About one month after the showdown, Allen and Charlotte were visiting a hamlet in the southwest region of the Kingdom of Neils—far away from the royal capital and other big cities. Small houses dotted the gentle slopes of the mountain valley; here and there, there were sheep grazing on the meadows. Pillars of smoke rose among the mountains from charcoal making, bright streaks of white against the clear blue sky. Though it was winter, the weather was mild and too warm for snow. Just putting on a coat was enough to be comfortable walking in the gentle breeze. It was a peaceful sort of place—so much so it might make you yawn.
And this was also Charlotte’s birthplace.
“Ooh...!” Charlotte stood beside Allen at the foot of the mountain and gazed up at the village in front of her. With a radiant smile, she said to him, “I-It’s wonderful! It hasn’t changed at all since I lived here with my mother!”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” Allen smiled back at her, holding their luggage. He was happy that Charlotte was excited to revisit the village. Though it was out of character, he felt a sense of relief to see the idyllic place.
Looking up at a few birds crossing the sky to and fro, Charlotte let out a sigh. “I never dreamed...I could come back here again.”
“Oh, I can bring you here anytime. Just let me know when you feel the call.”
“Okay!” she smiled broadly.
It wasn’t just the two of them who were glad to be here. Roo was happily wagging her tail too. “So this is your hometown, Mommy? Looks like mine! Ooh, can I go run around a bit?”
“You can...but don’t go too far, all right?” Allen replied.
“Not to worry, I shall accompany Young Roo,” Gosetsu said, stepping forward. “Since you have to fulfill an important duty, we shan’t get in your way. Go forth and conquer, Sir Allen.”
Allen’s eyebrow twitched. “I don’t need you to tell me that. Remember, don’t do anything to stand out too much.”
“Understood. Young Roo, do go easy on this doddering old beast, will you?”
“Oh, puh-lease! You left me in the dust when we ran in that snow race! I’ll beat you this time!” The two bantered in high spirits as they bounded up the mountain.
“Well then—” Allen was about to start on their way when a voice called to them.
“Well I’ll be. Have we got visitors?”
Charlotte flinched, and Allen slowly turned around. It was an old man. He was holding a chair and a newspaper, apparently looking for a nice spot to sit in the sun. With a big, friendly smile, he approached.
“Welcome—you must’ve come a long way to get to the sticks like this. Are you on a long journey?”
“No, we’re just visiting the graveyard. See?” Allen shrugged, holding up the bucket full of flowers to show him. He and Charlotte had picked them on their way to the hamlet.
“Well, that’s even more unusual. Who in the world did you come here to see—hm...?” The old man broke off and stared at Charlotte—who was hiding behind Allen—then let out a gasp. “Is that you, little Charlotte?! The little girl who used to live here with her mother?!”
“Oh! Are you the grandpa who lived behind—um, n-no! I’m not Charlotte!” Though her face brightened up for a moment, she tried to cover it up. She glanced at Allen as if to ask for help, but he merely looked on. He could see there was no harm done.
The old man grasped her hands and cried out, “We always knew you were innocent!”
Charlotte blinked. “What...?”
“When you were taken away so soon after Maria’s death, we were all worried sick, you know...but we never imagined we’d see your name in the papers, as a ‘wicked woman’ who was a menace to the kingdom,” the old man rattled off excitedly.
“Oh...I-I’m sorry for making trouble.”
“No need for you to apologize, my dear Charlotte!” he said firmly, opening up the newspaper he was holding. “It’s the prince and your stepmother who are the villains! They’re rotten to the core, that’s what they are!”
The scandal that had caused quite a stir throughout Neils Kingdom was splashed across the newspaper: how the innocent noble lady Charlotte had been framed. It recounted the whole story about how Cecil, the second prince and her former fiancé, had fallen in forbidden love with Cordelia, the wife of Duke Evans, and how they had plotted together to dispose of an obstacle to their love: Charlotte. On top of their evil scheme, the prince’s conduct—squandering the kingdom’s tax money, buying out soldiers for his personal gain, trading illegal goods on the black market, and so on—were coming to light one after another. The journalists were quite severely condemning the royal family. The whole affair was snowballing into a great upheaval that was shaking the nation.
“Those scumbags up at the capital must be blind, calling you a wicked woman like that!” the old man went on exuberantly. “Some soldiers came looking for you a few times, but we didn’t like any of them!”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Really?! They came all the way here too...?”
“Oh yes! We chased them away with our hoes!” He roared with laughter, his chest swelling with pride. He smiled wistfully and squeezed Charlotte’s hands again. “We remember how you used to help your mother all the time. And when I had a bad back, you came to ask me how I was... Everyone in this village always knew you’re a good girl at heart, no matter what they say.”
“I...” Charlotte’s voice quivered. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and turned to smile gently at Allen. “I didn’t know...there were people in this country on my side too, all along.”
“Now we know.” Allen nodded firmly in response. He had also assumed that Charlotte’s enemies had stripped her dignity and everything away from her, forcing her to flee the country. But there were people like this old man who had never lost faith in her innocence. The neighbor’s words moved him deeply.
The old man seemed to remember Allen’s presence now and turned to squint at him. “Hm? And are you the wizard they’re writing about in the papers? The one from the Notre Empire who’s madly in love with Charlotte and valiantly caught the foolish prince?”
“Well, that sounds about right.”
“M-Madly in love...” Charlotte’s face went bright red. Since it was the truth, Allen readily concurred.
About a month had passed since that day—the day of the hullabaloo with Prince Cecil and Cordelia. Since then, Charlotte’s situation had changed dramatically. The newspapers flipped their rhetoric completely and reported on the tragic story of the noble lady, exposing the prince’s crimes.
It turned out that Dorothea’s tell-all was really effective. It was widely distributed across the world, and everyone who read it turned a suspicious eye on Neils Kingdom. At first the royal family feigned ignorance, but mountains of evidence spread like wildfire in all kinds of media, and now, they found themselves in the midst of a scandalous firestorm.
Allen and Charlotte, on the other hand, were living in perfect peace. He had been prepared to drive away journalists if they came to interview her, but strangely enough, no such journalist had come to date. When Allen asked Dorothea about this, she gave him a thumbs-up and said, “Our legal department’s takin’ care of all that! Don’t worry about a thing, Master Allen! What you can do is flirt away with Miss Charlotte to help me with my sequel!”
“Hunh... So the Elders Alliance even has a legal department.”
According to Dorothea, her new book was flying off the shelves, so the Alliance was happy to protect the privacy of the featured couple.
As for Prince Cecil and Cordelia, they had already been handed over to Neils Kingdom. They were likely with the royal family now, but no doubt they must’ve felt like lying on a bed of nails. If the prince were to get off easy, he might lose the right to inherit the throne. In the worst case, he might be exiled from the kingdom.
Well, they’re a couple in love, after all—they should be able to get through any hardships together. If they dared to devise yet another plot to take revenge, all Allen had to do was knock them down again. He strengthened his resolve to do just that.
“Anyhow, you better make Charlotte happy, young man!” the old neighbor said, pointing at Allen. “If you make her cry, no one in this village will let you get away with it!”
“Oh!” Charlotte was flustered by the neighbor’s sudden challenge. But Allen took it head-on and grinned triumphantly.
“Don’t worry. I came here to pay my respects and swear to Charlotte’s mother that I’ll make her happy.”
“Hrm...is that so.” The old man’s face creased into a smile, and he pointed down the path. “If that’s what you’re here for, go on, don’t let me keep you. Say hello to Maria for me, Charlotte.”
“Yes, thank you very much. Let’s go, Allen!” said Charlotte.
“All right. Well, if you’ll excuse us,” Allen said to the neighbor.
“Take your time. If you can, come by the village later. We’ll give you a proper welcome.”
The couple parted from the old man, who waved at them with a smile, and went on down the path. After the turn around a giant tree, they came to their destination: a cozy graveyard. Though there weren’t many grave posts, each one of them was well cared for. Allen and Charlotte were the only ones there.