Chapter 50
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Chapter 50
"Good heavens, Jane, Terrence!"
Lydia Augusta threw open the entrance hall doors upon seeing Jane and Terrence descend from the carriage. Though a gentle autumn rain fell outside, the members of the Augusta Family paid no mind to the downpour as they rushed toward Jane in the mist.
"Not even a full day has passed, and you've returned home! I cannot express my joy!"
Lydia Augusta embraced Jane and cried out. Her father, George, whose face had remained pallid throughout the morning, now showed a faint flush of color as he grasped Terrence's shoulder.
"Mother, Father, I am truly sorry for causing you such worry."
As Jane, her face haggard after merely half a day, burst into tears, Helena guided Lydia Augusta and Jane inside, speaking gently.
"We feared you would be detained there for some time. Even with Charlotte and Terrence present, we were beside ourselves with anxiety."
"I owe my release from the Search Party in half a day entirely to Charlotte."
Jane spoke through her tears. George then asked with a puzzled expression.
"Charlotte?"
"Yes, Father. Charlotte came forward to defend me. She argued that the apple cider I sent alone could not justify holding me by the Search Party, and she even found another suspect who might have tampered with the cider."
Jane nodded through her tears as she answered, and Terrence added from beside her.
"Even if Jane were proven innocent, she would have been subjected to at least four days of interrogation. Moreover, during the investigation, the fact that Jane had visited the Sorceress would have come to light, and the investigation could have extended even further."
Terrence, now inside the estate, continued as he removed his cloak.
"But Miss Charlotte provided the Search Party with excellent leads through her deduction. I had no idea Miss Charlotte possessed such eloquence and such rigorous logic. In any case, thanks to her, suspicion regarding Jane has been lifted, at least for now."
While the family listened to Terrence's explanation, the servants Collin and Sydney brought blankets and warm tea. Jane sat on the drawing room sofa sipping her tea when she quickly added to Terrence's account.
"Furthermore, Mr. Philip Oslo, who shares a close acquaintance with Charlotte, vouched for my character. That is how we were able to complete all procedures swiftly and return home without spending the night at the investigation office."
That their daughter, on the eve of her wedding, should spend the night in an investigation room—the very thought made George and Lydia Augusta dizzy with distress. George embraced Terrence and Jane in turn, as if to steady himself.
"Thank heavens the matter has resolved itself so favorably! Truly, what a blessing!"
"But where is Charlotte now?"
Helena, handing a cup of tea to Terrence, posed the question while regarding the two of them.
"Charlotte? Oh, yes—"
Jane blinked, attempting to answer.
"She arrived in the carriage with us. Just moments ago, she was directly behind me... Wait—"
But as Jane turned, Charlotte—who had certainly been at their heels when they descended from the carriage—was nowhere to be seen.
The members of the Augusta Family and Terrence exchanged bewildered glances, searching for Charlotte, whose efforts had been instrumental in Jane's safe return. It was then that Katie, also seeking her, let out a sharp cry.
"Oh! Isn't that Charlotte over there?"
Katie's finger pointed toward the Garden visible beyond the Drawing Room window. Following her gesture, six pairs of eyes turned in that direction, and there was Charlotte indeed. However, she was standing in the rain without shelter, holding reins in one hand.
"Wait... the bridle Charlotte is holding—isn't that Charles's? That fierce brown horse, Charles?"
Helena's voice trembled with shock. In that instant, everyone witnessed the massive brown horse following Charlotte with docile obedience. And before anyone could utter a word, Charlotte—straining slightly with effort—hoisted herself onto Charles's back.
As Lydia Augusta watched Charlotte settle into the saddle, she drew a sharp breath.
"What on earth is Charlotte doing? She's never even learned to ride—"
At that moment, George removed his spectacles in disbelief, then replaced them. Ordinarily, anyone wishing to move a horse would either spur its flanks or wield a whip. Yet Charlotte merely leaned forward, whispering something into Charles's ear, and the stubborn beast obeyed her command without resistance.
Whinnny—
Charlotte's body swayed as Charles reared, lifting his front hooves high into the air.
"Charlotte, be careful—!"
George cried out instinctively, his voice sharp with alarm. Yet Charlotte quickly steadied herself, gripping Charles's reins firmly as she lowered her body. The horse, as if long accustomed to bearing her, began to gallop with practiced ease, leaving the Augusta Estate behind as he surged forward.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
Beyond the autumn drizzle, Charlotte and Charles vanished in the blink of an eye. The Augusta Family and Terrence, who had been rejoicing and shedding tears at Jane's return, could only stand frozen, their expressions vacant at the spectacle that had unfolded before them.
***
Today was precisely the sort of typical English weather that Armand despised. A fine mist had fallen throughout the day, and the sunlight hidden behind dark clouds cast a dim, murky glow across the sky.
I had thought by now I would have left this dreary England behind, accompanying my friend and sovereign Leopold toward the European Continent. Yet Armand found his melancholy thoughts interrupted by a visitor who knocked upon the manor door with such force it seemed ready to splinter.
"Good heavens... Miss...?"
Armand murmured as though unable to trust his own eyes. The one who had come seeking him was Charlotte Augusta, drenched from the rain, perched atop a massive horse that seemed far too large for her delicate frame.
"The manor door—huff, huff—I do apologize, ha—Charles became so excited that..."
Charlotte spoke while trembling, her knuckles white as she gripped the reins with desperate force. She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving as though she had driven the horse at a pace beyond her control.
As Armand lifted his head and looked at the entrance door of Rochefort Manor, muddy hoofprints remained. It seemed the violent knocking on the entrance door was from the kicks of the horse that Charlotte rode. The sturdy horse called Charles shook his mane with a triumphant expression.
"Miss Charlotte, what hour is it now...? Surely you did not ride here alone on horseback?"
Armand spoke with an expression of shock. Though obscured by clouds, the sun was nearly set. And here was a lady, drenched from the rain, who had ridden to find him on horseback. Armand glanced about nervously as he spoke.
"You must come inside at once and dry yourself, Miss Charlotte. A lady riding alone at this hour, in such a state—if anyone were to see you, it would be ruinous to your reputation!"
Armand floundered helplessly. Charlotte, breathing heavily, shook her head.
"No, Armand. I no longer concern myself with the opinions of society."
There was something like liberation evident in Charlotte's expression as she spoke.
"However, I must decline your invitation to come inside. Darkness will soon fall!"
Armand understood her to mean that riding would become difficult once night descended, and he gazed at her in bewilderment. Yet there was a faint joy evident in Charlotte's face as she spoke of the approaching darkness.
"I have come only to provide you with a clue regarding an incident that may help us locate His Highness Leopold."
Charlotte spoke while gazing upward at the increasingly darkening sky. Armand suddenly found himself thinking how beautiful Charlotte's rain-soaked face appeared, but he quickly shook his head to regain his composure and asked:
"Miss Charlotte, what on earth is this clue you speak of...?"
Charlotte's lips, flushed a vibrant crimson in stark contrast to her pallid complexion, curved as she answered.
"On the night His Highness went missing, there were five porters who visited that place."
Behind Charlotte, the pale white sky gradually suffused with rosy hues as the sunset emerged beyond the storm clouds.
"The porters Armand saw were all four in number—Homang and his three sons. However, there was another porter. One who was notably short in stature, who was present when the initial porters entered the manor, yet vanished without a trace from the servants' notice when they departed...."
Charlotte described to Armand the physical characteristics of the fifth porter as depicted by Terrence and the other mercenary, her expression growing grave.
"I believe I may know who that fifth porter could be, Armand."
"What? You've already deduced the identity of the fifth porter from merely today's discoveries? Homang had only three sons, as far as I knew...."
Armand's eyes widened with such intensity that his refined brow furrowed deeply as he pressed further.
"Someone short in stature, who moved about the manor unnoticed by its inhabitants—could it be...?"
A person who could freely traverse the manor, possessed a diminutive frame, and harbored animosity toward Leopold. Moreover, the most likely suspect from the investigation's inception. Only one figure naturally surfaced in Armand's mind.
"So you're saying, Miss Charlotte, that the short fifth porter was none other than Harrison, whom you've continued to suspect all this while?"
Armand had been conducting ongoing investigations into Harrison at Charlotte's previous request. Through his inquiries, he had discovered that Harrison squandered his fortune recklessly on gambling and indulgences, and that he labored beneath a mountain of secret debts.
Armand stroked his pointed chin thoughtfully, murmuring as though the pieces had fallen into place.
"Indeed, in such desperate circumstances as Harrison's, it's entirely plausible he could be the true perpetrator of His Highness's abduction. Perhaps he sought ransom after kidnapping the Prince, or received compensation from the Bonapartists.... Desperate nobles will resort to far worse than we might imagine."
Yet Charlotte's clear voice cut through Armand's speculation.
"No, Armand. I'm not referring to Harrison. Even if he were the mastermind behind this incident, if Harrison were truly the fifth porter, the mercenaries and servants who guided the porters to the Gallery would surely have recognized him."
At Charlotte's words, Armand's brow knitted tighter. Recalling Harrison's distinctive crimson hair and stocky build, her reasoning proved sound. Moreover, setting aside the private mercenaries, it was inconceivable that the manor's longtime servants would fail to recognize Harrison, the grandson of the estate's master.
Perceiving Armand's conflicted expression, Charlotte slowly closed her eyes, then opened them to regard him with her luminous amber gaze.
"Going unnoticed by the manor's inhabitants could mean someone like Harrison, the manor's master, who knows every corner intimately and can navigate unseen. But there exists another possibility."
Charlotte's eyes sparkled with wisdom.
"Just like an old built-in wardrobe, the sort of person who naturally escapes notice. Or rather, even when they desperately try to be seen, it simply doesn't happen as they wish. That's why the mercenaries, the search party, and even Armand, who met and spoke with this person directly, all overlooked them."
Charlotte answered with a faint smile, as though she understood the plight of such a "wardrobe-like" person all too well.
At her words, Armand started in surprise, his head snapping sharply toward her.
"Wait—you're saying I met and spoke with this person? Who on earth could they be, Miss Charlotte?"
Armand looked up at Charlotte seated upon his horse, his eyes taking in her rain-soaked form dressed in an ordinary, rather shabby indoor gown. Yet something noble emanated from her presence—so much so that Armand felt compelled to show her the same deference he would offer Leopold, his liege.
"Armand, you said Homang had trustworthy children—three sons—whom he used to commit these crimes."
Only then did Charlotte speak slowly, her voice grave and solemn.
"But Homang's children were not limited to those three. That's right. I believe Homang's daughter was the fifth porter."
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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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