“All right then. Now that our cat-hunt is over, I think we should return to the Cain case.”
Lottie had finally recovered from her shock at having encountered not one, but two talking cats. The detective and her assistant had encountered a few distractions throughout the day, but now the task at hand was solving the Cain issue. She called for her assistant and began walking down one of the little village’s streets.
“I suppose they must be in the flower field by now, huh?” said Alphonse.
It was already late in the day, and the skies were tinged with orange.
“Yes, I think it is quite probable, Alphonse’s loins. You’ve visited the flower field already, haven’t you?”
Lottie decided to hold her tongue and refrain from mentioning that he had abandoned his guard duties yesterday.
The plan had been to visit the flower field with Cecily, but Cain’s unexpected return had derailed that. Judging by how Cecily was acting, Lottie expected that she would probably refuse an invitation to go, saying something like “I can’t leave Cain’s side.”
Did a love potion cause your heart to become more closed off to others, perhaps? Lottie imagined that if Cecily announced that she and Cain were going on a trip together, for example, Cecily probably wouldn’t allow Lottie to come along.
When Cecily had looked at Cain earlier, Lottie had noticed a trace of remorse in her expression. Lottie didn’t mind that her friend felt bad for declining her earlier invitation, but she wouldn’t stand by and do nothing while that same friend’s very will was being distorted in this way.
Not only that...Cecily looked far happier when she was with Zeke.
Lottie had never been in love, but when she saw Cecily talking to Zeke or simply being by Zeke’s side, she looked to Lottie like the most beautiful and adorable person in the world.
“Yeah, it was a nice place,” Alphonse replied. “There’re all sorts of different flowers growing there.”
“Oh, is that right?” Lottie said curtly, naturally unbothered that she hadn’t been able to go herself. She changed the subject. “Alphonse’s loins,” she said, “here we are in a village full of women, yet you don’t seem as excited as I thought you’d be. Normally, you’d flit about and play around with any woman you could, and end up with a surplus of long-distance girlfriends.”
This was Alphonse they were talking about, after all—he was easy on the eyes, had a suave personality, and flirtatious lines poured easily from his lips. Of course Lottie was happy that no one had fallen victim to him here, but the rare sight of him being so reserved made her feel uncomfortable.
“It sounds so bad when you put it like that,” Alphonse grumbled in reply. For some reason, Lottie’s comment appeared to have gotten to him. “The reason is that I’m your personal guard right now.”
“Or so you say. Don’t you remember how often you shirked your duties back in the Snowflower Palace?”
“I never shirk my guard duty! Not at all.”
“Huh? You don’t?”
Lottie thought hard on her time back in the palace and began to realize that perhaps what Alphonse was saying was right. Zeke had said before that Alphonse often abandoned the Celestial Knight Brigade’s training sessions, but he’d also mentioned that Alphonse had never once failed to attend to his duties as Lottie’s guard.
Most likely, this was because Alphonse knew that if the king got wind of what he was up to, he would be in big trouble. No, hold on—refusing to attend training was already an inexcusable act for a knight in charge of protecting his nation...
Oh, whatever, Lottie thought, choosing to give up on the thought. Right now, the Cecily and Cain issue was more important than Alphonse.
“Hold on a sec...”
Alphonse came to a sudden stop. Following the line of his gaze, Lottie’s own eyes began to glitter when she saw Cain walking by himself by the side of the road.
“That’s Cain’s loins over there. Let’s tail him.”
Lottie was a bit puzzled as to where Cecily was, but this was the perfect chance to pursue this lead.
“My lady, hold it! He’ll notice you in an instant if you get that close,” Alphonse said. He looked over at Cain, and thanks to his skills as vice-captain of the Celestial Knight Brigade, even from afar, he got a good read on Cain. He noticed that the other man’s stride was tinged with undisguised rage. Cain was usually as on guard as a cat, but right now, with his mind elsewhere, it seemed he might not notice being tracked by the little detective. “Actually, forget it. It looks safe. Let’s keep on like this.”
“Right,” Lottie said, with a serious nod. The pair moved from pillar to wall to tree, hiding behind each object as they followed Cain.
“It looks like he’s heading towards Granny Marjorika’s house,” Lottie commented.
Perhaps it would have been more fitting to call Marjorika’s house a manor, for it was a stunning building. Lottie and the others had stayed there last night, and Marjorika had greeted them all with a smile, happy to meet so many of Cecily’s friends.
Cain entered the building without even turning around. After waiting until the door shut, Alphonse turned to Lottie, hand cupping his chin in thought.
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
“We sneak inside too, naturally. Nothing is impossible for Detective Lottie!”
“Impossible” wasn’t really a relevant descriptor here, however—the doors in Marjorika’s home were all unlocked, so it would be an easy task.
“My lady, may I make an observation?”
“What?”
“You’re bright red. Are you perhaps embarrassed to be using the cutesy nickname of ‘Lottie,’ as someone of your station?”
Lottie—or the fourteen-year-old Princess Charlotte—was struck dumb by Alphonse’s comment. It had hit the mark.
“O-Of course not! Enough of this—let’s focus on our task.”
Having reprimanded Alphonse, she swiftly pulled the front door ajar. Peeping through the crack, she caught sight of Cain heading into the building’s reception room. Crawling on all fours, she crept inside and up to the inner door, and placed her ear upon it.
“I read this in a book,” she said to Alphonse, who was crouching nearby. “Apparently, you can hear into another room by placing your ear on a door or wall.”
“Talk about handy.”
“Sorry for asking you to meet so suddenly,” said a voice from inside. It was Cain. His voice was loud enough that Alphonse, whose ear wasn’t placed upon the door or wall, could hear it perfectly well.
“My lady?” said Alphonse.
“Say nothing,” Lottie replied.
Lottie drew away from the door.
“Doing this is kinda exciting, huh?” Alphonse piped up again.
“Take this seriously!” Lottie said, before pausing. “Though I must agree with you.”
Eavesdropping, as it were, brought with it a guilty rush.
“Dear me, all you youngsters coming to me today,” came the other voice. It was Greta.
“Auntie, I need to ask you something.”
“Say that word again, and I shall smack you.”
“...Madam Greta. Beautiful, youthful, Madam Greta, whose powers are unmatched in this village...I have a question.”
“Fire away.”
“Thank you. I, um... I made the love potion to the letter. I used the right selection of medicinal herbs, the fresh blood of an amorous toad, the tail of a pink lizard, lake water that had been blessed by the full moon’s glow, one thousand of my hairs—from tip to root, naturally—my own fresh blood... I concocted it exactly as I should, and included all the correct ingredients. So why’s Cecily so focused on him instead of me?”
Charlotte was listening seriously, but a wave of cold sweat passed over her. This was the first time she’d heard what a love potion required, and it sounded absolutely disgusting. Even a lifetime of romance would be soured after learning the contents of what you’d just drunk.
“So tell me,” Cain went on, “where did I go wrong?”
“You didn’t. When I saw the love potion in the assembly hall, I was impressed with how wonderfully it came out. You were confident in your creation too, weren’t you?”
“Then why?! Why isn’t Cecily in love with me?!”
Charlotte shuddered in fear as Cain raised his voice in anger. Alphonse, who was sitting cross-legged nearby, glanced over at Charlotte—as if to tell her she had nothing to fear. His confident gaze calmed Charlotte’s racing heart a little.
“I’m sorry for shouting,” Charlotte heard Cain say, from the other side of the door. “Au—Madam Greta, you made a love potion for Sewell, didn’t you? Was the way he reacted different to Cecily?”
“I’m not sure if my darling’s case is a decent comparison, I’m afraid. My darling was in love with me before I even gave him the love potion. Tee hee.”