episode_0105

‘Was she waiting until I finished all the urgent work? There were several things happening for 3 days, but it felt uneventful…’

It is now past midnight,

At that ominous hour, Vivian called Eugene Schneider into her bedroom.

Of course, in some ways, it could be that the person being guarded was calling the guard to talk about security matters.

However, Vivian hadn’t shown that side of herself for 3 days.

‘She seemed to care about her reputation to some extent. It was her attitude to prevent any misunderstandings between me and Vivian from being seen by other members of the merchant guild.’

Eugene also seemed to roughly know why Vivian maintained that attitude.

Perhaps it wouldn’t have been the case if the bodyguard was the Iron Cross Knights as originally planned.

However, to anyone who saw him, Eugene looked like a mercenary scraping the bottom,

Moreover, he had black hair and a large physique reminiscent of a barbarian.

If him entering and leaving Vivian’s room was witnessed by other merchant guild officials, it would have negatively affected the negotiation table where anxiety was already rising.

Therefore, Vivian not only kept a strict distance from Eugene during the past few days when important negotiations were taking place, but also treated him with utmost respect.

“I don’t think you have any schedule tomorrow, so what brings you here at this hour?”

Eugene, who was trying to understand the situation with his own thoughts, spoke first.

There is no schedule tomorrow either.

This means that there is likely nothing to say regarding security.

Of course, even though it is a bedroom, it is also used as an office,

But as Eugene said, since there is no schedule, it seems natural that the bedroom purpose is further emphasized.

“I called you like this because I don’t have a schedule. I want to share extremely personal stories with Eugene Kaiser, the assault captain of the Red Fox Mercenary Corps.”

Smile…!

Swoosh…!

Vivian responded with a smile to Eugene’s rather dry and indifferent words.

At the same time, she stood up from her office desk.

Until just before, she was checking documents.

‘Personal matters, looking at her now, it comes across as quite ambiguous.’

Seeing Vivian stand up from her desk chair, Eugene gave a slight look that said she was not easy to deal with.

His gaze felt like he was looking at Vivian’s entire body.

‘Isn’t that see-through outfit incredibly clingy? Isn’t it too blatant?’

See-through,

To what extent, it was a full-body see-through dress that showed Vivian’s underwear as well as her skin very prominently.

Vivian’s height, approximately 175cm, was similar to Jeanne’s,

Her chest also appeared to be a similar size to Jeanne’s, and her lower body was even more solid than Jeanne’s.

‘The see-through outfit has a very exotic feel. I’ve seen some see-through outfits from Elysium, but they weren’t to this extent. Is this something that desert nomads wear there?’

The outfit concept, especially with its strong exotic feel, gave off an even more seductive vibe.

From what Eugene had observed, Vivian used a lot of goods from other ethnic groups, befitting someone who controlled foreign trade.

The binoculars that were used to watch Jeanne and Eugene a few days ago were also binoculars used by desert nomads.

“Let’s sit over here together. I want to create a more appropriate atmosphere since it’s an extremely personal conversation topic.”

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,

Vivian, as if sensing Eugene’s gaze on her see-through state,

lured Eugene to the bed, wiggling her hips seductively.

‘Will you accept this? It’s a token of my appreciation for your hard work in guarding me.”

Despite the blatant outfit and blatant seduction, Vivian’s first appearance to Eugene, who sat on the bed with her, was quite demure.

She was handing Eugene a gift box that was very carefully packaged.

“Ah, this is a fountain pen?”

It was a high-end fountain pen.

“I noticed you didn’t have a fountain pen when you were signing documents. As you do various things in the future, there will be times when you have to use a fountain pen even more than a sword. So I prepared it for you.”

There were times when Eugene had to sign contracts himself due to security issues while going through his schedule.

But Eugene, who had never had such a situation before, didn’t have any writing tools,

and Vivian, who watched this, prepared a fountain pen as a gift of gratitude.

“I will use it gratefully. And I will keep that advice in mind as well.”

Eugene was inwardly curious about what kind of gift it would be.

He was also thinking that if it seemed like something blatant, it would be better to refuse.

However, since the fountain pen didn’t seem like that, Eugene accepted it willingly.

“But I don’t think you just called me to give me this fountain pen. Tell me, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”

So, in Eugene’s view, this is not the main point.

It feels like she’s probing Eugene and testing the waters a bit more,

so he went straight in.

“Hoh hoh… I feel like my pride is a little hurt? This is the first time I’ve received such a look and attitude from someone with the profession of a mercenary.”

Tsk…!

Then, Vivian, who had been sitting demurely and handing Eugene the gift, crossed her legs with her arms folded and clicked her tongue, feeling that he was not easy to deal with.

“The people I’ve met in the past few days, and the way they treat me, both the knights and the mercenary corps are working hard because they want to be chosen by me. I don’t think Eugene Schneider has any such thoughts at all.”

Then Vivian slowly brought up the main topic she had in mind.

Eugene entered Vivian’s bedroom, and her actions, which had been more subdued than he had thought,

were actually her true flirtation and a display of Vivian’s confidence.

Also, it was a vibe that came from experience.

Since she runs a large merchant guild, Vivian naturally had many collaborations with knights or mercenaries.

In the process, she saw how much the patrons who were important sword-fodders were obsessed with her power and wealth.

So, from Vivian’s point of view, being blatantly forward is amateurish.

Rather, showing the image of an owner, the absolute being who will make their success come true for the sword-fodders, is the masterstroke.

Therefore, Vivian had been trying to win Eugene’s favor by showing him that side of herself for three days.

But since Eugene doesn’t seem to have even noticed that vibe, Vivian feels a bit disillusioned.

‘Ah, so that’s what it was?’

A considerable number of exclamation marks floated in Eugene’s head.

He also noticed the background of Vivian’s disillusionment to some extent.

Vivian doesn’t know that Eugene is a member of the Grand Duke’s family, even though he is adopted,

and that was her strategy accordingly.

Similarly, Eugene also didn’t have the mindset of a normal mercenary at all, so he was making wrong guesses when interpreting Vivian’s actions for the past three days.

‘In other words, she was trying to get me to say something first for 3 days, but since I didn’t say anything, what she’s about to say now is…’

Now that he understood the situation in such detail, Eugene could roughly guess what Vivian was going to say.

“I want to bring Eugene Kaiser, the assault captain of the Red Fox Mercenary Corps, as the captain of our merchant guild’s security team.”

Then Vivian immediately mentioned the words that Eugene had predicted.

Vivian Saint-Pierre, who has a very bad relationship with Jeanne,

is trying to take Eugene away, who is so attached to Jeanne.

“Being the captain of the security team doesn’t mean you’re unconditionally tied to our merchant guild. You’ll only be in charge of the core security related to me, and otherwise, I’m planning to give you the opportunity to lead your own mercenary corps with my support.”

Vivian’s offer was truly groundbreaking.

What she is saying is that she will create both a political career and a career as a mercenary.

Through core security related to Vivian, you will be able to build friendships with a considerable number of Elysium’s political and business figures.

At the same time, you can run a powerful mercenary corps with Vivian’s overwhelming financial support.

Isn’t that the dream and romance of mercenaries?

‘Isn’t the offer too amazing? And is she throwing that offer at me to screw over Jeanne? Isn’t the bait too big? This woman seems to be overestimating me too much?’

Eugene’s current primary thought is that Vivian is trying to seduce him to screw over Jeanne,

If that’s the case, the empty promises that Vivian is throwing out now are too large in scale.

If you assume that Eugene is simply a tool for a specific purpose, it should be at the level of an empty promise that can be cut off at any time.

Therefore, an appropriate size would be right, and even then, an ordinary mercenary would have no choice but to be grateful for the grace.

But the level of carrot she is throwing now is too risky if she tries to cut off the tail at will.

Vivian, who has experienced many knights and mercenaries, must also know this clearly,

Nevertheless, the fact that she is throwing such a big bait means,

‘I have to add the possibility that she really wants to scout me.’

Apart from Vivian’s purpose of wanting to screw over Jeanne,

for some reason, she must truly want to get Eugene Schneider as well.

“Isn’t it too much?”

Therefore, Eugene immediately began a direct attempt to find out the truth.

“I’m only 21 years old, and I don’t have a career or anything. I just have the title of assault captain of a small mercenary corps. I haven’t really shown any skills since I met the guild leader. I’m not sure if such an offer is right for me.”

If Vivian truly wants to scout Eugene himself as the guild leader,

what should be the basis for that is ultimately skill.

Apart from the enemy commander being terrible, the enemy subordinate has good skills, so I have to take that friend. This feeling.

In Eugene’s view, he mentioned that he had not shown his skills in a way that would establish such a feeling.

Smile…!

Then Vivian smiled with a subtle feeling.

“I need a leader for the mercenary corps that will be with me. And I know that leader’s appearance very well. Sir Eugene fits that leader very well. This unwavering appearance right now is exactly it. Rather, my offer now is not enough for someone like you.”

Then, as if she was even more convinced by Eugene’s appearance now, she sparkled her eyes even more and told her thoughts.

‘Isn’t that a look that makes my déjà vu stand up?’

Swoosh…!

It was a pattern of eyes that Eugene had been encountering quite often lately.

Eugene, who instinctively felt burdened by that look, slightly pulled his upper body back

“Huh?”

He had a look that found something at that moment.

“What is that reaction, Sir Eugene Kaiser?”

Since Vivian had been completely focused on Eugene’s appearance for about 10 seconds, she also recognized that look.

“That portrait next to the guild leader’s bed, can I know who the protagonist of that portrait is?”

What Eugene found was a portrait hanging on a somewhat dark wall next to the bed.

“Ah! You found my father’s portrait? It’s exactly as you said. It’s a portrait of my father, my deceased biological father.”

It was Vivian Saint-Pierre’s father,

a portrait of Alexis Saint-Pierre.

“….”

After receiving Vivian’s confirmation, Eugene silently looked at the portrait of Alexis Saint-Pierre

‘Found it, the reason!’

He finally found out the second reason why Vivian wanted to scout him.