Chapter 47 – Something Small and Tender

The man who came to deliver the report paused before leaving and suddenly said something strange.

“You seem to be in good spirits.”

The cold, green-gray eyes that were fixed on the documents slowly lifted. The captain replied in his usual composed voice.

“Why do you say that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it…”

The clerk, who had straightened his posture out of nervousness, looked embarrassed.

It seemed that mentioning such a thing was an impulsive act, as his face was filled with bewilderment.

However, like most soldiers working at the military office, he was interested in Ansel Blaine.

The captain, who was staring at him expressionlessly, didn’t seem angry, so the clerk mustered the courage to continue speaking.

“It’s just that your demeanor seems different from usual.”

“Ah.”

At that moment, the captain faintly smiled. A subtle smile appeared on the face that had always seemed as cold and composed as if carved from ice.

The clerk couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes, as Ansel was not a statue carved from plaster.

He thought that this smile was the most surprising thing he had seen in the past month at this place.

Then, Captain Blaine murmured in a low voice.

“Something good did happen.”

“Something good…….”

The ambiguous answer left the clerk with a blank expression.

Even in the military office, where they waged daily battles with paperwork, Captain Blaine was an exceptional presence.

This wasn’t just because he was efficient. He seemed like a man obsessed with work.

For someone of his caliber, it wouldn’t be surprising if he passed down the tasks from the higher-ups directly to his subordinates, but he never did.

He never overlooked even the most trivial reports submitted by his subordinates, and he flawlessly handled tasks that were not typically assigned to someone of his rank.

However, he had been acting particularly unusual in the past few days.

The reason was that he had voluntarily started taking on fieldwork that could have easily been handled by non-commissioned officers or even lower-ranking clerks.

Every time there was a minor field check or a communication task with a military base or military court, Captain Blaine would put on his jacket and head out without hesitation.

It was as if he didn’t mind anything as long as he could leave the office.

As a result, there were days when he spent most of his working hours outside.

The subordinates who would have normally been assigned those mundane tasks were pleased with the unexpected free time, yet they speculated about the captain’s behavior.

The most popular theory was that he was using the work as an excuse to secretly meet with Lady Talbot during work hours.

However, it was revealed that his absence was unrelated to a romantic rendezvous when Lady Talbot visited the office one day while he was away.

Naturally, his subordinates’ thoughts shifted.

They believed that the captain’s obsessive dedication to work was likely to quickly climb the ranks, but even he must have started to feel exhausted.

So, he was probably taking solace in getting some fresh air whenever he could.

The subordinates, who were well aware of the amount of work he handled, all agreed with this theory.

Despite the extended absences, there were no complaints because he completed his assigned tasks with pathological perfection.

They merely hoped for the captain to regain his composure soon.

After all, for soldiers, there is nothing more exhilarating than serving under a competent superior.

‘…Would it be rude to ask what the good thing is?’

The clerk, excited that the superior who seemed difficult had joined in the conversation so readily, cautiously observed the captain’s demeanor.

He was probably about to be told to leave, but the captain appeared to be lost in thought for a moment. His usually stern eyes were unusually softened.

While marveling at how handsome he was, the clerk saw the captain’s lips curve into a slight smile again as he glanced down at the report.

It was a smile that seemed to recall something small and tender.

“Did you meet a stray cat in the field?”

The clerk impulsively asked again. His face turned red as the words had slipped out unintentionally.

“Well, it’s just that you weren’t wearing your coat when you returned, so I was joking…”

“Something like that.”

“…Pardon?”

Ansel, responding softly to the question that was not at all soldier-like, was still smiling. It was faint, but it was there.

“I’ve never looked forward to the evening like this before.”

Murmuring so, the captain briefly checked his pocket watch and picked up his pen again.

His eyes, which had been on the documents, suddenly held a cold calmness. It was finally the familiar sight.

So much so that the conversation they had just had felt like something imagined.

‘Cat…?’

Then, Captain Blaine, with his gaze lowered, waved his hand dismissively.

The clerk, who had been rubbing his eyes in a daze, bowed deeply and hurriedly left the room.

* * *

The bathroom had a large window overlooking the hill, and the walls, columns, statues, and bathtub were all elegantly ivory.

The floor was made of large white and black marble tiles in a grid pattern, so polished that one could see their reflection.

Eloise, lying in the warm, steaming bathtub, let out an involuntary sigh.

It felt as though her accumulated fatigue and sorrow were melting away into the warm water. If only the water wouldn’t cool, she wished she could stay submerged all day.

After calming her mind and body in the warm bubbles for a while, her thoughts became a bit clearer.

She was finally able to objectively contemplate her situation.

Her languid voice echoed in the steam-filled bathroom.

“Be honest, Eloise, what do you want to do?”

For now, she didn’t want to return to Maybury. She still loved her family, but she couldn’t shake the guilt of having hurt them.

Even though she had mustered the courage to be honest about her feelings, facing her family was still daunting.

Her parents and sister had only comforted her and never blamed her.

They hadn’t hurt her in any way. So, ultimately, it was her own issue. She couldn’t go back until she overcame this feeling herself.

Eloise knew that well.

That’s why she had come to the capital. But the point she needed to focus on now was that she was in Ansel Blaine’s house, the source of all her anguish.

Specifically, in his bathtub, with an expression of pure bliss on her face.

‘…Bliss? Get a grip.’

Eloise continued her thoughts, pressing her cheeks as if to punish herself.

That man had done the crazy thing of proposing to Sarah Bailey while claiming to love her, Eloise Bailey.

As a result, with that engagement broken, the Baileys’ hopes were shattered, and the marriage prospects for their eldest daughter, Sarah, became uncertain.

Of course, it wasn’t as if her sister couldn’t marry anyone in the future.

She was too fine a lady to remain unmarried.

However, because of this broken engagement, she would end up marrying someone a few steps away from her ideal. Every time Eloise recalled this fact, her heart felt as if it were being painfully cut.

That’s why, even after receiving a love confession from Ansel, she felt more guilt than joy, and just harboring feelings for him made her feel sinful.

“Right. It’s true that being here is something even I find hard to accept.”

However, Eloise wasn’t reckless enough to reject his kindness in this situation.

She didn’t have enough money to immediately find a place to stay, and she had just lost her job.

In a capital full of suspicious people, there was no one as reliable as Ansel. Unfortunately, this was the reality.

Even so, the fact that living here with him was something that shouldn’t happen remained unchanged.

Of course, he had shown her kindness, and she hadn’t yet sorted out her feelings for him, and her family hadn’t blamed her even after she confessed everything…

“Don’t entertain crazy thoughts, please.”

So, wouldn’t it be okay like this? 

As that weak thought tried to surface, Eloise pinched her submerged thigh hard.

“I’ve done enough shameful things.”

She decided to stay only until she found a proper place to live. She would find a job as soon as possible. That was the conclusion.

Imagining the dignified Mrs. Bailey fainting from shock at the scandalous fact that she was staying at Ansel Blaine’s house, Eloise quietly swallowed a sigh.

‘……I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to leave as soon as possible.’

Though she wasn’t so naive as to confess this unseemly matter directly, Eloise was never good at keeping secrets from her family.

Therefore, the time she deceived her family had to be as short as possible, before the tight guilt choked her.

Once she organized her thoughts to some extent, she felt a bit lighter.

Now, she thought she could meet Ansel without stumbling like a fool and face him rationally.

The vain desire to determine whether his feelings for her were still love or just a light favor also gradually dissipated with the bubbles in the bathtub.

Yes. It was all a futile matter anyway. Accepting that obvious fact brought a sense of relief.

Yawning lazily, Eloise thought as she slid back into the water.

‘Can I stay a bit longer? Once I get out, I’ll dry my hair, and, though it’s embarrassing, I’ll ask for a little food. I’ll wear the cleanest clothes…’

However, Eloise never anticipated that she would fall asleep like that.

She had been asleep for a long time. The urgent sound of knocking echoed in the bathroom.

Eloise, who was in the now-cold bathtub with all the bubbles gone, groggily lifted her head.

“Please come out.”

It was right after that when Eloise, blinking slowly with dazed eyes, froze with a startled, rabbit-like expression.

“The master has returned.”