Chapter 50 – Beneath the Deep Lake

“Fine.”

But the response she received was somehow a bit softened.

“Then should I give you a job? I happen to have something suitable.”

“What is it?”

When the tense Eloise asked back, Ansel gave a leisurely answer.

“Have dinner with me. Here, at this time every day. Being my conversation partner is included.”

“……What kind of job is that? It’s absurd.”

Eloise responded with a furrowed brow, as if she had no choice. However, Ansel still maintained a calm demeanor.

His broad shoulders, clad in a thin dress shirt, rose and fell gently.

“Dining alone is quite uninspiring. Since leaving the family, I haven’t had anyone to talk to.”

In truth, Ansel Blaine was more reticent than necessary and disliked when someone initiated conversation.

Eloise, unaware of this fact, wore a contemplative expression, and Ansel, leaning back against the chair, added another word.

“The guilt of disappointing the family weighs heavily on my shoulders, yet the work I have to deal with seems endless day by day. It’s all becoming overwhelming, and I’m starting to find everything burdensome.”

“That’s…”

He wore an indifferent face, but his words sounded incredibly serious.

Eloise swallowed dryly and spoke with difficulty.

“Even if I’m supposed to be a conversation partner, what could I possibly say to a military officer…….”

“Anything. For example, what happened today, what you dreamed about last night. Stories from your childhood would be nice too.”

“…”

“I don’t want to be treated like a soldier even in my own home.”

Her small lips moved as if to refute again. Noticing this, Ansel continued speaking leisurely.

“For me, it’s a very important matter. It means the task you’ll undertake in exchange for staying here is a significant responsibility. It’s not a difficult task, is it?”

“Sir, it’s not that it’s difficult…”

“Even if you doze off like today, it’s fine. You’ll wake up to the sound of me changing clothes when I return. My room is very close to the room you’ll be staying in.”

At those words, Eloise blinked blankly.

As if trying to confirm whether she had interpreted what she just heard correctly. However, still not dispelling her doubts, she decided to ask directly.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Didn’t the maid give you a room?”

“She said it was a guest room…”

“Yes, you can use that. There won’t be any guests coming to this house anyway, except for you.”

Eloise wanted to say that the room was too extravagant for her, but there was a more important issue at hand.

“So the room directly opposite is…”

“My bedroom.”

Ansel’s smooth chin nodded lightly. As if kindly pointing it out once more. Deeply gazing at the pale Eloise, he added in a gentle tone.

“It would be nice to exchange morning greetings, but I don’t expect that since I leave early for work. So you can sleep in as much as you want.”

“…”

Eloise was so flustered that she couldn’t continue speaking.

‘It’s already overwhelming enough to be under the same roof…….’

Even if she had lived at Fairmont House following her sister, who became Ansel’s wife, the mere thought of possibly encountering him in the hallway or garden, regardless of where his room was, would have made her heart race all day.

But to think Ansel’s bedroom was just beyond her room.

Just one door away from the space where he sleeps and wakes!

‘That’s… too much…’

At that proximity, she felt as though she could hear even the smallest sounds he made. Like if he talked in his sleep like a child, or perhaps other…

‘…This isn’t right. Absolutely not.’

Feeling a light dizziness, Eloise unconsciously covered her lips.

This was absurd. Naturally, he would also sense any movement she made.

Even though this was the capital of the kingdom, when night fell, the surroundings became as quiet as beneath a deep lake.

‘What if he opens the door and comes in while half-asleep?’

At that thought, Eloise’s eyes squeezed shut.

“Eloise?”

“…Alright.”

As if she had made up her mind, Eloise let out a faint breath and lifted her soft, honey-colored eyelashes with determination.

“I’ll do it. Having dinner together and being your conversation partner isn’t difficult. I don’t know if I can be a satisfying conversation partner, though.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

You’re already doing well. Just by breathing here, I’d be satisfied. 

Thinking that, as Ansel lazily smiled, Eloise spoke.

“But I’ll use the attic as my room.”

“What?”

As Ansel’s firm upper body suddenly leaned forward, the candle on the table flickered with a shiver.

His long, extended gaze had narrowed like the tip of a blade. The leisure he had shown until now was nowhere to be found.

“I saw there’s an attic. I saw it before you arrived.”

“…You’re joking, right? That’s not a room, it’s a storage space. I’m not so heartless as to let you sleep in the dust.”

It was obvious he thought it was nonsense, yet he only slightly furrowed his brows and answered calmly.

Not raising his voice was probably a virtue of being a nobleman.

Encouraged by his consideration, Eloise spoke again.

“I’m quite confident in cleaning. I’ve been doing it myself since I was young. Although we have someone to help with housekeeping, they often cleared away my cherished pebbles or feathers, not knowing their importance…”

Suppressing the words that those trivial items were precious because they were collected with him, Eloise quickly continued.

“I’ll clean and organize it neatly. Anyway, once I find a job, I’ll mostly only be in the room to sleep, so it’s fine.”

I’ve always wanted to try living in an attic once. 

Eloise added nonchalantly, and Ansel responded as if he were amazed.

“It would be nice if you gave me a chance to understand the psychology of wanting to climb up to a dusty attic when you have a perfectly good room.”

Eloise couldn’t miss that his words were a very elegant way of dismissing her idea.

She knew nothing about the language of noble society, but his expression, cold as if carved from white marble, showed no mercy.

However, Eloise had no intention of backing down.

“If you don’t allow it, I’ll leave here immediately.”

“Ha.”

With a shallow sigh, Ansel’s throat bobbed quietly as he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. A tightly restrained low tone continued, as if holding something back.

“Are you going home?”

“I can’t go home. Not yet.”

“Then.”

“Um, first… I’ll have to find a place that will take pity on my situation. There might be a job that pays in advance or a room that doesn’t require a deposit. There seem to be quite a few kind people in the capital.”

No way.

Ansel’s hand clenched the wine glass tightly.

Every word she spoke grated on his nerves. It was almost as if she was deliberately provoking him.

If she wasn’t going to stay under his protection, he wanted to forcibly send her back to Maybury.

At least there, she wouldn’t be a stranger. So there wouldn’t be men with curious, filthy eyes groping her.

Eloise Bailey undoubtedly still thought of herself as the village’s unwanted girl.

She seemed completely unaware of how breathtakingly beautiful she had grown.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to say such innocent things so nonchalantly.

Ansel’s patience was already at its limit just by not interrogating her about what had happened during the time he couldn’t find her.

“Why are you so determined to stay in the capital?”

“…I don’t really want to answer that.”

Ansel almost broke the glass he was holding. He had a history of breaking glasses for the same reason before.

He quietly set the half-filled glass down and tilted his head slightly to look at Eloise.

‘Why? Are you trying to find a marriage partner here?’

As their gazes perfectly aligned, a vile and obsessive emotion surged up to his throat.

But Ansel exerted superhuman reason to suppress it.

It had taken a long period of endurance to meet her again and bring her here.

He had to endure so as not to scare her away and lose her again.

‘Until I can have you completely.’

The bones protruding over his tightly clenched fist were starkly white.

“I don’t know what kind of fantasy you have, but this place isn’t as beautiful as you think.”

“I know.”

“I’m telling you to stay indoors as much as possible. If you happen to meet strangers, ignore them. Especially if they’re men, but don’t let your guard down even if they’re women.”

It felt like he’s treating me like a child. 

Eloise suddenly thought that.

Perhaps it was because of his composed tone, which didn’t reveal any worry or anxiety.

His words felt like mere habitual charity.

“I already know things like that, Sir Ansel. That’s why I plan to leave here as soon as I find a place to stay.”

Seized by an unknown stubbornness, Eloise replied in a spirited tone.

“You might think I haven’t changed much since I was young, but I’ve grown up too.”

“…”

No. You’ve completely changed. When you were young, you didn’t drive me crazy like this.

Naturally, instead of revealing such sincerity, Ansel swallowed it down his throat. His voice continued, steady and unchanging.

“Alright, as long as you know.”

In response to that calm voice, Eloise finally felt relieved.

Feeling proud of her negotiation skills, she smiled quite satisfactorily.

The food on the table was no longer steaming, but now she felt she could continue the meal comfortably.

Unaware that the man in front of her had stepped back for fear of losing her again, and oblivious to the emotions lurking beneath his calm exterior, Eloise picked up her utensils again.

Thus, their first dinner together resumed.