Chapter 40
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Chapter 40
After concluding her meeting with Philip, Charlotte returned home. The house that ordinarily bustled with five Augusta sisters felt unusually quiet today. They had all ventured into Brentwood City Center to prepare for tomorrow's Ball at Oslo Manor.
"Sigh... Now let me think this through carefully."
Charlotte murmured to herself as she settled into a chair before the desk in the Drawing Room. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have been the first to take charge of Ball preparations. Yet she needed time to organize her thoughts about the conversation with Philip, and she welcomed the household's tranquility.
Charlotte dipped the pen resting on the secretary desk deep into ink, letting it become thoroughly saturated.
"The most valuable aspect of Mr. Oslo's discovery is that the Search Party can no longer use the excuse that His Highness Leopold deliberately disappeared..."
Her hand holding the pen moved swiftly across the small paper.
"The servants employed at the borrowed estate, the suspicious porter who appeared precisely on the night His Highness vanished, and the fact that Mr. Philip Oslo's friend, Mr. Harrison, belongs to the family that owns the estate..."
Charlotte trailed off, sinking into thought.
'Mr. Harrison was the one person who didn't appear at His Highness Leopold's welcome reception held at the Oslo Family residence. Moreover, he's been openly displaying his displeasure at His Highness Leopold's visit to England.'
Charlotte found Mr. Harrison deeply suspicious. Yet all she and Philip knew at present was that 'someone among the estate's servants had gifted apple wine that put Prince Leopold to sleep'—there was still no evidence anywhere that Harrison was involved.
'Miss Charlotte, it's not that I refrain from suspecting him simply because he and I are friends. Rather... since we haven't yet identified which servant gifted the apple wine, it would be difficult to summon and interrogate Harrison, a nobleman, merely because of his connection to the estate.'
This morning, when Charlotte questioned why Harrison wasn't being investigated, it was what Philip had said. He appeared somewhat troubled at finding himself in a situation where he had to suspect his friend. Nevertheless, Philip had straightforwardly shared everything he'd learned with Charlotte—not merely physical evidence, but circumstantial suspicions as well.
Charlotte felt deeply grateful toward Philip.
'Mr. Philip Oslo seems to make fair and impartial judgments, setting aside friendship and personal feelings, whenever he believes something to be right. The fact that he takes seriously my absurd claim about seeing souls is truly...'
Charlotte's hand, which had been busily summarizing the investigation on paper, paused momentarily. The final conversation she and Philip had shared before he departed near the end of their walk had surfaced in her mind.
'Miss Charlotte... I was quite skeptical about spiritual matters.'
Philip had turned toward her as he prepared to speak again, his pale cheeks flushed a deeper shade than usual.
'To be perfectly honest, even now that I've confirmed Charlotte's abilities, I cannot confidently say I believe entirely in necromancy, sorcery, and such things.'
His clear, blue eyes turned carefully toward Charlotte. In that moment, she realized his gaze held something subtly different from the warmth he showed to everyone else.
'Yet despite that, the fact that I threw myself into this investigation, and even drank the cider myself—it was all because.... I possessed a different certainty.'
Philip's face, which always appeared bright and cheerful as if perpetually smiling, had grown earnest.
'What I am certain of is.... My own heart.'
Philip spoke in a trembling voice.
Charlotte, recalling their conversation, bit the corner of her lip.
'Being certain of one's heart... what on earth does that mean?'
At the time, Charlotte had wanted to ask something more, unable to comprehend his words, but it was futile. The moment Philip saw her confused expression, he hastily bid her farewell and mounted his horse.
Charlotte recalled once more the retreating figure of Philip disappearing swiftly on horseback. The blonde man in a scarlet officer's coat crossed through the forest toward the distant, towering Oslo Manor.
"A person who resembles the radiant sunlight of early summer...."
Charlotte murmured to herself without realizing it. Philip always possessed a bright expression and clear, pure blue eyes that seemed to reflect an unclouded heart. Moreover, despite being born into high station, he showed such strong distrust of the class system that he was remarkably fair-minded. He had said that Prince Leopold was the one capable of initiating 'change,' but Charlotte suddenly found herself thinking that Philip himself—with those tender blue eyes—harbored a passionate fervor within them.
"Could it be that Philip Oslo has taken an interest in me...?"
Charlotte's expression shifted as if she had suddenly grasped something. Today, when she spoke with Philip, she had sensed that his gaze differed subtly from what he typically showed others. That warmth in his eyes—more intense than mere kindness or courtesy—was the same passionate gleam she had seen whenever he spoke of Prince Leopold, whom he admired, or whenever he insisted that change must begin.
'I want to say it cannot be.... But if even someone as oblivious as I am thinking this, could it truly not be the case?'
Charlotte gnawed at her fingernails. She had only intended to observe Harrison, Philip's friend, closely at the upcoming Oslo Family Ball. Yet perhaps that ball would yield her more than one piece of information.
Charlotte's eyes, lost in thought, caught on the window. The autumn afternoon sun was gradually sinking.
***
"Bianca, did you bring a blanket to Aunt Elicia? She hasn't fallen asleep in the garden again, has she...?"
Helena, having returned home, spoke in a voice strikingly similar to her mother Lydia Augusta's. She was helping the servants carry the evening meal to the table.
"No matter how cold it gets, Aunt Elicia always finds time to spend in the Garden."
Helena spoke with evident concern. Elicia, who was considerably older than her father George, caught colds easily.
"Aunt Elicia returned to her residence early today. She said she'd already absorbed enough of the forest's essence."
Bianca settled into her seat and pulled the bread basket toward herself, responding with indifference.
"But today, Charlotte fell asleep alone in the corner of the Drawing Room? Charlotte has truly become like Aunt Elicia these days. Her naps have grown longer, and she's been saying increasingly incomprehensible things."
Bianca recalled the nursemaid Sydney's chatter about how Charlotte had uttered enigmatic remarks like "the sunlight is too cold."
At this, Jane, who had joined the Augusta Family's dinner table for the first time in ages, interjected.
"Perhaps Charlotte has fallen in love? When I first fell in love, I couldn't eat or sleep properly—I could only think of Terrence."
"Yesterday, Charlotte didn't even have dinner and went for a walk in the forest. She promised me she'd return before dark, though she asked me not to worry."
Katie, hungry from shopping for the first time in ages, broke off a corner of bread and ate it with her hand as she spoke. However, since their parents had not yet descended to the dining room, they could not begin the meal.
Helena snatched the bread from Katie with a stern expression.
"Katie, wait just a moment. In any case, if Charlotte truly has been sleeping more and her appetite has declined, she must be unwell. So rather than speaking of love or how she resembles Aunt Elicia, we should summon the physician to examine Charlotte's health."
It was typical of Helena. These days, she was exceedingly busy with the Rochefort Family's weekly musical recitals. Yet thanks to this, she not only received Sydney's wages to cover her own recital preparations, but could also use Armand's fine piano freely—and so Helena's spirits had reached their zenith.
"Then, should we go wake Charlotte?"
After losing her bread, Katie scratched her head awkwardly and asked.
In that moment, Helena and Jane's gazes met. Despite their entirely different temperaments, they always reached the same decisions regarding their younger sisters' affairs.
"No, she seems to have been unable to sleep lately, so let her rest for now."
Helena replied. If Charlotte suffered from insomnia, allowing her to sleep soundly when she finally fell asleep would be beneficial for her health.
Jane added to Helena's words.
"Yes, Charlotte will wake soon enough even if the sofa's position is uncomfortable."
Of course, Jane's reasoning differed from Helena's. She still believed that Charlotte slipped away each night to meet her lover in the forest, and she saw no harm in letting her rest beforehand so she might enjoy those precious hours undisturbed.
Regardless of their individual motives, Helena and Jane rose from the table in agreement and took their seats for dinner. Lydia Augusta and George, descending shortly after, joined them at the evening meal.
"Helena gave me this brooch. The Rochefort Family presented them to the musicians who performed at their concert," Bianca said, sweeping her short blonde hair back from her shoulders.
Lydia Augusta and George smiled warmly at her words.
"It will be perfect for the Oslo Duchy Ball. It suits your blue eyes beautifully, Bianca," they said.
The conversation turned to how Jane, despite being an engaged lady, had attracted considerable attention during her stay at her country aunt's home, and how even Bianca, who rarely concerned herself with such events, now looked forward to the Oslo Duchy Ball with genuine anticipation.
Around the candlelit table sat beautiful blonde ladies, their hair and dress refined during their afternoon in the City Center. Unintentionally, the evening scene of all of them save Charlotte resembled a masterful oil painting one might find in the Oslo Duke's Gallery.
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