Chapter 39
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Chapter 39
Jane and Elicia ventured ahead along the Forest Path, and once they had traveled far enough that their voices could no longer be heard, Philip finally turned to face Charlotte.
His eyes held the gentle, eager expression of a retriever returning to its master with prey in its mouth.
"I hurried here with news I thought Miss Charlotte would be delighted to hear. It is that—ah."
Philip paused mid-sentence, his expression becoming more guarded.
"First, I must apologize for the rather cold manner in which I treated you last time, Miss Charlotte. I was simply so astonished by what you said that—"
Given his naturally courteous disposition, Philip had been troubled by his own demeanor during their previous conversation.
"Please, say no more. I actually thought Mr. Oslo responded with far more kindness than I deserved."
Charlotte waved her hand dismissively. She had not found his manner discourteous in the slightest, and besides, she was eager to hear the news he had brought—news that surely concerned Leopold.
"But what is this news you think I would wish to hear?"
"Ah, yes, Miss Charlotte. As you know, the Search Party had reached an impasse—no further leads to pursue. The incompetent noble officers involved in the search were even eager to conclude the investigation hastily, lest it damage the pride of the English military. However—"
Philip's eyes, blue as the Mediterranean Sea, gleamed with clarity as he spoke.
"I wished to believe your words, so I went to the Estate where His Highness had been staying and conducted my own investigation. Particularly, given that His Highness had taken a sleeping draught before retiring, I asked the Kitchen staff whether the draught given to him that night still remained."
Charlotte's eyes widened. Though Philip had said he would consider her words, she had not expected him to act upon them so swiftly.
Seeing Charlotte's expression fill with growing anticipation, Philip continued.
"Fortunately, the Estate had been sealed since His Highness's disappearance, so the sleeping draught he consumed that night remained in the Underground Storage. One of the staff had given it to him as a gift—an apple brandy—and no one else had touched it."
Charlotte nodded. Leopold's last memory was of falling into a deep sleep, so she had naturally suspected the sleeping draught he had consumed before retiring. She spoke with barely contained excitement.
"You found the apple brandy! Then we must determine whether something was amiss with it as soon as possible. If we send it to the Search Party, they will surely find a way to—"
However, Philip cut off Charlotte's words with a relatively firm voice.
"No, even if we sent the cider to the Search Party, it would certainly take a long time and many procedures to determine what was in it. So...."
A confident blue light gleamed in Philip's eyes.
"That day, I tasted the cider directly myself."
"What? You tasted it yourself, Mr. Oslo?"
Charlotte cried out in shock, bringing both hands to her mouth.
"Mr. Oslo, His Highness disappeared after drinking that cider, and what if someone had poisoned it? What were you thinking!"
At Charlotte's worried expression, Philip shook his head, his ears flushing red.
"Miss Charlotte risked damaging your own honor for the greater good. I was deeply moved by such courageous action. That is why I wanted to advance the investigation by any means necessary."
"Still...."
Charlotte stammered, her expression flustered. I had asked him to make efforts to find Leopold, but I had not expected such proactive measures. Charlotte reflected that Philip truly held Leopold in the highest regard, and his devotion was indeed profound.
"Then, after drinking that cider, nothing happened to you?"
Charlotte asked, her expression still apologetic.
"As you can see from me standing before you now, Miss Charlotte, my life suffered no ill effects. This means that Prince Leopold also did not lose his life or suffer harm after drinking this cider."
Leopold had not lost his life! Charlotte's eyes sparkled with joy. Ever since hearing that Leopold had drunk the cider and fallen into a deep sleep, and that when he awoke he appeared as a soul invisible to everyone, a deep fear had lurked in her heart—the fear that someone had poisoned his drink and murdered him.
'If His Highness didn't lose his life then, it means he could still be alive somewhere now!'
Charlotte felt as though a great burden had been lifted from her heart. She spoke, clutching her rapidly beating chest.
"Then the cider wasn't poison? Does that mean the cider and His Highness's disappearance are no longer connected?"
"No, there is still a connection. The cider was certainly not poison meant to harm anyone, but...."
Philip smiled warmly as he watched Charlotte's obvious joy, and continued speaking.
"After drinking that cider, about thirty minutes passed before I felt a severe dizziness come over me. Fortunately, I had brought the cider to my office to drink it there, so I was able to lie down on the sofa for a while."
At Philip's words, Charlotte's eyes widened as if she had grasped something. Philip then nodded and continued speaking.
"Once I realized the cider's effects, I thought I simply needed to rest for a moment. When I opened my eyes again after lying on that sofa in the early afternoon, it was already the next morning."
"So you slept until the next morning? The cider that your employee gifted you contained a powerful sleeping draught?"
Charlotte tapped her foot, confirming that her suspicion had been correct.
"That is correct, Miss Charlotte."
Philip replied.
"I immediately informed the Search Party of this fact, and since I had concrete evidence from my own experimentation, they had no choice but to reopen their investigation into not only the employee who gifted the cider, but also all those who had entered and exited the Estate on the day the cider was presented to His Highness."
Only then did Charlotte begin to understand what Jane had meant. Both the reinvestigation of the Estate and the renewed scrutiny of the porters who had been dismissed as insignificant during the initial inquiry—all of it had been made possible through Philip's efforts.
Charlotte spoke with a look of deep gratitude.
"I am truly grateful, Philip Oslo. Thanks to you, we have uncovered the secret of the cider, and you have made the greatest contribution to the Search Party's renewed efforts to find His Highness Leopold."
"Not at all. It is thanks to your extraordinary abilities that the Search Party has finally found a new lead."
Philip demurred respectfully, waving both hands. Without Charlotte, he would never have known the day Leopold had fallen into that deep sleep, nor would he have discovered that he had drunk the sleeping draught that day.
"Now, if we can only identify the employee who gifted the cider to His Highness and the suspicious porters who visited the Estate that day, we may finally be able to learn what has befallen His Highness Leopold."
Philip spoke with a slight smile, his expression suggesting he was genuinely pleased to be of such great help to Charlotte, who had trusted him enough to confide in him. Yet despite having shared news of the reinvestigation, Philip spoke with a note of hesitation.
"There is... one more thing I must tell you, Miss Charlotte."
"Yes, what is it? If it is news from you, I am prepared to hear whatever you have to share."
Charlotte replied, her tone suggesting she anticipated another clue.
"This is a matter I still need to investigate further, so I hesitated to mention it... but what you said last time has continued to weigh on my mind."
Philip regarded Charlotte with an expression of uncertainty, unlike before.
"Do you recall the Ball I hosted previously, where I invited both Miss Charlotte and the entire Augusta Family? I mentioned it was being held to coincide with my friend's visit."
"Of course. You mean that friend who was unable to attend Prince Leopold's welcoming reception?"
Charlotte searched her memory before responding, and Philip nodded in acknowledgment.
"Precisely. I had simply assumed my friend did not attend the reception because he ordinarily disapproves of Prince Leopold's political views. But then Miss Charlotte said something quite remarkable: 'Any London nobleman who did not know that Prince Leopold would be absent from that reception would never pass up such a magnificent social opportunity.'"
"Ah, well, it is true that I said such a thing, but I certainly did not mean to suggest that those who failed to attend the reception had prior knowledge of Prince Leopold's disappearance...."
Charlotte tilted her head as she replied. She had made that remark merely to emphasize how significant Prince Leopold's welcoming reception had been within society.
"Yes, I understood as much. However, through this renewed investigation, I took the liberty of examining the owner of the Estate where His Highness had been staying more closely...."
Philip tightened his grip on the reins, his knuckles growing white.
"I discovered that the Estate is owned by the family of my friend Harrison. According to the servants, my friend Harrison has been managing the Estate himself."
Charlotte's shoulders tensed at Philip's unexpected revelation.
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