“What’s the matter, dear?”

Mrs. Bailey narrowed her eyes.

When Eloise said she had something urgent to discuss and asked to speak, Mrs. Bailey was led into the bedroom from the dining table where she had been having tea.

The lady had already been aware that Eloise had changed recently.

If the protagonist of this serious silence was her eldest daughter Sarah, it wouldn’t be so surprising, but for it to be her second daughter Eloise…

“Oh, my child. Stop hesitating and tell me. You’re making me anxious for no reason.”

Seeing her lovely face, usually shining like a well-polished apple, look so pale today, it seemed she had tossed and turned all night again.

A mother’s eyes couldn’t be wrong.

It was an important time, so she hoped it was nothing serious.

“Mom.”

At that moment, Eloise finally parted her lips.

“I want to make it clear from the start that I’m not saying this lightly.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Actually, I wanted to tell you when both of you were together, but it seems Dad has gone far away again…”

“Oh, I get it, so hurry up and tell me? I won’t get angry.”

“I…”

Even if I say I love Lord Ansel?

Such a foolish thought briefly crossed her mind, but Eloise hurriedly shook it off.

“Mom, I want to leave home.”

“Leave home? What are you suddenly…”

Mrs. Bailey’s slender eyebrows arched up sharply and then quickly settled down.

With a soft sigh, the lady continued.

“I was going to tell you anyway. We asked Lord Ansel to let us live in Fairmont House too.”

“What?”

“Truly, who could stop your father? I wonder if we came across as too materialistic, considering the wedding hasn’t even happened yet.”

“…”

To her daughter who had frozen with slightly parted lips in shock, Mrs. Bailey added a few words.

“He said he would speak to the Earl, so an answer should come soon. According to Ansel, there’s no reason for him to object, but even if he does, he said he would try to persuade him somehow. There probably isn’t a more considerate young man in the world. Right?”

Only then did Eloise realize the meaning of what Ansel had said some time ago.

‘Isn’t that expression too much? It’s all your family’s intention.’

So that’s how it was. That’s why he said that.

But for a considerate young man, Ansel looked quite unpleasant when he said those words.

Ansel Blaine that day seemed angry. It was still vividly etched in her mind how his sharp gaze seemed to be holding something back.

‘I think we really did come across as materialistic…’

It was a moment when her guess that his kindness towards the Bailey family was solely because of Sarah became even more certain.

For him, a nobleman, to devote himself so deeply to people without status, wealth, or even shame, just how deep must his love for her sister be?

Anyway, this wasn’t what Eloise had meant to say.

“Yes, he is really kind, but I wasn’t talking about this house…”

“Then what is it?”

“I want to leave Maybury.”

“My child, what are you saying?”

Mrs. Bailey asked back in dismay. In contrast to such a mother, Eloise’s face was calm.

If it was a scene she had imagined countless times in her head, it was natural for it to be natural.

“I want to go to the capital. Please allow me.”

“No…”

“Dad will allow it. So if you just give me permission, right away-”

“Eloise.”

At that moment, Mrs. Bailey’s sharp voice cut off Eloise’s words.

“I wasn’t going to say anything until the family’s important event was near… But I had noticed that you’ve been a bit strange lately. Enough that even your dense father asked if puberty comes again at twenty-two?”

“…”

“I know well how close you sisters are, my child. But as you know, Longfield is close enough to reach by carriage in no time, right? We’ll be living under the same roof again soon. So it’ll all be fine.”

“… No. It’s not because of that.”

Eloise, who had been looking down as if hesitating for a moment, soon lifted her head as if she had made up her mind.

“It’s just… everything suddenly feels boring. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve never left even once until I turned twenty-two. I want to go out into the wider world before it’s too late.”

“What are you saying, sounding like your father?”

The lady retorted with an incredulous expression, but Eloise calmly countered.

“I do take after Dad. Sarah takes more after you, Mom.”

“…”

“You’d be worried all the same if I kept staying here depressed, right? If I go to the capital, I’m sure I’ll feel refreshed. Plus, there are a lot of men in Brightnam! Who knows, I might meet a wonderful match like Lord Ansel! You always said eligible bachelors were scarce in Maybury.”

Eloise brightly listed off words she didn’t even mean. She seemed confident that she could gain her mother’s understanding.

“Ellie, that’s…”

But Mrs. Bailey had a serious expression.

She couldn’t help but worry, with her daughter saying things she had never said in her life.

“… Okay, let’s say you go to the capital. What money will you live on? You don’t even have a place to stay. The terrible thought that you’ll manage somehow-”

“The maids at Fairmont House say there are many big factories in the capital with plenty of jobs. They said even women can earn enough to live on their own. As for a place to stay… Didn’t you say we have relatives living in the capital?”

Eloise recited the thoughts she had organized all night, bit by bit. Mrs. Bailey’s eyes widened in absurdity.

“You mean Uncle Simon? We lost contact long ago and don’t even know how he’s doing, and you’re suddenly going to impose on him? He hasn’t even seen you since you were a baby!”

“You said he was the only one who understood when you said you’d marry Dad. That he adored you. Someone like that wouldn’t turn me away.”

“I don’t know if I should call it naive, or…”

It was a strange feeling. The child she thought had only inherited her husband’s bright side also possessed her own recklessness.

Although she was speaking with a ladylike, gentle face, she couldn’t hide the desperation in her daughter’s blue eyes, and for a moment, ‘Catherine’ was reflected instead of ‘Mrs. Bailey’.

It was around this time that she had surprised her own mother.

At least her daughter wasn’t being stubborn about bringing home a man the family was against, so she should consider it fortunate.

The situation was different, but just by looking at her face, Eloise’s feelings were vividly conveyed as if they were connected.

It was a desperate feeling. She never imagined she would feel this way again after carrying the child in her womb.

“I don’t even remember when I said that.”

Good memory too. The lady smiled wryly as if she couldn’t be helped.

Looking into Eloise’s earnest eyes, Mrs. Bailey easily sensed that no matter what, she would not be able to break her daughter’s stubbornness.

Above all, it seemed that if she didn’t grant this request now, her relationship with her daughter would become distant beyond repair.

Just like how it had been with Catherine Fairban and her mother.

“I should have Uncle’s address written down somewhere.”

Mrs. Bailey broke the brief silence. Her voice continued, sounding like a sigh.

“More importantly, are you really serious? If you’re saying you’ll go on a short trip and come back, I won’t object, but… your sister’s wedding is soon. There’s less than a month left, so why don’t you go after it’s over? If you’re curious about the capital, you could ask Ansel to show you around.”

While barely holding back the answer, ‘That should never happen,’ the lady added in a slightly lowered voice.

“You should stay by your sister’s side, Ellie. This wedding being sudden and confusing isn’t just for you. Imagine how Sarah, the person actually getting married, must feel?”

At those words, Eloise suddenly felt her throat grow hot.

As if she had gulped down boiling onion soup.

Eloise, clutching her throat with trembling hands, tried to erase the sorrowful expression and answered.

“That’s true, but if I stay by her side in this state, she’ll try to take care of me like a baby. I can’t cause such trouble for a new bride. I want her to relax and feel excited until the wedding.”

“…”

“I’ll come back before it’s too late, Mom. Of course, I’ll attend the wedding too.”

Saying that, Eloise smiled brightly.

Perhaps because her eyes were red, she looked just like a little rabbit.

After a brief silence, the lady let out a soft sigh and replied.

“… I’ll send a letter to your uncle.”

Fortunately, her voice had softened considerably.

“Thank you, Mom.”

“It’s only if your father agrees. If he says no, I’m against it too. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Although her voice was stern on purpose, Eloise grinned.

Nothing was easier than persuading her father, who was her most reliable supporter.

Still not feeling at ease, the lady asked with a strict eye.

“So when are you thinking of leaving?”

“As soon as I pack my luggage and find out the omnibus routes. Maybe in two days?”

At the carefree answer, the lady held her forehead.

“What’s the rush? It’ll be troublesome if you arrive before the letter, so delay it a few days. Have you talked to Sarah?”

“No. You’re the first one I’m telling, Mom. I’m planning to talk to her tonight.”

Eloise muttered weakly.

She had the face of a child who had no choice but to do something difficult and awkward that she had put off for later.

“… Sarah will be heartbroken.”

“Yes. But she absolutely won’t show it, being her.”

The blue jewel-like eyes flickered with a gloomy light. The lady couldn’t help but hug such a daughter tightly.

“That’s your sister, alright.”

It seemed that tonight would be a bit of a sad night for her two daughters.

While thinking that, the lady hoped that this brief separation would become a bond that connected her precious children even more firmly.

No, she truly believed that it would be so.