Translator: Nox

36 - Chapter 36

God.

Ryan was feeling more acutely than ever what it was like to be the hunted.

"I'm Cynthia Pembleton. It's an honor to meet the new administrator of Blissbury like this."

The young lady bowed her head slightly with a shy face. Then, Mrs. Greenwood smiled and continued the introduction on her behalf.

"The Pembletons are a very prestigious family in Cambon. They have inherited vast forests and farmlands to the west of Cambon…."

Mrs. Greenwood's story continued.

Starting with the scale of the Pembleton family's wealth, which of their ancestors were famous, who among them had distinguished themselves in the military, and who was a member of parliament…

Ryan smiled as he listened to the story, which was of no interest and no fun at all. Because that was all he could do.

He glanced at the other seated women.

There were still six women who had not been introduced.

'At this rate, it will take three hours just to be introduced.'

He roughly calculated that they were introducing themselves for about 30 minutes per person.

It wasn't surprising. It was rare to be introduced to so many people at once, but wasn't it common to talk for hours at a meeting where you were introduced to someone new?

So 30 minutes was short. The problem was the number of people to be introduced.

After a long story about the Pembleton family, the lady sitting next to Cynthia Pembleton fidgeted, and Mrs. Greenwood began to introduce her.

As the tedious introductions continued, Ryan looked at the glass bottle still on the table. The one he gave to Eloise as a gift.

When he recalled the surprised look on her face when she received it, he couldn't help but smile.

He had seen many expressions on her face, but it was the first time he had seen her so wide-eyed and bewildered.

He had deliberately handed it over, saying he was giving it to Mrs. Serverton, not her.

Otherwise, she would have waved her hand, saying she couldn't possibly receive such a precious gift.

And then, as always, she would have given him a narrow glare, looking at him with the look of, 'What are you up to now?'

It would have been more fun to just give her the gift and see that expression. Even in Blissbury, Eloise always looked suspicious when he offered something.

And Ryan found it amusing to see Eloise accepting it even while being suspicious.

It was fun to see her glaring at him with wide eyes.

'What am I doing, acting like a child?'

Even so, he reached out and pulled the glass bottle of tea towards him.

Thinking that he wished this tedious introduction would end quickly so he could return to Blissbury.

The introduction took a little longer than he thought, lasting three hours.

"Then, until we meet again in Blissbury."

As Mrs. Greenwood greeted them, the other ladies also bowed their heads slightly. Their eyes and steps as they left the Reception room following the Mrs. Greenwood were full of regret.

In the now quiet room, Ryan let out a long sigh.

Would anyone believe him if he said that he was more nervous when he was surrounded by the ladies of Cambon than when he was in enemy territory?

But the gazes scrutinizing him were sharper than those of the enemy. He could see everyone's eyes moving here and there at the slightest gesture he made.

Those eyes were gauging how suitable he would be as their husband.

It wasn't that he found it unpleasant.

Marriage was still the most important issue for young men and women in Albion, and it was also a family matter.

The problem was that he had no thoughts of marriage.

Then, one might say, why not just say that he has no intention of getting married and politely decline the interest.

In fact, he had already tried it. When he was introduced to someone of that kind in the capital, he got tired of it and said he had no intention of getting married. The result?

Several times more time was spent worrying and lecturing than when he was being introduced.

So Ryan chose to just be introduced after that. Otherwise, they wouldn't let him go until he said that he should consider marriage.

Mr. Wilson, who knew that Mrs. Greenwood and the ladies had left, came inside.

"You're very popular, Sergeant. The ladies of Cambon may seem extreme, but please understand. To the ladies of this city, a sergeant who has connections with nobles from the capital is like a prince who has suddenly fallen from the sky."

"I'm honored that you think so highly of me. Oh, I'd like to ask for a basket so I can take this with me."

"Yes, of course."

Mr. Wilson took the glass bottle out and soon came out with it in a paper bag.

"How is it? When I went to the capital a while ago, the department stores there made these paper baskets and put things in them."

Looking at his proud face, Ryan thought. It seemed that in a few years, or even by the end of next year at the earliest, Mr. Wilson's store would completely catch up with Mr. Keynes's store.

With the paper bag in his hand, Ryan came out of the store.

After sitting and talking for hours, the outside air couldn't have been fresher. Even the sound of carriages passing by and the shouts of merchants sounded like birds singing.

After looking around for a moment, he headed to where he had left his carriage. By now, Eloise would have finished her work and arrived.

As he took a few steps.

"……!"

Ryan felt a gaze and quickly turned around. It was an instinctive movement.

But all that could be seen behind him were carriages busily passing by, the shouts of people trying to sell as many vegetables as possible that they had brought from the fields before the day was over, and the voices of children selling flowers among them.

He turned back and walked on.

A long time later, Philip and Richard let out a long breath from behind the carriage parked in the corner.

"Seriously, that's like a ghost."

Richard muttered, wiping away his cold sweat. To sense their gaze from so far away. Moreover, he looked directly at the carriage where they were hiding.

Fortunately, Richard knew about Ryan's animalistic senses, so he immediately hid behind the carriage the moment he hesitated.

If he had hesitated even a little, he would have been caught by Ryan right away.

It wasn't until long after Ryan's figure was completely out of sight that the two cautiously left the area.

They didn't even take the main road. If Ryan was the Ryan they knew, he might still be standing around the corner, waiting for the owner of the gaze he had felt.

After returning to the hotel where they were staying, Richard lay down on the bed, and Philip also sat in a chair with a tired face.

"What are we doing? Shouldn't we just go to Blissbury tomorrow?"

Richard jumped up at Philip's words.

"What are you talking about? We were curious to see who Ryan was making such a foolish face at."

"I did, but… we didn't find out who it was after all."

People flocked to where Ryan was, greeted each other, and moved to sit down. And they came out all at once.

They waited in case the person he was talking to at first didn't come out with them, but the only person who came out of the store was Ryan.

So the person he was talking to before came out earlier, but there was no way to find out who it was belatedly.

The two sighed, having failed to find out who Ryan was talking to and to continue chasing Ryan.

"Seeing Ryan today… if we go to him, he'll get annoyed and say, 'So you were the ones chasing me around?'"

Philip nodded at Richard's words.

"Probably."

"Then if we just go to him, he'll give us a cup of tea and kick us out…."

They couldn't be kicked out like that after coming all the way here. So how could they stay in Blissbury for a long time?

After thinking for a long time, Richard jumped up from the bed.

The conversation the women had when they came out of the store flashed through his mind. Banquet, Summer Ball, Blissbury.

"That's it."

Richard snapped his fingers and smiled, and Philip looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you up to now?"

"What do you mean, 'up to'? You and I were worried about how to enter Blissbury while being welcomed by Ryan, but when you say that, it sounds like I'm doing something bad."

Richard recalled the conversation of the women who were chattering about how Ryan seemed to be a very gentlemanly person.

It seemed that he was living here as the gentle Sergeant Ryan Thornton, without revealing his surly personality from the capital.

Besides, it seemed that there was someone he wanted to impress, although he didn't know who it was.

Then…

"We just have to go to him on a day when he can't be cold-hearted."