When Ellin briefly explained that she couldn’t stay long, the woman looked at her with apparent bewilderment for a moment.

“Hannah.”

While maintaining her gaze directly on Ellin, she called for the maid.

The maid scurried over and took what Ellin was holding.

“There’s a fur cape laid out in the upstairs bedroom. Bring that.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The maid scurried up the stairs again.

“I mentioned it to Bianca before, so she’ll know what it is when you show it to her. Just wait and take it with you.”

“Yes.”

Ellin nodded in understanding and gave a brief smile.

The mistress seemed displeased with the young lady who neither showed deference nor cowered like other servants or attendants.

Even as she left, she looked back at Ellin with what seemed like contempt.

Regardless, Ellin only wanted to leave this uncomfortable place as soon as possible.

The reason she had come to Rodem Street today was because it had markets and shops incomparably larger than those in the village.

She felt excited and impatient, thinking about buying postcards at the bookstore and getting the brushes she had needed.

But the maid who had just gone upstairs didn’t come down as quickly as expected.

She was probably searching for the item, not knowing its exact location.

Ellin’s gaze shifted from the landing toward the dining room where voices could be heard.

Though a large pillar blocked her view of the inside, their voices came through quite clearly.

“While riding in the carriage, I met Sir Hamilton. He was rushing into the hotel with great urgency. His pomaded hair was flying about. He was waving his cane and cutting through crowds of people.”

“My goodness. What urgent matter could that proper gentleman have had?”

“Exactly. I was so curious that my husband asked through the carriage window and……”

The audience must have been captivated, as it suddenly grew quiet.

Ellin couldn’t help but feel curious about their conversation, though she didn’t particularly want to hear it.

She found herself imagining an elderly man with flying hair walking urgently, even though she had no idea who Sir Hamilton was.

“A very high-ranking person from the capital is coming here.”

“A high-ranking person? If Sir Hamilton was that urgent, someone must really be coming. Who could it be?”

“I was so curious that I got out and asked the hotel manager, and it turns out……”

Just as the identity of this important person was about to be revealed, footsteps coming down the stairs were heard.

Ellin’s attention shifted back to the staircase, her focus on the story fading.

“Here.”

The maid thr*st an envelope containing clothes at Ellin with an attitude even ruder than her mistress’s.

“Leave as quietly as possible. Don’t make any noise with your feet or the door.”

Ellin was about to rebuke her for her rudeness but held her tongue.

She worried that if the mistress heard, Bianca might face trouble because of her, so she simply turned and left.

After exiting the front door, Ellin paused with a look of regret.

“Come to think of it, who did they say it was?”

The person coming from the capital might be someone she knew.

She had attended quite a few parties in the capital, after all. That made her even more curious.

“What, is the King making a royal visit?”

Though disappointed at not having her curiosity clearly satisfied, she soon stepped forward with light footsteps.

* * *

Sir Hamilton, who had a lunch appointment with local dignitaries, rushed to the hotel.

He was so shocked that he couldn’t wait for his carriage.

He had run with his cane for two blocks.

Acquaintances passing by on the street asked about his well-being with surprised faces, but he had no time to answer.

“Did he arrive?”

The front desk employee was momentarily stunned, as smoke seemed to rise from behind the manager who had come running in.

“Has the Duke already arrived!”

When he struck the floor with his cane and asked again, the employee finally came to his senses and answered.

“Ah. Yes. The carriage that went to pick him up has returned, but His Grace hasn’t arrived yet.”

“What does that mean!”

Everyone in the lobby turned to look at the source of the exasperated shout.

The hotel director, who was nearby, saw this and quickly rushed to the owner.

“Sir. Please calm down. His Grace sent only his luggage ahead in the carriage, saying he had business to attend to. We’ve already sent the luggage up to his room.”

Hearing this, Hamilton slapped his forehead in regret.

“If I had known he was coming earlier, I would have gone to greet him personally. To show such disrespect to the Duke.”

In fact, he had learned about the Duke’s accommodation late thanks to the sharp-eyed director.

After examining the day’s guest list, the director sat leisurely in his chair with a cup of coffee, as he did every morning.

In his hands was a newspaper filled with gossip articles.

Reading the newspaper was a small pleasure that satisfied his intellectual curiosity during his workday.

However, while reading an article, he felt a sense of déjà vu.

He picked up the guest list he had just been holding.

1. 1. Dominic.

Up to this point, it resembled any other name.

Such a name could certainly appear in newspaper articles.

But the person who made the reservation on his behalf was named Higgins.

And the name of Duke Linderto’s secretary in the newspaper article was also Higgins.

A nobleman coming from the capital who had booked a suite.

From that moment, his head began to ring.

Among high-ranking individuals, many preferred not to reveal their identity.

But it would be remiss not to recognize them.

The director immediately informed the hotel owner of this fact.

This was why Sir Hamilton had come running with his hair flying.

“Since we don’t know when he’ll arrive, everyone stay alert. Report to me immediately when he comes.”

“Yes.”

* * *

While exploring the harbor town, Dominic visited several shops that matched the picture on the postcard.

Though he only briefly described Ellin’s appearance, they recognized her immediately.

“Ah! The young lady staying at Bianca’s house.”

“The pretty young lady from the capital?”

“Who are you! Why are you looking for that young lady?”

People’s reactions varied, but the common thread was that they all held her in high regard.

Dominic chuckled in amazement at Ellin’s sociability once again.

He recalled the people at the mansion in the capital who were desperately waiting for her.

In any case, finding Ellin in this town was much easier than he had anticipated.

Rather than searching for a needle in a haystack, it felt like people would give you suspicious looks if you didn’t know her in this village.

“I saw that young lady at the stagecoach earlier. We even talked? She said she was running errands for Grandma Bianca. She said she was going to the pastor’s house. She also said she would look around the market and buy brushes. She promised to buy me a candy stick too. Really!”

The cute little child who recited everything as if lying would cause a disaster provided the crucial clue.

According to the child, she had gone to the town district, quite a distance from this village.

He rode his horse again without delay.

The thought of seeing her soon made his chest tighten.

He rode so fast that sweat formed on the back of his neck despite it still being winter.

He reached the town district in no time, despite being told it was quite far.

When he asked a passing man about the location of the pastor’s residence, the man pointed somewhere.

“The gray building that appears when you turn left a bit at that intersection.”

Arriving at his destination in one go, he knocked on the door.

His hair was disheveled and he was breathing heavily from riding his horse frantically all the way here.

He only thought about finding Ellin, with no time to fix his disheveled appearance.

Despite his impatience, the door remained closed for quite some time.

Bang bang.

This time he knocked hard with his fist, and a maid with deep wrinkles on her forehead swung the door open.

“What on earth……”

The maid who was about to speak rudely lowered her voice when she saw the man standing before her.

The young man’s black hair was randomly scattered over his forehead, and the gold button at his neckline was unfastened.

Even the collar of his coat was improperly turned up.

Yet he exuded an extremely aristocratic aura.

One that seemed far superior to the masters she served.

This was a sense she had developed while working as a maid.

“Sir. What brings you here?”

Dominic leaned against the pillar with one hand and spoke with a slightly tired face.

“I came looking for someone. Did a young woman come here on an errand?”

“Ah……”

The maid’s face filled with bewilderment.

She recalled the woman she had looked down upon just moments ago.

But she couldn’t understand why this man was searching for her with such desperate eyes.

The maid hesitated, unsure how to answer.

“That person just……”

“Who came to the door?”

A man from inside approached behind the maid with curious eyes.

“Darling. What’s going on?”

Then the pastor’s wife followed her husband out.

The maid stepped back, and now the pastor couple faced Dominic.

The couple’s intuition was sharper than the maid’s.

They could gauge his status just by the clothes he wore and his ring.

The man who glimpsed the sapphire pocket watch visible inside his coat opened the door a little wider and spoke gently.

“Whatever the matter is, please come in and tell us.”

“Thank you.”

Dominic walked in naturally.

When the stranger entered from outside, people sitting in the living room or leaning by the window also turned their attention to him.

Even the young lady playing the piano stopped her performance and opened her eyes wide when the tall, handsome man entered.

Dominic looked around the interior, which suddenly felt like cold water had been thrown on it.

This made people’s expressions even more puzzled.

Dominic awkwardly pulled one corner of his lips into a smile.

“I apologize for my rudeness. I didn’t mean to disturb your pleasant time. I’ll just check one thing and leave immediately.”

He apologized with a gentlemanly nod to them and asked the man who had let him in.

“I heard my wife was coming here today.”

The pastor slowly shook his head after gathering his thoughts.

“No. No such person has come.”

He had no memory of anyone who could be called this man’s wife visiting.

“I think you must be mistaken. Why would your wife come here?”

The pastor’s wife also spoke with a smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Were there any other visitors today, Hannah?”

When she asked the maid, the maid shook her head.

“No. There weren’t any. The only person who came was that woman who left earlier, the one who came on an errand.”

At the mention of a woman on an errand, Dominic turned to the maid.

“When did that woman leave? Do you remember which way she went?”

The maid pointed to the window with a dazed expression.

“She left less than 30 minutes ago, and I caught a glimpse of her going toward the market street behind the station.”

The expressions of those who heard this conversation became incredulous.

So his wife was that woman from earlier?

The young woman in modest attire who had brought the repaired clothes came to their minds.

She had looked quite graceful, but far from the appearance of an upper-class lady.

They couldn’t believe that the woman could be the wife of this man who appeared to be a high-ranking nobleman.

“Thank you. Excuse me.”

As soon as he heard of the woman’s whereabouts, he briefly nodded to the people and left immediately.

Those left behind still had puzzlement and bewilderment in their eyes.

“But……”

The magistrate sitting on the sofa spread out a section of the newspaper he had been reading on the table.

“That man who just came couldn’t be the man in this article, could he? Why does he look exactly the same to my eyes?”

Several pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to the newspaper article he pointed at.

[Duke Linderto in Seclusion. Wandering Unable to Forget His Runaway Duchess? Duchess’s Whereabouts Unknown. The Future of the Couple in Fog]

Beneath the sensational headline was a large image of a young aristocratic man who looked elegant and arrogant.

It matched perfectly with the man who had just left.

Seeing this, the pastor’s wife brought her hand to her gaping mouth.

“Then that woman from earlier could it be—!”