“Sigh……”

Eloise let out a sigh as soon as she opened her eyes.

The ceiling was filled with beautiful paintings. The windows were maintained spotlessly clean without a single smudge, and beside them hung thick red curtains.

Additionally, there was the sound of burning logs in the fireplace, keeping the room warm.

Even the winter birds’ morning songs could be heard—truly a perfect start to the day—yet Eloise’s expression as she rose from bed was not bright.

‘I need to leave as soon as possible.’

Her heart felt heavy because this was Lady Sinclair’s mansion.

Despite apologizing, Sinclair had treated Eloise excessively well. Not only had she provided the best room, but the mansion’s maids also treated Eloise with utmost respect.

She was truly being treated like an honored guest, but the more this happened, the more uncomfortable Eloise felt.

‘It’s too much.’

Of course, Sinclair’s request had been the start of all this, but her request wasn’t significant enough to warrant taking such responsibility.

Yet Sinclair took care of her attentively as if she were Eloise’s guardian.

She should feel grateful, and yet…….

“Haah……”

Eloise sighed again and changed her clothes.

‘I should visit that house again today.’

She hadn’t expected news from the Army Headquarters anyway. News about Ryan, Philip, or Richard would come faster through Sinclair, so all communications would likely come here.

If that was the case, rather than waiting idly here all day, it seemed better to finish up more work regarding the inherited house.

‘Besides, I’ve solved some of the puzzles!’

Eloise picked up the book she had placed beside her pillow.

Unable to fall asleep easily, she had solved the riddles written in this book until she finally dozed off, thinking she might as well do something during that time.

While solving the puzzles, she realized that her father’s godmother had a deeper appreciation for the currently popular detective novels than she had thought.

‘She must have really loved detective novels.’

She felt regretful that if she had contacted her more often while she was alive, they might have become enjoyable pen pals.

Eloise flipped through the book to look at the problem she couldn’t solve before falling asleep.

“To think it would be an ancient language cipher problem……”

She had been progressing well until she suddenly got stuck at that part. It seemed she would need a dictionary to solve it, so she had closed the book and fallen asleep.

‘There was a dictionary in the mansion’s library.’

Though called a library, it was a place that could easily be called a grand library without exaggeration.

Thanks to Sinclair’s instructions, the maid who first showed her to her room had also guided her through various parts of the mansion.

The mansion, which was said to have been bestowed by the royal family, was magnificent throughout, but what truly captivated Eloise’s heart was this library.

“Lady Sinclair organizes the library herself. Ah, she also mentioned that you are free to use the library as you wish.”

Recalling what the maid had said then, Eloise stepped into the corridor.

A maid passing by for cleaning saw Eloise coming out of her room and approached with a smile.

“Good morning, Miss Surberton. Shall I prepare breakfast?”

Perhaps because she was staying as a guest, the maids were more formal with Eloise than with Sinclair.

“Yes, please.”

After asking for the meal to be served in her room, Eloise headed to the library once the maid left. She already knew where the dictionary was, so she just needed to get it quickly.

Fortunately, the library door was open.

Upon entering, unlike her room, she felt the cool winter chill filling the space. Seeing all the windows open, it seemed the maids had opened them early in the morning for ventilation.

Eloise clutched her collar and hurriedly headed to where she had seen the book she was looking for.

‘I saw it around here.’

Fortunately, she was able to find the dictionary she was targeting right away. Just as she was about to return, Eloise decided to walk deeper into the library.

Breakfast probably wouldn’t be ready in her room yet. Moreover, whether due to excessive kindness or not, Eloise felt burdened by the mansion’s maids. And somehow…….

‘It feels like they’re constantly watching me!’

Even though she wasn’t a celebrity, the maids would take in her every move when they entered her room.

At first, she thought it might be her imagination, but when Eloise almost dropped something, the maid was startled and approached her before she herself could react.

‘Lady Sinclair might have asked them to take special care of me.’

Even if that was the case, it was still uncomfortable.

‘Is this how it feels to be under surveillance?’

Even while knowing she shouldn’t think this way about her benefactor’s kindness, Eloise couldn’t shake off the discomfort.

In any case, she didn’t want to return to her room while maids were coming and going. She didn’t mind if soup got cold, so she decided to stay here leisurely before going back.

With that thought, Eloise headed further into the corner.

Perhaps because it was the capital, this place filled with the latest books compared to Blissbury’s library instantly captivated Eloise’s attention.

Eventually, Eloise stopped at a section where military science books were gathered.

Her eyes sparkled as she pulled out a book.

‘This is the revised edition of the book Lord Howard published 15 years ago!’

Upon discovering a book by the figure who created the field of military cryptography, Eloise unconsciously covered her mouth with her hand. Otherwise, she would have screamed with joy.

At home, she had up to the third volume of his cryptography books. But here in Sinclair’s library, not only were there up to five volumes, but they were also in a revised edition with a notably larger volume.

“This book includes newly added cipher patterns from the recent war with Gilia……”

Muttering to herself, Eloise soon became intensely focused on the book.

So much so that she didn’t notice someone entering the inner part of the library.

Suddenly, hearing a whispered voice, she came to her senses and looked up.

‘Who came in?’

She had been so engrossed in the book that she hadn’t noticed. Looking outside, it seemed quite some time had passed.

Just as she was about to hurry back to her room, she heard whispering voices from inside again.

“Ne Svart daye.”

At those words, Eloise, who was about to make her presence known and leave, stopped in her tracks.

Lenskian was merely a language from the eastern corner of the continent until the country was established. Among the people of Albion, some even openly mocked it as a language that smelled like horse dung.

But fascinated by its unique characters and pronunciation, Eloise had once studied it on her own with an old book.

Even though she hadn’t learned it properly as she was self-taught.

However, she knew that the words she just heard meant “Deliver it carefully.”

‘Are they those guests from before?’

The other guests who were having breakfast early in the morning with a Lenskian newspaper left out when she first came to this mansion.

It seemed they had come to the library looking for a quiet place to talk.

Unintentionally eavesdropping, Eloise hesitated for a moment. Should she make her presence known and leave now? Or should she stay quiet?

A sensible person would choose the former. Just as she was about to clear her throat, she heard whispered words again.

“Ya vas. Esdash nort den.”

This was also something Eloise could understand.

Of course. For our victory.

She could understand the latter part because at the very beginning of the book she was looking at, there was a notation of Lensk’s national anthem with sheet music, pronunciation, and content.

Esdash nort den. That phrase was not only a verse from the national anthem but also a phrase that Lenskian people always added at the end of speeches. Besides that, she had read an article about how it was used like “Hurrah!” and soldiers would charge into battle shouting it.

But in Albion, no one openly used that phrase.

After all, it was difficult to comfortably listen to Lensk’s slogan, which stated that all royalty and nobility should be killed for everyone to become equal.

The Lenskian people continued their conversation and then left. Fortunately, they didn’t discover Eloise hiding in the corner, holding her breath until the moment they left.

Even after they had gone, Eloise remained still for quite some time.

She hadn’t done anything wrong. She had entered the library first, and even if she had overheard their conversation, it wasn’t intentional. Since the other party hadn’t noticed anyway, she could just ignore it and move on…….

When Eloise returned to her room, she saw a maid waiting for her beside the cold meal, even though there was no need for her to do so.

Some inexplicable discomfort held her back.

The people quietly conversing in Lenskian, the maid who insisted on staying to watch her, and Sinclair who treated her excessively well.

“Thank you for preparing the meal.”

Hiding her unease, Eloise sent the maid away.

That evening, Eloise met Sinclair, who asked if there was anything uncomfortable.

“Not really……. You seem to have many Lenskian guests staying here? Are you interested in Lensk, Lady Sinclair?”

“I asked you to call me Maria. As for Lensk…… it would be a lie to say I’m not interested.”

Sinclair smiled faintly as she teased Eloise.

“But I only accepted the Lenskian guests because a relative owed them a favor. I don’t even know the Lenskian language.”

At that moment, Eloise felt a chill run down her spine.

In the area of the library where dictionaries were gathered, there was no Lenskian dictionary. And in one corner, books in Lenskian were organized by subject.

This was an organization method only possible for someone who knew Lenskian.

‘The maid clearly said that Sinclair organizes the library herself! If that’s the case, she must know Lenskian well.

‘Why is she lying?’