The next day, Eloise hurriedly headed to Lady Sinclair’s mansion.

Normally, Beatrice would have immediately clung to her asking where she was going, but perhaps because of yesterday’s events or her habit of sleeping in until afternoon, she was nowhere to be seen this morning.

Thanks to that, Eloise could enjoy some rare peace and quiet in the carriage.

Even so, her mind was not at ease.

‘Why did Sir Osborne retire from the military and board a ship at the port?’

Although Sinclair’s friend hadn’t yet revealed where he had gone, it wasn’t difficult to guess that Philip had boarded a ship headed abroad.

‘If one wants to travel to another region these days, taking a train is more common!’

If he were going somewhere trains didn’t reach, he would have departed by carriage in the traditional way.

But if he had taken a ship, given the island nature of Albion, it was highly likely he was headed to a foreign country.

That’s why Eloise’s mind was even more troubled.

Not domestic, but international. She didn’t know what matter had caused him to even retire from the military, but such foreign affairs wouldn’t be resolved quickly.

‘It would be better if it were just something that takes a long time…’

Somehow, she had a feeling that Philip Osborne was involved in something much more complicated.

‘A spy?’

If a military man suddenly retired and fled just before his wedding, wouldn’t that be the most likely explanation?

Once that thought began, her imagination ran wild.

Just as Eloise’s imagination was becoming more pessimistic, the carriage arrived at Sinclair’s mansion.

As she entered, the butler she had met before came out to greet her.

“Welcome, Miss Eloise Surberton. Lady Sinclair is still in conversation with a guest who arrived suddenly this morning. If you don’t mind, could you please wait in the reception room?”

The butler’s expression was full of apology as he mentioned the supposedly sudden visitor.

“I’ll bring tea shortly.”

Eloise nodded in agreement and headed to the reception room.

On her way, she could already see the guests visiting the mansion.

In most mansions in the capital, this time before noon could almost be considered dawn, as everyone would still be fast asleep.

It was natural for people to wake up only in the afternoon after enjoying parties until dawn.

For Eloise, who had spent most of her life in Feltham, this lifestyle was completely incomprehensible, but she thought that the capital had its own rules.

However, Lady Sinclair seemed to deviate somewhat from this typical lifestyle.

‘Come to think of it, the previous party ended early too.’

Unlike other parties that continued until 3 or 4 in the morning, Lady Sinclair’s party had ended before midnight.

Hadn’t people leaving the mansion expressed disappointment that the party didn’t last longer, commenting that she still seemed to retain habits from her days as a soldier?

With these thoughts, Eloise glanced at the people conversing.

They were sitting at a table in the garden, discussing something. Upon seeing Eloise, they closed their mouths and slightly bowed their heads toward her.

Eloise responded with a slight nod as she passed by, when suddenly her eyes caught sight of a newspaper on the table.

‘Lenskian language?’

As someone else at the table shifted position, the newspaper was obscured from view, and Eloise could no longer see it.

Even after arriving in the reception room, Eloise kept thinking about the guests she had just seen.

‘Judging by their casual clothes, they seem to be staying at this mansion!’

Lensk was not an enemy nation. However, some people were more wary of Lensk than Gilia.

A newly established country just about 15 years old.

Amid the continental wars where numerous countries were born and disappeared, Lensk had risen prominently based on its vast territory.

But it wasn’t just the size of its territory that gave it such presence. Uniquely, Lensk was a nation founded on the principle of equality.

Initially, it began when war objectors from various countries gathered to live in a permafrost land that no country cared about.

At that time, Lensk was merely the size of a small rural town, so no one paid any attention to it.

It was just a city where supplies could be obtained before heading to the land of polar night.

But as the war dragged on and more people grew weary, Lensk began to gain strength.

Then, when a local lord was killed for exploiting farmers, the people of that domain, fearing execution by royal troops, requested asylum in Lensk.

Everyone thought it was futile. How could a city of ragtag people defeat royal troops?

But the citizens of Lensk drove away the royal army, and from then on, more people flocked there, establishing the foundations of the nation.

And now, Lensk had established itself as an entity spreading the unprecedented ideology of equality across the continent.

Because of this, Albion’s nobles would recoil at the mention of Lenskian people and refuse to associate with them. Sometimes on the streets, people would tear up Lenskian newspapers as if they were looking at something filthy.

Lady Sinclair must know this better than anyone, yet she was allowing Lenskian people to stay in her home.

‘She really… interacts with all kinds of people.’

Eloise herself didn’t have any particular feelings toward Lenskian people, so she only hoped that Lady Sinclair wouldn’t get entangled in any troublesome affairs.

Shortly after, as the butler brought tea, Sinclair came to the reception room.

“I’m sorry, Eloise. A guest suddenly arrived… Ah, I should first talk about Sir Osborne’s matter.”

Sinclair said this while giving the butler a signal with her eyes.

The perceptive butler immediately left the room. Once they were alone, Sinclair spoke directly to Eloise.

“I read the letter you sent. About your friend’s situation and your circumstances…”

As Sinclair’s voice trailed off, Eloise gave a bitter smile.

Worried that her friend might continue to keep silent about Philip’s whereabouts, she had honestly written everything about her relationship with Ryan, though she hadn’t yet mentioned Ryan’s name.

“My friend heard your situation and felt deeply sorry. He asked me to convey his apologies for doubting you without knowing the circumstances.”

“It’s alright. More importantly, where did Sir Osborne go?”

At Eloise’s question, Sinclair sighed briefly and then answered with difficulty.

“I’m told he boarded a ship bound for Gilia’s capital.”

“To Gilia…”

Eloise murmured weakly. The situation was becoming increasingly difficult.

After saying this, Sinclair patted Eloise’s shoulder comfortingly and spoke again.

“By the way, Eloise, what exactly is the name of the gentleman who came to your hometown with Philip Osborne? And may I ask what he looks like?”

She could just say Ryan Thornton.

Strangely, Eloise found it difficult to speak the words.

* * *

Ryan was watching the ships entering the harbor.

Not long after, a large steamship appeared on the distant horizon.

After the war ended, the largest ships frequenting this harbor were steamships traveling between Gilia and Albion.

There was wheat being sent to Albion as war reparations, and so many Gilian soldiers who had been held as prisoners in Albion that it was impossible to transport them all on the old sailing vessels.

As the ship docked and the gangway was lowered, people poured out.

Ryan’s gaze meticulously scanned the crowd. In the midst of this, he spotted a man disembarking in the attire he had been informed about.

Ryan pushed through the crowd and called out his name.

“Sholto!”

At the call of this rarely used northern name, the man was seen looking around.

Having confirmed that this was the person bringing a message from headquarters, Ryan immediately grabbed his sleeve and pulled him aside.

Even in the cold season, with his face thoroughly wrapped in a muffler and his hat pulled low, it was impossible to tell who he was.

Anyway, the face of the informant wasn’t important; what mattered was hearing headquarters’ message.

As Ryan dragged the other person into an alley—

Thwack!

The person deliberately threw a punch at Ryan’s face.

Ryan staggered from the sudden attack. He didn’t immediately counterattack because there was no killing intent behind the punch.

“Why are you—huh?”

At that moment, as the man who had thrown the punch unwrapped his muffler, Ryan’s eyes widened. The informant from Albion was someone he knew all too well.

“Philip?”

“Yes, it’s me, you bastard.”

Philip gritted his teeth as he removed his hat.

No matter how close they were as friends, Ryan had been Philip’s superior officer by quite a margin. So Philip had always treated him with considerable respect.

But now, “you bastard”?

As Ryan stared at him blankly, Philip spoke with evident fury.

“Does it make any sense that I had to postpone my wedding because you couldn’t catch one d*mn spy?”