And at that moment, Mrs. Dent’s contemptuous gaze and voice came to mind as if it were a lie.

“Get a grip, young lady. This isn’t a fairy tale world.”

Eloise couldn’t help but think. Was I lost in a fantasy?

But the past few months had been nothing but sorrow.

Instead of blaming the painful reality, she tried to find a way through it somehow. She believed she could make everything right.

That’s why she mustered the greatest courage of her life and set foot in a new world.

She suppressed her fears and worries by pressing her nails into her soft palms.

But nothing went as she wished. That was the conclusion, miserably. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to return home right away either.

Was I really lost in a fantasy? If that’s really the case, please wake me from this terrible illusion.

In a corner of the cold, windy square, Eloise covered her face with both hands, as if embracing all the misery in the world.

At the same time, hot tears seeped into the wounds on her palms.

I tried not to cry…

“Heuk…”

It felt as if even the last shred of hope had completely vanished. She really wanted to give up on everything.

Tears flowed without resistance as she felt unfamiliar with and sad about having such thoughts. And at that moment, Eloise heard the sound of footsteps approaching and stopping in front of her.

What kind of pathetic fellow would it be this time? Such thoughts naturally came to mind.

What kind of creatures are men to think of pestering even a woman in such a wretched state?

Ah, could it be that they’re approaching me more because I look like this? Realizing that, a renewed sense of disillusionment washed over her.

She had no strength to get up and go somewhere right away anyway, and she didn’t know where to go either.

Naturally, she had no energy to fight back either. So in the end, ignoring them would be for the best. With that in mind, Eloise buried her face in her hands and held her breath.

“Just pass by, please…”

But it was strange. The person who approached her neither passed by nor spoke to her or grabbed her wrist.

They just stood there quietly.

“What is it?”

As she held her breath with an anxious heart, a sudden chilling feeling came over her. Could they be observing me? For what reason?

It was right after that Eloise became aware of the cool scent seeping through the gaps between her fingers, past the sweat and sticky tears that dampened her face.

“…This scent…”

Her body suddenly stiffened. It must be a misunderstanding. It had to be. So I’m having another fantasy…

“What are you doing crying alone in a place like this?”

But the deep, low-pitched voice ringing in her ears was too clear to be a fantasy.

Eloise removed her hands, forgetting that her face was a mess with tears.

The first thing that caught her eye was the black tip of his shoes, followed by the dark green uniform that flawlessly hugged his tall and sturdy frame.

The moment her trembling gaze finally reached the man’s face, all the noise in the square ceased as if it were a lie.

Ansel Blaine. Unbelievably, it was him.

“I found you, Eloise.”

“…”

Eloise couldn’t give any answer and only moved her lips.

His black hair swaying in the faint breeze, the cool scent of bergamot, and his gaze directed only at her.

All of this was too vivid to be an illusion.

But how could he be here?

“Did you abandon me just to show me such a sight?”

At those words, Eloise’s shoulders trembled, but she couldn’t continue speaking. Then Ansel, creasing his straight eyebrows, stood with his arms crossed at an angle.

His thick gaze swept down her disheveled hair and clothes, her face a mess with tears, a state where one couldn’t even guess what had happened to her.

For some reason, he seemed a little angry.

Was it because of his unfamiliar military uniform? His downward gaze felt very overbearing.

Feeling his gaze, Eloise turned her head with a flushed face.

It was because she belatedly realized what state she was in.

Her appearance wouldn’t be strange even if she had just woken up.

There would be no room for excuses if she looked to him like she had slept here, sitting in the middle of a crowded square in such a state.

How pathetic she must look. It must be ridiculous too. The result of heartlessly turning her back on him, leaving him in that cold darkness, was merely…

Heuk, another faint sob burst out.

The feeling of the composure she had been desperately holding onto shattering was truly miserable beyond compare.

“…Tsk.”

At that moment, he abruptly picked up the old luggage bag, clicking his tongue irritably. Her misty pupils widened reflexively.

“That’s my…!”

“This way.”

Pointing his chin towards an alley on one side of the square, Ansel took long strides and walked ahead.

Having her luggage suddenly taken away, Eloise hurriedly followed him, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

As they reached the alley, Ansel was waiting for her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

His neatly combed hair, straight forehead, cold and expressionless yet indescribably handsome face. The sight of a faint shadow slanting across it was like a painting.

“…”

Just because he was so beautiful, it felt as if her mind was turning blank just by looking at him.

It was already clear that the reason her heart was beating fast wasn’t merely because she had run all the way here.

The days she had tried hard to turn away from him turned to dust with a single glance. It felt futile. It was even somewhat desperate.

Eloise quickly lowered her gaze to avoid revealing such feelings.

After catching her breath for a moment, she finally opened her trembling lips.

“…Give it back.”

“Is that what you say now?”

Ansel straightened his body and retorted as if dumbfounded. His scent had deepened as he narrowed the distance with a stride.

Even amidst the overwhelming presence of Ansel’s large physique tightening her heart, Eloise couldn’t deny that she was relieved to inhale his scent desperately.

A sigh-like bitter laugh escaped at how wretched she felt about herself.

“What about the place you were staying at, and why were you crying in the middle of the square? Don’t tell me you got kicked out or something?”

“…”

Miserably, his words were true, so she was at a loss for words.

He must have already known that this miserable silence meant affirmation. Eloise’s mind, which had been stopped like she was lost, now had only one thought.

I have to get out of here.

“He’s probably upset because he wants an apology after all. He must have been resentful. From the beginning, he and I were not equal. Above all, even to get my bag back…”

Eloise barely moved her lips that wouldn’t part.

“I’m sorry for leaving like that that day. I…”

“That’s not what I want to hear right now.”

Perhaps he didn’t want an apology. He growled in a low voice.

His voice was still chilly, as if he was holding back his anger, making her body shrink reflexively.

“What happened?”

“…”

Eloise couldn’t understand with what intention he was questioning her, and she didn’t think he had the right to do so. Naturally, she had no obligation to answer either.

But above all, she lacked the courage to reveal what had happened.

She didn’t want to appear more miserable in front of him, who had shown up looking flawless without a single hair out of place.

It was quite ridiculous that she still had pride to protect even in this state.

“Where will you stay?”

“I’ll start looking from today.”

At those words, Ansel recited in an extremely low voice, exuding a cold sneer.

“Go back home, to Maybury. Right now.”

It sounded like an order. Eloise protested in a suppressed voice.

“…I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“You don’t know. What happened to us since that day. You absolutely don’t know how I feel right now…”

As she lifted her trembling chin, their gazes finally met.

In his icy gray eyes, the pupils darker than night were fixed on the woman in front of him as if nailed there.

Eloise felt like her legs would give out at any moment under his unrelenting gaze that left no room for escape.

Tension filled her pale brown eyelashes.

“I resented you. To the point of going crazy… But I’m trying to let it all go now since it’s in the past. Nothing changes even if I resent you. To be able to say this, how much…”

“…”

“Please. Don’t appear in my life anymore. Please let things flow as they are…”

Perhaps overcome with emotion, Eloise couldn’t even finish her sentence.

She looked like she might collapse at any moment. Even so, her face, looking desperate enough to be painful, shook his reason.

“…Do you mean it?”

“Ridiculously, I was worried about you…”

The following answer was neither affirmative nor negative.

“I’m glad you seem to be doing well.”

Muttering with a face as faint as mist, Eloise reached out her arm toward her bag lying at his feet.

She intended to turn away like this. Facing him was truly a burdensome task. It was all the more harmful to her, whose heart had crumbled as much as it could.

“…Ah!”

However, forgetting that she was injured, Eloise thoughtlessly grasped the handle and dropped the bag due to the burning pain.

It was before the impact of the bag hitting the ground even rang out that Ansel snatched Eloise’s wrist.

“As if nothing happened, you said you’d forget.”

Ansel’s brows furrowed deeply as he examined her palm, ragged with dark red scabs.

“It doesn’t look that way to me, or is that just my feelings?”

“Sir Ansel, this hand…”

“Stay at my house.”

“…”

At those words, her heart plummeted lifelessly to the ground. Words that made her doubt her ears, with unclear intentions.

Eloise, pale with fright, hurriedly withdrew her trembling hand and thought.

Perhaps he came to take revenge on me. How much more does he have to torment me…?

“Eloise, I’m not asking you right now.”

Ansel’s eyes, as she looked up, were unfathomably deep. She felt as if she would be swallowed whole by that gaze.

“…What do you…”

In an instant, Eloise’s heart pounded wildly as she became aware of the fact that the distance between him and her was close enough for their breaths to touch.

Her uneasy breaths scattered haphazardly amidst the rushing tension.