“Oh, Cain... I love you!”
Cain’s lips curled up in a triumphant smile.
“...I don’t believe it,” Charlotte whispered. Though she had been drunk on the atmosphere of the party, she’d immediately come to her senses. She and Alphonse exchanged glances. “Th-This is a disaster.”
Or perhaps, this was a mere warning of a greater disaster that was to come. It was natural for Charlotte to be so shaken up—Cecily, who had loved Zeke from the bottom of her heart, was now cozying up to some other man.
It was Zeke who managed to recover and make the first move. He grabbed Cain’s shirt as he glared fiercely at him.
“What did you do to Cecily?!”
“What did I do? I gave her a beverage. A little drink called...a love potion.”
“You—!” Zeke was speechless.
However, Cain continued with no trace of guilt whatsoever.
“I told a little white lie earlier. I wasn’t actually going to rest—I was actually borrowing the Rampses’ household workshop. It was my first time whipping up a love potion, but I gotta say, it seems to have gone pretty well. Well, I am a genius, after all.”
Cain’s eyes glittered with derision as he scowled back at Zeke.
“Look at you go, Cain! Stealing a woman from right under her man’s nose!” Greta called out, riling them up—all while cutting up her steak.
Zeke’s breath caught in his throat as he stepped away from Cain. So Greta had known what kind of potion Cain had been holding from the start.
“Why didn’t you stop him?” he said, unable to keep an accusatory tone out of his voice. However, Greta and the other witches merely snickered.
“Zeke, stealing someone’s lover is fair game in witch society. Cecily’s the one at fault here for not realizing what she was being given.”
“She really needs to whip herself back into shape,” another woman said.
The witches spoke among themselves as if this were nothing. However, Charlotte couldn’t help but quiver.
“Th-This is normal in witch society?”
It seemed that common sense differed between witches and other people. Charlotte couldn’t believe that stealing someone’s loved one could be normal.
“...Stay there, Your Royal Highness,” Alphonse said. He must have been equally shocked, for he had forgotten to use Charlotte’s pseudonym.
As the party’s excitement reached its peak—for a different reason than it should’ve—heavy footsteps announced the arrival of the raccoon-dog-like Sewell.
“Cecily, daddy’s here! I’ve finished cooking, so I’ve come to enjoy the party.”
“Hello, Sewell.”
“Oh, Cain! Did you manage to rest up?”
Cain grinned back at Sewell.
“Yes, I did, thanks. I have a question. I wish to marry Cecily—is that all right with you?”
“You knave!”
Zeke had stepped forward towards Cain once again, speaking up before Sewell could answer. A white blade was pointed right at the defenseless Cain’s throat. A few people screamed.
This wasn’t the usual sword that hung at his waist. He had put that away before coming to the village. This was a dagger for self-defense that he kept by his breast at all times.
His hazel eyes blazed with fury. Cain glared back with a disgruntled expression. Despite the blade pointed right at him, he showed no trace of discomposure on his face.
“Mr. Knight, that’s dangerous. Don’t pull out a weapon at a party!”
“Quiet. I’ll cut that tongue right from your mouth.”
“Is it the done thing to point a weapon at an unarmed civilian?”
“Cool it, Zeke,” Alphonse said, trying to appease Zeke—it was just as Cain had said. However, Zeke, in his unbridled anger, paid him no heed.
“Not only that,” Cain went on, “Cecily and I actually already promised to get married.”
“What was that?”
“Ten years ago, we made a promise. That we would get married when we next met.”
“Who’d believe this hogwash after what you just pulled?”
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not, Mr. Knight—it’s the truth.”
Even when pushed right to the edge, Zeke couldn’t stop Cain’s mocking attitude.
As everyone watched with sweaty palms and bated breath, a small voice called out. One so delicate it almost vanished before it had begun.
“P-Please stop that, Sir Zeke!”
“Cecily?”
It was Cecily. With quivering steps, she stood in front of Cain and spread her arms out wide to protect him. Zeke could see fear in her red eyes, but still, she firmly stood up to him. She mustered up her courage and finally spoke.
“Please don’t hurt Cain. He... He’s important to me!”
Zeke was dumbfounded. Cain smirked in response.
“Thanks, Cecily. You protected me.”
“D-Don’t put yourself in such dangerous situations!”
“I know, but I didn’t realize how much of a barbarian this knight here was!”
Returning his dagger to its sheath, Zeke looked on in bewilderment at the pair talking amicably.
Zeke’s body swayed suddenly. It seemed almost as if he were about to fall, but he steadied himself with his next step before turning to leave the assembly hall.
In the next moment, the silent assembly hall erupted with noise.
“Oh, poor Zekey. Maybe I should go take care of him.”
“You cruel woman—going after a man with an injured heart!”
Many in the crowd were sympathetic towards Zeke, but none followed him. They were still reeling from the murderous stare he had given Cain. Even the bravest witches among them were scared that if they approached him so soon after this incident, he wouldn’t hesitate to cut them down.
As for Sewell, he had collapsed in a corner. He had fainted after the second man in two days had asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. However, no one paid him any heed.
Charlotte, after having witnessed the whole affair, made a commanding proclamation.
“This looks like a job for Detective Lottie!”
“Uh, and who is Detective Lottie?”
Charlotte was currently obsessed with a new romance book. The title was The Lady Detective Hunted by a Phantom Thief: Secret Nights Hidden from Sight and from the Guard. Naturally, the author was none other than Cyril, AKA Cee Rill, whom Charlotte admired.
Alphonse shook his head in disbelief, but Charlotte paid him no mind.
“Listen up, Alphonse’s loins. I loved seeing Cecily being so happy with the captain’s loins, so I can’t just let this matter slide. Stealing someone who is in love with someone else is not right!”
Charlotte adored the love triangles in her novels, but knew that forcibly stealing someone away was unfair.
“Right, I understand. So, what’s the plan?” Alphonse glanced over at Cain and Cecily, who were talking as if nothing had happened. “That Cain guy... He slipped Cecy a love potion. But there isn’t an antidote, right? Wouldn’t the best move be to wait a few days until it wears off?”
Greta had told them all before that love potions didn’t last forever—only a few days at best. Maybe that was one reason everyone in the room was relatively calm. They knew that Cain would only have Cecily’s heart temporarily.
“Not only that,” Alphonse added, “they promised to get married, right? I mean, that might’ve only been a bluff by Cain, but if it’s true, then I don’t think this is something we can butt into.”
“I don’t think they did agree to that.” The new detective spoke with confidence. “Cain’s loins was acting a bit strangely when he brought up the promise. I’ll look into that, so follow me, loins!”
“What? I have to join you?”
“Naturally! You’re my guard, aren’t you?”
Charlotte gave a contented grin. Maybe she was only faking confidence, but to Alphonse, the princess who was leaping into action to save her friend looked awfully reliable.
“Right—what’s our first stop?”
“We first,” Charlotte said, with a firm stare, “need to get my detective’s outfit! A magnifying glass is an absolute necessity!”
Charlotte was the type of person to do things in the way she thought was proper.