Obsessed with Regressors

The end of the hallway was dark because the lights had not yet been turned on. Eugenie blankly looked up at Elliot, who seemed to be buried in darkness. Even though he was this big, he would quickly be buried in the dark at the slightest darkness. If one didn’t look carefully, people would think that only Eugenie was here.

“Oh.”

Not knowing what to say, Eugenie groaned. What could she say here? She couldn’t ask for permission, and she couldn’t ask for nothing. Because that’s Elliot’s heart. But she hoped he would refuse. Reasonable reasons quickly attached to Eugenie’s wish that he would decline. She said, looking away from him.

“I have no ill feelings toward the baroness, but for your sake I’d better say no.”

“Are you afraid the baron will come after you with a knife?”

It’s not a sword, it’s a knife. Eugenie involuntarily burst into laughter at Elliot’s words. But soon, she realized that Elliot might not be so wrong. It’s not uncommon for the cheater to jump at his spouse’s infidelity without thinking about his fault. Eugenie would hear the story of a wife harassing her husband’s mistress while she had one herself, or of her husband trying to kill his wife’s lover. She honestly couldn’t understand having a mistress, let alone an affair, but she knew that was quite the case.

“No, Elliot. I think you can subdue him.”

Elliot liked to hear Eugenie call his own name, so he smiled and then she stopped in surprise at her faith in him. The expression “Why is that?” appeared on Eugenie’s face. Eugenie’s pure belief that he would be able to subdue a man with a sword made Elliot’s mood soar. He didn’t know what to say, so he stared blankly at Eugenie, then cleared his throat and said,

“I don’t know how to thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

“I don’t rate it highly.”

Eugenie said honestly. She, like everyone else, tends to overestimate those close to her. However, when she said that she would be able to subdue a man with a sword, she was rather underestimating Count Burns. She saw him stalking her and subduing a man who would conventionally try to harm her, without even a decent weapon. Besides, she went so far as to fight alone against those who kidnapped her and win.

Huh? In an instant, a strange thought popped into Eugenie’s head. But that thought was quickly dispelled by the words that came out of her mouth.

“You came out of Daaribhorn without a single eyebrow hurt.”

He even came out with some treasure, she was told. However, Eugenie did not bother to mention that part. The important thing was not wealth, but Elliot’s skills. At Eugenie’s words, Elliot smiled unconsciously. It was intended since when Daaribhorn generously offered to send him to the place he wanted, he was able to refuse. However, he deliberately accepted and the place of arrival was also intentionally designated inside the castle. It was the best way to make his presence known. He started walking along with Eugenie again. He wanted to be alone like this forever, but Elliot didn’t want Eugenie to feel burdened. The two of them walked towards the living room this time and had a conversation.

“It seems to me that Baroness Kernel wants to use you.”

“Use?”

“I wonder if she wants revenge on the baron.”

After getting married, she lived with her husband for several years. During that time, the two of them had no children. These were hard years for the baroness. People spread crazy rumors about her childlessness to a baron with many mistresses. Mostly it was about her baroness not having children with him or that she was not a proper wife.

Eugenie also heard a rumor or two. Even though what she heard was the weakest level of gossip, she was so startled that she told the person who told her the gossip to stop talking about it.

“Recently, people’s reactions have changed a bit.”

It was only recently that word had finally begun to come out that maybe there was something wrong with the baron. This is because no children were born between the baron and his wife, nor between the baron’s mistresses. The existence of an illegitimate child was undesirable to the nobles, to the extent that there were people who did not want to have a mistress because they did not want to have an illegitimate child. However, as the expression “unwelcome” suggests, it did not pose a threat to the family. For the heir of the family needed the approval of the legal wife as much as her husband. Usually, the illegitimate son of a nobleman was accepted as an heir if the wife was barren.

Even in Eugenie’s eyes, Baroness Kernel had endured enough. The baron had not seen his child, neither to his wife nor to his mistress, and it was proof that the humiliation she had suffered was not her fault. So Eugenie couldn’t be surprised if she wanted to get revenge on her husband and made him her lover.

“I don’t know who the baroness’s lover is now, but you’re better suited for revenge than he is, because…”

Eugenie, who had spoken that far, stopped talking. She was going to tell him he was good looking. But she was not sure Elliot would take that as her compliment.

“Because?”

Elliot asked, tilting his head as Eugenie stopped. Eugenie hesitated and said.

“Um, I was going to say you’re handsome.”

For a moment, Elliot’s eyes widened, but he went back to normal. And he began to bend softly.

“You said you didn’t know who the baroness’ lover was?”

Elliot asked with a slightly happy expression. To say that he was more handsome, she should have seen the comparison group. That was the reason Eugenie was shy.

“Yes. I don’t know. Maybe I saw him, but I didn’t know if he was the Baroness’s lover, so I don’t know.” she said, blushing.

“You don’t know, but you think I’m more handsome.”

Elliot said with a grin. It was nasty, but not nasty. Eugenie thought she was lucky that it was dark here. If she had been bright, Elliot would have seen her blushing face. Eugenie’s embarrassed face was unfamiliar to him, so Elliot continued to smile. If it had been the Eugenie he knew, the noble Lady Biscon, he would have said the word that a man who knew he was good was unattractive. It was good too, but it was still good when she was at a loss.

Elliot went into the drawing room, thinking he should stop bothering her.

“I would be very happy if you came here for no reason, but that’s not it, right?”

In the drawing room, a servant had already prepared refreshments. Elliot poured tea into Eugenie’s cup and asked.

Yes. Eugenie was mesmerized by the scent of her good tea for a moment, then she quickly replied.

“I want to be introduced to a decent person.”

Elliot raised one eyebrow when she said that she wished someone to protect a person she knew. As he nodded his head, as if telling her to continue, Eugenie briefly explained the story of her coming to him, from her meeting with Rachel.

“It seems like someone is trying to kill her, but she doesn’t know who or why.”

Accurate. Eugenie nodded his head and Elliot leaned his back against the back of the sofa. 

Introducing people was not difficult. He knew why she was doing this. So he didn’t ask why she was trying to help someone she had just met. Eugenie Biscon was like that. Even when she was a noble Lady Biscon. Even though the circumstances have changed, the fact that Eugenie remained the same made Elliot happy and sad at the same time. He started looking at her blankly.

“The cost…”

“I don’t take any money.”

Elliot quickly said to Eugenie, who was worried about the cost of her security. However, he has no intention of accepting money from Eugenie.

He raised the teacup and pondered for a moment what to receive from her. He wanted to receive a lot. He wanted to take off her gloves and hold her hand, and he wanted to spend the whole day with her. But Elliot knew it was a premature request. If he asked for something like that now, Eugenie would freak out and she would run away from him.

“I will do this.”

After a brief thought, Elliot put down the teacup and opened his mouth. She said she was a woman she had something to protect. Then it would be better for her bodyguard to be a woman as well. There were many people. It wasn’t difficult to introduce someone. The problem was what to get from Eugenie in return.

“I heard that nobles go to play in the water at this time.”

He asked, pretending that she knew everything but Elliot didn’t. In fact, he has even played in the water a few times. And he wasn’t very impressed with all but one.

“That’s right. I go personally, and sometimes large events are held.”

Having said that, Eugenie remembered that a big event was about to take place. He holds rowing events at Oliver’s rowing club. He comes from a wealthy family and cheers for the game by putting his own boat on the river. Those who do not have boats are invited by families with boats or watch from the spectators’ seats along the river. There were no boats on Biscon mansion. Not only did it cost a considerable amount to build a ship, but the cost of maintaining it was also enormous. The larger it was, the larger the storage space and the more servants to manage.

Biscon was well-off with the dowry the lady brought when the current Count married Lady Maria. The fact that their situation has improved also meant that it was so compared to before he married Lady Maria. The Biscons were poor, and now they were only less poor to save face. So, she knew very well that he wasn’t going to own a box seat at the theater.

“That sounds like fun.”

Seeing Elliot’s eyes shining, Eugenie thought he was interested in playing in the water. She’d like to invite him to the boat, but there was no boat on the Biscon mansion.

She said with a slightly apologetic look.

“Since Oliver is a player, invitations come to Biscon mansion as well. Come with us. It’s not as good as watching it from the boat, but it’s fun to watch it from the river.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Everything would be fun with you.”

Huh? Eugenie hesitated for a moment at his words. This man says something nice to hear again. The moment she thought so, Elliot added.

“And if it’s a ship, I can prepare it.”

“Are you preparing a boat?”

“Ah, if you are not the player’s family, shouldn’t you prepare a boat?”

That’s not going to happen. Eugenie tried to shake her head, but stopped. And she said carefully.

“I’ll check.”

She was always invited by families with boats or watched by the river, so it never occurred to her that an invitee like Elliot could prepare a boat.

Elliot smiled at Eugenie’s words to find out. He raised the teacup again and said.

“If you give me the name and address of the person you need to protect, I will send you someone right away. She just needs to protect her, right?”

Yes. Eugenie felt relieved at Elliot’s laid-back attitude and nodded her head. She somehow had the feeling that if she left it to him, everything would work out for her.