Eloise smiled weakly at Abigail’s words, who still called Ryan “Mr. Thornton.” Abigail still didn’t know that he was Colonel Wilgrave.

Because of this, she couldn’t share her complicated feelings with Abigail.

‘What am I going to do?’

That’s what she herself wanted to know.

Eloise knew her own heart clearly.

She had admired Ryan Wilgrave and loved Ryan Thornton. Of course, she knew that her feelings toward Colonel Wilgrave hadn’t simply stopped at admiration.

Honestly, even she had wondered if her feelings might be love when she pinned his portrait above her head.

But after meeting the person named Ryan Thornton, Eloise realized the difference in her feelings toward the two men.

When thinking of Colonel Wilgrave, Eloise had never once frowned. In her imagination, he was a flawless, perfect person in every way.

But what about Sergeant Thornton?

It was terrible from the start. Embarrassment, anxiety, and even anger that she had never felt before in her life. Yet somehow those emotions had changed.

At first, her heart would sink whenever their eyes met, but before she knew it, her gaze began following him. Then, when their eyes met and he smiled, her heart would drop. Each time, Eloise felt the storm of emotions she first experienced growing stronger.

Yet her eyes continued to follow him.

While thoughts of Colonel Wilgrave brought her peace, Sergeant Thornton was chaos that tangled everything up. But…

Eloise looked at her hand.

In the end, the person who had held her hand in the most desperate moment was that storm.

“Well, I should get going now.”

Abigail looked resentfully at the darkening sky as she said goodbye. Her face was full of regret at parting with a friend she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Eloise patted Abigail’s shoulder, smiling.

“You should hurry back, your parents will worry. And Philip too…”

“Oh, he’s over there?”

Surprised by Eloise’s words, Abigail turned around. Philip, who had arrived at the carriage unnoticed, was awkwardly smiling and waving.

Abigail immediately turned and approached Philip. Using a cane instead of a crutch, her steps looked remarkably light.

Watching her friend’s retreating figure, Eloise felt a momentary emptiness. Then she realized: this must be how Abigail felt continuously when she stayed in Blissbury with Ryan.

As she was reflecting on how inconsiderate she had been, Philip helped Abigail into the carriage first, then approached Eloise.

“Hello, Miss Eloise.”

He bowed politely and lowered his voice.

“Could we talk for a moment?”

“Is something wrong?”

It seemed the carriage wouldn’t wait long. Even now, Philip was looking back at the carriage and waving to Abigail.

Eloise smiled bitterly as she watched the two openly showing their affection.

If someone asked her right now who she envied most, Eloise could answer without hesitation that it was the two people before her.

“It’s about Ryan.”

At Philip’s expected words, Eloise sighed.

“Philip. There’s no need to defend someone who has been too afraid of criticism for his actions to show his face for a week…”

“You’re mistaken.”

“Ryan has been coming here all week.”

Eloise’s eyes widened at Philip’s words.

“That can’t be, my father didn’t say anything…”

While Mr. Surberton might not have been too harsh with Ryan, he certainly would have mentioned if Ryan had visited.

“That’s because he came secretly to check on you.”

“What? Secretly?”

Eloise’s face frowned at Philip’s words.

Reading the antipathy toward Ryan in Eloise’s expression, Philip shook his head frantically and spoke urgently.

“Please don’t misunderstand! It’s not because he’s afraid to face you or Mr. Surberton!”

“Then what is it?”

“Well… since you’re receiving a medal for this incident, Ryan was worried that Lensk’s remaining followers might try to attack you. So he’s been watching from around the area without being noticed. All day long…”

Philip’s voice grew quieter as he spoke.

Eloise’s lips twisted at his manner.

“Did Ryan tell you to say this?”

“No!”

Philip raised his voice sharply at Eloise’s sarcasm. When Abigail in the carriage looked over in surprise, he smiled and waved as if nothing was wrong.

Then he quickly turned his head back and whispered to Eloise.

“Ryan absolutely told me not to tell you. He said he didn’t want you or Mr. Surberton to feel burdened because of him…”

“Then why are you telling me?”

“Well…”

Philip hesitated, then closed his eyes tightly and spoke.

“It’s because Ryan has been badly injured!”

A moment later, Philip watched a carriage racing madly toward the Army Hospital.

Through the gap in the door, he could see a bit of Eloise’s dress sticking out.

Philip smiled bitterly at this evidence of how hastily she had departed.

When he returned to the carriage, Abigail asked as if dying of curiosity.

“What did you say that made Eloise leave in such a hurry? And where is she going?”

“I told her Ryan was injured.”

“What? Sergeant Thornton?”

“Yes, but it’s not something for you to worry about. Though it seems to be enough for Miss Eloise to worry.”

‘I said he was badly injured, but there’s no specific standard for “badly.” So it’s not really a lie! He really was injured by a Lensk supporter.’

Philip thought as he told the coachman to depart.

He hoped that the two of them would finally reconcile, even if they weren’t as close as he and Abigail.

After all…

Wouldn’t they attend his and Abigail’s wedding together as guests?

Philip took the hand of his lovely bride-to-be and pressed his forehead against hers.

***

“With this level of injury, it will take two weeks to heal completely. Fortunately, it’s not very deep and doesn’t seem infected, so there’s little chance of complications. Just make sure to disinfect it regularly.”

The Army Hospital doctor said this as he asked a nurse to change Ryan’s bandages.

The doctor had seen many terrible sights on the battlefield. Moreover, being an Army Hospital, many soldiers came in with serious or major injuries.

So this level of injury was little more than a cat scratch to him.

After leaving the treatment room, Ryan sighed as he looked at the excessively wrapped bandages.

He had thought the nurse seemed a bit clumsy, but it turned out she was overzealous and had wrapped more than necessary.

As a result, anyone looking at him would think he had suffered a severe injury.

Sure enough, as he passed by, patients and their families looked at Ryan with sympathetic eyes.

Embarrassed, Ryan hurriedly made his way to the hospital entrance.

‘I should go back right away.’

The place he needed to return to was, of course, not the Army Headquarters but Eloise’s lodgings.

Last night, there had been a suspicious man lurking around her house.

The culprit was caught like a trapped rat at dawn.

He was a supporter of Lensk’s ideology who harbored resentment toward Eloise for causing Lensk’s terrorist plot to fail.

But Ryan knew better.

‘He was such a pathetic extremist that even calling him a Lensk follower would be embarrassing.’

Moreover, he had singled out Eloise—a civilian woman—from among the many medal recipients.

His face frowned again at such baseness.

Standing at the hospital entrance, Ryan looked at the carriages passing on the street and sighed briefly.

In the now fully cold winter weather, white breath flowed from his mouth.

‘I wonder if Eloise is alright?’

Her health worsened in the cold, he’d been told. Wasn’t that why Mr. Surberton had deliberately settled in the warm south?

‘She’ll be going back soon.’

The medal ceremony was a week away. Mr. Surberton had said they would return immediately after it was over.

And…

‘He said I shouldn’t approach Eloise…’

Ryan bowed his head, recalling Mr. Surberton’s words.

It was the sincere words of a father worried about his daughter.

Mr. Surberton, having learned more details about Ryan’s background, seemed to have even more complicated feelings.

“I think men with complicated pasts have difficulty becoming good husbands. Don’t you agree?”

Ryan couldn’t answer Mr. Surberton’s words.

Even so…

‘I miss her.’

The moment he thought this.

“Ryan!”

Ryan raised his head in surprise at the voice calling him. Was it an auditory hallucination? He thought so, but…

Before he could look around, warmth rushed into his arms and embraced him.

Since he couldn’t go to her, his summer had come running to him.