Some employees at grand hotels had their own lounges—usually rather small rooms.
That had always been the case. Even for someone in a high-ranking position like a butler, their living quarters were not necessarily much larger than a guest-room bathroom, and they were often quite messy.
Mr. Gustav's bedroom was small as well, but it was extremely refined, much like the man himself.
After finishing the work at hand, Mr. Gustav quickly returned to his bedroom. After a brief rest, he still had to prepare the final arrangements for the evening's banquet.
He was a meticulous man. Aunt Tiffany favored this quality in him, which was why she had continued grooming him as her successor.
Starting from the lowest position as a doorman and working his way up to floor butler, he had built an enormous network of connections. Mr. Gustav discovered that he unexpectedly enjoyed his current profession.
It was precisely because he had such an extensive network that Mr. Gustav also possessed remarkably powerful intelligence-gathering abilities.
At that moment, he locked his bedroom door. After securing it, Mr. Gustav hurried to the only small desk in the room and pulled open a drawer.
He took out a notebook and quickly flipped through it—until he reached the final page.
On the final page was a mark he had drawn in pencil from memory. This mark was exactly the same as the one on the old leather suitcase hidden in Mr. Dillins's luggage—or at least, there was very little difference.
After all, this mark had been drawn later by Mr. Gustav based on his own recollection. It was a mark he had inadvertently seen on a letter—more precisely, on a letter in the collection of the lawyer responsible for handling the hotel's business affairs.
That letter belonged to the true