Eloise recalled the interior of the shabby mansion. It was large enough to be called a mansion. It had three floors above ground, and the basement, including the storage area, would be about 1.5 floors.

Moreover, it was so spacious that it would take Eloise several minutes to walk around the house once.

‘There were many rooms inside the mansion too.’

On the first day she entered, she had wondered why they had created so many small rooms.

Usually, houses built that way were designed to accommodate multiple boarders at cheap rates.

But she had thought that in the inherited mansion, spaces other than the reception room and the owner’s room on the second floor were particularly narrowly divided…

‘If it was deliberately built that way to hide a room, it makes sense!’

Having many small rooms with more walls rather than a few large rooms creates confusion in accurately perceiving the space. This would be much more advantageous for creating a small secret space.

‘If I measure the length, I’ll quickly know where the hidden space is!’

Now that she knew such a place existed, finding its location wouldn’t be difficult. The problem was figuring out where the entrance to that space was.

Eloise looked at the paper beside the notebook where she had been writing hints.

‘The answer to this puzzle will probably reveal the location of the entrance.’

The story continues even without solving the correct answer. Though she hadn’t looked ahead yet, the following content would likely be about how ‘I’ successfully hides there and evades pursuit.

Honestly, she could ignore the riddles and just keep reading. It would still be entertaining.

But Eloise wasn’t the type to turn to the next page until she had figured out the answer herself.

Eloise’s hand holding the pen moved busily across the paper.

She tried combining the hints from the novel with all the languages she knew, but the answer wouldn’t come easily.

‘There’s not much left now.’

Looking at the closed notebook, there were only about 15 pages left.

Probably, the ‘I’ in the notebook would escape from the enemies’ hands and become safe after this final crisis.

‘Then all the more reason I can’t just skip this.’

The stubbornness in Eloise’s mind revived. Her fighting spirit, which had disappeared recently due to challenges in real life, began to burn again as she persistently clung to research and sought answers.

After some time had passed, while she was frowning at the increasingly illegible writing on the paper, she heard the sound of doors opening and carriages moving.

Only then did Eloise come to her senses and look up. Looking outside, darkness was trembling beyond the window.

“My goodness, it’s already this late?”

Eloise hurriedly organized her papers. It felt like she could solve it if she just persisted a little more, but that “little more” was proving elusive.

Moreover, now that she had come to her senses, it had become so dark that it was difficult to read the writing.

After putting away the book, notebook, and papers, Eloise approached the window again and looked at the carriages passing through the long driveway.

‘Indeed, there are many strangers.’

Since parties were frequently held at this mansion, many people came and went. Some would come and go daily as if this place were their own home.

But most of the gathered carriages were ones Eloise didn’t recognize.

‘The regular people from Lensk aren’t here.’

Where had the familiar carriages gone, and why were these unfamiliar carriages suddenly arriving?

And there was one more thing bothering Eloise.

‘The atmosphere is very heavy.’

The expressions of those boarding the carriages were all stiffly frozen. It was as if they felt they were carrying a burden they couldn’t handle.

But rather than being dejected, their expressions showed a resolute determination to endure until the end.

At that moment, one of the carriages that had entered the mansion grounds earlier couldn’t proceed further due to the carriages in front and stopped right in front of Eloise’s room.

Fearing they might notice she was watching, Eloise quickly closed the window a bit and hid her body below the windowsill.

Even with the window closed, the cold air came rushing in as if it were open.

She had grumbled to herself about the meaninglessness of windows if they were like this.

‘It’s really cold…’

As the wind blew, it felt as if she had fallen into the middle of a frozen lake, with cold gusts sweeping over her.

Her teeth chattered involuntarily. Just as she was debating whether to close the window completely, regardless of whether she made eye contact with someone outside, she heard the voices of those who had come out to board the carriage.

“Then we’ll meet again at the funeral. It’s going to be a busy day.”

The funeral. That word made Eloise’s mood sink again.

It seemed that the people boarding the carriages were also going to Ryan’s funeral.

‘Perhaps I should go see it from a distance too.’

It would be better to return to Feltham after that. Just as Eloise was thinking she should inquire about a carriage to take her back, she heard another person’s voice.

“Yes, we’ll need many coffins.”

“……”

At those words, Eloise felt as if she had been doused with cold water.

‘What does that mean?’

But the people conversing boarded their carriages and promptly left.

Even after all the carriages had departed from in front of the mansion, Eloise remained dazed, blinking her eyes, continuously repeating the words she had just heard.

‘Many coffins will be needed?’

A funeral is a day for someone who has already died. And that funeral, which everyone would attend, was a place for only one person.

But needing many coffins meant that many people would die in the future.

At that moment, Eloise remembered an article she had seen in the newspaper.

There had been much talk about Ryan Wilgrave, but the royal family announced they would hold a state funeral for him.

They also terminated all investigations by the Disciplinary Committee related to him and stated they would never pursue his battlefield actions even after his death.

Since the royal family had taken such a stance, not attending this funeral would be no different from openly declaring opposition to the royal family.

Because of this, people were now making efforts to attend the funeral.

In any case, most of Albion’s notable figures would be present at that place. If something were to happen there…

The moment her thoughts reached that point, Eloise abruptly stood up.

But immediately she had to clutch her chest and cough.

After continuing to cough for quite some time, she finally regulated her breathing and closed the window.

Opening it hadn’t been particularly difficult, but perhaps because her body had been drained of strength due to the prolonged coughing, it took considerable effort, using her body to push hard, before the window finally closed.

With staggering steps, Eloise returned to the table, picked up her pen, and opened the list she had compiled during the day.

Below the list, where she had noted appearances, clothes, carriages, and other details, she wrote down exactly what she had just heard and added her thoughts.

“It seems they’re planning something for the funeral day. Please track these people urgently.”

After quickly finishing the letter, Eloise put it in an envelope.

Now she needed to send this to Richard promptly.

‘Not possible right now!’

Because it was too late at night, going out now would only arouse suspicion.

In the end, Eloise spent the night with anxious thoughts, unable to sleep.

And as soon as day broke, she prepared to go out and left her room. As always, she planned to say she was going for a walk and to mail a letter to her parents.

After all, they no longer even asked why she was going out.

But unlike usual, just as she was about to exit through the front door, the butler blocked Eloise’s path.

“You cannot leave, Miss Eloise.”