"H-how did you..."
She had intended to laugh at a confused Eloise, but in the end, Julia herself became flustered and stammered.
"Did you think Emily, having heard this, wouldn't tell me anything?"
"..."
She *had* thought Emily wouldn't say anything.
After all, that devoted servant couldn't bear to see her mistress suffer.
Even if she'd heard something like that, she would most likely have swallowed it down—agonizing over what to do—and ultimately remained silent...
While Julia stood speechless, Eloise clicked her tongue and spoke.
"It must have been hard for you to hold back. You wanted to say it so badly."
Eloise's voice was full of mockery. This made Julia bristle.
"I'm speaking out of concern! Why be so sarcastic?"
"Concern?"
Eloise stopped packing and looked at Julia.
Her gaze was so sharp that Julia—who had been puffing and shouting until that moment—involuntarily shuddered and took a step back.
"If you were so concerned, you would have told me the same day you heard it."
"That's—"
**"Julia, tell me honestly. Did you find it amusing to watch me wait for a letter from Ryan every day?"**
Julia's face flushed crimson at those words.
As Eloise said, every time she'd seen her sitting at the village entrance waiting for the postman, she'd felt a twinge of schadenfreude.
Knowing that she alone possessed the truth had made her feel superior. Eloise had seemed ridiculous to her.
"And then, deciding it was time, you came running here, didn't you?"
Eloise continued, looking at Julia as though she were pathetic. Julia screamed again.
"If I had told you earlier, you wouldn't have believed me!"
"Perhaps."
This time, Eloise responded calmly.
*And will she believe it now?*
"..."
"And, Julia. Why did you think that—if you told me—I wouldn't believe you?"
"Th-that's..."
Julia was unable to answer Eloise's question.
Julia knew better than anyone why everyone, hearing such a thing from *her*, would doubt her words.
If she said it, everyone would assume she was lying out of envy and jealousy.
Not only Eloise—but her mother and sister as well.
"And now you thought I would believe you?"
These words made Julia's already red face turn even redder. She wanted to respond, but couldn't find the words. The more she spoke, the more ashamed she became.
"If you're finished, could you please leave? As you can see, I'm busy."
Eloise turned away from Julia and resumed packing.
Julia clenched her fists and screamed:
**"Do whatever you want! I tried to save you from disgrace, and now you're making me out to be a liar! Go to the capital and humiliate yourself in front of the whole world!"**
Julia released her true feelings and spun around sharply.
The sound of her footsteps thundered down the stairs—as though she intended to break them. Then she could be heard venting her anger, shouting for someone to make way. After she was gone, Emily grumbled, *"What's wrong with her?"*
*"Ha..."*
Eloise stopped packing again.
Though she'd acted as if Julia didn't bother her, a storm raged inside.
Emily hadn't told her right away either.
She had spoken cautiously only when Eloise—having heard Abigail's story—returned and announced she would go to the capital.
*"My lady, actually..."*
It had been only a few hours ago. And now Julia had come and stirred everything up again. It would be strange if she were in her right mind.
*Is it true?*
She didn't think Julia had fabricated it all.
She knew all too well how Richard had arrived suddenly in the night.
But she also couldn't believe that Ryan had another woman.
At that moment, images from novels surfaced in Eloise's mind—women who, blinded by love, turned away from the truth.
No matter how much they were told their beloved had another woman, they refused to believe it. Refused to listen.
And how did it all end for them?
In the end, seeing their lover and his woman together—so happy—they turned and left.
*But I won't do that.*
The hand holding the clothes clenched.
She definitely wouldn't just watch. She would run up immediately, grab Ryan by the lapels, and slap him.
And that wouldn't be enough, so she'd like to hit him with her fist—but that would probably be difficult.
Just the thought made the hand holding the clothes tremble.
Eloise released the garment and slowly tried to calm her breathing.
It was all just imagination.
*And...*
Eloise still believed in Ryan.
In the man who had risked his life to save her during the landslide.
In the man who, on that night when they were left alone in the house with rain pouring down, had confessed his feelings to her with unprecedented sincerity.
To this day, whenever she closed her eyes, she could see his back as he threw wood into the fireplace to keep her warm.
In her entire life—aside from her parents—she had never seen anyone take such care of her.
Ryan's actions at that moment had been such that even if this turned out to be merely a game for momentary entertainment, she wouldn't mind remaining his plaything for the rest of her life.
*So I'll go and find out everything myself.*
Why the letters had suddenly stopped. Who Sylvia was. And what had happened to Philip.
She would go and discover everything herself.
---
The next day, Eloise climbed into the carriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Severton, who came out to see her off, looked at their daughter with concern.
"Must you really go alone?"
Mr. Severton asked anxiously as Eloise closed the carriage door.
"Yes. In any case, we need to inspect the house Godmother left behind."
"That's true, but..."
Normally, Mr. Severton would have said he'd go himself. Or at least accompany her.
But his long absence had left his aging body very tired. The horror of nearly losing his family had also sapped his strength.
That was why it was difficult for him to travel to the capital right now.
"That's true, but... are you sure everything will be all right? Perhaps it would be better to send someone to investigate first?"
Having heard from Rosie what she'd learned from Emily, the Severtons also knew about Ryan and a woman named Sylvia.
That made it even harder for them to restrain Eloise as she prepared to leave for the capital. After all, they knew how heavy their daughter's heart was.
Besides, it truly was necessary to inspect the house Godmother had left.
Seeing Mr. Severton unable to shake his anxiety, Mrs. Severton consoled her husband:
"Don't worry so much, dear. I wrote to Eugenia to look after Eloise well. Eloise, you remember Lady Fairfax, don't you? Behave yourself."
"Of course. Don't worry."
Eugenia Fairfax was a relative of her mother's and the wife of a baron. Eloise had a younger cousin, and as children they'd often visited and played together.
Mrs. Severton therefore wished for Eloise to stay with them while in the capital.
*But I remember how she lectured me non-stop...*
Therefore, Eloise wanted—if possible—to stay in the house her godmother had left.
"First I'll stop by Godmother's house, then I'll visit hers."
"Yes, and—"
As Mrs. Severton was about to begin the instructions she'd been repeating all the previous night, the coachman announced it was time to depart and pulled the reins.
The horses, understanding the signal, moved forward, and the carriage rolled into motion.
Eloise waved to her departing parents.
**"Don't worry! I'll be back soon!"**
No matter how progressive her parents' views were, they would not normally have sent their daughter to the capital alone.
And yet they let her go. Because they knew how desperately she wanted this.
*I'll try to finish everything as quickly as possible.*
And she truly wanted to return with Ryan.
The carriage picked up speed. Under a sky covered with gray clouds that seemed ready to burst into snow, the carriage raced forward.
---
A week later.
"Is this... really it?"
Eloise looked with distrust at the house her godmother had left behind.