Chapter 48
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Chapter 48
Charlotte and Jane were escorted together by the Search Party into a building situated directly beside the Thames River, which carved through London—a structure also known colloquially as the White Castle.
Before the formal investigation commenced, Charlotte and Jane received instructions to wait in a certain room. Whether out of consideration for their status as ladies or by Philip's special directive, the room they occupied appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary officers' office.
"Charlotte, because of me you've been brought to this place.... I've ruined our family's honor...."
Jane's voice trembled as she buried her face in her hands. Silken golden hair cascaded down her delicate cheeks.
"No, Jane."
Charlotte drew Jane's shoulders into an embrace as she spoke.
"The people of Brentwood would be far more concerned about you being alone in a place filled with male soldiers than about your involvement in the Prince's disappearance. So it's only right that I came with you."
Charlotte brushed Jane's hair back over her shoulders, speaking with tender care.
"Besides, your innocence will be proven soon enough, and you'll need someone to take you home when you're exhausted."
"...."
Jane's shoulders trembled slightly, her face still buried in her hands. Charlotte regarded her with a puzzled expression.
"Charlotte, that is... I mean...."
Jane slowly lifted her head, her voice barely a whisper.
"There's something I need to tell you. Something concerning you... something that may well be the very reason I've come to this place."
"What do you mean, Sister Jane?"
Naturally assuming Jane's presence here stemmed from some misunderstanding, Charlotte asked in bewilderment.
"As you know, while staying at Aunt's House, I became deeply absorbed in necromancy and sorcery—practices performed by the Gypsies who wander throughout Europe."
Jane lifted her head completely, her voice trembling as she began to speak.
"Among all of them, what interested me most was... spells related to love."
When Jane suddenly brought up the subject of sorcery, I felt a sense of foreboding wash over me.
"Because of family circumstances, my wedding with Terrence has been postponed repeatedly, and since we couldn't afford to have me take bride lessons in London, I had to spend half a year in the Countryside where I couldn't see Terrence. So I... became worried that perhaps Terrence's feelings might change...."
As Jane spoke and I felt my brow furrow slightly, she burst into tears.
"So... what?"
I pressed the weeping Jane to continue. When she still didn't answer, I slowly narrowed my eyes and asked.
"Don't tell me, Sister Jane. You're about to say you cast some sort of spell on the apple wine you sent to Terrence?"
At my words, Jane stopped crying and hung her head low. It was a confirmation more certain than any verbal affirmation. I turned toward her in shock.
But Jane spoke first.
"...Still, I tried to cancel the spell right after sending the apple wine. The idea of binding souls together sounded a bit unsettling...."
"What?"
I stared at Jane in disbelief. She simply collapsed into a chair in the room, her expression showing she knew her mistake.
'Good heavens, who on earth spread the rumor that the daughters of the Augusta Family are perfect ladies?'
I pressed my palm to my forehead in thought. Helena, the second daughter, boldly goes around doing what she calls 'work' in secret, Bianca shows no interest in marriage and instead enjoys spending her days mingling with the servants, and Katie only has the typical Augusta Family appearance—her aptitude for learning etiquette is similar to mine.
'And yet even Sister Jane, whom I believed to be the most modest, has been committing the audacious act of sending apple wine cursed with sorcery to her betrothed....'
I sat beside Jane and pressed her further.
"So you're saying you're the one who put a sleeping draught in the apple wine?"
"No, Charlotte! That's absolutely not true!"
Jane, who had been listless, jumped up from her chair in alarm as she protested.
"Neither I nor the Sorceress added anything to the apple cider, I swear. Please believe me. When I brought the apple cider to her, she simply offered a prayer before it and lit a few incense sticks. The cider remained sealed in its original packaging the entire time."
"Sigh...."
Charlotte exhaled a sigh mingling relief with exasperation. It was a bold and reckless action, certainly, but if Jane spoke truthfully, then her own fear had merely been born from her belief in sorcery—there was no way that mere incantations alone could have introduced a powerful sleeping draught into the apple cider.
As Charlotte's tension eased, Jane's earlier words suddenly resurfaced in her mind. The confession about an incident connected to her—perhaps the very reason Jane had come to this place.
Charlotte turned back toward Jane and asked.
"Wait, Jane. But why is this an incident connected to me?"
"That's the part I feel most sorry about...."
Jane murmured while watching Charlotte's expression carefully. Her beautiful blue eyes gleamed with a pitiful shimmer.
"After I sent the apple cider to Terrence, I wanted to cancel the soul-binding incantation. But the Sorceress said that while she couldn't simply cancel it, she could change who the soul would be bound to."
Jane continued, her face flushing with embarrassment.
"A soul-binding incantation, when cast upon lovers who already love each other, wields tremendous power to make that love eternal. But between people who don't love each other, it merely causes one to catch the other's eye and feel a certain fondness...."
Jane's hands began rapidly twisting her golden hair—the same nervous habit Charlotte displayed when tense or excited.
"...So if I named a lady of my age whom Terrence might notice but who would be safe, someone who would quickly lose interest even if she felt a brief attraction, the incantation would simply vanish. And so I...I gave your name."
"Because I'm the most ordinary and unassuming lady you know, you believed that even if Terrence's heart were moved, he could never feel enough affection for me to bind our souls?"
Charlotte felt her face burn as she asked. She was well aware that her appearance was unremarkable compared to her sisters. But realizing the difference between herself and them in such a manner was something else entirely.
"I'm truly sorry, Charlotte.... I only thought that Helena and Bianca are so beautiful, I was worried...."
At those words, a wave of misery and shame washed through Charlotte's chest. Seeing Charlotte's complexion worsen, Jane grew flustered and hastily added more.
"You possess your own kind of beauty, Charlotte. Father said so too. He said you have a beauty like white anemones blooming in the shade of forest trees—the kind that grows more radiant the more one beholds it!"
"...So that's why you were so kind to me when you came home? Like giving me that romance guide?"
Charlotte recalled how particularly kind Jane had been since returning home, and asked. Now that she understood the reason for Jane's kindness, she remained angry, yet she simply closed her eyes and slowly steadied her breathing.
'If it were Leopold... in this situation...'
Through the ache and despair, what surfaced in my mind were Leopold's gray-green eyes. Had he not spent these past two months telling me that my femininity was beautiful? Had he not warmly accepted my lips last night? I was certain I would have been far more deeply wounded by Jane's words today.
"Charlotte, while I was staying at Aunt's House, I felt nothing but sorry for passing the Sorceress's curse onto you. So when I learned you were receiving courtship from Count Oslo's son and Armand from the Rochefort Baronial Family, you can't imagine how relieved I was..."
Jane tilted her head as she watched me steady my breathing. The Charlotte of old would surely have been wounded, shed tears, or immediately sulked toward Jane. But the Charlotte I was now merely furrowed my brow and listened to Jane's words with composure.
Emboldened by this, Jane continued.
"In any case, I could bring that Sorceress here to prove my innocence. She's the famous Sorceress I told you about who relocated to London. Since her sorcery is renowned for its miraculous nature, wouldn't the Search Party believe what she says?"
I, who had been silent, quietly shook my head. Philip had perhaps believed I was a necromancer because he had prior acquaintance with me, or perhaps because of his affection for me.
'But the Search Party would have more people who would react like Helena than those who would believe the Sorceress's words as unquestioningly as Jane does.'
Moreover, even Philip, who had discovered the secret about the cider thanks to me, had not said, 'I still cannot completely believe in spiritual or mysterious things'?
'I need to think of another way to prove Jane's innocence. To protect the family's honor, and above all, so the Search Party can find the 'real culprit' behind Leopold's disappearance...'
I pressed my lips together firmly. The more time the Search Party wasted on Jane and her sorcery, the more Leopold's life might be slipping away.
'Right now, in this moment, I want to emulate Leopold's cold and rational demeanor. Only then can I escape this situation and save him even a day sooner...'
His temperament made him hesitate before reckless love, but for deduction about cases and protecting what was precious, it was perfect. Just as I was about to sink back into thought—
Creak—
With a loud sound, the door to the room where Jane and I were opened.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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