Chapter 51
---------------
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 51
Upon returning home, Charlotte found herself subjected to a peculiar welcome—a bewildering mixture of nagging and praise, reproach and admiration.
"Oh my, my beloved sister Charlotte has arrived! Goodness, Charlotte, you're absolutely drenched from the rain. Let me fetch you fresh clothes and brew some tea, shall I?"
The first to greet Charlotte as she crossed the threshold was Jane's saccharine voice—the sister who believed I had rescued her.
"Oh, and by the way, Mother and Father are absolutely furious. They scolded me thoroughly when they discovered I had enchanted Terrence's cider, and I suspect they'll have words for you as well about taking Charles out riding alone like that."
Of course, before Jane could even finish speaking, Lydia Augusta's sharp rebuke came flying at me.
"Charlotte, where on earth have you been? You know perfectly well what happens to a lady's reputation when she gallivants about unaccompanied."
Moreover, even George—a father who rarely spoke harshly—began to remonstrate with me over my reckless decision to ride Charles, a horse I had never been trained to handle.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous Charles is? What if you'd fallen and been gravely injured?"
Meanwhile, Katie and Bianca, who had descended upon hearing the commotion, gazed at me with eyes brimming with admiration and made a fuss.
"Charlotte, when did you start training Charles? The way you rode with him earlier was absolutely magnificent!"
Being scolded by my family when I'd caused trouble was something I was accustomed to. Yet rarely had their reactions been so contradictory as they were today.
After enduring my family's onslaught for some time, I was mercifully rescued by Helena's sensible intervention—she insisted that since I'd been caught in the rain, I must bathe in warm water at once to avoid catching a fever again. Thus I was able to retreat upstairs.
A long, weary sigh escaped me.
As I sank my rain-chilled body into the steaming, foam-filled bath, warmth gradually suffused my entire frame. Yet despite the comfort spreading through my body, my troubled mind remained taut and unyielding.
Just last night, I had kissed the Prince, and in a single day, so much had transpired.
Instead, I turned my gaze toward the window of the bathroom, where gathering darkness crept across the landscape. Ordinarily, whenever darkness fell, I would feel a flutter of excitement and anticipation—the joy of knowing I would spend time with Leopold, whom I adored.
But today, my emotions were far more complicated than mere joy. The deep kiss we had shared yesterday had been achingly beautiful, like a dream, yet now it seemed to exist like a mirage—as though it had never truly happened at all.
'In just one day, I followed Jane to London where the Search Party operates, and there I learned of the existence of a fifth porter. I even informed Armand of this discovery.'
When Charlotte first heard of the fifth porter from Terrence, the first person who crossed her mind—just as Armand had—was Harrison. Yet she soon realized that someone as well-known and of such elevated station as Harrison could not possibly evade the notice of mercenaries and servants so easily.
"Anyone of even modest renown, particularly a man of such high birth and distinctive appearance, would inevitably draw someone's eye."
Instead, Charlotte—who had spent her life yearning to be noticed—understood far better than Harrison the very conditions that made a person invisible to the world.
'Low station, unremarkable appearance, plain features... a woman.'
Moreover, the decisive confirmation of Charlotte's deduction came from something Jane had said to her in London.
'I'm sorry, Charlotte. I suddenly grew frightened and needed to cancel the spell, but when my soul was bound to Terrence, the only people I could truly trust were my family. So without thinking, I spoke your name....'
'The most trustworthy are family.' Thus, the porter Homang would have chosen his own children to accompany him in such a perilous undertaking as kidnapping a neighboring prince.
"As a Search Party composed of people from distinguished families, they could never have conceived of a woman's involvement in this affair. Just as they released Jane before, I myself was astonished when I heard that Helena conducted 'work' in the city."
Now that she thought of it, while the investigation into Terrence and the mercenaries had proceeded over several days with meticulous care, Armand, Philip, and all the Search Party soldiers had spoken most dismissively of the kitchen maids.
'The remaining people at the Estate were merely young day-laborers from the kitchen, so there are no further persons worthy of proper investigation.'
'The maids mentioned there were three or four porters, and we deemed such testimony sufficient for what young maids could reasonably recall.'
Just as Charlotte had defended Jane by exploiting the impression of a happy lady on the eve of marriage—one who would harm no one—another might have similarly exploited the guise of a simple young maid to conceal the truth.
"If someone had administered a sleeping draught to Prince Leopold's cider, it would have been Homang's eldest daughter, disguised as one of the kitchen maids. If not Jane, not Terrence, then only someone from the kitchen could have accessed the cider."
Charlotte envisioned Homang's eldest daughter masquerading as the fifth porter, aiding her brothers, then donning her maid's dress once more and disappearing among the other servants in the kitchen.
"Yet one thing still troubles me... why the porters attempted to kidnap His Highness in the first place, and if Homang's daughter truly was the fifth porter, why she murdered her father and brothers—these remain unexplained."
Charlotte submerged herself once more in the steaming bathwater, then surfaced, murmuring as sleep eluded her.
"There must certainly be another hand orchestrating this affair from the shadows."
Just then, stars began to emerge one by one in the distant night sky. Fortunately, the misty rain that had fallen all day seemed to have ceased.
The Black Forest visible from this bathroom window swayed in the breeze as though beckoning to her. At the sight of those tall, handsome trees, Charlotte's thoughts drifted from the unfolding mystery to something altogether different—her lover, who came with the darkness.
"Leopold will be arriving soon. I should finish my bath and prepare for our evening walk..."
I slowly lifted myself from the bathtub, which was surrounded by flickering candlelight, reaching toward the towel draped over the bathroom door. But as I raised my torso halfway out of the water, a figure materialized from the crimson shadows cast by the candles near the entrance—a man's silhouette gradually coming into focus.
"No, no, this can't be!"
Upon recognizing those grayish-green eyes fixed upon me, I cried out and hastily plunged back into the tub. My frantic movements sent water sloshing over the rim, and the soap bubbles that had blanketed the surface cascaded down the sides onto the floor.
"We..."
Leopold's eyes narrowed as he observed me huddled naked in the bathtub.
"Isn't this progressing rather quickly, Charlotte?"
His audacious tone sent a flush spreading not only across my ears but throughout my entire body. What made matters worse was the terrifying possibility that Leopold could see portions of my reddened skin.
"N-no, Your Highness, w-why must you appear at this m-moment?"
I stammered while desperately drawing what little soap foam remained toward myself. My face had turned as crimson as a beet.
"I merely heard your voice calling my name."
Leopold replied slowly, as though amused by my flustered expression.
"Did I not tell you before? When darkness falls and I hear your voice, I appear at your side."
"B-but that's... Oh!"
I watched in mortification as Leopold's gaze drifted from my face downward toward my neck, and I let out a strangled cry while frantically pulling the bubbles closer to myself once more.
"Bathing at such a late hour—as though deliberately tempting the darkness itself."
Leopold spoke leisurely, leaning against the wall. As the candlelight danced across his handsome features, my heart began to quicken its pace.
"Does a specter not catch cold? Are you curious whether I might become wet?"
"T-tempting? Of course not!"
I shook my head, my face beyond any further capacity for redness. The remark about specters not catching cold—that was something I had said to him while kissing him. Which meant that regardless of my concerns, yesterday's kiss between us was undeniably real, not a mirage or a dream.
"Besides, whether you get wet or not, I already know. When you carried me across the Stream before, your trousers and shirt clung so tightly to your body that...."
Charlotte trailed off, uncertain how to continue. The more she spoke to him, the more her words seemed to set her cheeks ablaze.
Finally, Charlotte protested to Leopold, who still regarded her with that infuriatingly composed expression.
"How can a noble prince such as yourself stand there watching a lady bathe? Please, just hand me the towel by that door!"
Leopold raised one eyebrow.
"Last night, you told me to follow my heart rather than do what was right for others."
He handed Charlotte the towel and turned away with gentlemanly grace, his voice tinged with amusement as he replied.
Charlotte confirmed once more that Leopold had turned his back to her, then stepped out of the bath and wrapped herself in the towel. She fumbled as she began changing into the indoor clothes she had prepared beforehand.
'I wanted to greet His Highness today with composure and dignity!'
Charlotte thought, mentally striking her own forehead.
And for good reason—she had spent much of today wrestling with how to face Leopold. Over the past several days, beginning with the Ball at the Oslo Estate, she had confessed her feelings to him, and had come to understand that he harbored feelings for her as well. Though he had attempted to conceal his heart out of consideration for his circumstances as a spirit and her happiness, he had yielded to her plea to "let your heart lead before your thoughts" with a soft, surrendering smile.
'He did yield... didn't he? Judging by how he accepted my kiss last night. And at some point, he even pressed his lips to mine more passionately....'
Charlotte adjusted her clothing and felt her cheeks flush once more. The memory of last night's frenzied kiss came rushing back.
"Ahem, ahem. I'm ready now."
Charlotte spoke to Leopold in a small voice. As Leopold, dressed in deep green formal attire, turned around, Charlotte came into view—her delicate skin glistening as if softened by the warm bathwater.
"...."
Her wet hair shimmered in the candlelight with lustrous gold and crimson hues, and her eyes glistened with innocent shyness. Leopold fell silent for a moment, his gaze fixed upon her with an intensity far more profound and unguarded than when she had been in the bath.
"Your...Highness?"
Charlotte tilted her head slightly as she called to him. Only then did Leopold tear his gaze from her crimson lips and slowly open his mouth.
"About what happened last night... there's something I want to tell you, Charlotte."
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------