in a second, only to raise her hand to her lips as she shouted.

"Welcome, welcome, please, come inside,

" she smiled, bowing lightly and showing the way with her hand.

nThe second my title was shouted, everyone's attention fell on my group. But instead of the predatory looks of the girls looking at their gold-bearing prey, we were received with warm smiles of appreciation.

n

"It seems that you are well known here,

" Mia muttered, her mood quickly sinking to the abyss. Even though this fact was pretty clear from the moment I received money from this place, knowing about it and experiencing it first hand had a massively different impact on the girl.

n

"Come, come,

" the guide was melting in smiles as she led us deeper into the place.

n

"So that's why he never touched us...

" some girl whispered as she looked at Mia.

n

"It all makes sense now,

" another girl commented as we passed by her.

nDespite being in the spotlight of everyone's attention, no girl dared to approach my group carelessly.

n

"Arthur... Dare to explain?

" Mia requested in a low voice, clearly unsatisfied with the experience so far.

n'Can't you **ing hurry up?' I moaned in my thoughts, throwing a slightly panicked look at the naked back of the guide girl.

n

"Just wait a little longer. You will soon understand,

" I said instead, trying to ignore the pain clearly visible on Mia's face.

nIt wasn't anger, nor was it sadness that shone on her light. It was nearly a physical pain caused by how well-known I was in this place.

nEven though I couldn't bear to look at this pained expression of Mia, I knew that attempting to explain it all right now would be simply pointless.

n

"It is just like you heard,

" I said, trying to calm Mia's senses for the time being.

"I never touched even a single girl in this place,

" I informed without turning around to face the girl.

nRight now, I couldn't find the courage to even glance at Mia's expression.

n

"If it isn't the young master,

" the Madam finally showed up, right as we reached the doorstep to the room I was pretty familiar with. In a sense, from a **-cabin, it turned into my private workshop over the last few days.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again,

" she said before moving her eyes over at the rest of my companions.

nA small smirk appeared on Madam's lips.

n

"Judging by the looks on the faces of your companions, I believe you were found out?

" she asked to clarify the situation.

n

"I believe that's exactly what you expected when you sent me that money,

" I grumbled in reply, unwilling to hide the annoyance this caused me.

nEven though I worked hard on the lingerie, I still have yet to craft something I would be satisfied to gift to Mia. It was because of this woman's actions that I was now forced to reveal my hidden business ahead of schedule!

n'But is it really that bad?' I suddenly thought, just as my fist tightened due to my anger. 'It's not like I could keep all of this hidden for much longer; the real audition starts in two days after all,' I thought, taking a deep breath to calm myself down.

n

"That wasn't my intention,

" Madam lowered her head in apology.

"But from the restless look on your woman's face, I assume they have yet to understand the situation,

" she added with a small smile.

n

"That's right,

" I sighed.

"Can you stop stalling and lead us inside already?

" I requested, feeling the changes to Mia's aura behind my back.

nBy now, she should understand that the situation wasn't really what she likely assumed it to be... But for every second of uncertainty, every moment that the explanation was withheld from her, her anxiety only continued to grow.

n

"Right away,

" Madam clasped her hands together before looking towards the doors.

"For now, I would like you to make yourself comfortable inside. Should we use the standard collection or...?

" the Madam asked as she pushed the doors open for us herself.

n

"Bring out my personal one,

" I replied with a shake of my head.

nIf I was going to reveal what I was doing here to Mia, I could as well reveal everything.

n

"Just make sure not to include my core products,

" I added as I stepped into the room. 'Those are for Mia's exclusive use, after all,' I added in my thoughts.

n

"Can you finally explain what the hell is going on?

" Mia asked in a stern voice... But from how it trembled, I could tell that she was simply putting on an act.

n

"For now, let's sit,

" I shook my head as I grabbed Mia's hand and led her towards the bed.

"You can find someplace to sit at. I don't give two **s whether you can do it or not,

" I spat out in Vaner's direction.

nThis situation was all his fault. If he didn't call Mia out to call me out on this letter, I would be able to explain everything to her on my own terms.

nIT was Vaner who was responsible for all the negative emotions that dared to sully Mia's soul.

n

"Why so negative...

" Vaner muttered but didn't comment any further.

nAs we sat down, I made sure to position myself close to Mia's side... But the second she noticed my attempts, the girl was quick to slide herself away from me.

nNoticing her intention, I could only stop my attempts. As much as it pained me, I wasn't going to be forceful with her by any means.

n

"The girls will arrive shortly,

" Madam said as she returned to the room. Then, she finally cast a curious glance over at the box I brought with me.

n

"This is something I will talk about later,

" I said, noticing the woman's intention.

"For now, I want to clear the misunderstanding with my love,

" I said, nodding my head in Mia's direction.

n

"It will be my pleasure to once again talk business with you,

" the Madam bowed before sending a glance over towards the corridor. From the satisfied look that emerged on her face, her entourage was likely on its way.

n

"Arthur...

" Vaner muttered from his position by the wall. Just as expected, he didn't find a single free seat in the entire room, opting to rest his back against the wall instead.

"Just what were you doing behind my back?

" he asked.

nWell, given how Madam just said how eager she was to do ANOTHER business with me, it was clear that there was something going on between us already.

nThankfully, there was no time to talk over this topic as the girls started to enter the room.

n

"Let me introduce our esteemed guests to Arthur's lingerie collection!

" the woman announced before waving her hand and allowing the first of her models to come inside.

n