At those words, Emily stared blankly at Julia. After a moment, she let out a long sigh and made the sign of the cross.

Emily spoke to Julia as if she found her pathetic.

“Lord, please forgive Miss Julia. She’s just a little envious of our young lady.”

“What…?”

Julia’s face, which had not understood what Emily was saying, soon flushed red and blue.

In an instant, she had been reduced to a woman blinded by jealousy, speaking nonsense.

“You, how dare you! Do you think I’m lying right now?”

Instead of answering, Emily made the sign of the cross once more. It meant yes.

“You! How impudent!”

When Julia, unable to contain her anger, approached with her hand raised, Mrs. Ogilvy’s voice calling for Julia was heard from a distance.

Soon, Mrs. Ogilvy appeared at the end of the road.

Julia clicked her tongue softly, then turned and went back to her mother.

She wanted to slap that impudent maid’s cheek, but if she did, she would surely incur her mother’s wrath.

That wouldn’t end well. Recently, Mrs. Ogilvy had been in a very good mood but also quite sensitive.

This was understandable since Abigail, whom she had thought would never marry and would live with her for life, had found a decent—no, a very satisfactory—marriage prospect.

At first, Mrs. Ogilvy had been suspicious.

She wondered what could possibly be lacking in a man like Philip Osborne that he would be interested in her daughter.

So she deliberately tried to find out from Richard or Ryan whether Philip was a man with large debts or perhaps a gambling habit.

But to her surprise, from what she overheard of their conversations, it seemed the most dissolute one was Richard, and the most headstrong was Ryan.

Between them, Philip seemed like a secretary, mediating between the others and handling all the troublesome matters.

But that didn’t mean he lacked masculine spirit.

During the village restoration, there was an argument between the engineering corps and a resident who complained that his house wasn’t being rebuilt first.

It was Philip who instantly resolved the tense situation that seemed about to erupt into a fistfight.

He called the engineering corps with a voice so loud that it made the ears of those nearby ring.

At his stern command, which made people freeze involuntarily, the engineering corps immediately stood at attention. Even the villager who had been raising his voice immediately bowed his head and became compliant under Philip’s authority.

Seeing this, Mrs. Ogilvy removed all remaining negative thoughts about Philip from her mind.

A man who was masculine, capable, and even kind to her daughter—there was nothing to find fault with.

In any case, Philip had proposed to Abigail. Abigail had stared at him blankly before tears began to stream down her face. Yet there was a smile on her face.

Mrs. Ogilvy teasingly scolded her, saying that with such a messy face, Sir Osborne might change his mind.

But looking at Abigail like that, Philip’s eyes also grew red.

She had already received many wounds due to her physical disability.

So when she first accepted his kindness, she had drawn a certain line. This made Philip even more anxious. But he desperately drew upon what was considered his most excellent talent—patience.

He was always by Abigail’s side, holding her hand. He directly showed her that he could substitute for her crutch at any time.

At first, she had been reluctant, insisting on walking alone to the end, but eventually she took his hand, and after more time passed, she comfortably leaned on him.

Perhaps the marriage of these two had already been decided then.

In any case, it was a joyous occasion for the Ogilvy household. And Julia was upset that she was not the protagonist of this joy.

Originally, she should have been the one receiving everyone’s congratulations and preparing for marriage. But unfortunate things kept happening. It seemed like everyone around her was doing well except herself.

When she subtly expressed these feelings to her mother and complained about not having her own marriage prospects, Mrs. Ogilvy scolded Julia severely with an unprecedented stern face.

“It’s because of your attitude that you have no match! Honestly confess your wicked heart to God and ask for forgiveness!”

Not only that, but fearing Julia might say something foolish about Abigail’s marriage, she kept a watchful eye on her all day.

It was the same now. If Mrs. Ogilvy found out that Julia had been gossiping about other young ladies’ affairs like this before Abigail’s wedding, she would scold her until she cried her eyes out.

No, she might even send her away to a distant relative’s house until Abigail’s wedding preparations were completely finished.

In the worst case, she might not even allow her to attend the wedding.

That had to be avoided at all costs.

‘Surely Sir. Osborne’s friends will attend then.’

Richard would certainly come, and perhaps Ryan might return by then. And they might bring along many other fine soldiers.

So she had to avoid falling out of her mother’s favor until Abigail’s wedding.

Even as she turned away with this thought, Julia pouted her lips.

Just last year, it wasn’t like this. Her mother had cared about her mood from morning, and her sister had been mindful of her feelings. But now she felt like she had suddenly become the black sheep of the family.

Moreover, even Eloise had turned her world upside down.

The sight of her getting along so well with Sergeant Thornton, who had come as an administrator during the summer, was infuriating!

‘But that’s as far as it goes.’

Unlike Abigail, who had received a proposal, she heard that Eloise hadn’t even received proper permission to court.

‘She must have been deceived by Sergeant Thornton.’

Julia was already convinced of this in her heart.

‘Didn’t he go back after receiving a letter from a woman named Sylvia?’

She had heard it clearly with her own ears. The letter Richard brought and the two men speaking in serious voices after reading it.

‘Sylvia, come home. Because of that man.’

Those few words she had heard fueled Julia’s imagination. Moreover, hadn’t that proud-looking Sergeant Thornton immediately returned to the capital when Sylvia called?

‘Perhaps she’s not just a lover… he might even have a wife already!’

She had heard that retired soldiers concealing their existing spouses and engaging in promiscuous relationships with multiple women was becoming a problem.

‘Sergeant Thornton must be one of those!’

Julia’s imagination grew wild.

It had to be this way. There needed to be a woman more pitiful than herself. That would make her feel less shabby.

Besides, hadn’t Eloise always been in that position?

But if things went well with Sergeant Thornton and even Eloise got married, and if she ended up staying in Blissbury permanently…

Julia had boasted all summer that she and Sergeant Thornton would end up together. When it turned out to be nonsense, the village women had giggled whenever she passed by.

The reason she had begged her mother to stay in Blissbury as long as possible during the restoration was because she feared returning to the village and being laughed at.

‘Just wait and see.’

When Abigail’s wedding was held, if Sergeant Thornton still didn’t come then…

At that time, she would tell Eloise all about this sad truth without hesitation.

* * *

“Ptooey!”

Emily spat behind the retreating Julia.

‘There’s a limit to being unlucky—what nonsense is she spouting?’

Sparks flew from Emily’s eyes. If Mrs. Ogilvy hadn’t appeared, she could have given that neighbor’s daughter a piece of her mind, young lady or not.

After spitting a few more times, Emily hurried to find Eloise.

Fortunately, Eloise was sitting on the bench at the entrance of the village.

“Miss!”

When Emily called, Eloise was startled and quickly closed her book.

“Emily? What’s the matter?”

“What do you mean, what’s the matter? The wind has turned so cool, and you went out dressed so lightly again, so I brought you a thick shawl.”

Emily quickly wrapped the shawl around Eloise’s shoulders. As she did so, she glared resentfully at the sky in the direction of the capital.

‘D*mn you, Ryan Thornton, you’re the one who should catch a cold!’

While Emily was cursing in her heart, she noticed someone approaching Feltham from a distance.

Looking closely, it was William, the postman.

He came pedaling his bicycle energetically. When he saw Eloise and Emily sitting on the bench, he waved his hand cheerfully.

“Hello, Miss Eloise! Emily too! I was just heading to Mr. Surberton’s house with mail, so this is perfect timing.”

With that, William handed a letter to Eloise.

Eloise received the letter with an excited face. Emily also craned her neck to see who the sender was.

Soon, both their faces darkened.

On the envelope addressed to “Sergeant Ryan Thornton, 57th Infantry Battalion” in Eloise’s handwriting, there was a large red stamp that read:

Return to Sender: No Such Person