Chapter 241: Private Photos
Finding Kyle's temporary residence wasn't difficult. As a visiting demi-human, he had registered his current address with the Inquisition upon settling down in Silver City. Furthermore, the letter he sent to Ophelia also included a return address: an affordable inn, offering weekly and monthly rentals, located only about a thirty-minute walk from Rose Iron Prison.
The next morning, Aiden followed the address to the inn, located the corresponding room, and tentatively knocked on the door.
Several seconds passed without any response. He tried knocking again.
Aiden began to suspect Kyle might be out, hesitating between coming back another day or finding a nearby spot to wait.
But before he could decide, the door suddenly opened a crack, revealing half of a pale, bloodless face—it was Kyle Kaodo. Upon seeing the visitor, his eyes widened: "Warden?"
"Apologies, did I disturb your rest?" Aiden tipped his hat. His first thought was that Kyle had likely been fast asleep in bed, woken by his knocking. After all, most blood-kin were nocturnal; for them, a human's morning was their evening.
"Not at all, not at all!" Kyle pasted a polite smile on his face and opened the door wider. "What brings you here?"
"Well..." Aiden started to speak, then suddenly froze. He noticed another person in the room: a young woman sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking a cigarette. She wore a nurse's uniform—clearly a cheap knock-off, scandalously low on fabric—with a man's suit jacket draped over her shoulders.
Witnessing this scene, Aiden raised an eyebrow. After about a second to process the situation, he nodded at Kyle. "Perhaps I should indeed come back this afternoon. You may continue with the second half."
"Wait, wait..." Kyle quickly stopped Aiden. "Have you perhaps misunderstood something?"
"It's alright, Mr. Kaodo. I only manage the prison, I don't investigate personal conduct. I saw nothing, so I won't gossip. I respect others' privacy," Aiden offered an understanding, polite smile, then gave a slight bow. "Farewell."
"See, haven't you completely misunderstood!?" Kyle threw up his hands. "Please don't jump to conclusions! This is just my profession; I need to earn a living too!"
"Profession?" Aiden paused, then realization dawned, and he immediately lowered his voice. "Meaning... you're the one receiving payment?"
"No!!" Kyle firmly denied. "I'm a photographer, a photographer! I take portraits!"
Kyle pointed to the desk in the room. Only then did Aiden notice a camera sitting there—unlike the hobbyist type he occasionally fiddled with at the prison, Kyle's was the professional kind used by newspaper reporters.
"Does portrait photography need to happen in your rented room?" Aiden asked doubtfully.
"Please don't lump me in with those ill-intentioned scumbags in the industry! As an undead blood-kin, I don't even possess lust. How could I do such a thing?" Kyle placed one hand on his chest, the other on Aiden's shoulder, looking directly into Aiden's eyes, his face radiating righteousness.
"So why in your room?"
"As you can see, it's a nurse uniform photo set. It requires setting up a hospital room scene. I couldn't possibly borrow a real hospital room; they'd kick me out," Kyle spread his hands. "Coincidentally, the bed color in my inn room is quite suitable. I just hire models, take photos, and sell them to magazines. That's all. I absolutely haven't crossed any lines with the models. In that regard, I consider myself the conscience of the industry."
"Sell to magazines?" The rightful source is noⅴelfire.net
"'Beep Beep Girl', published in the autonomous state—you must have seen it, right? Pretty much every adult man here should have!" Kyle stated confidently. "Also, 'Flowery Gentleman' from the Empire, 'Little Black Room Collection' from the Netherlands... I've collaborated with magazines from various places, selling individual photos to them!"
"The ones you just mentioned all sound like adult magazines..." Aiden pointed out calmly. No wonder the guy used lewd pictures as bribes; he was a producer of them himself.
"I only pursue artistic value!" Kyle insisted.
"Alright, alright, I believe you, I believe you." Aiden held up his hand. "Undead are indeed... lacking in that department. But I still have to ask, you haven't broken any laws, have you?"
"How could I? See, the runes on my neck are perfectly fine! You can check if you don't believe me." Kyle tilted his head up, showing Aiden the circle of runes on his neck.
"Okay," Aiden nodded. "Well, it seems I've interrupted your work. I'll visit again later."
"No, no, the shoot just finished. We just need to wait for the model to change," Kyle snapped his fingers. "Apologies, Miss Mary, I have an important guest right now. How about we discuss that drink tonight?"
The model sitting in the room glanced unhappily at Aiden standing by the door, then got up and walked towards a corner of the room, pulling shut a makeshift curtain.
After a while, the model left, changed and carrying her bag. Only then did Kyle invite Aiden into the room.
"Haha, there's not much to offer guests in an inn. How about I show you my recent proudest works?" Kyle said with a dry laugh. "The set I just took needs to be developed somewhere first. You can admire my work from the past few days..."
"Later, perhaps," Aiden waved him off.
"Then let me pour you a cup of coffee. Since I had a shoot today, I had the inn prepare a pot," Kyle walked to the table and picked up the pot and a cup.
"So you've been busy with this kind of work since arriving in the autonomous state? I thought you were investigating," Aiden asked, remaining standing with his arms crossed, watching Kyle.
"Investigation requires clues. I wish I could be busy investigating, but honestly, aside from that useless Earl I caught in the red-light district, I haven't found a single trace," Kyle sighed. "Coincidentally, I was planning to visit you soon anyway, to ask if the Inquisition had made any progress."
"They haven't, but I have," Aiden smoothly transitioned into the topic. "Last night, a blood-kin Countess from the Blood Moon Cult came to my prison attempting a jailbreak, wanting to take Ophelia out—"
A sharp shattering sound suddenly interrupted Aiden's voice—the handle of the cup in Kyle's hand abruptly broke, and the cup fell to the floor, smashing into pieces.