Translator: Nox

58 - Chapter 58

Ryan watched Richard seeing off the last guest as if it were only natural, and thought.

Today, I won't let this guy get away with it.

Richard flinched as soon as his eyes met Ryan's. He seemed to have noticed that his mood was unusual.

He wanted to give the two of them an Order right away and tell them to follow him in, but Eloise was still in the entrance.

Despite being beautifully dressed, she couldn't attend today's Banquet.

Of course, because of these uninvited guests who suddenly came.

'It was next to me.'

Eloise is one of the hosts. Therefore, she was supposed to sit next to Ryan.

'But she seemed very concerned about the seat on the opposite side.'

Whatever. The tables in the Banquet hall were quite wide.

It was wide enough that it was much better to talk to the person sitting next to you than to talk to the person across from you.

So, he didn't care who sat across from him.

If the Banquet had gone as planned, everyone who attended would have known. That he had no interest in the women sitting across from him.

Instead, everyone would have seen him continue to have pleasant conversations with Eloise, who had prepared this event with him.

'Besides, all the dishes on today's Banquet menu were her favorites.'

When deciding on the menu, the two of them spent several days eating the dishes brought by Mrs. Parker and deciding together.

Every time, Eloise ate all the food neatly and without leaving any leftovers.

Ryan enjoyed watching that.

In his opinion, young women ate so little that he wondered how they could survive on just that.

Even at the parties and Banquets he had attended in the capital, they only took a small amount of food and only took a few sips of alcohol.

Except for when he was very young, he had never had a woman nearby in his life, so at first, he thought it was natural for them to eat that much.

Then, before attending a party in the capital by Lord Stanford's Order, he happened to have a conversation with Richard about women's meals.

<Do you really think women only eat that much and live?>

Richard looked at him at first as if he couldn't believe it.

Then he grabbed his stomach and started laughing like crazy.

<I really know you've never dated anyone in your life. Hahaha!>

Richard, who was holding his stomach and laughing at what was so funny, told Phillip, who had just come in, that Ryan was thinking that way, and continued to laugh.

Then even Phillip looked at Ryan with a dumbfounded expression and chuckled.

Only then did Ryan realize. That women can eat similarly to men and that they pretend to eat less on purpose when attending parties.

He couldn't understand why they didn't eat when they were hungry, or why men thought eating less was attractive.

Richard and Phillip asked if he thought his mother was a big eater, and Ryan gave a bitter smile.

Because his mother had never eaten a lot. To be precise, she had never been able to eat that much.

Anyway, after learning that women eat the same amount, he felt sorry that they tried to eat only a little when they were with other people.

<This has such a strong flavor that it will be difficult to choose a wine to go with it.>

Eloise ate everything that Mrs. Parker brought out without leaving anything behind.

She ate not only the dishes but also the bread in front of her with plenty of butter, and she also kept drinking wine.

It was the first time he had seen a woman eat so well, so when he stared at her, her eyes narrowed as if to say, 'What are you trying to pick a fight about?'

He found it fun to watch her eat, and for some reason, he felt good, so he deliberately asked Mrs. Parker for various dishes.

Fortunately, Mrs. Parker was not embarrassed at all, but rather filled with enthusiasm to show off her skills properly, and even made other dishes that she had not been able to serve at the Banquet for several years.

Thanks to that, Eloise was happy.

She not only ate a lot of dishes made by Mrs. Parker, who was burning with the will to show off her skills properly after a long time, but she was also able to drink a lot of wine because she wanted to find a wine that went well with it.

He had spent the whole day feeding Eloise and carefully selecting the menu.

So, at the Banquet, he wanted to see the reactions of the guests and tell them that the dishes that 'we' had chosen were all well-received.

'Actually, Eloise decided everything.'

It's not like he didn't offer his opinion, but Ryan wasn't a picky eater in the first place.

Unless it was very salty or very bland, everything was edible to him.

Besides, he didn't skip meals anymore, and he ate well because he had been using his body all day.

Eloise had decided on all the delicate menu selections for the Banquet.

So, he was planning to let everyone know her contribution in front of everyone, saying that it would have been difficult to hold this Banquet if it weren't for Eloise...

"Richard, Phillip. It's been a while since we've met, let's talk among ourselves."

His voice naturally gained strength as he called the two of them.

Both of them cleared their throats and followed Ryan. After entering a small Reception room prepared for a quiet conversation, Ryan closed the door and turned to face the two of them.

"Richard Cameron. Phillip Osborne."

Richard and Phillip instinctively put their hands behind their backs and stood at attention at the low voice that sounded like it was coming from hell.

"What is this you're doing?"

"That's..."

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, so you better answer properly, Sergeant Cameron."

Richard's forehead was covered in cold sweat when Ryan called him Sergeant Cameron.

It was when Ryan was really angry that he called him by his last name and rank.

"I got summer vacation, but I didn't have anywhere to go, so I thought it would be a good idea to visit Sergeant Ryan... no, Corporal."

Ryan scoffed at Richard's answer.

"Richard, I can understand you. Phillip, why did you move with Richard?"

He thought Phillip was more sane than Richard, but he was curious as to why he had participated in this reckless visit.

But Phillip had no choice but to give the same answer as Richard.

'He's more annoyed than I thought.'

To be honest, when they came here, they thought that Ryan would be annoyed with them, but that he wouldn't even bother to get rid of them because he was too annoyed.

But looking at him now, he seemed like he would kick them out tomorrow, even though he had let them attend the Banquet.

"I won't say it twice. Go straight back to Cambon in the morning..."

As expected.

Just when the two of them were nervous that they would be kicked out like this.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door at the right time, as if an angel had come to save the two of them from this situation.

Ryan glared at them as if he couldn't help it and opened the door.

And Richard and Phillip saw it.

"Eloise? What's wrong?"

The expression on Ryan's face, which had been coldly glaring at the two of them just a moment ago, changed in an instant.

Richard poked Phillip as if to tell him to look at that.

Both of them could tell the moment they saw Ryan's expression. The reason why Ryan was staying here longer than expected without going up to the capital.

Eloise burst out laughing at Ryan's words to give her the Shed key.

It seemed that they were very close friends who could make such jokes.

"Blissbury has a reputation, so I can't put guests to sleep in the Shed. And I heard from Abigail that you both fell into the Swamp, so you borrowed clothes from Mr. Ogilvy's house."

Ryan lightly clicked his tongue at those words.

Somehow, he was wearing ill-fitting clothes unlike usual, so that was why.

"I think it would be better for you to wash properly one more time, so I'll tell them to prepare water to wash. The clothes are... Ryan, I'll ask you."

"I can strip them and kick them out."

Eloise laughed once more at those words. They must be really close.

Eloise said to the two people who were looking at her earnestly from the inside for some reason.

"If you're okay with it, shall I show you to your rooms now?"

"Of course."

"Thank you so much, Lady Suberton."

The two quickly brushed past Ryan and approached Eloise as if now was their chance.

Ryan's eyes became even more fierce, but the two had to pretend not to notice.

"You're welcome. Oh, and."

Eloise said as if she had remembered.

"Abigail said she was grateful to Mr. Osborn today and asked me to say hello. Thank you so much for helping my friend."

The two stared at Eloise for a moment as she said that and smiled brightly, then turned their heads back.

And they blinked as they looked at Ryan's expression.

There stood Ryan with a dumbfounded expression that they had never seen before.

Eloise, unaware of such an atmosphere, smiled even more brightly and greeted Ryan's friends.

"I'll say hello again, welcome to Blissbury. Please have a comfortable stay."