CHAPTER 071
"Yes?"
"A Holy Power test."
"A Holy Power test? It will probably be the same as last time."
Charlotte responded as if there was no point in confirming it again.
"Until now, no one has ever shown the possibility of having Holy Power."
"But last time, didn't you feel the water from the Holy Temple differently?"
The water that purifies body and mind!
However, Charlotte still tilted her head.
"I think my taste buds were just off at that time..."
"There's nothing wrong with your taste buds, my lady."
This time, I was sure there would be a different result!
"Then I'll try it again. It's not difficult anyway."
As soon as Charlotte agreed, we entered the prayer room.
Though not devoutly religious, since we were there, we decided to pray. I was silently waiting for it to end quickly.
After some time, a familiar bell rang.
It signaled the end of prayer time.
As we walked out, we saw people gathering where the priests were. It was time to check for the possibility of Holy Power.
"I'm not doing it. It's pointless anyway."
Bella yawned and waved her hand. I wasn't going to do it either because it would be pointless.
Charlotte was the only one among us who needed to do it.
Would there be a change this time? I watched Charlotte with anticipation.
But it was strange.
"No significant change."
The priest, who dropped the holy water on Charlotte's wrist, said this.
The color of the holy water didn’t change. There was truly no reaction.
Is this test a scam...?
"See? Nothing happened."
Charlotte smiled, still showing her wrist.
"Then what about that sweet taste?"
"It probably wasn’t anything. Maybe I just misperceived the taste."
How did the original Charlotte manifest Holy Power? It couldn’t have been a mere mistake in taste perception.
Ah! Could it be that?
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
Could it just be a matter of timing?
In the original story, Charlotte's Holy Power appeared suddenly one day, just when she believed she couldn't possibly have it.
Charlotte sealed Lewis's Holy Power in the latter part of the original story.
We hadn’t reached that point in time yet.
So, the reason Charlotte couldn’t feel her Holy Power might be because it wasn’t time for it yet.
It was a simple thing to consider.
Still, there were changes happening, right? She did taste the water from the temple differently after all.
For now, we decided to wait a little longer.
Until Charlotte could feel the changes herself.
* * *
We were on our way home after visiting the temple, together with Bella and Charlotte.
Bella suggested stopping by a busy street, saying it was too soon to part ways.
"The steak at that restaurant is quite good."
Bella pointed to a restaurant along the street as we strolled.
Charlotte looked at the place and agreed.
"I’ve been there before too."
"Lady Yaniels has been there too?"
"Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince treated me to a meal last time."
As expected, Charlotte was still seeing Philip.
She probably didn't know yet that Philip liked her.
Considering he requested a private meeting, anyone with a bit of intuition would have noticed. But she was still unaware, which was fitting for a protagonist.
What would happen between them?
Previously, I would have watched from the sidelines as an onlooker. But seeing Philip's other side made it complicated.
Telling Charlotte not to meet Philip would be... difficult.
Philip still treated her well.
Harsh to others but extremely kind to the one he loves. That was Philip's character!
While pondering this with mixed feelings, I heard the sound of a carriage stopping behind us. I thought it was Philip, but it wasn’t.
"Isn’t that Lady Yaniels?"
It was Cliff, the Duke’s son, whom I’d seen at a birthday party before.
I thought it was Philip again.
Philip kept showing up suddenly when I was with Charlotte.
Cliff was Philip's cousin, but they didn’t resemble each other at all. The only similarity was their black hair.
As he greeted Charlotte, he looked at me.
"Are you the Countess Elsner?"
"Hello, young Duke."
"Miss Croft is here too."
He flinched when greeting Bella. Was he afraid of her?
Anyway, it seemed Cliff's purpose was to see Charlotte.
"Lady Yaniels is someone I consider very special."
He must have stopped the carriage to talk to her. Otherwise, he would have just passed by.
But I noticed something interesting.
"You look beautiful today, Lady Yaniels."
"Oh my... You look wonderful too, young Duke."
"Haha, I hear that often."
His boldness in acknowledging a compliment without hesitation was striking! But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
"Do you come here often? I rarely have the chance to meet you, Lady Yaniels."
Words directed only at Charlotte. A slightly reddened face. And even that enthusiastic tone!
Could it be that he was interested in Charlotte?
Was Philip not the only one who liked Charlotte in the original story?
Right. It was a reasonable thought.
It seemed that Philip’s rival wasn’t only Lewis in the original.
What were the chances that cousins would have the same taste!
I quietly observed the young Duke Cliff.
But surprisingly, he spoke to me too.
"Did you really catch that swindler?"
Here we go again!
I’d talked about it so much that now it just came out smoothly.
"Yes, it just happened."
"I’m relieved that scoundrel was caught."
He sounded genuinely angry, not just making small talk. Like he’d been swindled himself.
No way, was he conned by Alain?
As soon as I thought of it, I remembered why Alain became a wanted man.
For swindling a high-ranking noble.
Looking at young Duke Cliff, I had a suspicion.
"That scoundrel swindled me."
It really was him?
From his angry voice, I was sure.
"How dare a commoner trick a future Duke!"
He was furious, and rightfully so.
"Oh my, was it you, young Duke?"
"He completely fooled me."
"Oh dear, how did that happen..."
Charlotte expressed her concern.
Encouraged by her worry, the young Duke Cliff continued.
"So I told His Highness the Crown Prince. To catch that scoundrel!"
So that’s why Philip caught Alain in the original story!
I thought it was just a random act of the male lead capturing an imperial criminal, but it was related to his cousin’s issue.
It felt like a bit of an illusion was being shattered...
No, the illusion had already shattered last time, hadn't it?
Philip wasn’t just an inherently righteous person.
I needed to lower my expectations set by the original story.
But why hadn’t Philip caught Alain this time? That was a mystery.
* * *
The next day, I went to the Magic Tower to see Lewis.
"You really came? You said you’d come again."
"Since I have the magic stone, I should visit often."
After a brief, casual conversation with Lewis, I brought up what young Duke Cliff had said yesterday.
"Guess what, the high-ranking noble who was swindled by Alain was Cliff!"
"I thought it was some fool."
Lewis smirked cynically.
"By the way, have you found out who was behind hiring Alain?"
"No, not yet."
Lewis frowned, looking slightly frustrated.
"It’s strange that I can’t detect anything. How can I not find them?"
"Yeah, it’s not like they have stronger magical power than you."
What on earth was going on?
Seeing Lewis’s nerves on edge, I gave him some advice.
"Don’t stress too much over it. Taking it easy might actually help."
Lewis nodded.
He might just be saying that, but for now, it was a relief.
At least he seemed willing to listen to me.
* * *
Several days passed.
Thankfully, Lewis wasn’t just saying he would stress less about the magic stone.
When I met Lewis, he didn’t seem as on edge when we talked about the magic stone.
'It’s not urgent, right? I can take my time finding it.'
When I asked him about the magic stone out of curiosity, he maintained a relaxed attitude.
As the more leisurely days passed, an invitation to the masked ball from the Marquis of Mott arrived at the Duke’s residence.
"This sounds fun."
Bella immediately expressed her intention to attend when she saw the invitation.
Would Lewis go too?
Probably. He usually attended when I did.
But when I asked Lewis in the evening, his answer surprised me.
"Not sure yet."
"Oh? Can’t you go?"
"It might be difficult this time. I have something important."
Lewis didn’t look like he was joking.
"A ball is just for entertainment, right?"
"True. If you're busy, you can skip it."
If he didn’t feel like going, he didn’t have to, and missing it for other reasons wasn’t a big deal.
"I thought it would be fun to go with the twins..."
But it felt a bit disappointing. No, very disappointing.
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