Obsessed with Regressors

“What good is it when you have competitors?”

 

Elliot, who was sitting in the living room drinking tea, tilted his head in response to my question and asked back. Today is the day Julia helps with work. Thanks to this, she was able to have some free time in the morning.

 

“I heard other people were building swimming pools.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Elliot looked like he had heard that too. And he sipped his tea and said:

 

“I heard Viscount Patterson makes it.”

 

“Not the Viscountess?”

 

In response to her question, he raised his head and looked at me for a moment. And he said with a grin.

 

“Excuse me. It must be something the Viscountess makes.”

 

“The Viscount was boasting?”

 

At the club, he probably boasted about what his wife was making as if it were his own. Well, it’s not wrong. She’s a viscountess, so whatever her wife does, her husband was probably involved to some extent. She looked at Elliot who nodded and raised her teacup. The hot and muggy day has become much cooler. It’s gotten cooler in the early morning and late evening, but it’s still hot in the middle of the day.

 

“I heard that Lord Harmon is also building one. For men.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

Elliot spoke as if he didn’t know, but she could tell from his expression that it was information she already knew. She sipped her tea with a frown and asked.

 

“Is it really a bad thing to have a competitor?”

 

Everyone was worried, but I’m not sure. Is this a bad thing? Maybe it’s because I haven’t made any money. Because I was more of a spender than an earner. From the user’s perspective, it was a good thing to have competition. Because the quality of the products and services provided gets better. Just saying this, she didn’t think it’s a good thing for the seller to have a competitor. However, she thought it could be an opportunity to further develop the products and services she provided. Elliot, who was holding a teacup as she explained, stroked her chin with her free hand.

 

“In theory, you’re right.”

 

“Theoretically?”

 

So did that mean it’s not realistic? She looked at Elliot in confusion. He looked as if he had to explain to a child that you don’t necessarily get a reward for doing a good deed.

 

“Usually people want to make money comfortably and easily without competition.”

 

“Oh.”

 

She knew what he meant. If there were no competitors, people would only come to her boat. No, not her boat, Elliot’s boat. But everything goes by. Nowadays, people would come because of the novelty of being able to swim from a boat and curiosity about swimming itself.

 

“Will I be able to earn it over time?”

 

She put down the teacup and continued.

 

“If nothing changes. It’s amazing now, but after a few weeks or months, people’s interest will disappear.”

 

If so, the number of people visiting the ship would gradually decrease. Although swimming was fun, not many people would do it on a boat on the river until the cold winter.

 

“I prefer having competition. It creates gossip.”

 

In order to become known to people, it must eventually become gossip. The same goes for social circles. Trend leaders are always subject to gossip. The dress, shoes and hat she wore. Even gloves. But if it’s just one person, then it’s not a trendsetter, it’s just a bit of an odd person. As if this ship was just an unusual place. If there was a competitor, the swimming pool would become not only something unique but also a fun entertainment. People would talk about which one they liked better and they would choose based on their taste. Like the teahouses she went to and the teahouses she didn’t go to.

 

“What if people flock to competitors?”

 

Elliot asked. Maybe so. “Mmm,”she moaned and leaned back on the sofa. She felt like taking off her shoes, but she held back because she had a guest.

 

“I see. There will be not one, but two competitors.”

 

“There are three.”

 

Oh. Looks like another businessman she didn’t know has appeared. She wrinkled her nose. And she said it honestly.

 

“Actually, I was thinking about shutting down the swimming pool.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

Elliot asked without any surprise. She couldn’t resist and took off her shoes. It would be covered by the hem of the dress, so it should be fine.

 

“A boat, to be exact. It will get cold a little longer.”

 

Even now, there was a saying that it was a bit cold to swim in the evening. She brought a stove, but she couldn’t make a big fire because it’s on the deck. Perhaps once summer was over and fall comes, swimming would become more difficult.

 

“So are you going to build a swimming pool like everyone else?”

 

She sipped her tea in response to Elliot’s question. It would be less cold if there was a roof and walls. But that costs too much money. Although she had made quite a bit of money from the pool, she would like to save some for Lauren and her future.

 

“I don’t know. I want to do something different.”

 

Now that she had tried the swimming pool, she wanted to try something else. She thought about opening a tea shop, but that would require a skilled pastry chef. She thought about what to do again and sighed. And then he stood up and said.

 

“I have to go to the palace soon. Did you bring a carriage?”

 

She decided to have an audience with the queen today. If Elliot had come without a carriage, she would have dropped him off at his house along the way. Yikes. She must have kicked it while getting up, so her shoes rolled around a lot. She quickly reached out to get her shoes, but Elliot picked them up and came towards her.

 

“No. I came on horseback. If you give me a ride, I will send someone to take the horse next time.”

 

He said that and knelt down on one knee in front of her. He held out his shoe to her, so she bent down to take it. But Elliot put his shoes in front of her feet again. She couldn’t.

 

“Are you going home?”

 

She asked, putting her foot into the shoe in Elliot’s hand. She must never take her shoes off in front of guests again. She promised herself that, but she would probably do the same next time. This was like picking up a whisper of currants first thing in the morning, even if your mother swears not to.

 

“Lady Biscon.”

 

It was a little cool inside the palace. Maybe they used magic to cool the air or something. She remembered when this magic first came out, she had a lot of anxiety about whether summer would turn into winter. She greeted Her Majesty the Queen, who offered her a seat.

 

“Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty.”

 

“Come and hang out often even if I don’t invite you.”

 

You say the same thing as Her Majesty the Queen. She grinned silently. It’s nice to see the palace gardens, but it’s not so nice to meet the royal family. She also said hello to Viscountess Patterson, who was standing behind Her Majesty the Queen. Then he sat down and asked how the queen was doing.

 

“How have you been? It’s very hot, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes. It looks like fall is coming soon. I see the heat is at its peak.”

 

Although Her Majesty the Queen said so, the tea they served was warm. That’s right. she smiled and took a sip of tea. The royal palace was more conservative than any noble family. No matter how popular cold tea was, it was not served to customers.

 

“I heard how your stomach was doing. They said it was very successful.”

 

Yes. Even so, Viscountess Patterson said Her Majesty the Queen would like to come to the swimming pool. She quickly lifted her lips from the teacup and spoke.

 

“That’s too much praise.”

 

“I heard that only women can enter?”

 

“Because everyone is wearing swimsuits.”

 

Her Majesty the Queen stopped speaking when she answered that it was obvious. She turned to Viscountess Patterson and she thought she knew what they were thinking.

 

“I want to use the day.”

 

Immediately afterwards, Her Majesty the Queen spoke. She didn’t ask if they wanted to use the boat for a day. When she didn’t react at all, she continued.

 

“With Georgio.”

 

Georgio Sounderkid. It is the name of the prince of this country. Was he five years old this year? She sighed inwardly and tried not to look at Viscountess Patterson. Even though she knew that only women were allowed in her swimming pool, it was unreasonable to want to go in with a prince. There’s probably one of two reasons why she didn’t think that’s unreasonable. Either Her Majesty the Queen was that way, or Viscountess Paterson made her think so. She raised her teacup. The tea served at the royal palace uses quite high-quality tea leaves. Tea would not be served with the same tea leaves to everyone. Perhaps this was the treatment she deserved because she was the daughter of a count.

 

“Your Highness, other ladies have contacted us saying they would like to use it with their families. I refused them all.”

 

Surprisingly, such requests were not that uncommon. Some people want to come with their children, while others want to come with their spouse. There were even people who wanted to enjoy it secretly with their mistress. It wasn’t a very good experience. She could understand about sons and husbands, but wasn’t the lover a bit harsh?

 

“I don’t think I’m any other wife.”

 

She smiled at the queen’s words. Right. Her Royal Highness was not just any noble wife. She was the queen who ruled this country. She was the king’s partner and the mother of the next king. That’s why her request now was dangerous. To both of them.

 

“You’re right. So everyone will think that Your Majesty was putting pressure on me.”

 

She had already rejected all other people’s requests. Some people asked her for favors and others sent her excessive gifts. Oliver went so far as to say that at one point, he even asked his family to accept him. But they all refused. Well, if she only accepted Her Royal Highness, the people would think that she was pressuring her or that she was flattering her.

 

“It’s okay for people to think I’m flattering you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty deserves to be flattered.”

 

Everyone lived by flattering their superiors to some extent. So, the fact that she was flattering the queen was neither a rumor nor a shameful rumor. It’s not like she was asking for anything.

 

“But not the other way around, Your Majesty.”

 

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