“What’s this?”

Eloise reached into the corner, but it happened to be in the narrowest part of the corner, so her hand couldn’t quite reach it.

Moreover, because there was so much dust, gray dust began to cling to the hem of her skirt.

“I’ll get it for you.”

Ryan quickly pulled her behind him and entered the narrow gap before Eloise could stop him.

A moment later, he emerged covered in dust and cobwebs. The neat soldier who had visited the mansion that morning was gone, replaced by someone who looked like a chimney sweep.

‘He should be taking better care of himself.’

Instead of thinking about dusting himself off, his face was filled with worry about whether Eloise would accept the box he had retrieved.

Somehow, it reminded her of a large dog in the village that had done something wrong and was drooping its ears and tail. His expression was exactly like that.

Eloise deliberately received the box from his hand without letting their fingers touch.

Ryan’s shoulders, which had subtly hoped for contact, drooped even more.

After refusing his escort, Eloise’s behavior of avoiding even this kind of contact made him feel his heart sink.

Regardless, Eloise deliberately avoided looking at Ryan’s face and examined the box.

It was a box made of thin wooden panels. When she shook it, she could only feel something very light inside, but there was no significant sound.

‘What could it be?’

If it was a great reward as written in the book, she had wondered if her godmother might have hidden jewels, but it didn’t seem to be anything like that.

‘It might just be a box that rolled in there.’

Thinking this, Eloise also felt a bit deflated.

Thanks to her father’s pension, they had lived comfortably in Feltham, but that was only when she was healthy and living in the countryside.

Now, Baron Stanford had provided a house and called a doctor for her, but once she returned to Feltham, she would need money for everything she ate and lived on.

‘It’s not life-threatening, but my health has definitely deteriorated.’

Thanks to her health condition, Eloise could face her situation somewhat realistically. Though severe, it would improve with medication and rest. The problem was that it would cost quite a lot of money.

‘This house is also a problem…’

Since the ownership had already been transferred to her, she would have to pay taxes, and in this state, it would certainly receive a demolition order.

In Albion, obligations came with owning a mansion. If those obligations were neglected, not only would one face penalties but also fines.

To be weighed down by such practical problems right after escaping from the special situation of terrorism.

Eloise swallowed a sigh and opened the box.

Inside was a single folded piece of paper.

Wondering what it was, Eloise unfolded it.

And a moment later.

“Eloise!”

Ryan cried out in surprise as he saw Eloise staggering.

Only briefly maintaining her distance from him, Eloise grabbed his arm and stammered:

“W-what is this…”

“What’s wrong?”

What on earth was written on the paper that had shocked Eloise so much?

And a moment later.

Ryan too was surprised into silence.

The paper Eloise had unfolded was a deed of rights transfer.

A deed transferring all rights of Albion’s top mystery novelist, who had been active until last year, to whoever found this certificate.

***

On a snowy day, a welcome visitor came to the mansion where Eloise was staying.

Abigail, who was staying at a hotel in town, had heard the news and come to visit.

As soon as she saw Eloise, Abigail tightly grasped her hands and sobbed.

“I heard everything from Philip. That you faced even greater danger to stop the terrorism… That you suffered so much…”

Tears welled up in Abigail’s voice as she spoke haltingly.

Eloise smiled bitterly and took out a lace handkerchief to wipe her friend’s tears.

“It’s alright, I didn’t embarrass myself.”

Eloise shook her head as she watched Abigail carefully wiping her eyes with the handkerchief.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. More importantly, with Philip…”

There was no need to ask. Everything seemed to have gone well.

Abigail had been suffering emotionally after the wedding was postponed in Feltham. Seeing her friend becoming more pitiful day by day, hadn’t Eloise vowed to find Philip in the capital and give him a piece of her mind?

But now Abigail’s face was incredibly bright, as if those worries had never existed.

Moreover, the gentle smile on her face even when she was sitting still showed that she was currently very happy.

What pleased Eloise most was that Abigail’s gait had become much more natural than before.

Even her crutch had been replaced with one made of high-quality wood, not the one she usually used.

Made to look similar to the canes that ladies sometimes use, at a glance one might not even realize Abigail was using a crutch.

“Is Sir Philip treating you well?”

When Eloise asked mischievously, Abigail blushed.

“Yes, we walk around the capital every day. Yesterday after dinner, we even went to see a play…”

Though embarrassed, Abigail happily told Eloise how Philip was always by her side.

Eloise’s face lit up with contentment as she listened.

It seemed that all the walking they had done together had served as rehabilitation training for Abigail.

After chatting happily for a while, Abigail cautiously glanced at Eloise and asked:

“By the way… how are things with Ryan?”

Eloise’s expression hardened at Abigail’s question.

Thinking this meant Eloise was upset, Abigail hurriedly explained:

“Ah, of course. Of course Ryan has done many things wrong… But for you, Eloise, he would be a good match financially and socially…”

“Eloise!”

“Abigail!”

Eloise’s expression hardened even more at Abigail’s words.

Until recently, if someone had said such things, she would have asked what nonsense they were talking about. But now…

‘I really have a chance to grasp both money and honor!’

Eloise recalled the deed of rights transfer she had found in the mansion.

That day, she immediately called a lawyer to verify the deed, and the lawyer promptly contacted the publishing house to inform them of the situation.

She had expected them to say it was meaningless paper, but instead, the publishing house exclaimed, “You’ve finally appeared! We’ve been desperate because we couldn’t print new books without renewing the contract!” They welcomed Eloise warmly, saying they already knew about her thanks to what her godmother had told them during her lifetime.

Then they sent a huge amount of money to Eloise’s account, calling it sales proceeds that had accumulated since the last settlement.

Even Mr. Surberton, who had gone to the bank with Eloise, briefly removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes to verify if the amount was real.

It was enough to cover the taxes on the mansion, demolition, and new construction costs.

More surprising was that this was just the settlement for about a year, and she would continue to receive a very large amount every month going forward.

Her godmother had been secretly earning enormous profits under a pen name without her family knowing, and now all the royalties from those books belonged to Eloise.

When her godmother’s children found out belatedly and came looking, they couldn’t demand that she hand it over to them because her godmother had already taken care of all the legal issues during her lifetime.

They couldn’t do anything because it was legally perfect, but they hadn’t given up.

“By the way, when is the medal ceremony?”

At Abigail’s timely question, Eloise looked at the dress hanging on a mannequin in the corner of the room.

After this whole affair was settled, the royal family awarded medals and rewards to those who had played significant roles.

Among those names, one stood out particularly brightly.

Eloise Surberton.

All eyes in Albion were on the only non-military person to receive the highest-grade medal.

“Everyone is curious about you. Meeting you is the goal of people in Albion’s social circles these days.”

At Abigail’s words, Eloise pressed her forehead as if exhausted.

She had thought it would be nice to have a little honor, but she hadn’t wished for such an extraordinary medal.

“So, about that…”

Abigail asked with a serious face.

“What are you really going to do about Mr. Thornton now?”