Obsessed with Regressors

What did she mean? Her face must have been strange because of the unexpected story. Rachel added quickly.

“Uh, maybe I’m just mistaken.”

“Oh, no. I’m not questioning you.”

She made a mistake. She quickly comforted her. She didn’t doubt Rachel’s words. The fact that someone was trying to harm her was so unexpected. Who wanted to hurt her? How? Why? Many questions popped into her head, but she calmly asked.

“Why did you think that?”

If she felt like someone was trying to hurt her, there must be a reason she felt that way. If that’s just a feeling, it must be Rachel’s misunderstanding. But her answer wasn’t just a feeling. Rachel said as she raised her bandaged hand.

“Someone attacked me.”

“You mean you were robbed?”

“No.”

Rachel shook her head firmly. Was it not a robber? But she said she was attacked? When she made a face to ask what she was talking about, she opened her mouth again.

“Someone was targeting me.”

Don’t robbers also target victims?

But Rachel’s story was a bit different. The man who attacked her was said to have called her name before attacking her. As if to make sure the target was hit. In other words, it means that he had chosen a specific person.

She gaped at the surprising and terrifying story. Then Rachel continued.

“And the other day someone dropped a flower pot on my head.”

“Is it a flowerpot?”

While walking down the street, a potted plant fell in front of her.

“Until then, I thought it was my mistake.”

She was surprised, but she thought she was a bit unlucky. She guessed she did think so too. If bad luck suddenly strikes her, she just thought it’s bad luck,she didn’t think anyone was trying to harm her. But Rachel’s bad luck was too frequent and too consistent. Because she’s trying for her life.

“It was kind of weird when someone pushed me into the carriage road.”

On her way, it was said that someone pushed her with a wagon into her path. It was different from just bumping into her. When she looked back after avoiding the frantically running carriage, she opened her mouth too when she said that her road was empty.

“I was really lucky that I didn’t run into the wagon.”

Saying that, Rachel wrapped her arms around her own body. Even though it was summer, she seemed to feel the cold.

She was lucky. Eugenie was about to say that. Even though Rachel said that she would think she was mistaken and said otherwise, she was hoping it was Rachel’s mistake. That’s better. It’s much better that it’s just an illusion than that someone was trying to kill her.

“Did your hand hurt then?”

She asked, suppressing the rising anxiety. She hoped this was just Rachel’s misunderstanding. She hoped her anxiety was just assimilated into her feelings.

Rachel looked down at her own hand and nodded her head.

“Yes, by falling.”

If someone was really trying to hurt Rachel, it’s really fortunate that the damage was that much. But she still hoped that she was mistaken in one side of her head.

“Have you been to the constable?”

At her question, Rachel nodded her head with a dark face. Her words that she would think she was mistaken came from her experience. Eugenie asked cautiously.

“What did you say?”

In fact, she didn’t even have to listen to Rachel’s answer to know this. Sure enough, Rachel said in a low voice.

“I am being too sensitive.”

She guessed so. She let out a sigh. To be honest, even if she were a constable, she would think so. Someone was trying to take Rachel’s life. Eugenie asked again.

“Does anyone want you to get hurt?”

“No.”

Rachel’s answer was quick and firm, as if she had already thought about it. Eugenie leaned back on her couch and started staring at Rachel. She didn’t think anyone wanted Rachel to get hurt. So, that’s what the external factors were like. If Rachel was very rich or had a title, she was easy to pick out a suspect. She had heard some stories like this. Things like a case in which an elderly noble died suddenly, and the offender was a child who was aiming for the title, or a crime in which the childless aunt died, aiming for the property to come to him. But Rachel didn’t seem to have anything to do with those things. She asked just in case, but as expected, Rachel shook her head.

“If I had property or a title, I would have already received it when my parents died.”

Right. Eugenie felt uncomfortable at the thought of asking a pointless question. Didn’t know she was an orphan. But Rachel saw her expression and shook her hand as if she knew what she was thinking.

“Don’t worry. It was when I was very young.”

That’s more heartbreaking. She sighed with an apologetic expression and asked cautiously.

“How do you want me to help you?”

If she was asking to find someone who’s trying to take her life, that’s difficult. Rachel wasn’t the type of person who would want someone to take her life. From there, the road was blocked. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like that was what Rachel wanted. She again began stroking her bandaged hand carefully.

“Shall we ask the constable to investigate again?”

If that’s the case, she could do it. The Biscons could make such a request any number of times. Of course, the constables feel the same way as she did. What kind of investigation could she do in a situation where she didn’t know who or why was aiming for Rachel, or whether she was really aiming for it.

Then, Rachel said.

“I was wondering if I could be introduced to a reliable mercenary.”

“A mercenary?”

Didn’t she say she didn’t know who was targeting her? But she immediately realized what Rachel wanted. She wanted to be under her protection.

“A person who can be trusted for only a week should be called that, how to say, a bodyguard? I want to receive something like that. However…”

However? Rachel’s face turned red as she tilted her head. Huh? Why was she doing that? In a moment of panic, she said in a voice that she crawled into.

“Because I don’t have that much money.”

‘I see what you mean. You must have visited the mercenary guild before coming to me. I would have paid a huge amount there.’

The original guard was expensive. No, the mercenary’s ransom itself was expensive. Especially if you were a person with certain skills and identity.

“Ho, by any chance, if Lady knows someone…”

She would like to ask if she could hire a guard at least a little cheaper. Was it possible? She thought for a moment. There was also a way to ask for help from a Knight of the Order by asking Lord Escalee. If it was a knight, his skills and identity would be certain. However, since Rachel was not noble, she was likely rejected by the knight. It’s a bit embarrassing, but knights were also from aristocratic families, so they didn’t like protecting someone who was neither aristocratic nor monarchic like Rachel.

“Ah.”

At that time, only one person. The face of someone she could trust came to mind. Count Burns. Among the people who showed up at the ballroom in the castle with him, there might be someone worth asking. She nodded and said.

“I’ll find out.”

* * *

“Master, a guest has come.”

Elliot, who was having a meeting, wrinkled his forehead at the words of the butler. No one was coming today. He was well aware that in aristocratic society one must ask permission before visiting, unless one was very close.

“It is a woman.”

“Woman?”

It couldn’t have been, but Elliot’s body reacted to the word woman. As far as he knows, there was only one woman who would visit his house.

“Who…”

Elliot, who was about to ask who she was, shut his mouth. This butler was not a subordinate who ventured with him. In order to hire a butler who had experience running an aristocratic family, he hired a person who worked for a fallen aristocratic family in the countryside.

“Egg plant.”

Elliot stood up from his seat, wondering why Eugenie had come to visit him. Maybe she came because she was sorry that she had declined his invitation before. Or maybe she just came here out of curiosity. Either way it didn’t matter. The fact that Eugenie came to him made Elliot feel better.

“Count Burns.”

However, the woman waiting for him in the drawing room guided by the butler was not Eugenie. Elliot’s mood began to deteriorate rapidly at the sight of the unfamiliar face. He turned to the butler to see what was going on, but soon remembered that he was in a hurry and didn’t even check the visitor’s name.

“I came here unexpectedly, thank you for meeting me.”

At the greeting of the visiting woman, the butler quickly stepped back. He was just guiding the customer, but he was embarrassed by the sudden displeasure of the master. Seeing the butler quickly run away, Elliot sighed inwardly. This was his fault. So he shouldn’t be angry with the butler. But it was very unpleasant to have his time taken up by someone he didn’t care about. Elliot didn’t offer the woman a seat, and she didn’t sit down herself, so he asked.

“What is going on?”

He wanted to tell her to leave because he’s not interested, but she’s already taken home, so he couldn’t. However, Imelda was taken aback by the attitude of Count Burns, who clearly showed no interest. She came without contact and thought he would kick her out, but he let her inside. So she knew Count Burns was interested in her. She didn’t know that she had entered his house by mistake. They said that Imelda was cold and annoying.

“I am Imelda Kernel. Baroness Kernel.”

He was not interested. Elliot said that with only a look on his face. He knew Imelda, so if she had something to say, she shut her mouth at Count Burns’ expression, which seemed to tell her to go ahead and leave. She calmed down and got out of there, but Earl Burns’ expression was a little more extreme than that.

“I’m here to make an offer.”