Oh my… Eloise immediately explained, "The person I see as a brother is going to sleep, and I was helping him get more comfortable by taking off his coat. Isn't that reasonable?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the footage showed her pulling Quintus's shirt off, leaving lipstick marks on it.
Eloise was terrified to the point of madness, and began babbling incoherently, "N-no, you don't understand! It's actually a ritual. When you remove a person's closest clothing, imprint it with a lipstick mark, and then toss it to the ground, it's said to grant them sweet dreams."
She solemnly emphasized, "Quintus… my elder brother has always had sleep issues. I was just acting out of concern as his little sister!"
Isidore's face darkened, like the bottom of a pot. Clenching his jaw to suppress his fury, he shot a fierce glare at her as she tried to approach with a flattering smile, then pointed toward the corner behind the sofa. "Go stand over there and face the wall!" Eloise twitched her face, "Please, I'm not a child…"
"Still, not, going?" Isidore spoke each word slowly, as if scraping a knife on rough ground. Eloise hurriedly ran to the corner, standing there like an elementary school student with her hands clasped in front of her stomach, her nose touching her chest.
She stood obediently for a few seconds, then tremblingly turned her head, stealing glances at the screen behind her, preparing herself for the worst, should Isidore see an even more shocking scene and explode in anger.
Isidore was watching as she removed Quintus's pants. His back appeared calm, yet from the taut line of his shoulders, it was clear that a fierce anger burned within him. Eloise wanted to explain, opened her mouth, but ended up just regretting her actions.
At that moment, she heard her own pained cry from the screen. The reason was that a second ago, her head had hit the brass statue at the end of the bed. Isidore was silent for a few seconds before asking, his voice tight, "Are you alright?"
At last, Eloise found the opportunity to play the victim, immediately seizing it with great flair. She whimpered as she rubbed the back of her head, "I hit such a huge bump!" Seeing no reaction from Isidore, she gathered her courage and dashed over, collapsing beside his thigh, crying pitifully, "It hurts so much!"
Isidore gave her an annoyed look, pulled her into his arms, and found the bump, rubbing it roughly while gritting his teeth, muttering, "Serves you right!" Eloise, like a cat, obediently lay on his thigh, enjoying the sensation of his large, warm hand gently massaging her head. The dull pain she had felt earlier seemed to ease.
The sensation of comfort was interrupted when the hand on her head suddenly froze. It turned out the television was showing the moment when she had removed her underwear and placed it on Quintus's face. The voice from above drifted down softly, as though echoing from a deep, distant abyss: "Might I inquire, what kind of ritual is this?"
Eloise buried her face in his thigh, pretending to be dead, but suddenly felt a large hand reach for her bare bottom and pinch it sharply. "Ah!" she cried, her body jerking upright like a spring, her face, flushed with pain, tilted upwards.
Isidore was about to lean down to reprimand her when his attention was diverted by the screen—Eloise was sneakily reaching toward Quintus's lower body... Thank heavens, thank the Jade Emperor, the sudden sound of a knock at the door interrupted her actions.
What he had seen earlier was enough to drive Isidore mad. The angrier he got, the more his smile grew, sending chills down Eloise's spine. In a tone of reason, he said, "Isn't this seduction?"
"No, it's not!" Eloise lied through her teeth to save her life. "I just saw a little bug on his underwear and wanted to help him get rid of it."
Isidore let out a laugh. "You're not admitting it, huh?" Eloise smiled innocently, "I'm not seducing him!" Isidore raised an eyebrow, "Refusing to admit it, are we?" Eloise smiled innocently, her expression endearingly naïve, "I've told you, there was no temptation involved!"
The two of them repeated the same conversation like a broken record for over ten times. Furious, Isidore drew a gun from his waist, pointing the dark muzzle at Eloise. He squinted his eyes and smiled. "Still not admitting it? You know, I hate people who ruin others' relationships, but I hate those who dare to act but won't own up to it even more."
Eloise swallowed, her eyes now filled with sincere repentance, "Yes, that's right, I intended to seduce him! You truly are wise beyond measure, to have seen through it all! I was wrong, I deeply acknowledge my mistake! I shouldn't have..."
She gasped.
Isidore tapped the side of her hip with the gun, signaling her to stand up. He tilted his head. "If you hadn't been interrupted by the knock on the door, how were you planning to seduce him?" He looked at her, his gaze like a bottomless pit. "Right here, in full detail, perform it for me to see."
He moved his wrist slightly, and Eloise felt that the hem of her skirt was being lifted by a hard metal object. The cold muzzle of a handgun slowly traced the shape of her hip, firmly inserting itself into the bare space between her legs.
