Translator: Nox

27 - Chapter 27

In the end, Eloise finished all of her dessert.

“This is delicious, isn’t it? Is it vanilla cream?”

“It is delicious, isn’t it? I was worried about the new recipe I created, but Mr. Palmer doesn’t like sweets, and Sergeant Thornton doesn’t eat them at all, so there was no one to ask. Now that you say it’s delicious, I can put it on Blissbury’s menu without worry.”

“Really? Could you tell me the recipe?”

“Oh, I’ll tell you in a year. If I tell you now, I think Emily will make it much more delicious than me right away, but I have my pride.”

“Oh dear, I’ll be following you around for a year then. I’ll come to Blissbury every day and crane my neck waiting for your dessert to come out.”

“Oh my, I should make it three years then. You know, I’ve been so lonely these days because you haven’t been coming to Blissbury. As you can see, Sergeant Thornton isn’t exactly a good conversational partner for this old woman, is he?”

Ryan grimaced at Mrs. Parker’s voice, which she was loudly making sure he could hear.

Then he imagined Eloise following Mrs. Parker around as she said.

She really would follow her around, chattering incessantly until Mrs. Parker told her the recipe. And then she would frown at him, as she always did when she saw him.

According to the people who worked at Blissbury, Eloise used to stay here very often before he came.

She even stayed here for weeks to prepare when the Summer Ball was approaching.

That meant that preparing for the Summer Ball was no easy task.

Certainly, he had been preparing since he took over the documents, but there were many parts where he needed advice.

So it would be nice if she could stay and help with the preparations as she used to…….

Thinking that far, Ryan shook his head as if wondering what nonsense he was thinking.

“Sergeant Thornton?”

Eloise looked at him as if wondering why he was shaking his head so suddenly.

“It’s nothing. Miss Eloise, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to check a few more parts of the documents before you leave.”

At his words, Eloise made a small noise and swallowed a sigh. But she nodded.

“Okay. Since my father isn’t here anyway, I’m the only one who can explain the related documents. Besides, it’s better to get everything done at once today than to go back and forth later.”

“Oh, Sergeant. Don’t finish all the work today. That way Miss Eloise will come again.”

Mrs. Parker quickly said when Eloise showed her determination to finish all her business today.

Ryan smiled and nodded at her words.

“I’ll have to create some work for her.”

“Yes, that’s reassuring. Then I’ll go make a few more desserts for the young lady to take back with her, so you two get to work.”

Mrs. Parker hummed happily and headed to the kitchen.

Ryan led Eloise back to the study.

“It’s not because of Mrs. Parker’s request, but because there are really many parts that are difficult to grasp. There’s already a problem with just one order, so I’m looking forward to what else will happen in the future.”

“That can’t be helped. Blissbury’s Summer Ball is the biggest event around here, so all sorts of things happen. So, what else do you want to ask?”

“It’s about the seating arrangement for the Banquet before the ball. I know there’s a seating chart from last year, but I know these things usually change every year.”

Eloise looked at the seating chart from last year that he handed her.

As soon as she saw it, she unconsciously put her hand to her forehead.

The seating arrangement for the Banquet was one of the most important things to take care of. That’s why it took her and her father a week to decide on this seating chart last year.

“Yes. It doesn’t change as often as the Banquets in the capital, but…… it’s something to pay attention to. Oh, I put the one from the year before last in here with it.”

Eloise pointed to the seating chart with her finger and explained to him.

“This year, it would be better to place the Witkins couple a little further away. They had an argument with the villagers over the use of the warehouse in the winter, so their relationship is ambiguous right now. And the Ogilvy family…… um…….”

Eloise hesitated and looked at him.

“……Do you have any intention of building a close friendship with Miss Julia Ogilvy? If not, do you have any intention of inviting any other young lady to tea?”

Originally, the Suberton family had been sitting in the center seat.

But this year, Sergeant Thornton would be sitting there. In that case, the seat opposite Sergeant Thornton was important.

In Albion, when unmarried men and women hosted a ball, they would often seat someone opposite them who had a high potential for developing a ‘good relationship,’ as the ladies often said.

So that seat was one that needed a lot of attention.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I was wondering if it would be a good idea to seat Julia across from you.”

“Does the seat across from me have any special meaning?”

Eloise was surprised by Sergeant Thornton’s question and looked at him.

“Have you never attended a Banquet in the capital?”

When he sent all the young ladies of Blissbury back, the villagers said that he must have met many ladies in the capital, as attractive as he was. They gossiped that the young ladies of Blissbury were not to his liking.

The ladies, who were upset that their daughters had simply returned, glared at those who were gossiping, but they didn’t exactly deny Sergeant Thornton’s charm.

That was the same for Eloise.

The fact that he was unlucky was her personal feeling, but objectively, he was a rare, sturdy, and handsome man.

That’s why Feltham was so upset.

Honestly, it wasn’t just Feltham who was upset by his appearance. When he was in the capital, he must have had many women courting him, and he must have been invited to many events, so she thought he would know that much.

“I have attended several times, but most of them were places I attended on orders, so I just ate and returned immediately. I did get invited to places personally, but…….”

“Wasn’t that across from a single woman?”

“……I think so.”

Ryan realized it and sighed.

“I understand what that seat means. Goodness, why didn’t I notice that?”

“Yes. It’s usually a seat where you put someone you want to develop a good relationship with. You must have been invited a lot.”

He hated going there so much, but Lord Stanford forced him to go, saying it was an order.

As the Lord had said, the Banquet had excellent food, and Ryan was satisfied with eating it and returned as soon as the Banquet was over.

He knew that the daughter of the host family sitting across from him was looking at him, but honestly, it was no different from the attention he received when he hid his identity and visited the capital, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

But that was actually a place to be introduced and see if they could build a deep relationship.

‘I’ll have to ask when I get back to the capital.’

He had attended that seat under the name of Sergeant Thornton, but Lord Stanford must have explained that he was a subordinate he cherished.

That’s why he put him in that seat even though it was their first meeting.

He resented the Lord for a long time in his mind and looked at the seating chart again.

Last year, the Suberton family sat in the host seat, as she said. The moment Ryan confirmed that, he unconsciously checked the seat across from Eloise.

“Andrew Ogilvy?”

A name that was clearly a man’s was written there.

It must be a man from the Ogilvy family. Ryan remembered Julia’s words, which he had half-listened to.

<There are five siblings in our family. My eldest brother usually lives in Cambon. He’s a middle school teacher there. He was married, but unfortunately, he lost his wife to a fever. He’s been living alone ever since. And my second older sister is…….>

Then that must be the first Ogilvy, the brother?

At that time, Eloise’s eyes curved softly when she heard the name Andrew.

“Yes, he’s the most handsome man in Feltham. His soft, blond curly hair is charming, and when he smiles, you get the illusion that the surroundings brighten up. Is there anyone in Feltham who doesn’t love Andrew?”

Why is she like this?

For some reason, Ryan felt like the meal he had enjoyed a little while ago was stuck in his throat at the affectionate voice.

“But Andrew is so popular that he doesn’t pay attention to me.”

Ryan was dumbfounded at Eloise’s words. What was with calling a guy like that the most handsome man and saying that everyone loved him?

“He must have a lot of love to give.”

“Yes. He smiles brightly at everyone he meets.”

“Is that so? According to Julia, he always spends his days in Cambon with a gloomy face…….”

Ryan stopped talking there. It was rude to talk about a gentleman he had never met like that.

Then Eloise, who was listening to his words, frowned and looked at him as if he was talking nonsense.

“Yes? Cambon? I think you’re talking about my brother Edward?”

“Then Andrew Ogilvy is…….”

At the words Andrew Ogilvy, Eloise chuckled and replied.

“Andrew Ogilvy is the youngest of the Ogilvy family, who is five years old this year.”