Chapter 33
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
Chapter 33
The following morning, Sydney—the Augusta Family's maid and governess to the Augusta sisters—stepped into the Drawing Room.
'My, how swiftly time passes. Autumn is already upon us.'
Sydney mused as she observed the falling leaves beyond the window. The air of Brentwood, now firmly settled into autumn's embrace, grew progressively colder and more humid with each passing day. To protect the aged books and wooden furnishings scattered throughout the house from the ravages of mold, she would need to kindle the fireplace early each morning to dry the air.
"Good heavens! Miss Charlotte?"
Sydney let out a startled cry, her hand frozen mid-reach toward the firewood. The reason was simple: Charlotte stood motionless in a corner of the Drawing Room, her gaze fixed pensively upon the forest beyond the window.
"Whatever are you doing there? It's the Sabbath—everyone else is still abed. Surely you haven't...."
Moreover, Charlotte had not been the earliest riser in the Augusta household these past several weeks.
"Hmm? Oh, Governess Sydney...."
Charlotte stirred, her drowsy expression lifting from the window as she murmured softly.
"Miss Charlotte, surely you haven't ventured out alone for another morning walk? I've warned you repeatedly—despite being so near the house, this forest runs deeper than you might think, and it's quite perilous. There are even tales of a ghostly woman haunting these woods...."
Sydney recalled the previous occasion when Charlotte had returned from a solitary morning stroll, and her reproaches tumbled forth. Charlotte turned her head slowly before responding.
"No, that isn't it. I was merely...."
Sydney studied Charlotte's face intently, yet could not discern whether her charge was simply fatigued or burdened by some sorrow. It was then that the governess's keen eye detected something: Charlotte's gaze continued to drift toward the forest beyond the window.
Sydney's brow furrowed as she posed her question.
"Are you perhaps waiting for someone? Surely no visitors would call on the Sabbath...."
Charlotte's expression shifted, as though she had only just awakened from a dream.
"Waiting for someone? No, rather the opposite would be more accurate, Governess."
Charlotte gazed beyond the forest once more, her whisper barely audible. Clear morning sunlight had already begun to pour across the treetops.
"The opposite? So you're not waiting for someone right now—you've just said goodbye to someone?"
Sydney frowned, utterly bewildered by Charlotte's words, and muttered her confusion. Regardless, Charlotte continued to gaze out the window, her smile tinged with melancholy.
"The sunlight isn't too cold, is it, Sydney?"
Sunlight that should have been warm, yet cold? At this enigmatic statement, Sydney shook her head in resignation. Lately, conversing with Charlotte had become rather like speaking with Aunt Elicia.
Sydney eventually shrugged her shoulders toward Charlotte and spoke.
"My goodness, I'm well aware that young ladies in love become sentimental, but... for the cheerful Miss Charlotte to fall into reverie watching the sunrise? It seems your wedding day must be drawing near indeed."
Having finished speaking, Sydney reached toward the firewood once more. At the same moment, Charlotte's gaze turned back to the window. Before her very eyes, the forest was being swallowed whole by the brilliant morning sunlight, helpless to resist.
It was just as Sydney had stacked the firewood in the Drawing Room hearth in two layers. A loud knock—thump, thump—echoed from the Entrance Hall of the Augusta Estate.
"Goodness! Who on earth could that be at this hour?"
Sydney's eyes widened as she looked toward Charlotte.
"You truly aren't expecting anyone, are you?"
Charlotte nodded, her expression equally startled by Sydney's words. Yet Sydney thought she detected a faint, indefinable anticipation flickering across Charlotte's hazel eyes.
Sydney and Charlotte made their way toward the Entrance Hall without hesitation. Sydney went to confirm the visitor's identity before the rest of the family awoke; Charlotte went knowing it was impossible, yet needing to verify whether the guest was the person she had been imagining.
"Who on earth could this be...?"
As Sydney opened the door, a tall silhouette emerged, backlit by the rising sun. Upon seeing the figure, Sydney's face bloomed with both surprise and joy. But in Charlotte's hazel eyes, standing behind her, swift disappointment flickered across her gaze.
***
"I've come calling early in the morning, and I'm aware of my rudeness, yet the matter was urgent."
The one who had entered the Augusta Estate was none other than Philip Oslo, who resembled the early morning sunlight itself.
Philip had apparently resolved to seek out Charlotte the moment dawn broke. As Sydney guided him into the Drawing Room, flooded with sharp and brilliant morning light, and was about to wake George Augusta, the head of the household, Philip leaned toward Sydney with a note of urgency in his voice.
"Ah, no—there's no need to call the other family members. I've come because there's something urgent I need to discuss with Miss Charlotte. In fact, if possible, I'd prefer to speak with her privately, without the others knowing."
Sydney paused as if considering, then answered with a generous smile.
"Normally that wouldn't be proper, but...if it's only for a moment, I suppose it could be arranged. I'll be in the Kitchen, so don't worry."
A visit from the Count's son so early in the morning. And to spend time alone with Charlotte, no less. Even if Lydia Augusta or George discovered later that Sydney had let Philip in, they would surely praise her for it.
"Thank you, Sydney."
Charlotte called after Sydney's retreating figure. As Sydney left, mentally planning the Augusta Family's second wedding, she found herself thinking that Charlotte didn't seem nearly as pleased as she'd expected.
'Given that Miss Charlotte was gazing out the window since early this morning, they must have arranged to meet secretly at dawn...or did they?'
Sydney recalled Charlotte's words about not waiting for someone, but rather seeing them off. Yet when she considered Philip's timely arrival—as if he'd been waiting for Charlotte to be alone—and the gossip swirling around them both, it seemed certain that the two had indeed arranged this early morning rendezvous.
Philip waited until Sydney had completely left the Drawing Room before he finally spoke.
"Miss Charlotte, after reading the letter you sent yesterday, I've been unable to sleep a single moment, my mind in turmoil. What on earth..."
Philip studied Charlotte's face carefully as he spoke. She looked slightly more tired than when he'd last seen her, but otherwise appeared unchanged.
"I simply cannot understand why you're so firmly convinced that His Highness Leopold didn't disappear of his own accord, or how you've become involved in this matter at all. And the suggestion that together we could solve this case..."
"I understand perfectly, Philip Oslo. I know my letter must seem suspicious."
Charlotte straightened her posture as she spoke. It was only natural that Philip would look bewildered—a lady from Brentwood suddenly claiming involvement in the disappearance of a neighboring kingdom's prince, which had shaken all of England.
'But so much time has already passed. Whether it's a curse, whether he's truly become a ghost, or whether His Highness's spirit has begun appearing to me...'
With the Search Party's investigation yielding no progress, and now that she'd learned even Armand—whom she'd trusted—was holding back as a secret knight, Charlotte could no longer remain idle.
'If His Highness's body has been severed from his soul, and that's why his spirit appears to me, if that's truly what's happening...'
Now, nearly two months after first encountering him, Charlotte was certain that Leopold's life was in immediate danger.
Charlotte took a deep breath before speaking.
"It was certainly an abrupt and bewildering letter, but I hope you'll remember, as you listen to what I'm about to tell you, that I trust you enough to send such a letter."
Philip hesitated for a moment before catching sight of Charlotte's resolute expression, and he slowly nodded in acknowledgment. Seeing this, Charlotte continued in a clear voice.
"I know that His Highness Leopold did not hide himself of his own volition. Rather, it appears that His Highness was either kidnapped by someone, or he cannot locate his original body in some form."
"Ah, no—kidnapped and unable to find his original body? How could Miss Charlotte possibly...."
Philip asked, his brow furrowing in bewilderment. His golden hair caught the increasingly brilliant morning sunlight, gleaming with renewed luminescence.
Charlotte fell silent, closing her eyes as if to gather her thoughts. Now came the moment to reveal to Philip what she had planned. Of course, the idea that had first occurred to her yesterday was whether she might tell Philip the same lie she had told Armand—that she was Leopold's lover—and thereby assist the Search Party.
'The guise of being his lover was merely a way to evade Armand's suspicion. But if I am to truly aid His Highness's investigation, I must find a way to convey the detailed accounts from the night before his disappearance, as well as everything I have learned from His Highness since then.'
Merely playing the role of Leopold's lover would leave me in the same position as everyone else—having seen nothing of him since his vanishing. I would have no grounds to claim knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the night before his disappearance.
'I must make it known that His Highness absolutely did not hide himself away. I must also reveal when his last memories were, that before he disappeared, his final recollection was of drinking sleeping draught and falling asleep... If I convey all of this to Mr. Oslo, it may well aid the investigation.'
Unable to bear Charlotte's silence any longer, Philip ventured to speak once more, his tone cautious.
"I... Miss Charlotte, I still cannot comprehend how you could be so certain that His Highness Leopold was kidnapped. At present, only His Highness himself could possess such certainty—no one else."
"That's correct, Mr. Oslo."
Charlotte spoke as she slowly opened her eyes. Beneath her composed exterior, she trembled as though she might lose her composure at any moment.
'Once I speak these words, Mr. Oslo may well regard me as someone who has lost her mind. Strange rumors about me could spread throughout Brentwood.'
Yet what mattered to Charlotte now was not how she might appear to Philip, her only remaining suitor, nor her reputation in Brentwood. Instead, her heart was consumed entirely by thoughts of one person—someone whose eyes resembled a misty dawn forest and whose fragrance lingered in her memory.
"Mr. Oslo, the reason I am certain of this is...."
Charlotte drew a deep breath as if steeling herself for a momentous confession. Then she began to pronounce each word with crystalline clarity.
"Because I possess the ability to see souls."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org