Satin had stayed in many inns, some good and some not so good. In every case, the bathing facilities were always on the first floor. While simple shower facilities might be found elsewhere, he had never seen a bathtub on any other floor. This was likely due to structural concerns or other technical reasons.
Of course, he couldn’t be certain about the layout of this particular inn. Some buildings were constructed on slopes, blending the first and second floors in unusual ways.
He decided to ask, “I thought the bath was on the first floor.”
The staff member leading the way turned around with a smile and replied, “Yes, usually it is. However, our inn has a very large bath facility that can be accessed from the second floor as well. The first-floor entrance can get crowded, so I’m taking you this way.”
“Oh, I see…” Satin responded, though he felt a sense of unease. If the bath was truly so impressive, wouldn’t it have been mentioned when he checked in? It seemed strange that such a notable feature wouldn’t be highlighted.
The staff’s explanation felt rehearsed, as if prepared in advance to answer why they weren’t going to the first floor. Satin’s suspicion grew, and he tensed up, subtly scanning his surroundings while trying to appear calm.
‘Is there anyone who can help?’ he thought.
Unfortunately, there was no one else around. Earlier, on the fourth floor, he had seen several staff members, but now the hallway was empty.
Satin slowly stopped walking. The staff member noticed immediately and turned around.
“Most people start to get suspicious around here,” the staff member said, their smile now seeming different—almost sinister. Their tone had shifted, and it was clear they did not have good intentions.
Just as Satin was about to turn and run, the door to a nearby room swung open.
“Help, mph—” he started to call out, but no help came. The person who emerged from the room was an accomplice. Before Satin could react, he was gagged and pulled into the room, the door slamming shut behind him.
‘What is going on…?’ he thought, but his vision darkened, and he could no longer think clearly.
***
After Satin left, Cain finally calmed down. His heart had been racing unexpectedly, and he felt flustered.
Once he regained his composure, he noticed something unusual. Satin, who usually preferred the bed by the window for its sunlight, had left his shoes under the inner bed. Cain shook his head and moved the shoes to their usual spot under the window-side bed.
‘Did he say he was going to take a bath?’ Cain wondered. He remembered having a conversation but couldn’t recall the details. He must have been quite distracted.
He picked up his robe, which he didn’t remember taking off, and hung it in the wardrobe, sighing.
‘This has happened before,’ he thought. The last time he had suspected Satin of having feelings for him, he had reacted similarly. Coincidentally, he had been thinking the same thing just now.
Satin was right; feelings of affection weren’t limited to friendships. In fact, most people expressed such feelings towards those who were more than friends.
‘Isn’t it strange to ask a friend if they like you?’ Cain pondered. Yet, when he had asked Satin, he hadn’t seemed bothered. Instead, Satin had smiled in a way that suggested he knew something Cain didn’t.
‘He must have regained his memories,’ Cain concluded. After their reunion, Satin had seemed somewhat naive, likely due to his years spent in the countryside. However, his recent behavior—acting knowledgeable while choosing not to reveal everything—was more in line with the Satin from four years ago.
Cain wondered what Satin was planning. The luxurious atmosphere of the room made it difficult to focus, or perhaps it was the alcohol-infused pudding they had for dessert.
‘Something… very positive…’ he thought, though he struggled to articulate it clearly.
Satin had never felt that their current relationship was in danger, at least not to the point of saying something like that.
‘For example, a more advanced form of some relationship.’
Cain absentmindedly fanned himself. The air was stuffy, but that wasn’t the only reason.
‘I should go take a bath too,’ he thought.
Even though Satin had already gone to the bath, it wasn’t a problem. Cain had seen Satin’s body before, although not recently. It wasn’t the first time, so there was no need to be flustered. Seeing someone naked wasn’t a big deal.
‘Or maybe I should go a little later,’ Cain thought, pacing back and forth before finally getting up.
He hurried out of the room. The staff, recognizing him as a guest in an expensive room, bowed as he passed, but he barely noticed. He rushed down the stairs to the first floor and immediately caught the eye of the receptionist.
“How can I assist you?” the receptionist asked.
“Which way is the bath?” Cain inquired.
“If you go down the left hallway, there is a special bath prepared for our VIP guests,” the receptionist replied, handing him a key.
Cain took it and asked, “What’s this for?”
“Our inn provides a locker for VIPs in case of emergencies. It’s fireproof, so your belongings will be safe even if there’s a fire,” the receptionist explained.
Cain clicked his tongue softly. “You should just make sure there’s no fire in the first place.”
The receptionist smiled awkwardly at Cain’s blunt remark. “Of course, we do our best to prevent any incidents. However, there was an incident at another inn where a VIP was displeased by a fire.”
Cain nodded vaguely, not particularly interested in the story. As he turned to leave, the receptionist asked, “Oh, is your companion also using the bath?”
“Companion?” Cain asked.
“If you need an additional locker, please let me know. Normally, it’s one per room, but since there are no other VIPs today, we can make an exception.”
“My companion is already in the bath…” Cain started to say but stopped mid-sentence.
Satin had gone to the bath before him, not long ago. If Satin had come this way, the receptionist would know. There were no other VIPs, after all.
Feeling a sense of unease, Cain rushed down the hallway.
***
‘It’s been a while since something like this happened,’ Satin thought, his mouth gagged.
He had no idea what drug the kidnappers had used, but the aftereffects were significant. He had been unconscious for some time and still felt dizzy. A sip of cold water would have been nice, but his captors weren’t likely to be that considerate.
The kidnappers hadn’t explained why they had taken him, but Satin could guess. He and Cain had arrived in a large, well-maintained carriage with several knights as escorts. While it might not have stood out in a larger city, it was conspicuous in a small town like Daisyland.
‘We must have looked like rich travelers,’ Satin thought. He felt foolish for not considering how they might appear to others.
Satin opened his eyes and looked around. The curtains were drawn, and it was dark outside. He had left the room around sunset, but he couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Had it been just a short while, or several hours? He hoped it wasn’t a whole day.
One thing was clear: the kidnappers had not left the inn. Satin was still in the same room where he had been taken. It was a bold move, hiding a captive in the same place they had been abducted.
‘I wonder if Cain has noticed I’m missing,’ Satin thought. He had said he was going to the bath, so Cain might not think anything was wrong if he didn’t return for a while.
Satin’s best hope was that Cain would also go to the bath and notice his absence. But what if Cain didn’t feel like taking a bath today?
‘Then I’m doomed,’ Satin thought. He tried to sigh, but the gag made it difficult. He let out a muffled groan, and one of his captors approached. The man had curly brown hair and an otherwise unremarkable appearance.
“Uncomfortable, isn’t it? Just bear with it a little longer,” the man said, feigning kindness.
Satin didn’t believe him for a second. He noticed that the man was dressed as a staff member, just like the one who had lured him into the trap. Satin suspected that the kidnappers were actually employees of the inn, rather than impostors.
As Satin pondered the situation, he realized that the kidnapper who had brought him here moved too casually within the inn. Even in a large inn, there wouldn’t be hundreds of staff members, and this person acted as if he had done this many times before.
‘Did they say people usually start to get suspicious around here?’
This implied that the kidnapper had used the same route to lure victims multiple times. It seemed unlikely that an outsider could repeatedly infiltrate the inn and successfully kidnap guests without being noticed. It was more plausible that the kidnapper was actually an employee of the inn, using his position to commit these crimes.
However, this raised another question:
‘Does the inn management really not know about this?’
Satin began to suspect that the inn itself might be involved. If the entire inn was a front for criminal activities, it would be easy for them to target wealthy-looking guests and cover their tracks, perhaps even making it seem like the guests had never stayed there.
‘But wouldn’t it be difficult to kidnap an entire group of travelers?’
Just as Satin was deep in thought, there was a knock at the door.
If only there is a spoiler tag in the comments because I, so definitely, wants to say what I’ve been spoiled with.
Where? I don’t see any spoiler comments