Chapter 54: Entering High Society (7) |
*
After a bout of deduction in the kitchen.
I was on my way up to the 2nd Floor to reveal the truth.
"Young Master Nihilrit."
Charlotte, who had been following me, said as she looked up at me from the bottom of the stairs.
"You were startled when I ate the star anise just now, weren't you?"
"Of course. I am a Healer, so if someone ingests poison right before my eyes..."
I couldn't finish my sentence.
Because the girl at the bottom of the stairs was looking up at me with a victorious smile.
'Ah.'
"...Did you eat it on purpose?"
"It's the best way to draw out an honest reaction. You already knew it was poison even before I arrived, didn't you?"
I've been had.
I never dreamed she would use a method from Sherlock Holmes like this.
It was my mistake.
I should have considered that a clumsy lie wouldn't work on this girl.
"...Why did you think so?"
"Because there's no way someone of a similar level to me would know nothing, despite arriving an hour earlier."
Hmm. That's an overestimation.
I just made my deduction because there was an identical incident in my previous life.
To use a metaphor, she solved the problem from scratch, while I solved it in a state familiar with it from a past exam questions booklet.
Isn't it rude to the former to say the former and latter are on par?
However, that thought was brief.
"That is correct, Miss Hausen. As expected, I thought you would see right through it."
I decided to ride the flow of the misunderstanding.
For a moment, I was worried my bluff would be called, but on second thought, my calculations told me it would be fine.
'It's fine as long as I can hold my own just this once.'
I have no intention of competing with her in deduction after this incident is over.
My goal is to have a relationship with her like the One-armed Emperor and the Greatest Swordsman from a certain pirate manga.
I'll just take the title of having held my own in her debut match, and after that, I'll just watch as my reputation rises along with her accomplishments.
So, it should be fine not to worry about the future in this incident.
"Excellent. Though our methods differed, you reached the same correct answer as I. On top of that, you brilliantly saw through my lie."
At my answer, Charlotte gave a triumphant smile.
"Then, may I consider this confrontation my complete victory?"
"Since when was this a confrontation?"
"Oh my. Didn't the confrontation begin the moment Young Master Nihilrit posed the question?"
"If my actions were interpreted that way, I have nothing to say. Very well. Let's make it my loss."
The girl from below the stairs passed me and positioned herself on a higher step.
"The victor never looks up."
Hmph.
Seeming to be in a good mood, she hummed nasally as she looked down at me.
I gave a bitter smile, took a silver coin from my vest's inner pocket, and handed it to her.
It is a small custom of the Empire's noble society.
To admit defeat and pay a price, buying back the honor lost to the victor.
If the victor accepts the silver coin, it means they acknowledge the loser's skill.
You can think of it as something like the exchange of hostages after a war ends.
She also knew of the custom, so she accepted the silver coin I offered without a word.
"You admit it more cleanly than I expected."
"Because defeat is a good lesson in itself."
"That's a good attitude."
Charlotte, who had been staring at the silver coin in her palm, opened her mouth.
"Did you know? This is the first time I've ever received a silver coin."
"That's surprising. That someone like you, Miss Hausen, has never won before."
"That's not it."
The girl rolled the silver coin between her fingers.
"Winning was a daily occurrence. It's just that no one ever offered a silver coin. Deceitful tricks, magic... The nobles would make all sorts of excuses and refuse to offer one."
"Dear me. Defeat is not a shame, you know."
"I know, right?"
Charlotte tossed the silver coin up and snatched it.
Then she slipped the silver coin into her cape's inner pocket and smiled.
"Thanks to you, I had fun. I'll be sure to tell my father about revealing the truth. If my father handles it, the other nobles won't be able to drag it into factional strife."
She decided to bear the weight of this incident's truth.
It was just what I had hoped for.
Director Schun might have been able to handle it, but the truth of this incident was too heavy for Yulian, the 16-year-old youth who's been taking a break.
Of course, it would also be a bit much for my father, who is merely a baron.
Charlotte must have known this and showed consideration for my family.
"Of course, I have no intention of taking all the credit for Young Master Nihilrit's achievements. I will speak to the other nobles to ensure your contributions reach their ears."
"I would appreciate it if you could convey that I was your equal, Miss Hausen."
"That is the duty of the victor who received the silver coin."
Charlotte turned and walked up the stairs.
"Let's hurry up."
I followed her up the stairs.
On the way to the room on the 2nd floor.
I watched her blonde hair sway from side to side above the nape of her neck.
I suppose it was just my imagination that the outline of her small ear, peeking through her short blonde hair, seemed to be flushed red.
***
Clatter, clatter.
In the late afternoon, a carriage crossed Sanctum Hill, leaving House Belheim behind.
With all matters at the Count's family resolved, the carriage was heading somewhere with two people aboard.
The girl with blonde hair and golden eyes seated facing the front of the carriage—Charlotte—was silently counting the streetlights outside the window.
Across from her, the Inspector sat facing the rear of the carriage.
"..."
The man, with the same blonde hair as Charlotte swept back, was scanning a notebook with eyes that made it hard to tell if they were open or closed.
Inspector Hausen stared at the notebook in silence, tapping his right leg, which was crossed over his left.
Around the time the Count's mansion was no longer in sight, Inspector Hausen opened his mouth.
"To think it was star anise."
Scratch, scratch, snap.
Leaving a cursory memo with his fountain pen, he closed the notebook.
"As expected. It was star anise, just as I predicted."
"You knew?"
"I had a hunch. The roles the victims played within Prince Auguste's faction weren't significant enough to be targeted by a curse."
"Then do you also know how the star anise ended up here?"
"Eastern-grown star anise is toxic, while the western-grown is used as a spice. It's plausible that in the capital, where trade routes converge, a merchant blinded by greed might have mixed the two."
A languid voice drifted through the carriage's rattling.
Charlotte's half-lidded eyes turned to the Inspector across from her.
Her gaze fell upon the Inspector's fingertips.
A spot of ink stained the tip of his right index finger, but the Inspector didn't wipe it off.
Charlotte took in the Inspector's appearance and let out a deep sigh.
"Then if you had a hunch, why did you say that?"
"I am an Inspector. Not a Judicial Officer. I shouldn't take away a Judicial Officer's work."
Charlotte stared intently at the Inspector's unblinking face.
"That's a nice way of wrapping up the fact you were too lazy to go to the kitchen, Father."
At her words, Inspector Hausen paused for a moment, then looked around.
After confirming something, he spoke again.
"You don't need to call me Father anymore. We're far enough that there are no listening ears."
"Got it, Michael Oppa."
As soon as she finished speaking, Charlotte propped her legs up on the opposite seat.
It was a posture utterly devoid of a Young Lady's decorum.
In that same posture, she held her palm facing up.
Something hazy like a mist rose from her palm.
The mist swirled faintly, then began to take shape.
The outline of a small room, the shadow of a cradle, and next to that cradle, two human figures could be seen.
A silent play made of mist unfolded on the girl's palm.
When the baby in the illusion began to fuss badly, flailing its limbs, the Countess beside the cradle was feeding it tea brewed with star anise.
Charlotte dispersed the mist at that scene and opened her mouth.
"I have to do this five more times today."
Charlotte said, gesturing toward Inspector Michael with her chin.
"You have plenty of magical power too. You know the truth, so the activation conditions are met. In fact, you could probably do it more clearly than I can."
"I suppose so."
"Then can't you do it?"
Inspector Hausen said, sinking into the carriage's sofa with his eyes gently closed.
"I came all this way specifically for you. Normally, I should be in my office by now, reading the report submitted by Judicial Officer Nihilrit."
The Inspector lazily waved his arm.
Then, as if that was the total amount of exercise allotted to him for the day, his arm went limp.
"And visiting the other families now was to inform them of the contribution of the new friend you made today, wasn't it? Normally, just sending an official document would have been enough."
"..."
"I've gone out of my way as much as I can, so don't ask for more, Charlotte."
Charlotte had no choice but to agree.
Considering this lazybones' usual behavior, even this was an unprecedented move.
"You do all the magical reenactments for the remaining families."
"Haa... And to think this is my only blood relative."
Michael didn't even react.
Instead, he further relaxed his barely open eyelids, accepting the approaching drowsiness.
Then, suddenly recalling something, Michael narrowed his eyes.
"By the way, I was surprised when you suddenly said you wanted to tag along on my work. What got into you?"
"Even so, I'm a noble of the Empire. At sixteen, shouldn't I have a debutante?"
"Why of all people did you ask me?"
"I don't have a mother, and Father isn't the type to do such things. I have to get help from my older brother."
Michael's mouth fell slightly open upon hearing Charlotte's answer.
Entering high society at sixteen is something only those desperate for marriage do.
But the Charlotte Michael knew was not a girl desperate for marriage.
Not in terms of social status, nor in terms of her personality.
But as he was assembling the sentence 'You, getting married???', he met his younger sister's eyes and shut his mouth again.
"..."
Because he could feel a chilling killing intent from her eyes that said, 'one more word and I'll plant a 0-inch solar plexus strike on that solar plexus'.
In a battle of wits, maybe, but Michael was confident he would be subdued in hand-to-hand combat by his younger sister without even laying a finger on her.
Therefore, he returned the most harmless answer.
"...Right. Still, I'm glad you made a new friend."
That was the safest sentence he could return to his one and only blood relative.
*
By the time the siblings had visited all five families, stars were already visible in the sky.
While Charlotte held a deduction show at each family home, using magic to convince the unconvinced nobles,
Michael sat in a chair in all five reception rooms, rolling a peppermint candy in his mouth.
That was the sum total of the contribution he was willing to make today.
After finishing everything.
The carriage changed direction.
As it headed toward the center of Sanctum Hill, the cobblestone roads grew wider, the distance between streetlights narrowed, and the buildings on either side began to grow taller.
Before long, the outer wall of the Imperial Castle became visible beyond the carriage window.
"A business trip and overtime."
Michael muttered, pulling his coat collar tight.
"The reports must be piled up. There are three just from Judicial Officer Nihilrit, and other cases too..."
A yawn swallowed the latter half of his words.
Passing through the front door of the Imperial Castle, the carriage stopped at a fork in the road.
The left path led to the work district lined with government offices, and the right to the residential area of the Imperial Family.
Michael got out first.
The hem of his coat fluttered once in the night air.
"Good work."
Without looking back, he made his way toward the work district lined with government offices.
Charlotte leaned against the carriage window and watched her brother's retreating back for a moment.
He said that, but he would probably boil tea first upon arriving at his office, before even opening a report.
And he would probably fall asleep before the tea cooled.
The next morning, too lazy to even hold the reports, he would just go and recite the contents he'd memorized.
Such was the bureaucratic life of that lazy man.
Charlotte let out a small laugh and knocked on the empty coachman's seat.
"Let's go."
The coachman-less carriage headed toward the residential area of the Imperial Family with Charlotte inside.
A short while later.
Creeak.
Charlotte stepped into a modestly decorated room in the Imperial Palace.
The door closed, and the sound of the lock clicking echoed faintly.
Charlotte began to take off what she had been wearing all day.
She first undid her navy cape.
Next, she removed the silver brooch and, after folding the cape, draped it over the back of a chair.
She unbuttoned her detective outfit's vest one by one, took off the shirt's cuffs, and removed the silver pin engraved with the crest of the Hausen family from her hair, placing it on the table.
The silver coin in her pocket...
"..."
She placed it neatly on the dressing table.
Finally, Charlotte stood before the mirror.
And she tapped her temple with her fingertips.
"———-"
With a small, whisper-like sound, the girl in the mirror began to change.
The color of her blonde hair grew brighter.
From a gold like the yellow sunset to a gold closer to a pale platinum blonde.
The short hair that ended above the nape of her neck came undone.
A delicate charm settled into the eyes that had held a decadent arrogance.
The daughter of Inspector Hausen vanished from the mirror.
And in her place, a girl with eyes steeped in weariness was looking at the mirror.
"Haa..."
The girl's full chest rose and fell for a moment.
The girl changed into her pajamas and began to tidy her hair.
Around the time her combing surpassed twelve strokes.
Something vibrated inside the dressing table drawer.
The girl who had been called Charlotte opened the drawer.
Deep inside, a small crystal orb wrapped in cloth was trembling finely.
Charlotte placed the crystal orb on the dressing table and brought her hand to it.
Soon, the scenery of an old study emerged within the crystal orb.
An old man could be seen sitting in a leather armchair, visible between the piles of books in the crystal orb.
The old gentleman, with only one intact eye, was drinking tea with a white ferret on his lap.
"...Lord Louis. Good evening."
[Yes. It's been a while.]
Sip.
The Great Sage Louis said as he set down his teacup.
"Charlotte. Are you doing well at the palace these days?"
The girl placed the comb on her dressing table and gave a bitter smile.
"It's the same as the last time you asked, Lord Louis. And the same as the time before that."
Charlotte was a loner.
The reason was her innate nature.
[Hmm. You still haven't fixed that habit of peering into the past when you greet people? Being with you feels like having my past laid bare; it's too vulgar.]
"What can I do? It's my talent as a Mage."
[Hmm. If that's part of your Mindscape, I have nothing to say.]
The Great Sage in the crystal orb hid his awkwardness by sipping his tea.
Charlotte Hausen Eschenwaldt.
The child born between the Emperor and his 17th Concubine.
The 17th Concubine gave birth to Charlotte at a late age and, on the third night, was unable to open her eyes due to a high fever.
In an imperial palace where even living concubines are crushed by the struggle for hierarchy, how much worse would it be for the child of a dead one?
Because of this, Charlotte and Michael were what are commonly called 'forgotten imperial family members'.
Louis was the guardian of this Charlotte and Michael.
It wasn't that he felt pity for their situation.
There were nearly a hundred imperial family members in the Empire whose names weren't even recorded; the Great Sage had neither the sentiment nor the time to feel compassion for all of them.
There was only one reason he became Michael and Charlotte's guardian.
It was because their talent had stimulated a slight interest.
[How was the magic I taught you?]
"I used it well. There's the condition that deduction must come first, but being able to visualize the past like a picture is certainly useful."
[I'm glad you liked it. With a little more practice, it will become possible for you to see the future like your older brother.]
"That man is too lazy to act even when he sees it."
[I know. Aish, tsk tsk. If I'd known he was that kind of guy, I wouldn't have taught him.]
"Then what about me? Instead of just teaching me the basics, do you have any intention of formally taking me as a disciple?"
[No matter how many times you ask, my answer is the same. I already have one disciple for this generation. I barely have enough interest to spare for him, so I can't afford to give any to you.]
"I was just asking."
A moment of silence flowed from beyond the crystal orb.
The ferret climbed the armrest of the armchair and went up to the old man's shoulder.
The white fur curled up fluffily on the old man's black collar.
The Great Sage tickled the fur with his finger and said.
[Speaking of disciples, how was mine? Was it good to meet him?]
Charlotte's hand stopped over the crystal orb.
The Great Sage's disciple, Yulian Schnabel.
He was someone the Great Sage had suddenly told her to meet.
For this, her brother was assigned to Baron Nihilrit's case, and she had to swallow her pride to ask that lazybones.
— "You, a debutante at sixteen? No way, to think my cute little sister would finally want a man..."
Although there was a minor happening in the process where she kindly planted her fist in her only blood relative's solar plexus.
"..."
Charlotte delayed her answer to the Great Sage's question and looked at the dressing table by her bedside.
As she looked at the silver coin on the dressing table, the day's events replayed in her mind.
Until just before arriving at House Belheim, she hadn't expected much.
Even the Great Sage found meeting her awkward; his disciple didn't seem like he would be any different.
But Yulian was different.
Far from being intimidated by that first greeting that seemed to see right through the past, he had looked at the solution book with a delighted face.
Furthermore, he created a problem for her based on the incident, tossing her clues one by one.
He was the first person in her sixteen years of life to already know the answer but deliberately wait, wanting to see the other person solve it.
And it was also the first time a gaze acknowledging her ability was so pure.
"..."
Charlotte's lips twitched.
Soon, she stated her impression of Yulian to the Great Sage.
"He seems to be the only person my age who can pose a problem for me."
[You know that's not my question. I'm asking if you like him.]
Charlotte pressed her lips together tightly and picked up the silver coin.
Soon, she replied in a mumbling voice.
"If it's someone like him, I don't think I'd be bored even if he were by my side forever."
In the study beyond the crystal orb, a long silence flowed.
The ferret flicked its tail once on the old man's shoulder.
Steam rose thinly from the teacup.
At last, the Great Sage clicked his tongue.
[Tsk. It's so on the nose it's a cliche.]
"?"
[It's nothing. I just know that you've been thoroughly captivated.]
At those words, she said, the tips of her ears turning red.
"I-It's not that! It's just curiosity, no, inquisitiveness..."
[Yes, yes. It's a fine time of life.]
The old man cut her off, waving his hand.
[Good. Then I'll build a bridge to the Baronial Family under the name 'Marquis Hausen Family'. I'll even arrange fake parents if necessary. However, that child has his own circumstances, so for the time being, meet him as Charlotte.]
"Until when?"
[That's for you to judge. When he reaches a level where it's fine for an Imperial Princess to be by his side, won't you naturally reveal yourself then?]
"...Thank you, Lord Louis."
[This is as much as I can do as a guardian. My role is to hold the umbrella, not to get involved in what happens underneath it. The rest is up to you.]
The old man scratched behind the ferret's ear.
The ferret narrowed its eyes and stretched its neck.
That was the last image of the old man Charlotte saw.
The light of the crystal orb went out, and it returned to being a cold glass sphere.
Charlotte wrapped the crystal orb in cloth again and pushed it deep inside the drawer.
And just as she was about to turn toward the bed to sleep,
the silver coin on the dressing table caught her eye.
"..."
The girl hesitated for a moment, looked around,
"I'll wake up on my own tomorrow morning. Please don't come into my room."
Leaving those words for those outside the door, she picked up the silver coin from the dressing table.
Then, clutching the silver coin tightly in her hand, she got into bed and turned off the light.
