49 - Chapter 49
Then Ryan came to his senses.
Come to think of it, he had entered a lady's room while she was sleeping without permission.
So, if she saw him, Eloise would scream and be horrified.
He didn't know how to explain this situation at all. No, there was no excuse. It was true that he had entered without permission.
When he was bracing himself for Eloise to shout at him.
"...Ryan?"
He heard a mumbling voice, still drowsy with sleep.
Absurdly, Ryan was momentarily stunned by the voice.
What was so good about that short sound of her calling his name with unclear pronunciation that he was being so foolish...
Even as he thought that, another thought occurred to him.
How many people had Eloise called out to with that voice? Excluding family and maids, and excluding close relationships that couldn't be called heterosexual, wouldn't he be the first? If not, who would it be?
As his thoughts continued, Ryan ran a hand over his mouth.
He must be out of his mind. So he had to clear up Eloise's misunderstanding and leave.
He thought she would get up quickly once she saw him. But.
The large eyes that were looking at him blinked slowly. Each time, long, lush eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, enveloping the deep green eyes.
Then they curved softly. Without any surprise or wariness, as if welcoming someone very natural.
The smiling eyes closed again. The green eyes that had been looking at him fell asleep again under the eyelids. Then Eloise's head dropped.
"...Eloise?"
Ryan, flustered, called her name, but there was no answer.
All that came back was the sound of breathing, even more peaceful than before.
Looking at Eloise, he soon understood the situation.
She had fallen asleep again. Even after seeing him in the room!
A hollow laugh filled with absurdity escaped him. Ryan wondered what to do, then sat down opposite her. Then, resting his chin on his hand, he leaned forward and looked at her face.
At first, she was sleeping without any particular expression, but then Eloise's brow furrowed slightly, as if she was dreaming. Then her expression relaxed again, and the corners of her mouth turned up.
This time, it seemed like something good was happening in her dream.
Ryan stared at her face for a long time. How could she have so many expressions even when she was asleep?
He had never looked at someone's sleeping face like this before, so he was just amazed and amused.
Without taking his eyes off her, Ryan thought about what kind of person Eloise Suberton, whom he had been watching, was.
She was an interesting and amazing person. She flew around all day without rest, doing all sorts of things in Blissbury, and in the meantime, she didn't forget to argue with him and raise her voice from time to time.
But when Ryan casually mentioned the military, from that moment on, her eyes sparkled and she listened to his story.
Then, naturally, the two of them would talk about the operation and strategy of the military unit.
Every time they had such conversations, Ryan swallowed his admiration.
When he talked to her, he couldn't tell whether this was Blissbury or a military conference room at army headquarters.
From old tactics to the latest tactics that came out of her mouth. In terms of knowledge alone, she seemed to know more than the tactics professor at the military academy.
Of course, Eloise's knowledge was not perfect.
Most of them were very old tactics, and some were classified as tactics that no longer worked in this war.
But considering that she was a person who had very limited access to books and information in this rural area, it was truly amazing.
So Ryan deliberately took out a map and explained the battles he had experienced and the tactics that had been applied to those battles. And he also explained the failed strategies that were not published in the newspaper.
Then Eloise would think for a long time and give her opinion on why the tactics had failed.
Most of the opinions she guessed coincided with the causes of defeat that the army headquarters had judged.
Their conversations usually continued for a long time during meal times. When they talked about the great battles of Albion, their opinions often differed.
Of course, most of them were stories of battles in which the 57th Infantry Battalion had participated.
Ryan deliberately argued that Ryan Wilgrave's command had many flaws, and sharply attacked the mistakes that had occurred at the time.
Since it was his own mistake, it was easier to push hard.
After he gave a harsh evaluation of Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave, it was Eloise's turn.
Eloise glared at him with eyes that looked like she would push him off the stairs if Mr. Palmer wasn't next to her, and refuted his opinion.
Eloise defended Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave's actions by mobilizing all the knowledge she had.
Of course, Ryan wasn't just listening nicely.
<But as a result, the battle was lost, so doesn't that prove that Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave's strategy wasn't very good?>
<Shall I explain it again, Sergeant? Even though it was a defeat, the 57th Infantry Battalion retreated with minimal damage thanks to him. And then they quickly joined the next battlefield and led the subsequent battle to victory. I'm sure you know that battle was a matter of life and death for the Albion army?>
What was it about Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave that made her defend him so desperately?
In the end, Eloise would get up first, turn around, and leave the seat in a huff. But Ryan would get a strange sense of satisfaction from seeing her back.
The corners of Ryan's mouth twisted as he looked at her sleeping.
The person she was defending so passionately was him.
Eloise would not know how soft her eyes became when she talked about Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave, while she was full of wariness and glared at Ryan Thornton.
Eloise always looked into the distance after praising and defending Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave.
That direction was towards the capital.
When Ryan saw Eloise like that, he felt his insides twist.
He had thought about just saying that he was Ryan Wilgrave several times. Then at first she wouldn't believe it, but if Lord Stanford proved his identity, she would eventually believe it.
What kind of expression would Eloise make then?
But that always ended in Ryan's imagination.
When summer passed and autumn came, he would have to return to the capital. And he had to respond to the summons of the Disciplinary Committee that had been postponed and finish other military matters.
How much more would Ryan Wilgrave's honor be torn apart in the meantime?
Thinking of his father, who was still eager to bring him down, his excited heart sank heavily again.
Eloise was still cheering for Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave. But that feeling would not last forever.
So Ryan hoped that she would remember him as just Ryan Thornton, a sergeant who had stayed for a while, who was annoying but still fun to talk about tactics with.
Then he would remain in her memory forever in this form.
At that time, Eloise curled up even more.
Even though it was a summer night, the wind blowing around Blissbury was cool. It seemed like she was feeling the cold because of it.
He wondered if he should wake her up, but looking at the dark circles under her eyes, he thought it would be better to let her sleep a little longer.
'But I can't keep her cold.'
After looking around for a moment, he saw a large shawl next to Eloise. He carefully approached Eloise and spread it out to cover her.
Eloise grabbed the shawl he had covered her with and made a more comfortable expression. But her body was still curled up.
He wondered if he should bring something else to cover her with, but everything in the room was too thick and big. Besides, it would be difficult to be seen by others while carrying it out.
But he couldn't leave Eloise like this, so he took off his summer coat, which he was wearing.
It was quite thick, and because he was wearing it, his body temperature remained. As soon as he covered her with it, her body, which had been curled up, finally straightened out.
Ryan rummaged through the papers that Eloise had placed on the table.
He was wondering if he should leave a note saying he was just going because she was sleeping so deeply.
"Huh?"
His name was written on the paper.
Ryan Wilgrave
His name was written in a decorative font used when writing invitations.
Just when he was about to shake his head, thinking that she was thinking about Ryan Wilgrave even here, he saw a name written crookedly below it, as if it had been written with his left hand.
Ryan Thornton
And there was one more sentence written below it.
I really hate you to death!
