By noon, people were sitting under the shade of trees, resting. Without exception, everyone was covered in muddy water and sweat.

The state of Feltham was devastating. Only three houses out of all the households remained intact. Fifteen houses had suffered partial damage but could be made livable again with some repairs.

And the rest…

“We’ll have to rebuild them all.”

Eloise muttered weakly.

The joy of survival was short-lived; seeing the devastation under the bright sunlight, a sense of despair washed over her.

It was a village where people had lived quietly for over a hundred years without incident. And now, such a flood.

She felt even more miserable when she saw the carcass of a sheep, half-buried in a mound of red earth some distance away.

It wasn’t just the houses that were lost. All the farmland, just before harvest, was submerged, and many of the livestock they had raised with care were swept away.

Eloise turned her head. All around, she saw people weeping as they witnessed the destruction.

They comforted each other, saying it was a miracle no one had died, but the real problem was what lay ahead.

With this level of damage, recovery would not be easy. In fact, it was nearly impossible.

For now, they could stay in Blissbury, but not forever. For those who could not reclaim their homes…

‘Will everyone end up leaving for the north?’

Feltham, being a fertile granary, had rarely seen anyone leave for the north until now.

But in the far north, where farming was difficult, everyone had long since abandoned tenant farming and migrated to industrial cities. It was the only way to survive.

‘But I heard life in the northern industrial cities is extremely harsh…’

They said the smoke from factory chimneys blocked out the sun all day. The soot from burning coal settled thickly on the street trees, and the wastewater from the factories killed all the fish in the rivers.

Above all, an entire family had to live and eat in a single, cramped room.

If they gave up on restoring Feltham, nearly half the population would have to leave everything behind and move north.

As these thoughts continued, Eloise’s expression grew more and more somber.

A long shadow fell across her.

“Why do you look like that?”

She looked up to see Ryan gazing at her with concern.

“The damage is even worse than I thought.”

Ryan found it hard to offer any words of comfort.

He, too, could see how serious the damage was. Feltham was a village that had never considered the possibility of a flood, which made the devastation even greater.

Ryan sat down next to Eloise.

“We’ll make sure everyone can stay in Blissbury as long as they need. I’ll contact Baron Stanford as well.”

Eloise gave a bitter smile. She knew how much Baron Stanford cared for the people of Feltham.

Any other noble would have forbidden villagers from even approaching the manor, but he always spent generously from his own pocket to invite them and hold a feast every year.

But having the villagers stay in Blissbury for a long time was a different matter.

Even Baron Stanford couldn’t take in so many people. Besides, Blissbury wasn’t a place that needed so many extra hands.

“Don’t worry too much. Everything will work out.”

“I hope so.”

Although she was born in the capital, Eloise always thought of Feltham as her true home. She hated to see it disappear so suddenly and so completely.

* * *

After everyone finished eating, they returned to work. There wasn’t much they could do today.

Until the bridge was restored and all the landslide debris cleared, proper recovery work was impossible. For now, all they could do was feed the surviving livestock and retrieve and clean whatever household goods could still be used from the half-destroyed homes.

Meanwhile, the women from Blissbury arrived.

“Eloise!”

“Mother!”

Mrs. Surberton rushed out from among the women and hugged the disheveled Eloise, tears streaming down her face.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Are you all right?”

“Yes. Sergeant Thornton rescued me just in time. Oh, how is Andrew? He must have been so frightened.”

“Andrew is fine. He just has a few scratches on his leg. Of course, he woke up scared in the night, but children his age bounce back quickly. You have no idea how hard it was to stop him from coming here with us.”

At the mention of Andrew, Mrs. Surberton finally managed to stop crying and told Eloise about the situation in Blissbury.

“It’s been chaotic, but thanks to everyone’s hard work, things were somewhat sorted out by this morning. Oh, and we’ve been in contact with Camborne as well.”

“How is Camborne?”

“It’s higher up, so most of the houses are fine except for those near the river. They say there shouldn’t be much trouble with recovery. And since everyone needs food, they sent us plenty of bread and potatoes. Mrs. Parker was so relieved.”

Eloise understood how she felt.

After the feast, they had organized Blissbury’s kitchen together.

There were still plenty of ingredients left from the feast, so even with guests, they wouldn’t need to order more for a while. Mrs. Parker, who believed missing a meal was the end of the world, must have been overwhelmed when the Feltham villagers suddenly arrived in droves.

‘At least Camborne is safe.’

It was a small blessing. If Camborne had also suffered heavy damage, everyone would have gone hungry within days.

“And we’ve contacted those who escaped to the west side of the village. They’re all staying in Camborne’s town hall. When we checked the lists of people in Camborne and those who came to Blissbury, thankfully, there were no missing or dead.”

Mrs. Surberton crossed herself and offered a brief prayer to God.

For so much to be destroyed and yet not a single person dead—if that wasn’t a miracle, what was?

After talking for a while about others’ situations, Mrs. Surberton took Eloise’s arm and led her inside once Ryan went off to help elsewhere.

“Eloise, please don’t hide anything from me. Tell me honestly.”

“Yes? About what?”

Eloise was startled by her mother’s sudden seriousness.

“I know you and Sergeant Thornton have a good relationship. So… yesterday, when the two of you were alone… of course, I trust Sergeant Thornton, but sometimes, in desperate situations, people act self-destructively. So…”

Mrs. Surberton hesitated, struggling to find the words, her face showing embarrassment.

Seeing this, Eloise realized what her mother was worried about.

“Mother. Nothing inappropriate happened between Sergeant Thornton and me.”

Eloise spoke plainly.

Her mother’s face relaxed with relief at her daughter’s firm answer.

After reassuring her mother further, Eloise stepped outside and touched her still-swollen lips.

Nothing inappropriate had happened.

They had simply been two people in love, together.

* * *

A week later, the overall damage from the rains was tallied.

Ryan sat at the dining table, reporting on what he had heard about the surrounding areas in Camborne.

“The affected area is much broader than we thought. Not just Feltham and Camborne, but also Dosset, Foy, Sellac, Lypord, and Raderton. The death toll is at 210, missing persons over a thousand. Injuries are still being counted, but they estimate over three thousand. The total number of destroyed homes is still being calculated, but…”

Ryan’s voice was heavy with a sigh.

“Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to say half of Forbunt County is gone.”

No one could say a word in response. For half the county to be hit by such a flood…

“The death toll will probably keep rising. Didn’t they find three bodies from Dosset at the southern bridge just yesterday?”

That was true.

There was a large stone bridge south of Blissbury. It was built when Blissbury was founded, used for traveling further south. The sturdy stone bridge had survived the flood.

But debris—branches and all sorts of things—had piled up under the bridge.

If left alone, it would obstruct the flow and put strain on the bridge.

So, as soon as the water level dropped, people went to clear away the debris.

That’s when they found the bodies tangled among the branches.

When they were brought back, all the Feltham villagers sheltering in Blissbury removed their hats and bowed their heads in respect for the dead.

The children’s rooms were curtained so they could not see outside.

The remains of those who died in the flood were among the most dreadful sights anyone could see.

As the mood at the table grew heavier, Ryan spoke again.

“So, the royal family plans to officially name this disaster the Great Forbunt Flood.”

“Wait, if that’s the case…!”

At Ryan’s words, Richard and Philip’s faces brightened.