Chapter 55 –  You Drive Me Crazy

“So.”

Just then, with all emotion seemingly drained from his face, Ansel posed the ultimate challenge.

“What is this great job that leads your life?”

“…”

“What’s the job you said you were introduced to?”

It was a pressing inquiry. Eloise’s bright blue eyes couldn’t hide her dismay.

‘Should I tell the truth? But if I’m straightforward, he might despise me…’

She had sarcastically remarked that if even a noble like him worked, there was nothing a commoner like her couldn’t do. However, the job she was going to do was entirely different in weight from the military officer position dedicated to the kingdom’s safety.

As Eloise averted her gaze hesitantly, Ansel asked again.

“Why can’t you speak? Is it perhaps something you’re not proud of?”

“It’s that…”

The woman could not continue, her face filled with difficulty.

Ansel’s brow furrowed deeply, and then he spoke in a chilling low tone.

“…Do you really have to leave here to that extent?”

“I was sincere about leaving from the start.”

“Rather than let you go, I should keep you here. Have you forgotten where you are?”

The transparent eyes that met hers were intensely authoritative.

His gaze felt like a noose tightening around her neck, fierce eyes as if they could lash out at any moment.

“Don’t think I’m leaving you alone because I can’t keep you here.”

“…”

“Ha, you’re going to ruin yourself just to leave me…”

Only then did Eloise realize that Ansel was deeply misunderstanding something.

The manager at Old Bridge had said.

Even here in Brightnum, it hasn’t been long since women started working. So, many disadvantages are taken for granted, and as an alternative, some women…

‘Night work!’

‘Many women who came out to work to support their families ended up drifting into that kind of work. Especially young ladies like you, Miss Bailey. It’s a trap. Once you’re in, you can’t get out.’

If this was the misunderstanding, she could understand his displeased reaction.

Ansel Blaine, the grandson of the Earl of Huntington, and the vulgar men on the streets were as different as light and darkness.

Ansel was the most noble and beautiful man she had ever known.

What could she do if the job she had found appeared trivial in his eyes? Their worlds were different from the start.

Sitting across from him in the same space, she should not forget this fact.

Eloise could distinctly feel Ansel’s breath growing rougher.

Despite the chill running down her spine, it was not right to feel ashamed of the opportunity the caretaker had given her.

The new job would expand her world once more. Therefore, Eloise intended to do her best.

She was indeed scared, but she couldn’t run away just for that reason.

“Sir Ansel, I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

At that moment, two maids entered the dining room and began to lay napkins, cutlery, empty plates, and glasses on the table.

Eloise leaned back slightly and continued in a soft voice.

“…It’s not the kind of job you’re thinking of.”

“Do you know what I’m thinking?”

As Ansel retorted, he immediately downed the water filled in the glass before him.

His thick neck muscles prominently moved above the stiff collar of his uniform.

Eloise involuntarily curled her toes at his uncharacteristically harsh demeanor.

“That… something contemptible…”

But if she said it was not selling her youth but working in a slaughterhouse, would he nod in understanding without contempt? The moment that doubt arose, her words stopped naturally.

‘Because it’s a job that even I find dreadful.’

She couldn’t just watch as Ansel’s calm eyes slowly darkened, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the glass became prominently visible.

As if resolved, Eloise parted her lips again.

“It’s a meat factory.”

“…What?”

“Sir, you’ll break the glass.”

At her words, Ansel finally relaxed his grip on the glass.

The emotion in his eyes was still sharp, but it didn’t seem like contempt for something vile.

‘Should I be relieved…?’

But what was certain was that he was not hiding his displeasure.

“What kind of factory did you say?

Even though there was no mistake in what he heard, he asked again.

His voice was terribly low. One eyebrow was slightly twisted, a clear sign of aversion.

“A meat factory, Sir Ansel.”

Just then, a delicious-smelling veal dish was placed before them.

At the touch of a knife, the meat would surely melt in the mouth, tender enough to dissolve on the tongue.

Eloise had always enjoyed meat dishes with an innocent face all her life.

As much as she ate well without fuss, she particularly loved meat, which left her lips glossy with grease and her cheeks bulging.

However, perhaps because of her upcoming work at the meat factory, the caramelized roasted meat didn’t seem entirely appetizing.

Ironically, something else came to mind first.

For instance, the look in the eyes of the animal before it became meat…

‘Miss, can you slaughter a pig? You’ll be covered in blood in no time.’

Something a stranger once said in the square.

‘It also takes quite a bit of strength to cleanly remove the bones and guts.’

Could I really do such work? What if I faint while working? 

Such worries continually troubled her mind.

The moment the meat dish was placed before her felt like a test.

After speaking in a very firm tone, Eloise looked decidedly disheartened as she couldn’t even lift her cutlery until all the dishes were laid on the table.

After watching her for a moment, Ansel, picking up his cutlery, murmured softly.

“Why do you have to do such work?”

“…People can’t do without meat in their daily lives. So it’s a very important and necessary job. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Eloise seemed to be convincing herself.

Each of her words sounded painfully difficult.

“So I don’t think you should speak that way.”

“…”

Ansel knew Eloise Bailey was not easily swayed.

He also quite liked that about her.

But the fact that she was enduring a job she herself found daunting, just to leave his house, was immensely irritating to him.

She had refused him with such pitiful eyes that night.

She had looked back with a face that seemed ready to cry. If this was the result, why did she come back…

‘Ha, as if doing me a favor.’

From the moment she mentioned the ridiculous attic story, to saying she would find a job and a new place, Ansel had thought this lovely woman was saying things she didn’t mean to hide her embarrassment.

But such desperate defiance.

Since she entered his home, Ansel’s daily life had completely changed.

He could now vividly picture Eloise Bailey, sitting at his table, wearing the clothes he gifted her, in his house.

In the evening, he could actually meet her like that.

A snide laugh escaped through his teeth at the thought of his once idle, no, utterly foolish self.

At the same time, a terrible love-hate for the woman who trampled on his heart so casually, with such an innocent face, arose.

Ansel began to cut the meat in front of him with a very leisurely and elegant hand.

Yet, his gaze was thoroughly fixed on Eloise, almost like a silent warning.

Feeling a wave-like chill spread from her nape, Eloise quickly lowered her gaze, but all she saw was the tender meat being mercilessly sliced by the knife he held.

Swallowing dryly, she barely moved her lips.

“Did my words anger you?”

Her lips trembled, but her face remained painfully pale. Ansel suddenly felt a surge of anger.

A twisted thought that he should forcibly restrain her twisted inside him.

However, he mechanically continued to carve large chunks of meat, responding quite calmly.

“Of course not.”

“…You said you loved me from the very beginning. Without missing a single day.”

But when she posed an unexpectedly bold question, Ansel halted his actions almost as if he had minced the veal.

“Yes.”

A silence followed. Eloise asked again in a slightly smaller voice.

“Do you still love me now?”

“…”

What is she trying to say now? 

With that thought, Ansel silently gazed into Eloise’s jewel-like eyes.

However, Eloise had no intention of taking his answer seriously, regardless of what it might be.

Even if he claimed to love her, there was no permitted future for them.

For a nobleman like him, with both background and honor, this emotion might later remain as a momentary amusement or perhaps a tale of youthful folly, but it was different for Eloise.

For her, everything with him would become a sin, leaving a mark on her.

In fact, just the guilt of staying at his house without her family knowing often overwhelmed her.

Eloise did not wait for Ansel’s response any longer and parted her lips.

Since he had brought her here, his reaction was predictable. He would try to soothe and appease her with care.

“I still don’t quite understand what kind of love you spoke of to me.”

“…”

“But if it’s the same kind of love I’m thinking of, I would like you to respect me.”

But Ansel was exceedingly cold.

“Don’t you think you’re not respecting me?”

Was it just a lack of respect?

She brought a storm into his quiet life, made him leave his family, flew into the cage he prepared for her, bringing him joy, and now she was giving him hellish agony.

With such a terribly lovely and innocent face.

“What? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

That was the point.

“You’re driving me crazy right now.”