"Ah... I can't take it anymore..."
"It's too much."
"This is just my first time, yet it's already so tough.
"Please, spare me."
With the doors locked and no one else to disturb them inside this exclusive Paradise Room in the House of a Thousand Thrusts, Christine's pained moans reverberated throughout the room.
"Is that it? Are the daughters and sons of Martial families this weak? It's only been half an hour since we started but you're already complaining that you cannot take it anymore?" A masculine mocking voice resounded in return.
Christine bit her lips. A crimson blush was on her face as her hips moved up and down. Both of her hands were raised in front of her chest which made her unable to use them to support herself against the wall as she executed the exercise that Calvin forced her to execute.
"This is the 'Stone Horse Gallops Over the Fence' movement..."
"If you are able to do this movement a thousand times in one sitting without feeling exhausted, then it is safe to say that the meridians on your lower body are robust enough for you to make a breakthrough..."
"Remember, the foundation of a martial artist is of utmost importance. You should never make a breakthrough if I deem your foundation to be insufficient!"
"W-What? A-a thousand times?" Christine's figure trembled. Her legs quivered with her body and the fat on her thighs seemed to be jiggling unceasingly in accordance with her movements.
To be frank, the Stone Horse Gallops Over the Fence movement wasn't really difficult to execute. However, Calvin had sealed some of Christine's muscles through acupuncture.
As a result, the movement had become ten times more strenuous than when it was usually executed.
Of course, Christine had no idea that some of her muscles had been sealed by Calvin.
She only noticed that she seemed to be too weak to even execute such a simple movement which made her frustrated.
In an effort to prove to Calvin that her years of training hadn't gone to the donkeys, Christine had been unceasingly executing the movement with her everything which honestly earned the praise of Calvin.
"I wonder what she will do to me when she finds out that I've sealed some of her muscles which made this movement incredibly hard to execute...' Calvin mused to himself. 'Well, it doesn't matter. No harm will be done as long as she remained ignorant about it.'
A smirk spread on his lips.
"Stop."
Calvin clapped both of his hands together.
"Wheeew..." Christine let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed on her buttocks.
"You've lasted about a quarter to an hour. Not bad. But not good either."
Calvin took a notebook out of his [Inventory].
It was the Notebook of Secrets that he hadn't taken out for more than a year now.
Dandelion still laid dormant for some reason.
Without Dandelion, the Notebook of Secrets was basically useless aside from the fact that it was indestructible which could be taken advantage of depending on one's creativity.
Calvin tore a page from the Notebook of Secrets.
Then, he returned the notebook back into his [Inventory].
He did all of these unbeknownst to Christine.
Speaking of Christine, the young lass was currently huffing and puffing on the floor.
"I'll take some drinks outside, what do you want? Cold or hot?"
"Cold or hot what?" Christine impatiently asked.
"Water."
"Wait, water? Can we drink anything else?"
"No. Water is the best. Nothing else." Calvin paused, "A booze could be better than water but in this context, it's not."
"Wait..." With his eyebrows raised, Calvin asked, "Do you even drink?"
"I do... But I don't drink often. I hate being drunk."
"I see..." Calvin simply nodded. "You can go ahead and take a bath. We'll be done for now. I'll order some dishes for us to eat. It's already getting late, so I guess we should have our dinner prepared for us for the night."
Christine nodded her head. But then she suddenly noticed the hidden meanings within Calvin's words as her cheeks flushed red.
"W-We..."
"What?" Calvin stopped in his tracks. He stared at Christine.
"Will we really stay here for the night? Only the two of us?" It took quite a lot of strength for Christine to say all of these.
"It's okay. This Paradise Room has a lot of bedrooms. I can take the bedroom on the opposite side." Calvin explained.
"I see..." Christine significantly calmed down. She might have some good feelings for Calvin but she wasn't willing to share a room with him just yet. Fortunately, Calvin was more thoughtful than she had expected. As long as they weren't in the same room, Christine found it acceptable for her to stay with him under the same roof.
Besides, they were here for official business.
'Yes, official business!'
Christine convinced herself.
Calvin walked out of the room and sat on the couch.
Fiddling with the armrest, the communication device was activated once more as he spoke into the air.
"Can you call over the female attendant who helped me check-in earlier?"
"Sure, please give us a moment." The voice from the other end of the call came from a young woman who sounded disappointed. Her tone of voice was still polite, however, for she knew that Calvin was a VIP client of their establishment.
The young woman on the other end of the call acted swift and a knock came from behind the doors of the Paradise Room.
It was the female attendant.
She was skimpily-dressed and there was a blush on her face.
A single glance was all it took for Calvin to see that she was quite young. Probably in her mid-twenties.
"Come in." Calvin gestured with a smile.
The female attendant gave a bow before lifting her skirt up in respect.
Her movements were reminiscent of that of a noble lady. Aside from the fact that she wasn't wearing any underwear and the way she lifted her skirt made Calvin catch a glimpse of the shaved pleasures underneath.
Calvin maintained his composure and gestured for her to take a seat.
"Esteemed guest, you've called? Is there something that I can do for you?"
The female attendant smiled. She was on her best behavior at this moment for she knew that if she obtained the favor of this young master.
Even if she wasn't able to become a concubine, being one of his hidden lovers would be beneficial enough so that she could quit this line of job and retire happily ever after.
"Surely a lady as pleasant and as beautiful as you wouldn't refuse a drink?" Calvin lightly chuckled. He took a bottle of alcohol from one of the cold cabinets. Opening it up, he took two artisan glasses and poured the female attendant a drink.
"It's my pleasure." The female attendant was delighted. Her smile seemed to be able to reach her ears.
She raised her leg and poked Calvin's leg with her own.
Calvin couldn't help but smile.
There was indeed a vast difference between the women of the House of a Thousand Thrusts than ordinary prostitutes. The latter's methods of seducing were crude due to the fact that they had to do it with a lot of men on a daily basis.
The ladies of the House of a Thousand Thrusts were indeed far more refined, proven by the female attendant's actions of poking him with her leg instead of grabbing his hand outright.
Such actions would make anyone feel that the woman they were sitting with was dignified and worthy of respect. It was also aligned with the culture of propriety among the women of Joselian.
But to be frank, the women here and the prostitutes outside were basically the same.
The only difference between the two was how they conducted their services and the number of perfumes and make-ups they used.
Calvin maintained his composure as he asked, "How often do you dream? Have you had any dreams last night?"
"D-dreams...?"
The female attendant was baffled.
She thought that she came here to have some up and down action with this young noble.
But instead, he was asking such a strange question from her?
Even though she was confused, the female attendant answered. "I haven't had a dream for such a long time. It's probably because I never had a good night's sleep since I was transferred to this branch." A wistful look was on her face as she stared at Calvin with puppy eyes.
Calvin smiled. He saw through what the female attendant was thinking.
She was obviously hoping that Calvin would put it in a few good words for her to the management of the House of a Thousand Thrusts.
This way she would receive some favors from the House and be transferred into another branch that had an abundance of young nobles that she could potentially have flings with.
Calvin simply ignored her hints and proceeded to ask, "Does the House do not let you sleep in one of their rooms? Or are the attendants also one of their ladies that can be asked to serve customers?"
The female attendant nodded. "Yes, I also serve customers. I do it any time of the day so long as a customer asks for my service. It's because of this that I don't get a lot of sleep." Since their topic was about sleeping and dreams, the female attendant felt sleepy for some reason.
She started yawning.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" She quickly covered her mouth.
In Ashmelion, it was considered shameful for a woman to yawn in front of a man.
"It's okay. I see so that's the case. Even an attendant like you has it rough, eh? How about you stay here for the night and rejuvenate? I'll talk with your manager, and I am sure that he will be willing to grant me this favor."
Calvin smiled. "Who knows what kind of dream you would have when you sleep here."
After saying all of these—Calvin took a sip of the wine—looking as refined as ever.
The female attendant was astonished. She didn't expect this sudden change. Of course, she anticipated that she would be able to sleep with this young noble, but she didn't expect it to be this easy.
A look of excitement washed over her complexion, but her training forced her to create a pretense of calmness as she simply nodded.
"If that is what the young noble wishes, then please take care of me." Slightly bowing her head in apparent embarrassment that made her look like an innocent young maiden, the female attendant suddenly thought of something as she said. "Young noble, will I have to serve both you and your friend at the same time?"
"Pfft!" Calvin almost spat out the wine that he was drinking.
'How indecent was this woman?!'
'Well, we're in that kind of place, so I guess it's me that was too naive.'
Calvin took a swig of cold water before he replied to her question with a meaningful gaze.
"It's getting late. Can you fetch us some food?"
"Uh... yes! Your Paradise Room includes access to an excellent three-starred chef that will cook according to your tastes!" The female attendant responded.
"It doesn't matter... Just send some dishes here that will help us—" Calvin thought for a moment and remembered that Christine had exhausted herself earlier, "Just send here some dishes that will help us recover our strength. Something refreshing, not too strong in flavor. It must also not have any Ginamus in it!" He sternly warned.
The female attendant acknowledged and a few hours later, she returned with a tray of dishes that brought a blush on the face of Christine.
Even Calvin had a bitter look on his face when he saw the dishes that the beaming female attendant had presented.
"This is uh... Rocky Azucar oysters. It's made out of a bull's testicles and appendage."
"This is Soup Number Five. It's also made out of a bull's appendage."
"As for this dish, this is made from a female pig's reproductive organ..."
"This is a popular dish in our House with a chewy texture. It's called Belat."
"As for tonight's beverage, this is lemon juice with a splash of the Rock-Hard Snake's venom. It's not dangerous when consumed since the snake is venomous, not poisonous. Please rest assured!"
The female attendant looked somewhat embarrassed as she explained these dishes to the baffled Calvin and Christine.
"Um... Were these dishes not to your liking? I ordered them according to your instructions, young noble." She looked in Calvin's way. Afraid that she might have done a fatal mistake that might end her life.
This was understandable given how tyrannical were the children of noble families that this female attendant had once interacted with.
In fact, she could still even remember that time when an attendant accidentally spilled tea on a young master's clothes.
The next day, that woman was discovered dead.
She had been violated by drug addicts until she was dead.
The female attendant didn't want the fate that happened to that woman to fall to her.
This was why she looked so scared and afraid at this moment.
Calvin saw her worried look and he waved his hand in dismissal, hinting that everything was fine.
Christine, on the other hand, was fuming.
If she had her doubts that Calvin didn't want to take advantage of her earlier...
She was now certain after seeing these dishes that this rascal—Calvin—planned on taking advantage of her!
After all...
Who would order these male-enhancing dishes knowing that she wasn't a man, but a woman?!
He was clearly trying to energize for later!
Christine glared at Calvin.
The latter let out a few dry coughs and acted angry at the female attendant.
"Why did you send these dishes to us? Are you mocking our vitality? Do we look that old to you? We're still young! We're not like those old men that can't even keep it up for round one!"
"Change these dishes... right now!"
Calvin declared.
However, his actions didn't seem to be that domineering considering that he looked to be on the verge of laughing as he stared at the furious Christine.
"Y-Yes!"
The female attendant was scared out of her wits. But at the same time, she was confused by the mixed signals that she had received.
Calvin had signaled to her that everything was okay but in the very next moment.
He was suddenly angry at her?
'What was going on?'
Knowing that she couldn't possibly question the customers, the female attendant buried her frustration and proceeded to obey the order.
Back in the room, there was nothing else but silence.
Calvin looked at Christine.
"We're not sleeping in the same bedroom tonight." She suddenly spoke.
"Wasn't that my intention in the first place, though?" Calvin was confused.
"Uh... yeah..." Christine was at a loss for words realizing her blunder.
The panic on her face made Calvin realize what just happened.
And how could Calvin be still Calvin in front of Christine, if he didn't go ahead and tease her?
A cheeky smile suffused on his lips as he said, "Young lady, were you expecting something?"
"No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!"
Christine shot up from her seat and started smacking Calvin on his arm.
Calvin's boisterous laughter soon resounded throughout the room as the two bickered one after another.
Tonight concluded harmoniously until Christine woke up the next day and noticed that Calvin had brought in the female attendant to his bedroom for the night.
"You..."
Christine spoke in horror.