Early morning. Another ordinary day began with the melodious sound of birds welcoming the first employee to arrive.

Eloise opened the doors to the slaughterhouse with a solemn expression.

“Hmm…”

Recently, the slaughterhouse workers had been cleaning up the waste products instead of leaving them piled in the work area until the next day.

As expected, the unidentified lumps were nowhere to be seen today either.

Eloise, who had keenly inspected every corner of the slaughterhouse, smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s clean. There’s only blood!”

Considering how she had once mistaken spilled liquor on the floor for blood and freaked out, this was truly remarkable progress.

Though she didn’t know why the workers had suddenly become so diligent, Eloise thought that perhaps they felt grateful to her.

After all, it must be quite nice to not have to start the day on a floor covered in clotted, dark red blood.

So maybe the workers had started being diligent as their way of repaying her? In fact, Eloise’s occasional screams were famous even among workers in other sections, so it wasn’t hard to imagine that she would be horrified at the sight of those bloody lumps.

‘Well, maybe they just wanted to maximize the effects of mopping.’

In any case, it was natural for the emotionally rich Eloise to be touched by the workers’ change.

It made her feel choked up, as if she had made secret friends.

‘It’s wonderful to feel camaraderie even without knowing each other’s names or faces.’

Eloise sincerely believed that.

And surely the reason she could feel these emotions was because this factory was a sound workplace.

According to Alicia, the most senior of the three women doing the same job as her, the person who created the factory’s work rules was the owner’s wife.

Perhaps that was why, looking at the factory regulations, there were many parts that showed careful consideration so women could work without worry.

The most special among them was the clause that severely punished any worker who harassed or bothered the female employees.

The three women may have exaggerated in making it sound like they couldn’t even converse with the men, but it seemed true that there were cases of workers being punished or fired for making advances on female employees.

Those served as an example, leaving no room for an uncomfortable atmosphere to form, and Eloise too was able to adapt to the job without trouble.

Naturally, her affection for the workplace grew day by day.

“…That doesn’t mean I can love this smell though.”

Eloise, who had poured buckets of water she drew into every fishy-smelling corner of the slaughterhouse, let out a shallow sigh as she left the work area.

Sunny autumn days had been continuing.

Savoring the quiet of the most refreshing time of day alone, Eloise diligently swept the empty factory grounds with a broom.

Before she knew it, autumn was in full swing in Brightnam too, making the tips of her broom-holding hands a bit chilly at this hour.

‘Autumn already. Soon I’ll be sweeping fallen leaves.’

Perhaps because there weren’t as many maple trees as in Meybury, the capital had a bit less of an autumn atmosphere.

Or maybe she felt that way because she couldn’t taste her mother’s pumpkin scones or Mrs. Hurst’s apple pie that unfailingly graced the table each autumn.

‘Ugh, thinking of delicious things made me hungry.’

Moreover, she had overslept this morning and missed breakfast.

Eloise thought as she rubbed her flat, rumbling stomach as if to soothe it.

‘I think I’m about done?’

It seemed about time for people to start arriving, but no one had shown up yet.

Having gotten used to the morning cleaning, she was able to finish earlier than at first.

“Hmm…”

Eloise inhaled the refreshing morning air deep into her lungs. It was very sweet and cool.

Enough to make her lean towards taking a morning walk rather than going to the break room to catch some sleep as she had planned.

Eloise, who had propped the broom as tall as her against the front gate, stretched languidly. Then she retraced her morning steps with a light gait.

Hunger didn’t matter.

She would start work soon anyway, and once she smelled that thick chicken odor to the point of being sick of it, her appetite would vanish without a trace. A smile naturally came at the thought.

Leaving home early in the morning for a hard day’s work.

With only one rest day a week, and on that precious holiday she really had no choice but to sleep in and recover from accumulated fatigue.

Still, Eloise was quite happy with each passing day lately. Strangely, that was the case.

It was fun to hear this and that from the senior women with unique personalities, and of course plucking chicken feathers could never be called enjoyable, but she was glad to hear she had improved.

She liked receiving warm encouragement even when she made mistakes sometimes, and when everyone told her good work after finishing, she felt both joy and a sense of accomplishment.

Above all, the moment she sank into a bathtub full of warm water with her tired body, she was truly happy beyond words.

Maybe heaven was bathtub-sized. She even had such foolish thoughts.

But in the end, the reason Eloise’s days could be this enjoyable was because of something waiting for her at the end of it all.

Something very fragrant, profound, and distant…

‘…Sound sleep?’

Of course, sleep or anything like that couldn’t be the answer.

In fact, Eloise knew the answer from the beginning, but was trying hard to push the vividly clear scene in her mind’s eye to the back of her consciousness.

Perhaps as a side effect, her steps that had been light quickened considerably without her realizing it.

‘Eloise.’

In that moment, a single voice was heard between the gusts of wind brushing her cheeks.

It was quite distinct, but not real. This was merely a memory she recalled herself.

‘Come here.’

Ha. Eloise, who let out a sigh, abruptly stopped walking.

His low voice, noticeably deeper than in old memories, languid as if tired. A faint hint of a smile lingered at the end of his words that scattered like mist.

Sometimes in a light dress shirt, sometimes in a dark green uniform. And very rarely, he wore a silk robe with his chest slightly exposed.

With a face flawlessly cold and beautiful as if carved meticulously out of marble, Ansel was always waiting for her.

Undeniably, what sustained Eloise’s everyday life was the evening he waited for.

Dining with him was a constant series of tension, but still, it gave meaning to her every living moment now. It gave her strength to begin another difficult morning once more.

Because when morning began, evening would always be waiting at its end.

‘…Let’s go back. I’ve come too far.’

Eloise, feeling her fingertips curling for some reason, tightly gripped and released her clothes before swiftly turning around.

I’ve come far, but there’s still a path to return. She had no choice but to think that way.

Staying by his side until she saved up funds for a new home was her last excuse. She couldn’t completely sink.

Because one didn’t need to get hurt firsthand to know it would only end in pain.

“Ah!”

Then, with a short scream, Eloise’s body weakly toppled over. Her foot had caught on something.

Just as she thought she would faceplant, a sticky hand holding heat caught her falling upper body. Her chest slightly brushed against that hand.

Usually she would have felt a clear unpleasantness, but Eloise, who had nearly broken her nose on the ground, had no mind to care about anything else.

“Thank y-”

But the moment she hurriedly raised her head, Eloise finally realized the man holding her had an extremely lecherous smile.

Moreover, he reeked of alcohol as if he had climbed out of a liquor barrel.

There were three or four others who seemed to be his company. They were all in the same state as this man.

Only upon hearing the despicable laughter behind her did Eloise realize one of his cronies had deliberately tripped her.

Unfortunately, there was no one else around.

Of all places to end up while aimlessly walking, it had to be this alley.

Just as she tried to let out a sigh of despair, her waist was tightly grabbed. Eloise struggled with a deep frown.

“L-Let go! What are you doing so early in the morning…!”

“If you don’t like it here, shall we go to the woods back there? It’s as dark as night.”

The man who said that buried his face in Eloise’s slender neck and sniffed like a dog.

“Eugh…”

The sensation was so disgustingly creepy that Eloise thought as she tilted her head back as far as possible.

I have to run. They’re so dead drunk that I might have a chance.

Hoo, hoo. Eloise, who exhaled rapid breaths, quickly turned and tightly grasped the man’s ears.

“Huh? Wha- Ow!”

Smack! She head-butted him with all her might and the vulgar man staggered back.

Eloise didn’t miss that split second opening and started running towards the factory.

The furious man then chased after her like a madman.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

“Don’t come! Please…!”

The peaceful morning turned into hell in an instant.

Eloise, who ran wildly with her eyes squeezed shut, felt the footsteps chasing her getting closer and closer.

Moreover, her legs were so tired they seemed like they would give out forward at any moment.

‘No, at this rate I’ll get caught…’

Get caught? Then what happens? If I scream, won’t at least one person come? But what if no one comes? Or even if they do, if it’s too late…

Her delicate lashes were soaked with despair.

It was right then that a voice was heard.

This time, it clearly wasn’t an illusion.

“Miss Bailey?”