Chapter 4 – The Beautiful Uninvited Guest

The rain that had started pouring heavily continued until the early morning of the next day.

At dawn, the outside was still dark.

Eloise, having woken up from sleep, did not get up but instead lay still, listening to the gentle sound of the rain.

“It’s nice to listen to.”

Sarah was in a very deep and quiet sleep, and only the gentle sound of the rain seeped through the window, filling the silence.

It was indeed a tranquil time. It felt as if she were the only one awake in a world where everyone else was asleep.

In such moments, old memories would inevitably come alive one by one, vividly.

‘Ansel. That’s my name. And yours?’

‘Eloise Bailey.’

Hair blacker than the night and elegant eyelashes.

The eyes that sparkled beneath them were of a very delicate clover color.

Eloise still remembered the thrill she felt the moment she first met those eyes.

‘It was only yesterday that I decided to focus on the present rather than the past…’

‘And yet, here I am, recalling my first meeting with him as if nothing had happened.’

A quiet, self-deprecating laugh escaped through her teeth.

At that time, he was seven, and she was just five years old.

Most of the memories from those distant childhood days had evaporated. Only the ones concerning Ansel Blaine remained.

And they were quite vivid. It was astonishing even to herself.

‘Ansel!’

But she swore it was just an old habit. Like an annual event she naturally experienced when this season came.

‘Come on up! Here, I’ll hold your hand.’

‘…You’re really fearless.’

‘How is it? Beautiful, right? All this Longfield land belongs to your grandfather. You’re so lucky, Ansel.’

‘What’s my grandfather’s is my grandfather’s. It has nothing to do with me, Eloise.’

Come to think of it, perhaps she was the only one who was ever truly childlike.

Even back then, he already had a mature side to him.

Young Ansel exuded an atmosphere that was neat and elegant, uncharacteristic of a child.

For a seven-year-old to speak in such a leisurely and graceful manner was undeniably peculiar, making it special.

Especially to a child’s eyes.

Of course, he was still a child, so he was quite unreserved when showing interest in her older sister at times.

‘Eloise, where is Miss Bailey?’

‘Sally won’t come. She said swimming in the lake isn’t a good idea.’

‘That’s troublesome. Archibald also hates swimming.’

‘…But I still want to go into the lake. What about you, Ansel?’

As Eloise recalled each scattered memory in her mind, like stringing beads, she suddenly realized something anew.

‘When we were young, we really talked without any hesitation. Without even a hint of formality.’

Well, it was only natural. Back then, they were just children, neither man nor woman.

Eloise vividly remembered the moment she first saw him as a man.

Of course, there were minor flutters before that.

For instance, when she saw his brave figure leading the way on the day they got lost in the dark forest, when he carried her on his back after she sprained her ankle, or when he unexpectedly visited Maybury on her sister’s twelfth birthday…

But the moment he was imprinted as a completely different being, so perfect it took her breath away and made her chest tighten, was clearly that day.

The summer when he returned to the kingdom after leaving for Berth at the age of fourteen.

It was truly a reunion she had longed for. But the Ansel who returned after two years had transformed into a man.

Eloise realized for the first time that one could grow so much taller in just two years.

His changed eye level and the body that felt not just unfamiliar but intimidatingly solid. There was an unfamiliar scent emanating from him as he approached.

That day, Eloise couldn’t even properly greet him and fled the scene as if running away.

If she had known that it would be her last chance to look closely into his beautiful eyes, she should have somehow endured that moment.

‘…No.’

She wouldn’t have been able to. It was the first time in her life that her heart pounded so wildly.

She was scared that her heart might actually break.

Had she somehow managed to stand her ground, she might have ended up spitting out her heart not long after.

The realization that the emotion was a feverish love came easily.

Although she hadn’t grown as tall as Ansel, her feelings had grown so much during the two summers without him that she could no longer hide them.

That day, she intuitively knew that she would no longer be able to meet Ansel.

Even though she had used the time they spent together as a shield to pretend not to notice that the ground they stood on was clearly different, realizing her love for him left her without confidence.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he had also decided not to continue this fleeting game any longer.

From that day on, Ansel Blaine disappeared from the sisters’ daily lives.

His departure was extremely natural.

Just like their first encounter, which happened by chance.

Of course, Ansel still visited Longfield every summer, and she could hear news about him from Archibald.

For instance, that he had become a university student, was knighted, and entered the military academy immediately after graduating from university.

And very rarely, there were days when she saw his carriage from a distance.

But that was all. They could no longer face each other and have conversations as they used to.

He no longer came to church either.

Even the young maids of the mansion, let alone the Earl of Huntington who had difficulty moving, never missed a service, so it was truly strange.

Whether it was a belated rebellion or he had become a completely different person due to his overseas life, Eloise had no way of knowing.

‘It’s not like I can go and ask him.’

Longfield was only a three or four-hour walk away, but it was not ladylike, nor proper etiquette, to visit a grown man, especially a gentleman of noble status, without a good reason.

It might be an excellent choice for a mischievous girl planning to embarrass her parents.

‘No matter how it is, it’s strange that someone who spent so much time with us could become a complete stranger overnight. It’s too strange and… lonely.’

Eloise thought as she curled up under the covers.

‘Mother said this is how it should be, and Sally said she doesn’t miss the past.

But what about his feelings, Ansel Blaine’s feelings?

Even if it wasn’t for me, Eloise Bailey, at least for Sarah Bailey, for my sister, he had feelings.

No matter how much we knew our place and withdrew first, he could have reached out to us again.

Even if his illustrious family had stood in his way, he could have secretly visited at least once…

It’s true that it has become a distant past, but that doesn’t mean those times never existed.’

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. But the strangest thing was that she was the only one who found it odd.

‘Am I the strange one? Is it just me who can’t let go of the past?’

As she let out a faint sigh, the incessant rain stopped.

Before long, the distant sound of birds chirping could be heard.

It was at that very moment that her bright blue eyes opened wide.

‘A carriage?’

At first, she doubted her ears, but the faint sound mingling with the birdsong was unmistakably that of a carriage approaching.

Moreover, it was getting closer.

Eloise, rustling as she got up, turned her head slightly.

The dim light of dawn cast a soft glow on Sarah’s still sleeping face.

“Hmm…”

Though she was reluctant to wake up before her sister, she also didn’t want to wake her at such an early hour.

With a drowsy face, Eloise picked up a shawl hanging on the wall.

Naturally, it was quiet outside the room.

None of the women of the Bailey family, who were not morning people, had woken up yet. Eloise carefully stepped down the stairs.

‘Could it be a guest visiting father?

That seemed most likely. Her ather had a wide circle of acquaintances.

‘But why at such an early hour?

…I hope it’s not something bad.’

Or perhaps it was the heir coming to check on the house and introduce themselves.

Her parents had mentioned that a distant paternal relative, whom they had never even seen, would inherit the house and estate someday.

‘Maybe they just sent a letter instead of coming in person.

If not, it could be a new suitor for my sister.’

By the time Eloise had descended all the stairs, a small smile formed on her lips.

‘It’s about time for someone new to come.’

If that were true, arriving at such an hour would surely be a strategy to appear earnest.

As she approached the front door with these thoughts, a neat knock sounded right on cue.

“Yes.”

Eloise quickly extended her arm. If it was a guest who had come for a trivial matter, she planned to politely send them away before the family awoke.

Creak, as she unlocked and twisted the old doorknob to open the door, the smell of rain-soaked earth wafted through the narrow gap.

The cold, sticky breeze was also layered with the sweet scent of summer roses.

Outside, it was surely an ordinary morning scene typical of Maybury at this time of year, and that expectation was not wrong.

Except for one thing, this beautiful uninvited guest.

“…Ansel?”