“What do you mean by that?”

Eloise looked at the two men standing before her, puzzled. Then, she recognized them.

“Mr. Keynes? Mr. Wilson?”

They were the grocers from Camborne. But why did they look like they were about to grab each other by the collar?

When they noticed Eloise, their expressions turned guilty for a moment. However, they quickly resumed glaring at each other and shouting.

“Miss Eloise is here! Now, Sergeant Thornton will finally see through your blatant lies!”

“Hah! Look who’s talking! You’re still shameless even with Miss Eloise here. Have you no conscience left at all?”

The tension between them thickened once more. Momentarily forgetting about her letter, Eloise stared at them in astonishment.

“Why are you two arguing here? What in the world is going on?”

Truth be told, they were never particularly fond of each other to begin with.

Since their grocery stores were directly across each other, they had more reasons to raise their voices than to exchange friendly morning greetings.

Yet, both businesses had been passed down through generations in Camborne, and the men were people who valued their reputations.

Never before had they been this openly hostile toward each other—especially not in a place like Blissbury.

As Eloise awaited their explanation, Ryan approached her and spoke.

“There’s an issue with the summer banquet order.”

“The order?”

“Yes. We placed a bulk order for beef, lamb, chicken, and other ingredients and spices needed for the dishes, but…”

According to Sergeant Thornton, he had reviewed the order list left by Mr. Surberton and Eloise from last year and placed a slightly larger order with the grocers in Camborne.

The problem was that both order slips had somehow ended up at the same store.

Each grocer had their strengths.

Mr. Keynes’s store received fresh and diverse meat cuts thanks to a butchery business relative.

Mr. Wilson’s store, on the other hand, had a friend at the port in Newham, giving him access to a wide variety of imported spices.

Therefore, Mr. Surberton and Eloise always split their orders between the two stores.

But for some reason, the entire order had been sent to Mr. Keynes’s store this time.

“You knew the order slip had been delivered to our store, yet you pretended not to and tried to keep the whole order yourself!”

“What nonsense! I simply assumed both orders were meant for our store! We’ve been trading with Blissbury for years! Naturally, I thought our long-standing trust had led to a larger order.”

“Rubbish! Then why was the section with the store names torn off the order slip? You intentionally ripped it off to play innocent, didn’t you?”

“It was already torn when I received it! Stop making me out to be a liar!”

Ryan stepped between them as the two looked ready to lunge at each other.

Both men were burly merchants, yet when Ryan pushed them apart, they tumbled backward like paper dolls.

Startled by the unexpected strength of the sergeant, they flinched and retreated.

“That’s enough,” came Sergeant Thornton’s low voice.

Grudgingly, the two men backed off and straightened their disheveled clothing.

Even they knew better than to cause a more significant scene in front of Blissbury’s steward.

The fact that Sergeant Thornton had effortlessly subdued them with one arm was intimidating enough.

Eloise let out a sigh, pressing her fingers against her forehead.

She could already guess what had happened.

It seemed Mr. Keynes had gotten greedy and taken Mr. Wilson’s order slip along with his own.

“Then isn’t the solution as simple as placing the order again?”

“Well… Both are now arguing that you and Mr. Surberton had planned to place larger orders exclusively with their stores this year.”

“What?”

Eloise blinked in disbelief as the two men stepped toward her, practically pleading.

“Miss Eloise, you remember what you said last year, don’t you? You always praised the quality of our store’s goods. You even mentioned you might consider ordering more from us next year.”

“And you said something similar at my store! When I told you I was securing new suppliers, you said you’d have to order some meat from us too, didn’t you?”

Ah.

Her head throbbed. It had only been a casual remark then, yet now they were using it as the basis for their argument over who deserved the larger order.

Ryan smirked and shrugged before turning to Eloise.

“Well, Miss Eloise, you’ll have to sort this out now.”

Now she understood why he had called for her so urgently.

This mess wasn’t going to resolve itself without her intervention.

“Alright, I understand the situation. There’s no point in arguing over how the order slip got misplaced or torn—it’s impossible to know the truth now. And frankly, it’s not my concern. However…”

Eloise turned to Palmer, who had been standing anxiously beside them.

“Mr. Palmer, could you bring me some paper and a pen?”

* * *

One hour later.

“Well then, I’ll leave it to you according to the new order form.”

Smiling brightly, Eloise greeted Mr. Keynes and Mr. Wilson, who were holding the order form.

Though the two men looked somewhat displeased, they seemed to accept it after reviewing the order form. Bowing slightly to Eloise and Ryan, they returned to their wagons.

After exchanging a glare, the two men immediately set off, their wagons racing ahead as if determined not to fall behind the other. The two vehicles quickly disappeared in Camborne’s direction.

As Eloise turned around after watching the wagons disappear—

Clap, clap, clap.

Standing behind her, Ryan applauded.

“Impressive. I didn’t expect you to handle it so smoothly.”

Ryan was genuinely impressed. He recalled the scene that had unfolded before him just moments ago.

Eloise had received paper and a pen from Mr. Palmer and then beckoned the two grumbling men closer.

“Alright, let’s sort this out. Last year, the orders from Mr. Keynes are these, these, and these…”

With rapid precision, she listed all sorts of meats and other food supplies.

“It should be accurate. Have I ever been wrong about these things? Right?”

“…It seems correct. But still, weren’t you considering increasing the order items…?”

“But Mr. Keynes, there were quite a few errors in what you delivered for last year’s banquet, weren’t there? Starting with the lamb chops. What we actually ordered was…”

Still smiling, Eloise proceeded to list out every mistake Keynes had made the previous year.

Keynes attempted to offer excuses, but they were futile.

Wilson was no different. He, too, had made several small and large errors.

Though he blamed a collapsed bridge in the neighboring village or a mistake by a supplier in Newham, in the end, he was responsible for the delayed deliveries.

“So, I’ve decided to reconsider this year. Does anyone have any objections?”

Faced with Eloise listing their mistakes one after another, daring them to argue, neither man could raise his voice.

In the end, both were left with an order form identical to last year’s.

The only saving grace was that this year’s new steward was quite extravagant, increasing the order volume by 10% compared to last year.

Before signing the final order form, Eloise casually mentioned that, depending on the quality of the supplies they provided this year, she might truly consolidate orders with just one vendor next year.

‘That should motivate them even more.’

As proof, the two merchants, who had been at each other’s throats just moments ago, had rushed off toward Camborne without delay.

They would undoubtedly put in every effort to ensure no mistakes in this year’s order.

“Well, in any case, good work.”

“Oh, it was nothing. But more importantly…”

Now that the task was done, Ryan recalled the reason he had hurried her here in the first place.

“Ah, now that you’re here, Miss Eloise, I have a few more questions—regarding the banquet, of course. Please, come this way.”

As Eloise pondered how to bring up the letter, Ryan led her into the manor. She had no choice but to suppress a sigh and follow him.

* * *

Ryan hadn’t called her over for no reason.

When they arrived at the study, the desk was covered with all sorts of records and documents. At a glance, they all seemed to pertain to the banquet.

Since it was only right for her to assist Ryan in areas he was unfamiliar with, Eloise stood by the desk, explaining the details he asked about.

Before long, she found herself pulling up a chair to sit down. As they continued, they gradually moved closer together.

“Wait a moment. The inventory list for last year’s silverware…”

“Oh, it’s right here…”

As they both reached for a document in the corner of the desk at the same time, their hands brushed.

Eloise had reached first, so when Ryan extended his hand slightly later, he ended up covering hers.