Chapter 64
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Chapter 64
As the night deepened, Leopold materialized at Charlotte's side. She recounted everything that had transpired that day—her conversation with Jean, every detail laid bare before him.
"Your Highness Leopold, I asked Jean to remain here until you appeared, but he refused. He said he was too ashamed of what he'd done to you, that he couldn't bear to face you."
Even setting that aside, Jean's spectral form had appeared utterly exhausted. He had entreated Charlotte repeatedly to look after his sister, Tiffany Martin, before dissolving into silver mist and vanishing as he had when he first appeared.
"Jean wanted to tell someone that Your Highness had been kidnapped, but he didn't know how. It seems that even after his brother and father had crossed into the realm beyond death, he remained tethered by his worry for his sister and his guilt toward Your Highness—clinging to the memory of 'death' itself. As a medium, I witnessed that memory at the Ball held at Count Oslo's Mansion."
Charlotte recalled Aunt Elicia's words: that spirits reveal themselves to mediums by choice.
Leopold, who had been listening while leaning against the Willow Tree beside Charlotte, narrowed one eye slightly. His dark hair glimmered with starlight filtering through the drooping branches, catching silver gleams.
"If that's the case, then Harrison is the person connected to Jean's death? You sensed the traces of death Jean left behind when you encountered him, after all."
Leopold spoke as though something didn't sit right with him. According to Elicia, traces of death lingered only for a brief time after death occurred. So Charlotte's chance meeting with Harrison on the very day the porters were murdered was quite remarkable.
"That's my conclusion, Your Highness. Jean kidnapped you while you were staying at Harrison's Estate, and he was killed for it. So when Philip Oslo brought Harrison to me, I must have sensed the traces of death. Furthermore, Prince Frederick spoke to me about the conflict between the Conservative Faction and the Reform Faction among young European nobles, and Harrison is indeed renowned as a Conservative noble, isn't he?"
Charlotte no longer needed even the papers on which she'd recorded the case details. Having forgone social gatherings with her sisters to organize the events and dedicate herself to deduction, the crucial information had crystallized in her mind like a vivid painting.
As Charlotte explained, counting on her fingers, Leopold's eyelids slowly closed and opened. He spoke in a measured tone, as though contemplating something.
"I understand that all the visible evidence points toward Harrison. It's obvious he'd be suspected if anything happened to me while I was staying at his Estate, so he might have orchestrated this charade by hiring thieves to deflect suspicion."
Charlotte nodded vigorously, as if to say she agreed entirely. Each time she nodded, her lustrous chestnut hair fluttered like butterflies. Leopold watched this, then slowly reclined, resting his head against her legs.
"But Charlotte, I still don't understand how Harrison could have such a compelling motive to kidnap me...."
Leopold whispered, looking up at her. Dark hair fell across his furrowed brow as he appeared lost in thought.
"He seemed like nothing more than a small-time schemer too preoccupied with his own troubles to be of consequence."
"That's true. But the ominous feeling I had when I was near Harrison last time—I simply cannot forget it...."
I felt my face flush without realizing it as Leopold gazed down at me with such tenderness. His warmth seeped through the fabric of my skirt, reaching me slowly. Just as Katie and Elicia had said, ever since October arrived, I'd noticed that Leopold's spiritual presence felt increasingly substantial and weighty.
"Well, and if Philip Oslo is correct, Harrison participated in the operation to exile Napoleon too, so he might be more passionate about politics than we thought. As Aunt Elicia said, sometimes what remains invisible is more important than what's seen...."
I spoke hurriedly, uncertain what drove my urgency. Yet Leopold, observing the slight flush in my cheeks, responded with a measured tone that contrasted sharply with mine.
"What remains invisible is more important, you say.... Then all the more reason he seems innocent. For there to be a 'reason he remains invisible,' he would need to have concealed his animosity toward me—yet he's shown it quite plainly, hasn't he?"
I fell silent at Leopold's words, recognizing their merit, then looked down at him thoughtfully.
"That's precisely why I've been thinking, Your Highness...."
Before my eyes, Leopold's sharp nose and his luminous emerald-tinged gray eyes sparkled with intensity. I continued.
"What if we enlisted Jean's help on the eve of All Saints' Day? Since that's when all spirits reclaim their bodies, wouldn't Harrison be shocked to see Jean appear—someone he believes is dead? Who knows, he might even confess...."
"Hmm...."
Leopold's dark brows furrowed slightly. Seeing this, I added quickly.
"According to Jean, his sister Tiffany Martin's pretense of carrying luggage was actually planned for the very end. Originally, Tiffany was supposed to slip among the servants and, after you fell asleep, simply let his brothers and father into the manor. But their father Homang injured his arm the day before, so he came along as the fifth porter instead."
As I spoke with a thoughtful expression, willow branches hung behind me, swaying gently in the breeze. Beneath the dark blue night sky, curtains of willow branches and their lush foliage enclosed us like a small island floating above the moonlit city. Leopold found himself grateful for my dedication to unraveling this murder even in such a romantic setting, yet it also made him ache with tenderness.
Unaware of Leopold's feelings, I continued speaking.
"So the client—rather, Harrison—didn't know that Tiffany Martin participated as a porter. Once Tiffany Martin realized this fact, she must have fled in terror."
As I spoke, all the pieces aligned perfectly. Tiffany Martin had vanished without telling anyone—not even her mother—where she was going. She must have witnessed her father and brothers' deaths, or the moment she learned their assignment was to kidnap a prince in disguise, she realized just how perilous her situation had become.
'Her father received the commission and had his eldest daughter Tiffany Martin conduct preliminary investigations, didn't he? So Tiffany Martin might know a bit more about who the client is.'
"I shared what I discovered at the Post Office in Romford with Philip Oslo and Armand, so they can follow Harrison immediately if he goes there. So Harrison won't be able to harm Tiffany Martin carelessly."
I continued laying out the plan for the eve of All Saints' Day. Ever since my conversation with Aunt Elicia, I had resolved to restore Leopold's life at any cost—even if it meant losing all my memories of him. My expression had grown not merely serious but solemn.
"And if Jean appears with his body restored at the All Saints' Eve ball, perhaps Tiffany Martin will reveal herself too?"
My words trailed off. Just as Aunt Elicia had said, "memories remain in the body," once Leopold reclaimed his form on the eve of All Saints' Day—only days away now—all the time I spent with his spirit would end. That truth pricked at my heart repeatedly, but I shook my head to dispel the thought. Instead, I swallowed my regret, remembering the final words Aunt Elicia had spoken to me.
'...Nothing, not even death itself, can take away love. Love is something that, once you choose to follow it, will not change even if you try to change it, and will not disappear even if you try to make it disappear.'
It was then that Leopold, who had been quietly listening to Charlotte's words all this time, seemed to notice some shift in her heart—perhaps sensing her more fervent demeanor than usual. His soft voice reached her ears.
"One day a year, when souls reclaim their bodies. On that day, do you really wish to spend your time around someone like Harrison?"
Charlotte faltered and looked down at Leopold.
"I beg your pardon, Your Highness? That is.... We must make good use of that day to understand the circumstances of this case. Moreover, with Prince Frederick attempting to end the investigation prematurely...."
Leopold's gaze met hers with sharpened eyes, studying her intently. His clear blue-grey eyes seemed to pierce through her secret resolve, and without thinking, Charlotte averted her gaze from his.
Leopold continued gently.
"Charlotte, I told you before—I now have a reason to live. So what I'm about to say is not to dismiss your acceptance of death with indifference, nor to dampen your passion for solving this case."
Before speaking, he offered a faint smile as if to reassure her. Then he raised one hand and gently brushed her earlobe as he whispered.
"If, by some slim chance, I cannot reclaim my body, and this eve of the Saints' Day becomes the only day I can gaze upon you beneath the midday sun, hold you in my arms, and kiss you...."
Leopold lifted his upper body slightly from her lap and leaned close to her face as he spoke.
"I fear I would deeply regret not doing so."
"But, that is...."
Charlotte could not tear her eyes from Leopold's captivating face as she fumbled for words. Though it should not be so, he seemed to have read how she yearned for the little time remaining with him. Seizing the moment of her confusion, Leopold spoke.
"I understand how important it is to devote the remaining time to solving this case, Charlotte. I too am dreaming of the midday hours I will spend with you."
At Leopold's sweet whisper of 'the midday hours we will share together,' Charlotte's eyes grew sad without her realizing it. Yet she could not bring herself to say that the midday hours they would share together would not exist, so instead she tried to persuade him again in a small voice.
"That is precisely why, Your Highness. If we do not solve the case, neither you nor I are guaranteed time together in the future. So solving the case on the eve of the Saints' Day is...."
"No one can guarantee that we will have time together in the future, Charlotte."
Yet Leopold corrected her once more.
"Even if the case is solved, there is no guarantee I will return completely whole, and there is no assurance that I, having regained my true form, will not be assassinated the very next day."
At Leopold's words, Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise. He then drew her shoulders gently into his broad embrace as if to reassure her, whispering softly.
"I'm not asking you to be pessimistic or dwell only on the worst, Charlotte. I simply mean that the time I can spend with you now is as precious to me as the future I might share with you—perhaps even more so."
The sweet fragrance of the forest enveloped her entire being. His voice was so intoxicating that Charlotte wished to abandon all her resolve and remain in his embrace forever. Only when she buried her face against his shoulder did the beautiful landscape surrounding them come into view.
'The Willow Tree that wraps around us looks like an enormous chandelier. And that mysterious stream cradling the moonlight...'
Gazing at the enchanting scenery around her, the deaths of the Martine Family and her worries about Leopold seemed to vanish in an instant, flowing away with the stream to somewhere distant.
"I say this not because I remain as a spirit, Charlotte. Though everyone truly stands between the thin veil of life and death, they willingly sacrifice today as if tomorrow will surely come. They abandon today's love for tomorrow."
Leopold spoke softly while caressing her back. What he said resembled how Aunt Elicia had once defined the boundary between death and life.
"But you showed me how to follow my heart and live for today. You dared to say that love with a ghost is love nonetheless."
Leopold's laughter escaped him—a laugh filled with gratitude and affection for her courage.
"So I want to love you today, and tomorrow, and the day after that..."
Charlotte could offer no rebuttal. Perhaps these were the words she should have spoken. As the case drew closer to resolution, she knew their remaining time dwindled. The Eve of Saints' Day might be their last precious opportunity to spend together.
"Who do you think you most want to spend the Eve of Saints' Day with?"
Hearing Leopold's captivating voice, which seemed to hold something unspoken, Charlotte trembled slightly in his arms. He then grasped her shoulders and turned her to meet his gaze.
"What would your answer be, following where your heart leads?"
A soft smile played at Leopold's lips as he spoke. Seeing the glistening brightness in Charlotte's eyes reflected by the moonlight, he already knew her answer without needing to hear it.
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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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