The Hausmann Hotel at the central region of the Emerson Business District, Filomena Nobility Academy, at the northern campus of the Olsylvia Academy. Inside the Rose Society’s designated luxury suite, Bella was about to indulge in merrymaking when she was disrupted by a mysterious knock.
It was an extremely light knock, almost like someone had tapped gently on the door with their fingernails. Even in this Other World, no sane person would knock like that. Bella was conflicted. As a Demon King, she was still unable to avoid the legendary supernatural incidents in hotels from her previous world. Honestly, which ghost would be so daring? After all, there were two ex-Radiant Popes and a captain of the Radiant Church’s Law Enforcement Team inside the room. The amount of courage it would take…
Similar to the hotels in her previous world, there was a peephole at the luxury suite’s door. However, Bella did not intend to use it at all, in case there was another pair of eyes waiting for her on the other side.
Bella walked over to the demonic communication stone in the room and dialed the magical contact pathway for the Hausmann Hotel’s guardhouse. As the members of the Rose Knights stationed outside the hotel were all female, she was worried that they would be frightened if they were to encounter something like that. Thus, Bella had no choice but to seek help from outsiders.
Furthermore, the street that the Hausmann Hotel was situated in was bustling with human activity, which meant that it was not convenient for Bella to summon her demonic beings to deal with this supernatural incident either.
Every hotel on this street had a guardhouse that was located at its perimeter, which served as security for the hotel. When Bella’s Rose Society took over the Hausmann Hotel, she did not remove it. Little did she know that she would have to use it so quickly. Soon enough, she was connected to the guardhouse.
“Greetings, Grand Duchess Bellina, I’m Raoul, captain of the guardhouse for this shift. How may I…”
“Quick, send someone into the hotel. I think there might be a burglar here. There’s some disturbance outside my door, and I’ve heard some strange noises as well.”
“I understand, Your Grace. Please hold on for a moment; I’m on my way there.”
Once he was given the information that there might have been a burglar in the hotel, Captain Raoul immediately led his team into the hotel to investigate the matter. After all, this was the new boss’s first night here, and nothing must go wrong.
When Bella and Chairman Nina were hosting the Vice-President Lowell of the Fraternity, they had sent the hotel guards away to create a more casual atmosphere. After the meal, Bella had forgotten to recall the guards to their stations. As a Holy Knight, she was confident that she would be able to fight off a couple of thieves.
Captain Raoul assumed that Bella had called for reinforcements as she was up against a large group of thieves and did not dare to be negligent at all. He activated every single guard under his command, even the ones who were stationed at the perimeter of the hotel. Within moments, hundreds of fully armed men were swarming in to search the hotel.
However, that mysterious knocker did not seem to be intimidated at all. In fact, it continued to use its fingernails to scratch at the door. Kleina and Mathilde were frightened and were beginning to feel rather anxious. Bella reached out, caressed their heads in an attempt to comfort them, and told them reassuringly that the guards were on their way.
Suddenly, a similar tapping sound could be heard coming from behind the curtains of the french windows. However, because of the golden curtains’ obstruction, Bella could not see what entity was playing tricks outside. Moreover, they were on the ninth floor, which meant that whatever was out there was suspended in the air.
“Damn it, you little ghosts won’t be afraid of creating trouble if I, the Demon King, do not unleash my rage!”
Bella was furious. She picked up a bench in one hand and was fully prepared to open the window to crush whatever it was out there to death. At that moment, the guards finally arrived outside Bella’s luxury suite.
“Who is it? Stop right—”
“Captain, that… is that even human…?”
Captain Raoul led his team of around ten guards and rushed to Bella’s suite, catching sight of the thing that was disturbing her rest. It was a delicate little hand, suspended in mid-air, and it was tapping on the door with its fingernails. However, the owner of the hand was nowhere to be seen.
Chills ran down Captain Raoul’s spine. He had been a guard at the Hausmann Hotel for so many years, but this was the first time he had encountered something so evil. As he was being paid for his security services and he had nearly twenty men with him, it would be too embarrassing if they were to be frightened by this delicate hand.
The guards picked up their swords and charged towards the strange hand’s location with Captain Raoul at the forefront. He was the first to arrive. As Captain Raoul raised his sword and was about to attack, the hand disappeared into thin air, as though it had never existed in the first place.
Captain Raoul and his team of guards were shocked. If not for the scratches on the door, they would have doubted what they had seen earlier.
Bella had changed into a simpler armor. When she opened the door, she felt a breeze pass by. She turned and saw that there were obvious scratch marks on the door, along with nearly twenty guards at the corridor on high alert. Every single one of them was in full armor—a silver heavy armor, and was carrying a sword that was specially crafted for them.
The guards had beads of sweat trickling down their faces. This group of men must have seen something absolutely terrifying; otherwise, they would not be that frightened. When they saw Bella emerge from the room, a middle-aged man in his thirties approached Bella and greeted her.
“Chairman Bellina, I am Captain Raoul. Earlier on, we… we saw…”
“No need to explain. Tonight, you and your team will have to step up on patrols within the hotel. Leave the perimeter for now. Also, I will pay everyone double for their services tonight.”
“Understood, we will complete our task!”
With the promise of double pay, the guards, who were initially prepared to retreat, composed themselves. Captain Raoul had purposely arranged for more than a dozen guards to patrol the corridor outside Bella’s luxury suite. This time, he was going to ensure that no one would bother the boss again that night.
When Bella opened the door, the tapping sounds at the windows stopped, along with the ones at the door. Since Mathilde and Kleina were inside the luxury suite, Bella did not allow any of the guards to check the room. Once she verified that there were guards being stationed at the corridor outside, she let out a small sigh of relief and closed the doors behind her. She would arrange for someone to clean up the scratch marks the next day.
Other than the unexplainable appearance of the scratch marks on Bella’s luxury suite door, Captain Raoul also found some traces of a fight within the hotel lobby. The tables and chairs were in a mess, and there were visible signs that they had been moved. However, the culprit was nowhere to be found.
Other than Bella’s luxury suite, more than one hundred guards combed through every single room within the Hausmann Hotel for signs of anything unusual. However, they discovered nothing. There was no trace of the perpetrator at all, either. There was nothing else Captain Raoul could do except to increase the number of guards on patrol that night.
Unbeknownst to him, one of the perpetrators of the supernatural incident at the Hausmann Hotel had already appeared inside Bella’s luxury suite. When Bella closed the door and returned to the suite’s living room, there was a beautiful girl sitting on her couch.
When Bella caught sight of the girl, she nearly picked up the bench again. However, she managed to stop herself as she recognized her. That beautiful girl was the mysterious Imperial Duchess whom she met during the grave robbing recruitment conference organized by the Radiant Church Law Enforcement Team.
Back then, the Imperial Duchess was wearing a black mask and hooded cloak. As Bella could not see her face at all, it was the Duchess’s delicate hands that had left a deep impression on her.
The beautiful maiden on the couch had lilac-colored hair that casually grazed her shoulders, and her light blue eyes were filled with weariness. The Imperial Duchess was quite decent-looking as well. Based on the criteria for the Olsylvia Academy’s Top Ten Belles, she would have definitely made it into the top five.
The Imperial Duchess’s lovely hands were the only reason Bella managed to identify her in the first place. She remembered every single pretty girl she had met, along with their unique characteristics.
Right now, the Imperial Duchess looked a little haggard and fragile, almost as though she was ill. Her pallor seemed rather sickly and was comparable to Kleina’s complexion.
As Bella approached the Imperial Duchess, she confirmed that she was in a spirit state. The Duchess’s occupation was a rare one: she was a Soul Priest and had the ability to communicate with the dead. One of her specialties was astral projection, which allowed her soul to temporarily leave her body. The only difference between the mediums in Bella’s previous world and Soul Priests was that the souls projected here were similar to their actual bodies and had a corporeal form. This meant that they could eat and make physical contact with objects.
“Your Grace, it was you earlier? Seriously, in the dead of night? It nearly scared me to death.”
“Who’s scaring you? Earlier on, I did not want to intrude while you were speaking with that man. I wanted to wait until you were gone before sneaking some food. I didn’t expect it to escalate like that…”
“Forget it, that fellow would not look for you again tonight. Don’t worry about it. He’s in his spirit state as well. From now on, he will be unable to find you again.”
That night, the Imperial Duchess was here at the Hausmann Hotel on an agreement to collect a ring. Previously, she had asked Bella for help to get her the ring that had helped to treat the First Generation Radiant Pope Goldsmith.
However, she did not expect to encounter a strange intruder’s soul, whose target was obviously Bella. In the beginning, she was no match for her opponent. Fortunately, she received help from another soul that was filled with a natural aura, and they managed to force that strange soul into retreating.
In the end, the trio continued to fight. They moved along the corridor and eventually arrived at Bella’s door. The knocking on the door was caused by that strange soul, while another soul was responsible for the windows. As souls were only able to gain awareness of another soul’s gender and were unable to see each other, the Imperial Duchess did not know where the other two souls came from.
Judging by the Imperial Duchess’s weakened state, Bella could guess why she needed that treatment ring. Typically, Soul Priests were not physically strong. Without the ring, her life would have quickly come to an end.
“Your Grace, may I have the honor of knowing your name?”
“No need, we have completed our transaction. I have more important things to see too. So… goodbye!”
The Imperial Duchess left swiftly after receiving the ring. Since she was in a spirit state, Bella would have to resort to desperate measures if she wanted to stop her from running away. However, the original owner of the ring, the First Generation Radiant Pope Goldsmith, was in Bella’s hands. This meant that in the future, the ring could still be easily located.
Never in a million years would the Imperial Duchess have guessed that the previous owner, the First Generation Radiant Pope Goldsmith, was still alive. Either way, she would be unable to escape Bella’s clutches for long. None of the beautiful young maiden who had piqued her interest were able to leave her line of sight.
The Imperial Duchess had appeared in the lobby, which was quite a distance from the bedroom. She did not seem to realize that Bella was keeping her lovers in her luxurious abode. If the Duchess were to walk into the bedroom, she would have seen Mathilde and Kleina, who were hiding there. However, if the cat was let out of the bag, there was a high chance that the Imperial Duchess would not be allowed to leave at all.
Bella was conflicted for quite some time before she could finally relax. She took off all the equipment and walked into the bedroom, where she could see Kleina and Mathilde’s creamy white figures lying on the bed. The girls looked at Bella coyly, with expectant eyes. Without any further hesitation, she climbed into bed with them.
While Bella and the girls indulged in merrymaking, none of them realized that there was a small gap in the bedroom’s french windows. A pair of jade green eyes were taking in the erotic images in front of her.
The peeping girl clearly had never seen anything like this before. She never knew that girls could be this intimate with each other. Fortunately for her, she was still in her spirit state. If not, her body would be experiencing some strange reactions right now.
When the warm sunlight crept into the room the next morning, the Hausmann Hotel welcomed a new day. The little interlude of a supernatural incident had disappeared after the guards were sent to patrol the area. During the night, when the Rose Knights returned to their rooms to take a break, none of them encountered anything remotely creepy at all.
As Bella opened her eyes the next morning and got out of bed, Kleina and Mathilde had been lying on her left and right. All sorts of crazy marks from the previous night could be seen on their creamy white skin. Since they were now part of the group, Bella had removed all their bindings since there was no need for them any longer.
Kleina and Mathilde soon roused from their slumber. When they opened their groggy eyes, they realized that they were cuddled together. Bella was already up and was staring at them with a mischievous glint in her eyes, as though she was admiring her own masterpiece.
“The two of you can relax here for now. When everything settles down, I’ll allow you to leave, but on one condition: you must report here often! Otherwise, if I have to go out there and get you, you can forget about leaving this hotel ever again.”
Bella did not give the girls a chance to reject her offer before pushing Kleina and Mathilde together. As they had already submitted to Bella, they were resigned to their fate, their lips interlocking. It did not take long before both of them were entwined in each other’s embrace.
After making sure that the bedroom door was locked, she walked over to the replica of the pharaohs’ coffins that housed the two ex-Radiant Popes. When she was about to open them up for inspection, a new guest arrived, asking for Bella.
“Grand Duchess Bellina, the ambassadors from the Radiant Church are here for you. Captain Raoul asked me to seek your permission for their entrance!”
“The Radiant Church, let me take a look. No one else other than myself is allowed to enter this room, understand?”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
After giving the guards a quick briefing about things to take note of, Bella went downstairs to the guest lobby on the first floor of the Hausmann Hotel. She had no idea why the Radiant Church would be looking for her this early in the morning. After all, this was the Fraternity’s territory. Could it be that the Radiant Church was going through a “philosophical renaissance”?
When Bella arrived at the guest lobby, she saw nine guests from the Radiant Church. Including her, they would fit nicely at a table.
The Heir of the Radiant Church President Maria, the Holy Swordsman Cynthia, the four Holy Maidens—Daisy, Hayley, Sophia, and Susan, were all present. In addition, there were three elders who were dressed casually. To prevent any unnecessary uproar, they did not wear the red Archbishop’s robes and had put on plain clothes like a servant.
Bella knew two of the three elders. The first was the Red Archbishop, Andrew Salo, who thought that she was Bishop Stanley’s mistress and had taken a bribe of a small box of gold bars from her a few months ago. He was the representative from the Radiant Church’s Salo Faction and was Holy Maiden Daisy’s teacher.
Shocked, Archbishop Salo stared at Bella. It seemed as though he had never expected this to happen and was feeling slightly uneasy about his previous lack of judgment.
The other elder was Archbishop Anthony Ellen, who represented the Ellen Faction. He was also the Holy Maidens Susan and Hayley’s teacher. When he laid eyes on Bella, they were filled with confusion. He was the first one to realize that Bella was wearing relics that had been used to represent the status of the Popes and other high-level members of the Church.
Technically speaking, Bella was acquainted with the third elder as well. She had met him during the Olsylvia Academy’s Start of School Ceremony. This was the current Dean of the St. Louis Church Academy and one of the Radiant Church’s three main Archbishops, Micah. Other than being the representative from the Micah Faction, he was also Holy Maiden Sophia’s teacher.
Archbishop Micah appeared to be rather calm. After all, these were students from his own academy. Since the three Archbishops did not share their information, they did not know much about Bella. Instead, it was their disciples who were much more familiar with her.
When Bella appeared, it was clear that the group from the Radiant Church was split into different camps. However, their segregation had nothing to do with the three main factions. She noticed that the four Holy Maidens were seated intimately on one couch, while President Maria and the Holy Swordsman Cynthia sat together on another.
The remaining three Archbishops sat on individual seats. Obviously, they were all feeling somewhat awkward as the Holy Maidens, who were supposed to be seated with their respective teachers, had “turned” against them.
