Harry Claven was a promising twenty-six-year-old young man, one of the youngest among the slaughterhouse workers in Hungerford.

Perhaps because of that, he was mainly in charge of the finishing stages of the slaughtering work.

When he was left alone to clean up, it was not uncommon for his morning work to end late, and as a result, his lunch time often overlapped with the women from the chicken processing plant who had relatively late lunch breaks.

Their occasional shared lunches began one day when they happened to share a table.

Of course, it wouldn’t have happened if Harry hadn’t helped Eloise, or if there hadn’t been an unusual atmosphere between the two.

In the factory environment where free interaction between men and women was rare, the combination of these five didn’t seem ordinary.

However, with only one man among four women, and above all, due to Harry’s excellent reputation for being diligent and sincere, no one looked at them with suspicion.

By the way, Eloise and Harry had an amazingly good conversation.

Anyone who saw them would have mistaken them for long-time friends.

In fact, Ansel Blaine and Archibald were the only same-age men that Eloise had known for a long time.

While she had gotten to know them quite well after spending a considerable amount of time with them, Eloise had never felt the same level of rapport with them as she did with Harry.

Even excluding Ansel Blaine, who was born into a noble status, the life of Archibald, who was born in the Earl of Huntington’s mansion and had lived his entire life serving the Earl, had nothing in common with the free-spirited Eloise.

In other words, the only thing Archibald and Eloise had in common was that they were not of noble status.

For Archibald, who had to stay tied to the mansion unless his master or the young master, his grandson, allowed him to leave, freedom was not a fitting word.

“Hey, just falling asleep in the forest doesn’t make you a troublemaker!”

But Harry Claven was different.

“When I was young, my elder brother and I once tried to make a cake for our mother, but the kitchen turned into a complete flour heaven. We were so excited, like puppies making eye contact, that we forgot about the cake and played all day, throwing flour around.”

“Oh my…”

“We got spanked by our mother when she came home and cried all night. It took over a week to clean the kitchen. I think I was about seven years old at the time.”

“Isn’t seven a bit too young to be making a cake?”

“Haha, it was a childish idea.”

When Eloise laughed as if to say it couldn’t be helped, he threw his head back and laughed along with her.

Conversations with him were always comfortable.

There was no awkwardness, no discomfort, and no tension from trying to look good.

During lunch with him, she could even blurt out exclamations with her mouth full of food, just like she did at home.

At times like that, she even felt like she was regaining her true self, which had gradually faded.

As if she had returned to her childhood, when there was no sadness or worry.

Yes. Harry Claven was definitely a good person.

Eloise sincerely felt a human fondness for him. She also knew that he felt the same way.

“Huh? Mr. Claven, why are you here at this hour…?”

“Ah, you’re here.”

Then one morning, when he was waiting for her at the factory where no one else was around.

“I just woke up early.”

“…”

“It might sound strange, but I actually like it here.”

On that day, Eloise immediately realized that Harry Claven had a deeper fondness for her than she had thought.

Although she had never dated a man, she had already received proposals from two people, and she had become quite accustomed to the gaze of men who approached her with interest.

“Actually, I was wondering if you might want to take a morning walk like last time.”

If he was treating her as just a colleague, these eyes, this voice…

“…I see. But I have to clean.”

“Ah! I’ll help you. I happen to feel a bit stiff.”

“…”

“Well, I like cleaning.”

Haha, Harry laughed good-naturedly and followed Eloise, who was going to get a bucket.

‘Could it be that even the slaughterhouse’s by-products, Mr. Claven…?’

While she was thinking that, Harry, who had been drawing water following Eloise, carefully spoke to her.

“Do you find my presence burdensome? Or do you prefer to spend your morning time quietly…?”

“Mr. Claven.”

Under the sky that still had a greenish tint, the woman with her abundant wheat-colored hair neatly tied up spoke in a gentle voice.

“Of course not. I think I’ve told you enough about how much of a troublemaker I am.”

“Ah…”

“Was my explanation insufficient?”

Eloise smiled softly at Harry, who, unlike usual, couldn’t naturally respond, and turned her body towards the factory.

However, in the air that had become much colder, the woman’s cheeks, which had turned as red as an autumn apple, had already etched into his retina like an afterimage.

“Let’s go together, Miss Bailey!”

The dazed-looking man followed her with awkward steps.

One morning when the cleaning ended early because there were two people, Eloise and Harry were walking along a secluded path by the stream.

Before they knew it, having him around in the morning seemed to have become a natural part of everyday life.

Every time, although the topics were trivial, the two had talked a lot and had gotten to know each other well.

In fact, not much had changed even after she learned of Harry Claven’s rational fondness for her.

Contrary to her worries, he maintained his usual gentle and kind attitude instead of hastily trying to close the distance between them.

The feeling she had that day was clearly still there, but if Harry had no intention of confessing, it was actually better for Eloise.

If she received a confession from someone she had never thought of as more than a colleague, she would have no choice but to reject him.

Then, this good relationship would all come to an end.

Just like Archibald, who was once a kind friend but now she doesn’t even know how he’s doing.

‘Because a friendship between a man and a woman is as fragile as a cookie made of sugar.’

This was quite a plausible saying, as the kindness that Harry possessed was as sweet as a sugar cookie.

If Ansel Blaine was as cold and sharp as the tip of a knife, Harry Claven smiled as softly as cotton candy and was, above all, kind.

“Miss Bailey.”

The moment she turned to the sound of her name being called, Eloise knew. While I was looking at the relentlessly flowing water, he had been looking at me all along.

“I’ve been thinking for a moment. I feel like you’re hiding something from me, Miss Bailey.”

“…”

If she had heard these words from Ansel, she would have definitely frozen like a fool.

Would he have finally caught on to the feelings that she feared and turned away from, yet loved and desired helplessly? Then what would happen now? She would be scared but also expect it at the same time.

Without even having time to despise herself for being like that.

So it was truly fortunate that the person in front of her now was not Ansel.

In front of Harry Claven, there was no need to be intimidated or to lie.

There was also no need to engage in a tense psychological warfare like a card game where they hid their cards from each other.

Above all, Harry always accurately read her heart.

Even if it was because he could watch her closely unlike Ansel, this kind of attentiveness was definitely not something that everyone naturally possessed.

Even Alicia, Melanie, and Pumpkin couldn’t understand her heart this much.

Then Harry spoke again.

“A fair amount of time has passed, and it seems like you’ve adapted, and everything looks fine, but…”

“…”

“You’re actually still having a hard time, right?”

“…Mr. Claven, do you know what’s really amazing sometimes?”

When Eloise asked in a listless voice, Harry took out an old handkerchief from his pocket and spread it out in front of a low fence near the stream.

He plopped down beside it and patted the handkerchief, and Eloise quietly approached and sat in the spot prepared for her.

For a moment, a faint scent of soap wafted from Harry. It was the first time she had sensed any fragrance from him.

That’s how close the distance was. Of course, it would have been a different story if the work had started.

“Tell me, Miss Bailey. What’s the matter?”

“Well…”

Eloise had never told anyone about this feeling since she had retched on her first day of work at Hungerford.

After all, this was a meat factory, and she had also become a part of it.

She couldn’t express her true feelings about this job to her parents, who thought their daughter was working in a textile factory, or to Ansel, who disapproved of her working in the first place.

But Harry Claven was an exception.

“…Are you really proud to work here, Mr. Claven? Ah, I don’t mean that it’s strange. I know that the work we do is important. But…”

Eloise chose her words very carefully.

As if she was pondering deeply to avoid making any mistakes in her words.

Of course, Harry immediately grasped what Eloise was trying to say.

The reason he remained silent was solely to listen to her story fully.

“At first… I thought it would be okay since I wasn’t directly killing the chickens. It was a petty thought. What I touch is a chicken that was alive until just now, and this place ultimately exists to kill animals. But whenever I was reminded of that fact, I felt guilty…”

“…”

“I couldn’t be honest with my family or the person I live with about what I do. It’s not that I’m ashamed… No, am I actually ashamed? In the end, was I also despising this work in my heart while being hypocritical in front of my colleagues?”

Eloise’s head gradually lowered, revealing her slender neck.

“…I don’t know, Mr. Claven. What kind of mindset should I have while being here? What kind of mindset do you have while being here? Surely, more than me…”

Shivering slightly in the cold morning air, she gently raised her head and looked at her colleague. Finally, it was his turn.