Chapter 61 – A Longing and Regretful Evening  

The woman’s cheeks, flushed red like a ripe tomato, showed just how breathless she was from running.

Her hair was so disheveled that it was difficult to tell if it was tied or loose.

Moreover, the first thing she said upon opening the door was…

“Sorry! Could you prepare a bath for me?”

“Ugh…”

Ansel’s maid involuntarily frowned.

It was a rare lapse for her to break the maid’s code of not showing emotions or asking too many questions.

“What is this smell? And what on earth is that stuck to your clothes?”

“Oh, it’s chicken feathers. I tried so hard to get them off…”

Eloise could only give a naive smile to the maid, who wore a sour expression.

There wasn’t much time left to go into detailed explanations.

“I need to wash up quickly before Sir Ansel returns. Please.”

“……”

The maid was not keen on allowing a guest who brought such a foul odor into the beautifully kept and clean house.

However, showing this woman in such a state to her master and having her dine with him was equally unthinkable.

If she had to choose, the latter was worse…

“…Alright. I need to heat the water, but please go straight to the bathroom and undress.”

“Yes, thank you…”

As the maid turned sharply, Eloise quietly entered the house.

It felt somewhat inappropriate to step into this fine house covered in sweat and livestock smells, so her small feet hurried more than ever towards the bathroom.

* * *

Had I ever bathed so diligently in my life?

Eloise had already drenched herself several times, scrubbing her soapy body until it squeaked.

Her once white skin had turned red in places, and some areas stung a bit when touched.

‘Even after all this…’

Yet, when she brought her hand to her nose and inhaled, there was still a chicken smell.

It was inevitable, given that she had been handling chickens all day. But what if the smell lingered on her hands forever?

Eloise sniffed various parts of her body like a dog that had just turned into a human.

Shoulders, wrists, and the tender skin inside her elbows. Fortunately, apart from her hands, the smell seemed to be gone.

‘This should be fine. It’s not like he’s going to kiss the back of my hand.’

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, her face flushed without her realizing it, but Eloise quickly shook her head to dispel such improper thoughts.

Jewellike drops of water scattered everywhere from her wet hair.

After busily drying herself, wiping her hair, and donning the indoor dress prepared for her, Eloise hurriedly took out her diary before Ansel returned.

The emotions of completing her first shift at the meat factory, which she had worried about, would quickly fade if not captured in her diary.

Soon, only boredom would remain.

However, Eloise couldn’t write her sentences in her usual neat handwriting.

The fact that she had taken out her diary after such a long time seemed pointless, as her mind was busy with other thoughts while writing.

He would surely ask how my day was. What should I say?

If she answered too bluntly, she might receive a stern rebuke or even a look of disdain.

There were countless things today that even someone like her, who wasn’t a noble, could frown upon.

How much more so for the refined Ansel Blaine.

Moreover, most of what happened at the factory wasn’t suitable for dinner conversation.

For instance, what she discovered when she opened the slaughterhouse door early in the morning, how plucking chicken feathers was a battle not just with feathers but with chicken droppings, and what kind of smells pervaded the workshop…

“Hah, how can I talk about this to him… I can’t.”

Eloise stifled a painful sigh, covering her face with her palms.

The faint chicken smell that seemed to linger on her hands made her even more unsettled.

In the end, Eloise resolved to share only the good stories and nodded firmly.

She didn’t plan to lie. Despite the harsh working conditions, the new job had a way of making her determined to work even harder.

‘It seems that who you work with is more important than how hard the work is.’

This was a valuable lesson she wouldn’t have learned if she hadn’t come to the capital, if she had just lived with her family in peaceful Maybury and become the wife of an ordinary man.

A while later, Eloise carefully descended the narrow, steep stairs in response to the maid’s voice from downstairs and headed diligently to the dining room.

To think that what awaited her at the end of this long day was dinner with Ansel Blaine.

That fact felt particularly surreal today.

Ansel, in a white shirt, was intently reading a neatly folded newspaper.

He often slicked his hair back neatly, but tonight, his naturally falling black hair lightly covered his handsome forehead.

As Eloise hesitantly entered the dining room, he stubbed out the cigarette he had been holding at an angle between his lips.

As expected, dinner was not yet prepared.

“Good evening.”

“Sit.”

At his words, Eloise quickly pulled out a chair and sat down. Naturally, their eyes met.

At the moment Eloise held her breath, the man she loved most in the world, with eyes like the bluest lake, quietly set the newspaper down as their gazes overlapped.

With eyes like a deep blue lake, Eloise opened the conversation with a suitable question.

“…Was there any interesting news?”

Interesting news. Ansel’s gaze briefly wandered into the air.

There were a few things that, while not exactly interesting, were worth discussing.

But that was only when his audience was the officers at the military office.

More importantly, Ansel had no intention of wasting this time, the only meaningful part of his day, on trivial stories.

Even if filled solely with stories about each other, the evening would still feel too short and precious.

“Not really.”

“Hmm…”

Not really? He seemed to be reading it with great concentration. Could it be a topic he didn’t want to discuss?

Feeling awkward, Eloise fidgeted with her innocent fingers.

It wasn’t just about dining with him; she was also supposed to be his conversational partner.

Simply answering his questions wouldn’t make her the good conversationalist he desired.

‘So, I need to lead the conversation to some extent as well…’

Feeling a sense of responsibility and pressure, Eloise hesitantly parted her lips.

“Are you curious about how my day went?”

At her cautious question, Ansel responded with a smile instead of words.

As if he had been waiting for her to say that. The moment his lips curved softly felt stretched, as if time had slowed.

Unable to resist admiring his lips, Eloise muttered, covering her face with both hands.

“I’ll say this in advance, but it probably won’t be a great story.”

“The more trivial, the better. Complaining is even better.”

“…Pardon?”

At his strange response, Eloise slightly furrowed her brow and looked up. His leisurely deep voice crossed the table.

“I’m just waiting for the day you give up on leaving here on your own and fully rely on me.”

“Hah.”

A low chuckle escaped her lips despite knowing it was impolite.

She couldn’t help it.

Deciding not to apologize since Ansel didn’t seem upset, Eloise responded calmly.

“If you say it like that, it just makes me more determined.”

Then Ansel chuckled softly and rested his chin on the table.

It was more a mannerism of a child than an elegant noble or military officer. Surely, it was a side only she could see.

‘Maybe it’s because he feels no need to maintain decorum in front of me.’

Anyway, sensing it was time to start the conversation, Eloise slowly opened her mouth.

“Well, the work was harder than I thought, but I felt it was a really good place.”

“That’s disappointing news.”

With a joking reply, his body leaned slightly forward.

The motion was so languid that her heart skipped a beat, but Eloise continued as if unaffected.

“For the first time, I realized that no matter how hard the work, it can be enjoyable if the people you work with are good. Since you started working before me, I’m sure you know it well. You must be working with excellent people.”

“……”

Ansel, who had never been particularly interested in or felt any emotion about his colleagues, couldn’t relate to her words at all.

However, finding Eloise’s proud expression endearing, he nodded readily.

In truth, there was only one thing on Ansel’s mind.

“What are the people you work with like?”

“Oh! There are four of us doing the same job, and they’re all such kind people. They approached me first, taught me the work step by step, and even invited me to eat with them. Working closely together all day, it’s amazing how it feels like I’ve known them for a long time.”

“……”

“Alicia, Melanie, Pumpkin. They’re all really, really good people.”

Ansel, who had been quietly watching Eloise enthusiastically introduce her colleagues, even spreading her fingers, suddenly furrowed his brow slightly.

“Pumpkin? What kind of name is that?”

“I’m not sure. That’s what everyone calls her. It might be a nickname. She’s playful and has a fun personality.”

“……”

Ansel’s transparent greenish-gray eyes suddenly sharpened just after Eloise finished speaking.