"The Platinum Suite had Clockmaker motifs, and so did rooms in the lower tiers, to some degree."
"Is it only the Diamond Suite that doesn't have them now, or have they been removed from every suite?"
Yan Huan spoke quietly, with his usual hint of laziness, but his words were like a stone dropped into a still lake. Silent ripples spread through the luxurious suite.
At that, the excitement drained from March 7th's face, replaced by disbelief and a trace of fear.
Holy crap, The Family is quietly erasing The Nameless again!
She swept her gaze around the room. The exquisite emblems of the Five Great Family Lines gleamed against the lavish decor.
The strength of oak, the vitality of clover, the elegance of iris...
Only one symbol was missing: the gears and clock hands that stood for the Trailblaze, for those who had first come selflessly to this prison and given it new life.
March 7th spun toward the manager and the attendant, her pink-and-blue eyes wide with unmistakable displeasure.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do Clockmaker motifs not deserve a place in the guest rooms? The clock in the lobby was gone too!"
For an instant, the air seemed to freeze.
A hairline crack appeared for the first time in the female manager's perfectly calibrated smile.
It was not panic. Her response had been struck at its weakest point, and she needed every ounce of professionalism to cover the gap.
Her straight back seemed to stiffen, but by the next moment her smile was flawless again, softer than before and full of deep regret.
She drew a breath and dipped into a graceful, solemn bow, deeper and more deferential than any she had given before.
"Mr. Yan Huan, Miss March 7th."
Her voice remained smooth, though a careful