The winter with unusually heavy snowfall had ended. The hills that seemed destined to remain snow-covered forever now had melting snow forming small streams, with fresh green shoots sprouting beside them.

The small reddish flowers that villagers called the spring goddess’s carpet were also peeking out among the light green sprouts, and soon the daytime breeze carried their gentle fragrance.

Beyond those hills, in the sunniest location, the Blissbury mansion continued to display its splendor under the sunshine.

The mansion, which the people of Feltham had always taken pride in, became their spiritual pillar after the flood.

Those difficult and painful times had long passed, with only the old bridge’s broken pillars remaining as traces of the flood. Yet the people of Feltham still frequently mentioned how remarkable that time was, how they endured by relying on each other during those difficult days.

And toward the end of such conversations, everyone would look in the same direction with a wistful expression—toward Blissbury, which had unhesitatingly welcomed all the villagers.

And now, on the second floor of that Blissbury mansion, Eloise sat before an easel, her hands moving busily.

Beyond the large window in front of her stretched fields busy welcoming spring.

Everyone would naturally assume she was capturing that brilliance on paper.

“Miss! You need to eat!”

At Emily’s voice from below, Eloise flinched and stopped her hand.

Glancing back, she could hear Mrs. Parker’s voice faintly through the open door as she gave orders to the maids.

Throughout the winter, Mrs. Parker had kept Emily by her side, teaching her many things—not just her prized recipes but also every corner of Blissbury.

Anyone could see she was grooming Emily to be the next head maid of the mansion. Because of this, Emily had apparently faced some hostility from the other maids when she first arrived.

“Shall I help you?” Eloise asked, noticing the mud on Emily’s skirt hem and understanding the situation. But Emily smiled, brushed off the dirt from her skirt, and replied in a cheerful voice:

“I’ll handle it myself. I’ll sort things out quickly.”

Emily spoke with confidence. And two weeks later, one maid bowed her head and said she wanted to quit.

Seeing this, Eloise knew her clever maid had properly established discipline among the mansion’s staff.

Well, even back in Feltham, she had been a girl who never backed down from anyone. After she pulled the hair of Mr. Ogilvy’s maid for gossiping about Eloise, the village women had avoided Emily.

It seemed Emily had no intention of backing down here either. The maid who had asked to quit had disheveled hair beneath her head.

Eloise pretended not to know anything, smiled and said it was truly unfortunate, then gave the maid several weeks’ worth of wages before sending her off.

After that, the remaining maids promptly followed Emily’s instructions. Naturally, Mrs. Parker watched this with satisfaction.

“It reminds me of my early days. I had to dismiss three people… Emily is truly a kind girl.”

Thus, Emily inherited the management of Blissbury from Mrs. Parker. And she wasn’t the only one to inherit something.

“Mr. Garner! Please help me!”

At Emily’s voice, Eloise could see through the window a man who had been tidying the front entrance hurriedly entering the mansion.

Garner was someone who had settled at Blissbury a few months ago. He had belonged to the 57th Infantry Battalion.

In other words, he was a soldier who knew Ryan’s close friend.

Eloise clearly remembered the day Ryan first brought him.

A man with dead eyes, looking so rough he might have been mistaken for a vagrant. Garner was missing three fingers on his right hand.

Naturally, his battle injuries had been so severe that the military doctor had no choice but to amputate.

“…I went to the hospital, but he had been discharged and immediately left the service, so I couldn’t find him. But then I met him in the capital…”

Ryan had explained, asking Eloise if Garner could stay at Blissbury that day.

“Of course. Everyone is welcome at Blissbury, Mr. Garner.”

At Eloise’s answer, a ray of light momentarily appeared on Garner’s face as he awkwardly looked around, unsure what to do.

Although this winter had been quite long, Garner regained his former courage while staying at Blissbury through the winter.

When spring came, he learned to smile brightly like a young man who had lived his entire life in rural fields. He began to mingle comfortably with the other servants and exchange pleasant jokes with the mansion’s maids.

Whenever Eloise looked at Garner like this, Ryan would invariably block her view and make her meet his eyes.

“If I were Garner, I would already be in tatters from your gaze.”

“I suppose Mr. Garner is quite thick-skinned.”

“Eloise.”

When Eloise smiled innocently, Ryan called her name in a serious voice.

The jealousy flashing in his eyes then! Eloise stroked his cheek with a soothing touch and replied:

“I’m just looking at him with envy. Mr. Garner reminds me of you from long ago.”

Looking at Garner reminded her of Ryan from long ago, when only his shell remained. She could sense in him that distinctive brittleness of someone unable to escape from nightmares of blood and screams.

But it seemed this warm mansion had succeeded in pulling Garner out of that bleakness as well.

When Eloise smiled and said this, Ryan’s expression became complicated, and he eventually covered his face with one hand.

It was simply that he was too moved to say anything more.

“…If that’s the reason, I can’t understand it, but would you at least look at me once when you feel that way?”

Eloise gently kissed him at the end of his openly expressed jealousy. She was also satisfied seeing Ryan’s face flush just from that.

Garner walked the same path as everyone else. Not only had he healed at Blissbury, but he had also found love.

“Miss Emily! Put that down! I’ll carry it!”

His shouting voice was loud. Though Garner was always flustered by loud voices, the reason his voice sounded particularly bright now was probably because Emily had called him.

At first, Emily hadn’t welcomed Garner. It was natural. She became wary when someone who looked like a vagrant suddenly entered.

Garner also found such situations difficult. He didn’t have the emotional capacity to get along amicably with someone who openly showed hostility.

These two people became friends because of the chicken coop raid that happened in the middle of winter.

Several foxes, searching for food in winter, attacked the chicken coop behind the mansion. Everyone rushed there quickly at the sound of dying chickens, but several had already been taken.

Among the chickens taken was a hen that Emily cherished greatly because it often laid eggs.

Filled with anger, Emily grabbed a pitchfork and ran toward a fox that was still watching, holding a chicken in its mouth, unable to move.

The fox had run without knowing its destination. It was deliberately leading Emily toward a deep snowbank.

“Stop! It’s dangerous if you go further!”

If Garner, who had hurriedly chased after her, hadn’t pulled Emily back by the waist, she would have fallen into the snow-filled pit as she ran and been seriously injured.

“But that fox!”

The fox, still hesitantly holding the chicken in its mouth, looked at the two with regret. Its eyes clearly showed disappointment at losing its prey.

“Cover your ears for a moment.”

Garner said this, then aimed a pistol he had taken from his pocket. Then he shot unhesitatingly toward the fox.

With a single gunshot, the fox collapsed, spitting blood, and the captured hen flew back into Emily’s arms.

Too busy examining the hen’s wounds, Emily looked at Garner with shining eyes.

“Thank you…”

“Losing three fingers doesn’t affect my ability to use a pistol. I was discharged because rifles are a bit difficult for me.”

After Emily returned, she heard from Ryan that Garner had been the best marksman in the 57th Infantry Battalion, and from then on, she began giving him extra snacks.

As a result, spring came to the two of them before flowers bloomed in the spring fields.

“Come quickly, it’s heavy!”

Emily’s responding voice had laughter mixed in it.

The scene was easily imaginable even without seeing it. He would pretend to help while deliberately letting their fingers touch. Then her cheeks would turn red. Like children caught doing something naughty.

And then they would put in effort as if nothing had happened. Thinking no one else would notice.

The corners of Eloise’s mouth turned up in a smile.

Even the most perceptive people, like those who fall because they can’t see right beneath their feet, these two sharp-witted people had no idea that everyone around them had noticed their relationship.

‘What would be a good wedding gift?’

While Eloise and everyone else at Blissbury were preparing their wedding gifts, when would those two realize it?

As Eloise was imagining various gifts in her mind, the voices of the two people from below disappeared.

But while Eloise was lost in thought and didn’t notice this, careful footsteps approached her from behind.

Then, standing right behind her, the owner of the footsteps spoke as if displeased with the mansion’s owner.

“I believe I told you not to work like this.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Eloise let out an unintelligible sound. Yet instinctively, she turned to look at the owner of the voice.

It was the voice she had most wanted to hear.

“Ryan!”

Eloise immediately stood up and spread her arms. Ryan embraced her waist and kissed her cheek.

It was a lovers’ greeting filled with affection and deep intimacy.

“Goodness, when did you return?”

“Just now. I told everyone not to announce me, thinking I’d surprise you…”

At his words, Eloise belatedly realized that Emily and Garner’s voices from below had disappeared earlier. It seemed both had seen Ryan entering quietly and kept silent.

Eloise waited for his lips, which were subtly moving to kiss her.

But unlike usual, Ryan’s gaze was directed not at her lips but beyond her.

What was there?

At that moment, Eloise stepped back in alarm and covered the painting on the easel with her hands.

“Don’t look!”

The painting Eloise was covering was a n*de she had been secretly drawing while pretending it was a landscape.