“She told me the story when we met,” Allen cut in. “If I remember right, she found an opportunity when the guards weren’t looking...?” He paused and cocked his head, doubt arising at his own words. When he’d taken her in in her dire state, she had told him that she’d sneaked out when the guards weren’t looking. Allen could see that she was telling the truth, so he’d believed in her completely—but on second thought, this was an odd story. “It was a prison in the royal castle, right...? How would there even be such an opportunity?”
Charlotte had been branded a villain plotting to overthrow the state. There must have been quite a large number of soldiers guarding the cell of such a criminal. It was highly unlikely that Charlotte—who had no one on her side and couldn’t even cast a single magic spell back then—could find a way to flee.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been wondering about too.” Eluka joined in, eager to hear more. “I’ve been researching your past, Charlotte. But I just can’t figure out how you slipped out of that castle. The security must’ve been pretty tight.”
All eyes were on Charlotte.
“U-Um, I just sneaked out when I could, that’s all...” Charlotte said as if it was nothing special. “At some point, I noticed that the lock to my cell was open, and all the guards were having a nap...so I slipped away. I was very, very lucky.”
“That definitely sounds like more than luck?!” Allen pointed out.
Charlotte recounted how she went on her escape, choosing the paths that seemed safe to her by instinct, but somehow she never came across anyone in the castle. When she safely made it off the grounds, there happened to be a peddler’s horse-drawn carriage parked nearby, so she secretly climbed onto it, and it carried her across the border.
The whole story sounded like a load of baloney. If anyone else had told it, Allen would’ve said, “You’re full of it!” But this was Charlotte. Of course, there was no lie in her words. Everyone could sense that she was telling the truth, so they only exchanged solemn looks.
“With a story like that, the mystery only gets deeper,” Eluka remarked. “No way things line up like that just by coincidence.”
“I heard later that all the soldiers who’d been on watch at that time reported blacking out all of a sudden.”
“It must be hard work being a prison guard... Everyone was sleeping so peacefully,” Charlotte said.
“Pretty sure they weren’t just sleeping from fatigue, Charlotte,” Eluka said.
“There was lots of gossip around then that maybe you used some strange magic...but it seems like you don’t remember anything like that,” Natalia said.
Natalia and Eluka frowned thoughtfully. Dorothea, who had been munching on the salad all by herself throughout the conversation, stroked her chin and let out a murmur. “Hmm, I see. P’haps Miss Charlotte has some hidden powers no one knows about.”
“I’m not so sure...” Charlotte seemed unconvinced, tilting her head to one side.
As Allen watched her, a thought struck him. Could it be...Charlotte is a reincarnation of Lydilia the Saint? Reincarnation wasn’t such an uncommon phenomenon. Allen himself knew a handful of people who had memories of their past lives. And in certain cases, the special powers that they’d possessed in their previous life could awaken in their present life. Judging from everything Charlotte showed herself to be capable of so far, it seemed like a feasible theory. Eluka and Natalia seemed to think the same, and they became lost in thought.
Silence stretched out in the living room, only interrupted by the sound of Dorothea chomping on the salad.
“Ugh! I’m getting bored! Forget about this complicated story, I wanna celebrate Mommy’s birthday instead!” Roo cried out, pushing her snout on Charlotte.
Allen let out a laugh. “Roo’s right. The big day is tomorrow...but we better have a proper celebration tonight too, to make up for all the previous years.”
“I know right? I asked Mother about ‘birthdays.’ She told me it’s an important day too.”
“Does your mother know a lot about human beings?” Charlotte asked Roo.
“Yup. She said she had a human friend a long time ago.” Roo huffed out of her nose in pride. Allen and Charlotte smiled at her childlike gesture. But the peaceful atmosphere froze over at Roo’s cheerful announcement. “And then, she said the male mate gives the bestest present for his female mate’s birthday! What did you get from Allen, Mommy? Something yummy?”
“U-Umm...” Charlotte faltered and glanced at Allen. When his eyes met hers, he went stiff as ice.
Ack... What am I doing?! I still haven’t decided on a present!!! Forget about saints and reincarnation—that was a trivial issue compared to this. Cold sweat gushed all over his body.
Natalia leaned over and whispered, “We gave you the place of honor, Dark Overlord—your gift is going to be the grand finale. You better make her happy with a proper gift worthy of a boyfriend. Or else.”
“Ack...!” Natalia’s words pierced the pit of his stomach—he could tell that, despite all her attacks, she did really trust him deep down.
All eyes turned to Allen expectantly. Only Dorothea, who knew his intended gift, threw him uneasy glances as if to say, “Uh, you don’t mean to show them that mini-Charlotte homunculus, do you? Or have you got another idea?”
Arrgh...! Think! What’s the most valuable thing I can offer right now...?! Other than the homunculus...! Allen’s brain whirred into action at the highest speed in his life. He’d given Charlotte a lot of things already: sweets, cake, clothes, a magic wand... Something like that wouldn’t feel special enough for this occasion. Out of the cards in his hand, that left only one option.
Allen rose from his chair and walked over to Charlotte. She looked up at him, slightly restless. He took her hand and gently placed an object on her palm.
“Charlotte...this is for you.”
“Is this...the key to the mansion?”
“Yes.” Allen closed her fingers over the key and went on with a serious expression, “This mansion is the most valuable asset I own at the moment. If you include all the enchanted objects and stock of materials, it’ll probably come up to around 10,000 gold coins, at least. I’ll give it all to you, so do whatever you like with it.”