Though seen from a distance, the remarkably crude design of the cover remained clearly in her memory.

Eloise took out the book. As she thought from looking at the spine that it seemed like the book she saw yesterday, looking at the cover confirmed it.

“It’s in Lenskian.”

She wasn’t particularly surprised. After all, it was a book given to Sinclair by people who spoke Lenskian.

The book cover had the stiff and boring-looking title “History of Lensk” written on it.

Eloise flipped through the book. The poor quality paper and the pungent ink smell that stung her nose revealed that this was a cheaply mass-produced printed material distributed for propaganda purposes.

‘This doesn’t seem like the kind of book you’d give as a gift…’

Although her Lenskian was limited, skimming through it, it appeared to be a book that elaborated on the rather brief history of Lensk with all kinds of legends.

The part about how it came to be called Lensk as it is now was decorated with various illustrations in an attempt to make it interesting, but in the end, it was a series of boring stories like the establishment of the First Assembly, the establishment of the Second Assembly.

As she was about to put the book back, wondering why someone would gift such a thing…

“Huh?”

Eloise noticed a folded part at the end of a page. More precisely, it was a section that had creases as if it had been folded and then unfolded.

Eloise examined the book again. There were more such marks than she had expected.

Could a gift book have so many such marks? Moreover, since other books didn’t have such marks, it didn’t seem like Sinclair’s habit either.

At that moment, something flashed through Eloise’s mind.

‘A code book.’

It’s a very simple encryption method. Each person has the same book and they exchange only numbers.

Then, by connecting the first word on that page number or perhaps the word in a specific line, a sentence is completed.

Eloise bit her lip for a moment.

‘Am I being paranoid?’

Just because people speaking Lenskian seemed unfamiliar, she was hastily judging the book they gave as a code book.

Above all, Sinclair is a hero of Albion. The goddess of the battlefield who received multiple medals from the king and treated not only Albion soldiers but also enemy Gilian soldiers.

Why would such a person exchange code books with Lenskian people and act on it?

‘Besides, what could she do with it?’

And what would she gain?

Lensk is a country across the sea.

While relations with Albion aren’t particularly good, it’s not a country that would suddenly attack either.

‘Lensk doesn’t have enough military for that!’

For a newly established country, Lensk has a decent military force. Since it was founded through struggle, there was a prevailing principle that military power equaled national power.

But it’s still just a new nation. Their military is barely enough to protect themselves, not enough to attack others.

After considering various possibilities, Eloise realized she had been thinking only about war and sighed.

‘Maybe it’s because my mind is preoccupied with Ryan.’

It seems that after Richard mentioned Ryan was on a mission, her thoughts kept drifting in an unpleasant direction.

Eloise put the book back and was about to leave the library when she encountered Sinclair, who was just entering.

“Eloise! Why is it so hard to see your face?”

After appearing momentarily surprised, Sinclair greeted her with great delight.

Eloise felt a momentary pang of guilt at her friendly and casual attitude.

Not only had she helped her when she was in trouble, but she was also doing her many favors. Yet here she was, suspecting her of being some kind of spy just because she talked with Lenskian people.

“But what brings you to the study?”

At that moment, Sinclair’s eyes narrowed. Though it was just for an instant, Eloise saw the moment the smile disappeared from her face.

A chill ran down her spine. Sinclair’s expression without a smile looked so different.

“Ah… well…”

After hesitating for a moment, Eloise said, as if somewhat embarrassed:

“I was looking for detective novels, or… romance novels. I’ve been feeling a bit troubled, so I wanted something I could immerse myself in and read comfortably.”

Although such entertainment novels had been popular for several years, reading popular fiction was still considered a rather unrefined hobby.

That’s why fake covers to hide the actual book covers were fashionable among nobles.

At Eloise’s response, Sinclair smiled again.

“Why be embarrassed about that? I love those books too. The most popular author in the capital these days is Mark Fielding.”

Saying this, Sinclair led Eloise to a bookshelf.

In the end, Eloise was caught by Sinclair and had to converse with her for quite some time.

It wasn’t unpleasant. Sinclair was well-versed in popular fiction, and after hearing about books Eloise had read, she offered to recommend books she might like, even going so far as to immediately order through her maid any books that weren’t available.

But Eloise couldn’t be completely happy.

“By the way, I hear you’ve been going out frequently lately. Have you received any good news about the people you’re looking for?”

Sinclair asked casually, as if just making conversation.

Sinclair was helping her find Ryan. She had even gathered information about Philip. So it would be appropriate to tell her if she had heard news from someone else.

But Eloise answered in a weak voice.

“Nothing in particular…”

It was obviously a lie. Hadn’t she heard news of Ryan from Richard?

But somehow she felt that she shouldn’t mention it.

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate… But I’m also continuing to make inquiries, so good news will come soon. By the way, Eloise.”

Sinclair asked in a light voice, as if asking something trivial.

“Is there anything I might have misheard in the description of Sergeant Ryan Thornton that you gave me? It’s been quite difficult to find someone matching that description.”

* * *

Sinclair looked at the empty seat beside her.

It was where Eloise had been sitting before she stood up, saying she would return to her room.

“Hmm.”

She recalled Eloise’s reaction just now. When she asked if there was anything she might have misunderstood about Ryan Thornton, Eloise had looked at her with wide eyes, as if to ask what she meant.

“What’s going on?”

When she had dug into Philip Osborne, she was certain that Ryan Thornton was Ryan Wilgrave, but in Eloise’s description, there were details that didn’t match his characteristics.

Moreover, somehow the Ryan that Eloise described seemed increasingly distant from that Ryan Wilgrave.

“Was she just a useless woman?”

She knows a lot and is pleasant to talk to. But Sinclair wasn’t looking for that kind of person.

‘The military, not to mention the royal family, has already started to become tense.’

That means the spy sent to Gilia, probably Colonel Ryan, had sent back some information.

‘I need to hurry!’

Sinclair bit her lip in impatience. She thought everything was going well. It was already something that she had incited the Gilian royals to gather troops again.

Now they just needed to board ships and cross over to Albion.

Clearly, Albion would initially be pushed back, then gather soldiers again, and once the war started, the outcome was obvious.

‘But both sides would suffer enormous losses!’

The two countries had just ended a long war and entered a period of rest. It wasn’t hard to imagine how much national power they would rebuild and how wealthy they would become during this period.

‘And if that happens…’

It was obvious that it would become an obstacle to Lensk’s growth.

Sinclair recalled the Lenskian declaration she had read hundreds of times long ago.

Equal citizens. The privileged class will crumble before the united workers. And all their wealth will be shared equally by everyone.

‘That’s how it should be!’

During the war, Sinclair had seen it many times. People who received treatment before other patients just because they were nobles, even though death approached them all equally.

How deeply disillusioned she had felt seeing them. Meanwhile, she had read Lensk’s declaration and came to sympathize with their ideology.

After that, Sinclair cared for everyone without sparing her own life. Those whose lives were saved thanks to her looked up to her as if she were a goddess, and naturally confided even things they should keep secret.

They also became messengers who conveyed her words with the deepest sense of mission.

Both Albion and Gilian soldiers.

Sinclair rose from her seat. The continued state of anxiety was giving her a headache. She thought she might go to the smoking room to have a cigarette.

As Sinclair left her seat, a maid entered. She placed a letter that had arrived on the table where Sinclair had been sitting and went back outside.

A little later…

“Lady Sinclair, is my book here by any chance?”

Eloise entered the empty room.