For some reason, Ansel did not meet Eloise’s eyes. He simply said,

“You’re late.”

“…….”

Eloise sensed something unusual about the atmosphere but decided not to make an issue of it.

After all, it was the first time she was late for their implicit appointment time, and he had waited for her here for quite a while.

It wasn’t something that would change even if she made an issue of it.

“You should have eaten first. If I were any later…….”

“…….”

“……Ah, I’m sorry. There was a bit of work at the factory.”

As Ansel still didn’t look at her, Eloise answered in a slightly deflated tone. In fact, she was feeling quite deflated.

She had, so to speak, just lost her place to lean on.

Although she was still with good people, they had suddenly lost the manager who bound them together and encouraged them.

Even as she pulled out the heavy chair and sat down, Eloise still had a gloomy expression.

‘We’ve decided to stake everything on treating our sick daughter. The whole family.’

It wasn’t difficult to imagine the desperate feelings the Osborne family must be experiencing in the face of sudden change.

‘If Sally were critically ill, and the person who could cure her was in a very far and unfamiliar place…….’

Then the Bailey family would leave their life in Maybury behind and set off straight for that place.

Even if it meant risking everything. And Eloise would probably be among the first to pack her bags.

Of course, it was clear that the path would not be easy.

It was bound to be daunting to endure life in an unfamiliar place with no one to rely on, with only a sliver of hope.

‘So all I can do is pray for a miracle to happen to that child.’

While Eloise was deep in thought, the meal was completely set out.

Even when the maid who had set down the last plate left the dining room, Eloise still had her head bowed.

All the while, Ansel also remained silent. The heavy silence in the dining room made even the maid setting the table flustered and hurry her hands.

However, Eloise, who was deeply lost in thought, was completely unaware of that fact.

“Do you still have no intention of quitting?”

At the sudden question, Eloise, who had been startled out of her thoughts, raised her gaze, and only then did she realize that the meal preparations were finished.

And that she had made Ansel wait again.

She quickly tucked her damp hair behind her ears and picked up her spoon to answer,

“No, I don’t.”

“When do you receive your first salary?”

Ansel threw out another abrupt question. Eloise’s hand, which had been stirring the soup, stopped short.

It was because she had suddenly realized that she hadn’t thought about that important issue at all.

Come to think of it, the first payday was rapidly approaching next week.

The reason she hadn’t received a salary yet despite working for over a month was that her first day of work was not far off from the payday, so they had decided to combine the ambiguous number of days with the following month.

“……Why do you ask?”

When she cautiously asked Ansel, who had a cold countenance as always, an even chillier answer returned.

“How much is the salary for a month’s work at the factory? Once you receive a month’s worth of allowance, can you immediately secure new lodgings?”

“Well…….”

It wasn’t a surprising question, as it was natural for Ansel to be unfamiliar with the salary levels of ordinary people, but Eloise’s heart also raced because his voice somehow sounded urgent.

‘In a typical case, they would ask for a month’s rent as a deposit, so it wouldn’t be impossible, but living expenses can’t be ignored either, so it would be tight to leave here as soon as I receive my salary.’

Having gathered her thoughts, Eloise parted her closed lips.

“My first salary is next week. I think I’ll be able to leave here around the time I receive my second salary.”

At that definite and clear answer, Ansel’s heart inevitably ached.

Eloise quietly began her meal, but he sat still without even touching his cutlery or water glass.

“What will you do once you leave here?”

“……What do you mean, what will I do? My life won’t be much different from now.”

“Isn’t it about time you returned home?”

The greenish eyes that had seemed to be oddly avoiding her now met her squarely without any gaps.

A terribly heavy bass voice followed.

“Or are you thinking of meeting a man in the capital?”

“…….”

Now that he was looking directly at her as if seeing her for the first time, Eloise put down her spoon as if dropping it because of the undisguisable anger in his eyes.

The handle of the spoon hit the plate with a sharp clang.

Ansel was still looking at her. Or more precisely, glaring at her.

Even as Eloise felt her throat constrict at the ferocious edge he was wielding, she felt a sudden rush of anger.

Yes. She knew he was watching over her with goodwill. He had made it so apparent that she couldn’t be unaware of it.

Just looking at how he had brought up the topic of marriage without hesitation…….

But that didn’t mean he could control and supervise her as he pleased.

Even after returning from work, he was still a military officer of the Wellington Kingdom, but that didn’t make her his subordinate.

The only one who could command Eloise Bailey was herself alone.

Moreover, judging by the woman who had visited the mansion some time ago, he seemed to be diligently enjoying his romantic life somewhere she didn’t know about, so even if she were to freely pursue love, what business was it of his?

Once her thoughts reached that point, her bright blue eyes took on an even more resolute light.

‘We haven’t promised to be faithful only to each other, so why should I be mindful of him?’

Of course, she couldn’t list out all these thoughts in words, so Eloise answered like this,

“Even if that were the case, it has nothing to do with you.”

“What?”

That single word, spat out sullenly, caused a fierce crack in the composure that had been barely maintained.

“Say clearly what you mean.”

“What more explanation do you need? You have your life, and I have my―”

“Did you get attached to someone in the meantime?”

It was a voice so low that it even felt somewhat eerie. Eloise’s words were blocked as if a knife had been pointed at her.

Even though he hadn’t actually laid a finger on her, her heart fluttered as if her whole body was being crushed by the overbearing force he wielded.

Eloise tried to hurriedly deny his absurd suspicion. At the very least, she had never lied to him or deceived him.

If she left his misunderstanding as it was, it seemed like something truly terrible would happen.

At that moment, Ansel chanted gloomily,

“Strange. You clearly said you don’t even talk to them.”

“…….”

“Did you lie?”

Harry Craven. Like a light coming on in the darkness, her colleague’s name flashed into her mind, which had been pitch-black.

She and Harry, who had grown close due to a chance event and now spent their mornings together as a matter of course.

At some point, she had even had quite intimate and tender conversations with him. Perhaps even more so than with the three women at the workplace.

But Harry Craven was a man. Eloise was also aware that he had more than friendly feelings for her.

It was just that she did not feel the same way, and to her, Harry was a good person before being a man.

Just as Archibald had been before he confessed to her.

So even though she had noticed his feelings, she had no intention of cutting them off sharply.

“Eloise.”

“…….”

It wasn’t that she intended to use that man’s feelings.

It was just…… since he hadn’t confessed yet, nothing was defined at the moment.

He was young, and they had only known each other for just over a month.

His feelings might suddenly fade away one day, and perhaps he had no intention of even confessing.

Nevertheless, if Harry were to confess his love, Eloise definitely planned to refuse.

Because she had never thought of him as more than a colleague. Above all, Harry was too good for her.

So in the end, the problem was with herself.

She was the one who not only loved a man she should rightly hate but also lived with him in his house in an impure manner, a woman who was not at all upright.

“It’s not like that.”

Eloise answered, lowering her gaze with a wretched feeling. In any case, there was no need to add fuel to the fire since there was nothing that would make him uncomfortable.

Just the fact that she had a close male colleague might make Ansel angry enough to flip the table.

At least the way he was tonight…….

“You don’t know how bad you are at lying.”

At that moment, Ansel sneered coldly.

When Eloise, who had been startled without realizing it, looked him straight in the face, his straight lips twisted strangely.

“Or are you doing this on purpose?”

“…….”

“What the hell do you want? To drive me crazy? Do you want to see me wither away?”

“……What? I didn’t…….”

Ansel, who had been gazing at her pale face with a deep look as if she were terrified, let out a sigh-like sneer.

“You returned to the capital and came to this house because you still love me, right? Isn’t that so?”

“…….”

At those words, Eloise couldn’t even blink.

She was just frozen pale as if trapped in a huge glacier.

The only thing moving on the table, where the candlelight flickered faintly, was Ansel’s two fists slowly clenching.

“No, forget it.”

Having been chilled like that, he rose from his seat as he was. A large shadow covered the table.

“I don’t care anymore.”