Chapter 17 – To Avoid Being Swallowed Whole  

“Brightnum, we will be stopping soon.”

When did I fall asleep? 

Eloise slowly opened her eyes to the conductor’s booming voice and stretched with a yawn.

“Finally… yawn.”

Eloise, unknowingly surprised, covered her mouth and blinked vacantly. As the drowsiness slowly faded, reality gradually became clearer.

Her shoulders slumped helplessly.

‘Ah, there’s no mother to nag me even if I yawn like this.’

She realized how far she had come all alone. 

She couldn’t even remember how many times the carriage had stopped on the way here.

She had woken up each time passengers got on and off, but she was soon too busy trying to fall back asleep.

And no wonder, there was remarkably nothing to do while awake.

The increasingly bustling scenery outside the window quickly became boring, and the fact that there was no sister to chat with made every moment painful.

When the stopping time coincided with mealtime, she would have a simple meal at a nearby restaurant, but perhaps because she was alone, each meal was absurdly tasteless.

It was naturally incomparable to the warm meals prepared by cook Mitchell, but even the clumsy sandwiches she made herself would have been better.

Still, if someone had been by her side, they could have laughed about the terrible food.

‘Being alone is a lonely thing.’

Loneliness. It was a new and strange feeling for Eloise.

It was also the emotion she felt the moment she heard about her sister’s marriage. But in any case, she had to get used to it now. She had come this far for that reason.

At that moment, a voice of a middle-aged gentleman penetrated her ears.

“Oh, look over there.”

It was actually the words that followed that caught her attention.

“Cadets.”

“Ah! The Royal Military Academy is around here, right? Is it the army?”

“Yes, it’s in Chatham. About an hour from here.”

“The uniforms are splendid. It’s still midsummer, but has their summer break already ended?”

Eloise, as if entranced, lifted her head and looked out the half-open window.

The outside was a different world.

The scene of a street packed with tall buildings bathed in the crimson glow of the sunset was breathtakingly beautiful.

However, because the carriage was still moving, the couple had already lost sight of the cadets they mentioned.

An overwhelming sense of regret washed over her, even though the chance of Ansel being in that group was slim to none.

‘…No, wait. Why am I feeling regretful?’

By the time her thoughts reached that point, she felt like she wanted to bang her head against the window.

But unable to do so, Eloise adjusted her handbag in her lap and closed her eyes again.

It wasn’t long after that the carriage came to a stop.

“Oh, it finally stopped!”

“We’ve finally arrived.”

The two men spoke in excited voices. The only passengers who hadn’t changed from Longfield to here were them and Eloise.

With a clatter, the conductor opened the carriage door and quickly jumped down to announce their arrival at the terminus.

“Brightnum, Brightnum!”

A slightly cool breeze and the bustling noise of the street flowed into the carriage.

The ten or so passengers stretched, gathered their belongings, and busied themselves sharing their thoughts on the long journey.

Meanwhile, Eloise, sitting still with a face like a frightened child, waited for the people to get off first.

“Please get off, young lady.”

“Thank you.”

Eloise, now left alone, got off the carriage with the conductor’s help. Her luggage was already placed in front of the carriage.

The carriage, having dropped off all its passengers, left without looking back.

Eloise stood there, dazed, as the dust raised by the departing carriage settled around her.

Half of her body felt like it was breaking from fatigue, and the other half was filled with vague fear. A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

‘I really came to Brightnum. All by myself…’

Rubbing her aching eyelids, Eloise took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. The street view she saw properly for the first time was… shocking.

“What?”

Unlike the scenery she had seen from inside the carriage, the street was entirely chaotic and dirty.

Due to the nearby market, it wasn’t deserted, but all sorts of trash and animal droppings rolled underfoot, and even beggars and vagrants covered in soot gathered everywhere, creating a grim atmosphere.

‘What on earth…’

Unable to take a step, Eloise hesitated when a voice came from behind her.

“Is this your first time in the capital, young lady from Longfield?”

“…Yes?”

It was the men who had ridden the same carriage.

She didn’t know why they were still there, but she wasn’t particularly curious about the reason.

There was something else she wanted to ask.

“Well, it is my first time, but the scenery is completely different from what I saw earlier…”

“Even on the same route to the capital, the paths of stagecoaches differ. Didn’t you check the route?”

“I checked and took this carriage. A relative’s address is nearby.”

“Surprised that the capital is different from what you imagined? This area has always been like this. What you saw must have been the wealthy district.”

“I see.”

Apparently, this was the slum area of the capital.

Brightnum was said to be as large as a small kingdom, and she didn’t think such a big city would be filled with roses and green fields like peaceful Maybury, but…

Feeling somewhat dejected, Eloise was asked another question by the other man.

“Do you need help, young lady? Where does your relative live?”

“Well…”

Eloise started to take out the note with the address from her bag but stopped.

She noticed that the man’s gaze was oddly sticky.

Moreover, their manner of speaking and appearance were not neat. No matter how she looked at it, they didn’t seem like gentlemen trying to help a lady in distress.

As her thoughts cleared, her fine honey-colored eyebrows furrowed sharply.

Eloise, hiding her trembling lips, showed a look of full vigilance in her eyes, causing the man to raise his hands as if in surprise.

“I’m just trying to help! You said it’s your first time here. Can you find your way alone…”

“Thank you for the offer. But I can ask for directions and find my way, so there’s no problem.”

At her firm reply, the man clicked his tongue in disappointment and added a word.

“Be careful, young lady. The capital is a very scary place. Especially after dark.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to be swallowed whole, you’d better stay sharp.”

As Eloise sent another wary glance, the two men laughed dryly.

“Then good luck, young lady from Longfield.”

“…I’m from Maybury.”

Muttering softly, Eloise turned her steps, leaving the men disappearing into the shadows under the bridge behind her.

* * *

Even though she had packed lightly, the suitcase full of clothes and belongings was far from light.

The journey to find Uncle Simon’s house with the heavy luggage was anything but easy.

To make matters worse, the sky was gradually darkening.

Even though it was the same kingdom, the air turned cold as evening approached.

‘I’m so tired…’

Having traveled by carriage for a long time, her whole body was screaming in pain, and the evening scenery of the capital, not as beautiful as she had imagined, further drained her already dwindling enthusiasm.

Moreover, people were very cold.

When she asked for directions, some ignored her as if they were busy, and those who answered did so with evident annoyance.

Every time she felt the vagrants loitering at the corners watching her, she gripped the handle of her suitcase tightly, causing her palms to ache.

“…Is this it?”

In front of a street lined with small two-story and three-story houses, Eloise lifted her tired face.

Her weary gaze stopped at a house covered in old vines.

“4 Nostown, the red brick house!”

Confirming that she had found the right place, Eloise’s face brightened like a peach blossom.

Fortunately, this area seemed to be somewhere between the slums and the wealthy district.

It didn’t feel luxurious, but at least there was no trash lying around, and there were no dirty vagrants.

Her legs, which seemed ready to give out, suddenly felt light as she crossed the street with a spring in her step.

She hummed a happy tune.

‘What should I say? Hello, I am the daughter of Catherine Fairbain?’

She had been nervous all the way here, thinking about asking for help from a distant relative she had never met, but now she didn’t care anymore.

After all, they must have received the letter, and they were said to be good people…

‘I can’t wait to wash up and lie down in bed!’

The gate, with its peeling paint, was at the top of at least ten stone steps.

Eloise, dragging her sore legs, gently placed her suitcase on the ground and quickly tidied her appearance.

After adjusting her disheveled hat and clearing her throat, she finally had the courage to knock on the door.

Knock, knock. With trembling hands, she knocked hard on the door, and soon she heard footsteps approaching the entrance.

The door opened, and Eloise, ready to speak, said.

“Hello, I am… huh?”

But the person who opened the door was an elderly woman with graying hair.

A look of confusion naturally appeared on Eloise’s face.

‘Uncle Simon has been widowed for a long time. So he must be living alone.’

…Did he remarry in the meantime?

While various thoughts raced through Eloise’s mind, the elderly woman, who also looked puzzled, crossed her arms and frowned.

Her sharp gaze behind her glasses scanned the naive-looking country lady up and down.

Just as the elderly woman was about to speak, Eloise, unable to contain her curiosity, asked.

“Who are you?”