He wrote the same name on the dust over and over again. Then, after glancing at the scenery visible through the dirty window, he let out a deep sigh.

“Haah……”

With that, Eloise’s name written in the dust disappeared.

He would have had to erase it anyway, but seeing it vanish without a trace still made his heart ache.

He looked out the window again.

He was in Fenon, the capital of Gilia.

The view of Fenon visible through the dirty window was clearly not good.

‘That’s to be expected.’

Gilia had ultimately lost the long war and had to pay enormous reparations. Probably for the foreseeable future, Gilia would be unable to undertake any major national projects. They wouldn’t even be able to contemplate restoring areas that still bore the scars of war.

That was what Albion had wanted.

These were turbulent times. Railways were being laid across the plains, and machines were increasingly taking over work done by hand.

Though many people disliked this change, considering it an unfavorable trend, eventually everyone would have to accept it.

In peaceful times, a few years might mean nothing, but in times like these, a few years of inaction would ultimately hold Gilia back.

While Gilia remained immobilized, other countries would race toward a future decades ahead.

Although this was the result he had wanted, seeing it firsthand made Ryan’s feelings more complicated.

‘Still, this is the last one.’

This was his final mission. Once it was over, he would never again have to infiltrate an enemy country alone like this.

Though he thought this, Ryan’s expression didn’t brighten much.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected to return to Gilia.

His original plan had been to respond to the summons, find out why he had been called, finish the task, and immediately resign from the military.

Of course, he would try to restore Colonel Ryan Wilgrave’s honor before that, but that was something he could do even after leaving the military.

No, perhaps it would be easier once he left the military. After all, Earl Wallace’s persistent attacks were aimed at forcing him to quit the military.

Earl Wallace feared Ryan remaining in the military, accumulating more achievements and gaining more honor. The more he did, the harder it would be for the Earl to act against him.

But that was his misconception.

“What about leaving the military and becoming completely mine? I can grant you titles and estates.”

The Duke, whose life Ryan had saved, had tried to persuade him multiple times.

If Ryan had even a little ambition for honor, he would have accepted the Duke’s offer without hesitation.

But at that time, Ryan had no desire or obligation to do anything other than carry out his missions, so he declined the Duke’s offer.

But not anymore.

‘For the honor of Ryan Wilgrave!’

He could do anything if it meant being able to stand proudly before Eloise with that name.

So he had planned to hear why the military had called him, resolve the matter well, and quietly prepare for retirement.

After that, he would accept the Duke’s offer and, as Baron Stanford had been suggesting, take up a position as a member of the House of Commons to properly confront Earl Wallace.

He believed he could then face Eloise again and tell her his real name.

But things didn’t go as planned.

He had thought that he was being called either for post-war cleanup after the peace treaty, or because Earl Wallace was making a fuss about the Disciplinary Committee again.

But contrary to his expectations, the people waiting for him at Army Headquarters were not familiar faces but royal officials.

The moment he saw them, Ryan sensed that the matter he was being called for was more serious than he had thought.

He was immediately taken, almost dragged, to the palace. And there he met the Duke.

“It’s been a long time, Your Grace. But……”

“I’m sorry about this. Let’s go further inside to talk.”

The Duke apologized as soon as he saw him. Ryan’s expression hardened further.

Go inside.

If the person he was to meet deeper inside the palace was…

The next day, Ryan immediately left the capital and headed south. On his way, the word “Feltham” written on old signposts caught his eye several times.

But he couldn’t go to Feltham. After receiving direct orders from the Queen at the palace, he had assumed the identity of “Fiel Menard.”

A Gilian soldier who had been captured as a prisoner after the war and was now returning home.

So the village called Feltham was not a place he knew.

Upon reaching the southern port, he immediately boarded a ship bound for Gilia.

Gilia had become more accessible after the war. Several soldiers returning to Gilia were on the ship besides Ryan.

Ryan naturally blended in among them. His handsome face could be easily altered with simple disguise tools.

The Gilian soldiers returning home quickly became friendly with Fiel Menard, who naturally spoke with a southern Gilian dialect.

By the time they disembarked, “Fiel Menard” had become someone who could speak in all five accents of the people he had met on the ship.

He immediately made contact with Albion’s informants who remained in Gilia.

Still looking outside, Ryan recalled the Queen’s order document that he had personally burned in the fireplace before leaving the palace.

Gilia had secretly been diverting troops despite declaring a peace treaty.

It was clear they were planning to attack again, taking advantage of the peaceful interval, so his job was to find out where and how these troops were moving.

That was what Ryan had to do here.

The Queen had promised. If this mission was completed successfully, she would award Ryan the Golden Laurel Medal.

It was an extremely prestigious medal that only five people in Albion’s history had received.

If he received it……

The Disciplinary Committee would no longer dare to summon him. Those who received this medal were granted permanent immunity from arrest, exemption from prosecution for up to ten murders, and even the right to be buried in the cathedral in the center of the capital.

Of course, enormous rewards, estates, and titles would naturally follow.

Ryan wasn’t interested in the latter. He just wanted to stand proudly before Eloise and ensure that she would never again suffer because of his scandals.

That’s why he was now alone in the capital of this enemy country.

Ryan looked up at the sky of Fenon, where snow seemed like it could fall at any moment.

‘I said I’d return before the first snow.’

He grew anxious.

This year, Albion’s abnormal summer weather seemed to be continuing, as temperatures remained unusually high despite it being winter.

People who had been looking forward to snow for the festival expressed disappointment that they might only see snow once winter deepened further. So…

‘I should be able to return before the first snow falls.’

Just as he thought this, Ryan’s gaze fell on a man walking down the street with his collar turned up.

Ryan immediately stood up. Then he quietly left the building and followed him from a distance.

The man was a confidant of the Gilian royal family. He was also someone who had no business being in these back alleys.

‘Just as the information said.’

Some Albion military personnel were still staying in the Gilian royal palace. So if someone wanted to do something away from their eyes, they would have to come to back alleys far from the palace like this.

Breathing in the cool air of the foreign country, Ryan followed him.

With white breath, the name he called like a prayer disappeared into the wind.

The name of the one waiting for him in Feltham.

* * *

“Who would just wait around?”

Eloise muttered as she stuffed clothes into her bag.

She couldn’t stand how pathetic she had been.

If Ryan wouldn’t come, she could go to him! Why hadn’t she thought of this simple fact until now?

As soon as the thought occurred to her, Eloise had rushed home and was now packing her bags.

‘I even have a good excuse to go!’

The building in the capital that her father’s godmother had left her. She could say she needed to check on it.

She actually did need to look into it.

It was just as Eloise had frantically packed her bags and come downstairs.

“Are you really going to the capital?”

Julia was standing with her arms crossed. Then, looking at Eloise, she said:

“Before you go to the capital and embarrass yourself, let me tell you……”

“What? That Ryan has a woman named Sylvia?”

“Huh?”

Julia’s eyes widened as Eloise said what she had been about to say.