The next day, Eloise went out alone again to meet Bella.

She left the hotel with Emily and Garner, but to have a deep conversation with Bella, she sent the two of them to a nearby arcade again today.

Initially reluctant, the pair eventually left Eloise at the café and departed, caught up in Bringport’s atmosphere. It was too difficult to argue that it might be dangerous when the city’s security was so excellent.

With some time remaining before her appointment with Bella, Eloise opened a book she had recently purchased. But her hand wouldn’t turn the pages.

“Sigh…”

Before she knew it, a sigh escaped her lips. Startled by her own sound, Eloise looked around, then closed the book with a bitter smile.

She knew well why she couldn’t focus on the book.

‘It’s because of Ryan.’

Last night, Ryan had returned to the hotel very late. After Eloise, who had been waiting for him, had fallen asleep, unable to fight her drowsiness.

If he had just come in late, she would have assumed his conversation with Richard had gone long. But when she opened her eyes, she saw Ryan about to leave the room.

Ryan, who was usually anxious when he couldn’t personally attend to Eloise’s morning needs—who had made sure to take care of her breakfasts even in Bringport—was hurriedly leaving the room. Almost as if he were trying to escape from her.

“Ryan…? Where are you going? And when did you come in?”

When Eloise asked while rubbing her eyes, Ryan flinched as if caught, then said to her:

“I’m going to meet Richard. There’s something we need to do about the impersonator case. It’s nothing difficult, so don’t worry. I’ll finish before we go to Dr. Giacomo. It might all be resolved by the end of today.”

There was nothing wrong with those words. The problem was that Ryan couldn’t meet Eloise’s eyes even once while speaking.

‘Something is definitely wrong!’

It didn’t seem to be anything serious. Rather, it felt more like he wanted to avoid conversation.

And so Ryan hurriedly left the room. What made it even more perplexing was that he had meticulously prepared breakfast for her on the table before leaving.

‘What’s happening with this impersonator case that’s making him act like this?’

She had expected it wouldn’t be easy. According to rumors, Baroness Surrier had closed off her house, and the impersonator claiming to be her fiancé was staying firmly inside the mansion.

So they couldn’t just go to the mansion and capture the impersonator. If only I could get into Baroness Surrier’s house myself?

As she was thinking this, Eloise shook her head. She remembered what Ryan had repeatedly asked of her.

“Eloise, just in case, I’m asking you…”

“I told you I won’t pay attention to it! Really!”

Ryan, constantly suspicious that Eloise might interfere in this impersonation case, had made her promise several times not to get involved.

‘Anyone would think I just cause problems by meddling! I just want to protect my husband’s life!’

As she clenched her fist with that thought, Eloise suddenly realized how naturally she had been thinking of Ryan as her “husband.”

Suddenly, her throat felt hot.

‘Why is my throat so hot?’

As she was fanning herself with her hand, she saw Bella coming up the stairs.

“Ellie!”

As soon as Bella entered, she spotted Eloise and quickly approached.

“I’m sorry. Am I late? I received word just before leaving that everything was ready…”

Having rushed over, Bella was breathing heavily. At the same time, she kept looking around strangely.

Fortunately, since it was morning, there were hardly any people in the café where they had agreed to meet. Nevertheless, Bella couldn’t seem to relax.

When the waiter brought fresh tea, she took a sip and finally exhaled deeply.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to feel at ease in places with many people.”

Hearing this, Eloise recalled how Bella had particularly sought quiet places at the museum and later at the café when they talked yesterday.

Seeing Bella continue to apologize, Eloise shook her head.

“It’s fine. Honestly, the conversations we have aren’t exactly meant to be had loudly, are they?”

She winked, and after a blank moment, Bella burst into laughter.

“Haha, that’s right. If God were watching this café right now, we’d be in big trouble.”

“The roof will shield us from Him, so He won’t know.”

As they exchanged silly jokes, Bella’s expression gradually relaxed. Though they were using what were clearly pseudonyms and didn’t even know where each other lived, they felt remarkably close.

A depth of emotion that would make even Abigail, who could be considered her best friend, jealous.

Drinking tea, Eloise and Bella continued the conversation they hadn’t finished the previous day.

As expected, Bella was deeply knowledgeable about art. She displayed extensive knowledge not only of the Bringport Museum’s collection but also of works in the capital and other cities. Her understanding of both classical artists and new paintings was exceptional.

Thanks to this, Eloise could enthusiastically engage in conversations about art that she couldn’t have with others.

In fact, this was one of the few topics where Abigail couldn’t keep up with her. It wasn’t that Abigail lacked aesthetic sense, but her hands had absolutely no talent for recreating what her eyes saw.

“…I must admit there are things in this world that cannot be achieved through effort alone.”

After ruining dozens of drawings, he had muttered those words in a dejected voice.

Eloise had wanted to tell her to try a little harder, but seeing her drawings where she couldn’t even guess what was depicted, she had no choice but to give up on offering comfort.

Having met Bella in such circumstances, it was natural that they became friends quickly.

It seemed Bella felt the same way. Several times during their conversation, she mentioned how delighted she was to finally meet someone with similar interests.

As the two continued talking, the café staff brought fresh teapots twice more.

Their ongoing conversation eventually shifted from art to personal matters.

“So, Ellie, you came to Bringport with your husband?”

“Yes. Though he’s been leaving me alone for a few days because he’s busy.”

Despite her grumbling tone, Bella laughed at her words. When Eloise gave her a questioning look, Bella replied with lingering amusement:

“You’re grumbling, but you don’t look angry at all! You two must really have a good relationship.”

“What? No, it’s not like that… Well, I mean, we don’t have a bad relationship either!”

As Eloise stammered, unsure whether to affirm or deny, Bella laughed again. But there was a hint of bitterness in her laughter.

Eloise noticed this but chose not to bring it up. It would be rude to pry before Bella was ready to speak about it.

Bella fidgeted with her hands, then asked Eloise:

“How long have you been married?”

“Well, about a year now.”

This was the backstory she and Ryan had agreed upon before coming to Bringport. They had decided to pose as a couple married for exactly one year.

“How did you meet your husband? How does married life compare to before? Were you anxious or worried about anything when you got married?”

Bella fired off questions one after another, then stopped abruptly.

“I’m sorry. Those questions were too personal.”

“It’s fine. Honestly, these are questions I’ve been hoping someone would ask. When else would I get to openly brag about my husband?”

Though he wasn’t actually her husband yet, they were playing the role of a married couple now.

Eloise decided to make it a bit more realistic.

While Ryan had been busy these past few days, which was disappointing, every day before that had been incredibly enjoyable for Eloise. Bringport’s beauty played a large part, but she was happy to be here with Ryan, pretending to be a married couple.

That made her look forward to the future even more. Once they were actually married, she could enjoy this happiness with an even freer heart.

“To be honest, when we first met, I didn’t really like him…”

Eloise recalled their first meeting and began telling Bella about it.

Of course, she carefully omitted parts that shouldn’t be mentioned and shared her memories of Ryan with a satisfied expression.

‘My husband… my lover… but he really does seem perfect in every way, doesn’t he?’

As Eloise praised Ryan’s kindness, attentiveness, and earnestness until her lips went dry, she belatedly noticed Bella’s expression.

At first, Bella had listened to Eloise’s story with sparkling eyes, but at some point, her expression had turned gloomy, and she was biting her lip.

Seeing her clearly troubled expression, Eloise recalled the questions from earlier.

How did married life compare to before? Was she anxious or worried about anything?

“Um, Bella. This might be presumptuous, but… is something wrong?”

There was no other reason for such an expression. At Eloise’s question, Bella hesitated, unable to speak.

Seeing this, Eloise reached out and gently covered Bella’s hand with her own.

“If it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to. But… if something’s troubling you, I’d like to be of help, even just a little.”

She meant it sincerely. Though they had only met a few days ago, Eloise already considered Bella a friend and was genuinely concerned for her.

Perhaps sensing Eloise’s sincerity, Bella, after hesitating, carefully opened up:

“Actually, I have a fiancé…”