5
Your Ryan
<Episode 5>
Clatter. Clatter.
At the familiar sound of hooves, Emily, who had been scattering grains to the geese, placed the basket on the windowsill and ran out to the front of the house.
“Miss!”
She had been worried about Eloise, who had driven off to Blissbury alone in the baggage cart, and couldn't seem to focus on her work.
'She's especially prone to catching colds in the spring!'
Eloise, who roamed the fields like a newborn foal in the summer and autumn, would fall ill at the slightest chill in winter and spring.
Knowing this well, Mrs. Serverton and I had cherished her throughout the winter, but she had left without even a shawl or hat! And even driving the baggage cart herself!
She remembered the words of her friend who worked as a maid at Mr. Ogilvy's house across the street, who had sneered.
<The status of maids also changes depending on which young lady they serve, doesn't it?>
With those words, her friend boasted about how sophisticated and elegant Mr. Ogilvy's daughters were.
She was beating around the bush, but what she wanted to say was simple.
She pitied her for serving a young lady like Eloise.
It was only natural that Emily had rushed at her friend and pulled her hateful hair.
<Our young lady is a thousand times better than your young ladies, who are so mean that they get dumped by their fiancés! And our young lady is just simple, but if she goes to Cambon and buys new clothes, do you think your young ladies would even dare to stand next to her?>
<Even so, she's twenty-six and hasn't even gotten married!>
The childish fight continued until the ladies of each household returned home.
The dignified ladies greatly disliked their household maids making loud noises.
Anyway, after hearing those words, Emily had felt inexplicably upset and had brought all of Eloise's best hats and shawls to the entrance.
But her young lady, unaware of her feelings, had left wearing only one piece of clothing, like a maid.
I have to give her a piece of my mind today, even if I'm called presumptuous.
Emily made a determined resolution and went to the baggage cart.
Perhaps there were many things to bring from Blissbury. She could see that something was filling the back of the baggage cart, which had been empty when it left.
“Miss! I told you so many times to take a shawl with you… Miss?”
She had been sure that she would shake her head, telling her to stop nagging, but…
With an expression as if she had seen a ghost, Eloise took a large bundle of paper from the back of the baggage cart and hurried inside.
Then, standing in front of the fireplace in the living room, she said to Emily, who was trying to follow her in.
“Don’t come in.”
“Yes? Miss, what is that…”
“Please, Emily. Can you wait outside until I call you?”
At her unusually stiff expression and voice, Emily forgot her determination to nag and stepped back.
As soon as Emily left, Eloise untied the bundle of paper she was holding and threw it into the fireplace as she grabbed it.
Whoosh! The surging flames instantly burned the paper.
The heat from the rapidly growing flames made Eloise's face flush.
She continued to put the paper into the fireplace. The paper with her face drawn on it, and the paper with Lieutenant Colonel Ryan's face drawn on it, instantly turned to ashes.
Not satisfied with that, she completely crushed the remaining ashes with a poker.
“Cough!”
She coughed roughly because she had inhaled the ash that had flown up with the heat, but Eloise's hands did not stop.
After a long time, only after the flames that had devoured everything had weakened did Eloise slump into a chair and mutter.
“What kind of person is that…?”
Those words were a murmur about the rude man who had not left her mind since she left Blissbury.
'What kind of woman is that?'
At the same time, Ryan, who had just finished washing up, returned to his room, drying his hair with a towel.
The neat room retained the beauty it had when it was first built. Things that were long out of fashion could look old-fashioned, but thanks to good maintenance, it retained a classic charm.
He could tell from the moment he entered. The mansion's employees and caretakers were very fond of this place.
So, the moment he saw the suspicious maid coming down the stairs, he felt displeased, as if he were already a member of this mansion.
She was wearing decent clothes for a maid, but her hair was disheveled, and she was wandering around without a hat or shawl.
None of the noble ladies he had seen would walk around in such attire.
So, he thought she must be a maid who had stolen her superior's clothes.
Anyway, he thought he would catch her stealing things and hand her over to the police.
He rummaged through his uniform pocket, which had been ruined while helping the carriage stuck in the mud.
From there, a drawing that the woman had failed to take with her came out crumpled.
Ryan looked at the paper with the naked man drawn on it, frowning as if he were seeing the most insulting thing in the world.
It was a pretty good drawing. He would have praised it if the man in the picture had not been Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Wilgrave.
He threw the picture on the table and approached the fireplace, reflecting his appearance in the mirror there.
There was a stubborn-looking man with black hair and blue eyes.
“Ryan Thornton.”
He muttered the name he was 'currently using'.
“Let’s live with that name for the time being.”
He chuckled and looked at himself in the mirror.
The Ryan Wilgrave he had been before coming here.
A long time ago. The first time he saw the portrait that was said to have been drawn of his face, he burst into rare laughter.
Because a picture of a man who was completely different from him had arrived.
It was because he was annoyed by the painter who had come to publicize the face of the war hero, so he had ordered his adjutant to pretend to be him.
When the painter first came, he had ordered him to be kicked out immediately.
But those who wanted to draw him kept coming. Even when he said he would punish them under military law, they continued. He wondered why, and he found out that he had become a war hero.
The royal family and the parliament even sent letters asking him to actively cooperate, as they wanted to use him for propaganda.
It was absurd. What would he do if his face, which was often on infiltration missions, became widely known?
So, Ryan grabbed his adjutant and ordered him.
<You'll have to become Ryan Wilgrave.>
Of course, he jumped up and down and made a fuss, but the absolute rule of the military is obedience to orders. If he gave an order, the adjutant had to follow it.
So, Ryan Wilgrave became known to the world as a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes.
<My God, Lieutenant Colonel. It will be revealed someday!>
<We'll think about that when the time comes. Let's leave it as it is for now.>
He thought it was a good thing. Not only had those who bothered him disappeared, but it would also be advantageous when sneaking into enemy lines if a completely different face was known as him.
As he thought, when he walked around in the clothes of an ordinary soldier, no one even thought he was Ryan Wilgrave.
Then the war ended. When he, who was completely different from the portrait, went to the negotiation table, not only the enemy but also the military leaders who had never seen him in person were surprised and speechless.
Looking at them, Ryan thought his choice had been right.
He felt the same way when he returned to Newham.
'It was terrible.'
They were praising his name, hanging a portrait of someone else's face. He would have been fine with just praise for his achievements.
Seeing people harboring feelings of love for him without even knowing him properly made him feel pathetic.
People who talked about love without even knowing what the other person looked like.
'Foolish and pathetic.'
His ridicule for them grew even more when he briefly visited his house in the capital.
<What is all this?>
<These are invitations that have come for you, sir.>
<I know that, but how did this enormous amount happen? Did a new manner even arise where one person sends ten invitations without me knowing?>
<That's because everyone in the capital, no, everyone in Albion, admires your reputation, sir.>
Naturally, Ryan ordered all invitations to be answered with a refusal.
His friends who came to see him at that time said.
<I feel like I've become a freshly caught fish that's been put up for auction. Every glance examines me very strictly and meticulously, wondering if there's anything wrong with me. Then, if I pass their standards, I'm immediately dragged around and have to greet dozens, hundreds of young ladies I don't even remember. After that, I have to keep dancing until my mouth tastes sweet. I have a sense of duty not to be rude to the young ladies who are sending me subtly expectant glances.>
Philip, who was usually taciturn, poured out his words without a break and was fed up.
<It's better to deal with the young ladies. It's a gentleman's pride to deal with beautiful and cultured ladies. But those who aren't…! There are people who pretend to be chaste women, but they aren't! And they say things like, 'Let's enjoy the thrill together,' or 'I'd even be happy to be your lover'… Oh, God.>
<Yes, as Philip said, all the women in Albion are eager to devour us.>
The person who interrupted from the side was Richard.
Unlike Philip, he was a friend who had enlisted after his father told him that if he sent him to the battlefield, he would at least hold on to his lewd lower body a little.
Naturally, as soon as the war ended, he rushed to Newham before anyone else. He said that the beautiful women of the capital would be waiting for him, and that he would have a great romance and find true love no matter what.
Richard, who had made such a bold statement, only showed his face at drinking parties with only men, unlike what he had promised.
<Ladies are better. The maid who brings into the house takes off her clothes and comes into the room… No matter how chaotic the world has become, how can this be.>
Richard, shaking his head and pouring whiskey, said to Ryan.
<You're the one who needs to be the most careful among us. Your reputation is higher than anyone else's, and your bloodline is noble, so you're the best groom in Albion right now. Your personality is flawed, but with your conditions, that's a kind of charm. Now, when you return to Newham, you'll have visitors every day. Not only that, but even the maids of this mansion will be wide-eyed at night and come into your room.>
<Don't insult Wilgrave's employees.>
At Ryan's words, Richard chuckled, making a deflating sound.
<Ryan, you need to know how delicious you are. Anyway, don't ignore my advice.>
And that night, Ryan regretted not heeding his friend's advice.
