obsession chapter 31

Shariette knew Eden’s weaknesses. Having worked alongside him for so long at Argen, she knew exactly which seemingly insignificant things would grate on his nerves. 

“Oops, my mistake!” 

She’d ‘accidentally’ drop a scrap of paper onto his obsessively organized desk. “Is your head as empty as your hair?” 

Every sarcastic jab was met with a feigned obliviousness. 

“Did you touch my desk?!” 

“Maybe the wind blew it?” 

She’d shift items on his desk two or three inches from their designated spots. “This crazy woman! Who dared to mix these important things…?!”

“You told me to clean, so I reorganized the reagent cabinet too.” 

She’d meticulously clean and rearrange his precisely ordered instruments and reagents. “Verdett! You’ve done it again…! When did you even touch these?!” 

“You seemed busy, so I organized them for you.” 

She’d take all his books, sorted by thickness and height, and rearrange them alphabetically. 

“Don’t do anything, please! Damn it, where did this lunatic crawl out from?!” Considering Eden’s obsessive nature, her actions were nothing short of calculated madness. Indeed, for the past ten days, Eden had been driven to the brink by this living, breathing embodiment of stress. 

An unprecedented foreign substance in his life, as precise as the gradations on a cylinder and as fragile as glass. Neither at the Royal Academy, nor at the Argen Marquisate, nor even here at the Rubelot Dukedom had anyone ever provoked him like this! Even Heron, the current Duke’s physician, had entrusted him with the management of the apothecary. 

Shariette’s presence was like a stone thrown into a calm lake—no, a stone shattering a windowpane. Now, the mere sight of her white head approaching from afar sent a surge of fury through him. 

“If this were Argen, such a thing wouldn’t be allowed to roam free!” 

Damned Rubelot! Stupid and soft Rubelot! Matthias Argen, the Marquis of Argen, whom he had once served, was the ultimate employer in that regard. Strictly speaking, it was the Marquis’s son, but he was the de facto supervisor. 

There are many worthless things. Many useless things. You may dispose of anything that hinders you. One excellent researcher is more important than such things.

He was competent, trusted, and granted considerable authority. Ability. Skill. Efficiency. A thoroughly rational and reasonable world. Everything was perfect there. 

Ah, you can do as you please, but don’t touch Blanche’s toys. My sister hates it when people touch her things.

Except for one thing. Come to think of it, Blanche’s toy, that apothecary, was about the same age. 

Sasha, was it?

There had been something that constantly interfered with his research, something that rotted away without utilizing its remarkable talent. Blanche, the blessing that Argen’s princess so desperately desired. And Eden, the talent that Franz, his former self, had so desperately craved. 

A useless woman who, despite having everything, ended her life as a mere lab rat. He truly despised such people. God always bestowed such gifts not on the earnest but on the foolish, as if tossing them a careless donation. Of course, as much as he disliked them, none compared to this madwoman, Shariette. 

“Sasha would have been disposed of and become fish food long ago. Tsk.” 

‘Master Matthias, here is the report for the past week.’

‘Good work. How is Sasha?’ 

‘From the eleventh trial, her vital signs have slowed significantly. I’ve stopped for now, as you instructed me to keep her alive.’ 

Judging by the state he had last observed before coming to Rubelot two years ago, she couldn’t possibly be alive. 

‘All indicators are negative. I don’t think you’ll get the results you desire. If it weren’t for Latium’s blessing, she would have died ten times over.’