"Oh! The Red Fox Mercenary Corps' assault captain wanted to have a one-on-one meal with Antonio, so I wondered why, and that's why!"
On the second day of Eugene's job as Vivian's bodyguard,
He requested a one-on-one meal with Antonio, the Grand Master of the Iron Cross.
It might be a rude suggestion, but Eugene is in charge of Vivian's bodyguard duties.
It was possible because Antonio had a duty to cooperate with him as much as possible.
Antonio was having a meal with Eugene in his private barracks.
Eugene looked quite interested when he heard why she had requested this position.
"After about a day, I realized that it wasn't just about brute force; it was about understanding the target of my protection, Commander Antonio. It seemed like something like detailed, subconscious protection was also required, perhaps unconsciously. So I first sought advice from Davis, and he absolutely recommended talking to Commander Antonio."
Whatever his motivation for starting out, Eugene Schnieder was determined to do security work.
So I spent a day or so figuring out how things were going.
As a result, I thought I should know something about Vivian.
It is clear that bodyguards also have to act as on-site secretaries.
What the subject of the performance dislikes, what he likes, and what kind of background he has,
You need to know a certain level to be able to fill in those things.
Meanwhile, the information Eugene heard from Jeanne about Vivian was not enough.
Because all there was was Vivian and Jeanne not being on good terms when they were young.
So I consulted Davis about my concerns, and he told me that the person who currently has the closest connection to Vivian is Commander Antonio.
"I guess so. After all, I had a certain level of connection with our young lady, no, Vivian's father."
Antonio has a connection with Alexis St-Pierre, Vivian's father.
Alexis Saint-Pierre had quite a bit of interaction with the mercenary group he was in before joining the Black Eagle Mercenary Group.
Since the leader of the mercenary group was Antonio, they had enough time to eat separately and build a relationship.
At that point, Vivian was born and Antonio continued to maintain close ties with the Saint-Pierre family until he moved to the Black Hawk Mercenaries.
"If the word 'young lady' came out instantly, it seems we were closer than I thought."
The depth of that connection was also felt strongly by Eugene through Antonio's slip of the tongue.
Eugene had seen Antonio apologize to Vivian several times during that time.
Of course, the internal spy issue is a serious matter, but I wondered if the stance was unnecessarily submissive.
And it was an aspect that was created because there was a personal superior-subordinate relationship between the two people.
“First of all, our assault leader knows that Vivian is the daughter of the Duke, right?”
“Yes, I heard that at the first meeting.”
Antonio, who had been so lucky, laid down his mat with a rather serious expression.
“In fact, Vivian is from a family that is more than just a duke; she is a member of the royal family.”
Afterwards, he told Eugene the most crucial information about Vivian.
"You're the first one I've ever told you this, Eugene Caesar, the leader of the assault squad. You can think of it as me saying this because Vivian gave me a heads-up in advance, asking me to cooperate actively. He doesn't usually say things like that. He's the one who sets guidelines for me to say this and not say that. I think it's because he trusts you so much, Eugene. He's not the type of person to show his trust so quickly."
The reason I made that decision is
This is because Vivian has placed more trust in Eugene than before.
And that high level of trust is a refreshing shock to Antonio, who has been watching Vivian from the side to a certain extent.
Wasn't it Vivian who suddenly lost her father?
So it's rare for someone's trust rating to suddenly increase.
Especially for those who haven't seen it for very long.
‘It’s difficult to understand…’
Hearing those words, Eugene's mind became complicated as he tried to figure out Vivian's true intentions on the second day.
“It would not be an exaggeration to assume that Lord Vivian is working hard to carry on the legacy of her father, Duke Alexis.”
To him, Antonio gave a keyword that was quite open to interpretation.
"Duke Alexis was an enterprising man. He was keenly interested in trade with other races and worked diligently to establish it. He believed that Elysium's future depended on such exchanges. When their relationship was at its peak, I was there to assist. However, I longed to further my career as a mercenary. Consequently, I transferred to the Black Hawk Mercenaries, and for a long time, my ties with the Pierre family were severed."
Alexis devoted himself to trade.
Because the core of his progressive thinking was that Elysium had to break free from its isolation.
So Alexis argued that since internal expansion had been achieved to a certain extent, Elysium must break away from its existing fundamentalism and begin communicating with other races.
If we were to say material justification, it was because there were many resources in the territory of a different race.
So Alexis will show the people of Elysium the value of that resource firsthand.
He believed that his claim would soon be established.
"After that, I heard distant rumors about the Pierre family. About the Duke and Lady Vivian. Then the Duke passed away. But I couldn't visit him at the time. It was due to political reasons within the mercenary group I belonged to. So, after I left the Black Hawk Mercenaries, I met Lady Vivian again. By then, she had already taken over her father's trade and become a merchant."
Alexis Saint-Pierre, the reformist figure who seemed destined to become a leader of the new era, suddenly passed away.
Death is a sad thing, but since he was a rival of Louis XV, who had ascended to the throne at the time, even his unfortunate death was not properly mourned.
The same goes for Antonio, who was a member of the Black Hawks mercenary group that served Louis XV.
Then, as time passed and the ice melted, he was able to meet Vivian again as an adult.
And she had already become the owner of the Pietà and had followed in her father's footsteps.
“I guess you respected your father very much?”
"That's right. Vivian never left Alexis's side when she was young. So whenever Alexis traveled abroad on business, she always followed him. Alexis's love for his daughter was incredible, and Vivian's fatherly love was also tear-jerking."
There was no need for complicated words.
Vivian, who took over her deceased father's business before she was 20 years old.
I could feel how much she loved and missed her father, Alexis.
Antonio nodded in agreement to Eugene, who was asking questions surrounding it.
"So, honestly, I was very worried. I wondered if Vivian, the young princess of the Duchess, would ever be able to get back on her feet. I truly expected she'd be a wreck for a long time. But she overcame it. She was truly adventurous. That's why I'm doing my best to support her in this way."
The Pierre family is still part of the Goat Hand, but in reality, they are only called Goat Hands in name.
This is the story right after Alexis suddenly left.
The house was devastated and Vivian herself was in a state of great shock and exhaustion.
Everyone thought that the devastation would last at least 10 years.
Vivian defied everyone's expectations.
‘Hmm... The father I loved so much, and when he passed away, Jeanne was the one who cared the most and was by my side. How could I do that to Jeanne?’
It was a very touching story.
But Eugene must have heard it from a different angle.
Knowing how obsessed Vivian was with her father makes her actions towards Jeanne even more difficult to understand.
"I know for sure. What you feel for me."
But there was also an aspect of it that made me realize, "Ah, ah!" the moment I saw the portrait of her father, Alexis, hanging in Vivian's bedroom.
Why does Vivian reach out to Eugene more than necessary?
‘Your father has black hair.’
Alexis Saint-Pierre in a portrait,
He had black hair.
"They say he awakened, but didn't live like a knight. Still, with that build, could there be a barbarian in his family?"
It wasn't just black hair.
The overall image, physique, etc. are quite similar to Eugene.
Of course, Alexis in the portrait is middle-aged, so he has a mature feel, but he definitely feels different from the average Imperium person.
The nobles brought various Awakened people into their households, some of whom were barbarians.
Because they are nobles with such a wide genetic diversity, sometimes, people with completely different vibes emerge.
Alexis is probably one such case.
Perhaps his enterprising nature is also based on that.
‘In other words, Vivian had a considerable father-comb, and her father passed away too early before he could properly fill that father-comb.’
In this way, Eugene became certain of the situation.
‘But when I met him, who looked so much like his father, I felt a tremendous attraction to him.’
Why does Vivian want to keep Eugene Schneider by her side?
It is undeniable that there is a desire to fuck Jeanne at the root of it.
So, when she nominated Eugene and watched Jeanne's reaction, the corners of her mouth would have raised.
But the treatment of Eugene Schneider, which was too generous for that purpose alone,
It was because it was Jeanne's turn to fuck off, and because Vivian had feelings for Eugene.
And the aspect he has in mind is not as a skilled mercenary, but as a likable object.
Dear Father,
My father, who I desperately wanted to see, ruined my entire adolescence.
I was completely captivated by the sight of Eugene Schneider, who seemed like the perfect fit for my father.
"What's wrong with the portrait? The border is old, but I like the feel of it, so I'm leaving it as is..."
As Eugene stared at Alexis's portrait for quite some time, Vivian reacted slightly puzzled.
It is highly unlikely that people here, like Eugene, are fully aware of the concepts of fatherhood and the Electra complex.
But Vivian, the person in question, is probably experiencing it not in the realm of theory but through the intuition of her heart.
So she must be feeling awkward instinctively.
“...”
Eugene looked at Vivian silently.
After that he
“Vivian, do you like me?”
Noppagu asked her what she thought.
"yes?"
It was the very definition of a no-brainer, so Vivian was taken aback for a moment.
"It's literally true. Do you like me? The only thing I can see is that you're trying to take me under some ridiculous conditions."
But in the end, it was not a rejection, but a reaction.
Eugene continued to hammer the deal in with great force.