WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint ◈
Chapter 54: Entering High Society (7)
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* * *
After wrapping up our deduction in the kitchen, we were on our way upstairs to reveal the truth.
“Young Lord Nihirit.”
Charlotte, who had been following me, looked up at me from the bottom of the stairs.
“You were horrified when I ate the star anise earlier, weren't you?”
“Of course I was. I'm a healer. When someone eats poison right in front of me...”
I could not finish the sentence.
The girl below the stairs was looking up at me with a triumphant smile.
As I wondered why she suddenly looked so pleased,
‘Ah.’
“...You ate it on purpose?”
“It was the best way to draw out an honest reaction. You already knew it was poison before I arrived, did you not?”
I had been played.
I never would have imagined she would use the trick from A Scandal in Bohemia like this.
That was my mistake.
I should have considered that clumsy lies would not work on this girl.
“...Why did you think so?”
“Because someone at my level would not have arrived an hour before me and learned nothing.”
Hm. That was an overestimation.
I had only deduced it because the exact same incident had happened in my previous life.
To put it another way, she had solved the problem from scratch, while I had solved it after becoming familiar with it through a workbook of past exam questions.
Calling the two equal would be rude to the former, would it not?
Still, I did not dwell on it for long.
“You are correct, Miss Hausen. I expected you to see through it.”
I decided to go along with her misunderstanding.
For a moment, I worried that I had shown my hand too soon, but after thinking it over, I realized it would be fine.
‘I only need to keep up with her this once.’
Once this case was over, I had no intention of competing with her in deduction again.
My goal was to have the same sort of relationship as the one-armed Emperor and the great swordsman from a certain pirate manga.
I would claim the title of having gone toe-to-toe with her in her debut case, then sit back and watch my reputation rise along with hers as she continued to shine.
So I did not need to worry about the consequences this time.
“Excellent. Though our methods differed, you reached the same answer as I did. And you even saw through my lie so splendidly.”
Charlotte smiled smugly at my answer.
“Then may I consider this contest a complete victory for me?”
“Since when was this a contest?”
“Oh my. Did the contest not begin the moment Young Lord Nihirit presented me with a problem?”
“If my actions were interpreted that way, I have nothing to say. Very well. I concede defeat.”
Charlotte passed me and stepped onto a higher stair.
“Winners do not look up at others.”
Hmph.
She looked down at me with a pleased little hum.
With a wry smile, I took a silver coin from the inner pocket of my vest and handed it to her.
It was a small custom among Imperial nobles.
The loser acknowledged defeat and paid a price, buying back the honor taken by the winner.
If the winner accepted the silver coin, it meant they acknowledged the loser's ability.
It was much like exchanging hostages after a war.
Knowing the custom, Charlotte accepted the coin I offered without a word.
“You admit defeat more cleanly than I expected.”
“Defeat is a valuable lesson in itself.”
“That is a fine attitude.”
Charlotte stared at the silver coin in her palm before speaking.
“Did you know? This is the first time I have ever received a silver coin.”
“That is surprising. I would not have thought someone like you had never won before, Miss Hausen.”
“That is not what I mean.”
The girl rolled the coin between her fingers.
“Winning was an everyday occurrence. It was simply that no one ever handed over a silver coin. Sleight of hand, magic, nobles always found one excuse or another not to pay.”
“What a shame. Defeat is not disgraceful.”
“Exactly.”
Charlotte flicked the silver coin into the air and caught it.
Then she slipped it into the inner pocket of her cape with a smile.
“Thank you. I enjoyed myself. I will explain the truth to Father properly. If he handles it, the other nobles will not be able to turn it into factional infighting.”
She had decided to bear the weight of the truth behind this case.
It was what I wanted.
Director Schun might have been able to handle it, but the truth of this case was too heavy for sixteen-year-old Julian, a teenager “taking a break,” to shoulder.
Naturally, it would also be a little much for my father, who was only a baron.
Charlotte must have known that and chosen to spare our family.
“Of course, I have no intention of taking all the credit for Young Lord Nihirit's work. I will make sure the other nobles hear of your contribution as well.”
“I would appreciate it if you told them that I was your equal, if possible.”
“That is the duty of a winner who has accepted a silver coin.”
Charlotte turned and climbed the stairs.
“Come along.”
I followed her upstairs.
On the way to the second-floor room, I watched her golden hair sway from side to side above her nape.
The small ears visible between her short blond hair seemed a little red.
It was probably just my imagination.
* * *
Rattle, rattle.
Late that afternoon, a carriage crossed Sanctum Hill with its back to House Bellheim's estate.
Everything at House Bellheim had been settled, and the carriage was taking its two passengers somewhere else.
Facing the front of the carriage, Charlotte, the golden-haired, golden-eyed girl, silently counted the streetlamps beyond the window.
Across from her sat the inspector, facing the rear of the carriage.
“...”
The man with blond hair swept back, identical to Charlotte's, was leafing through a notebook with eyes so narrow it was impossible to tell whether they were open or closed.
Inspector Hausen sat silently, bouncing the right leg crossed over his left as he looked at the notebook.
By the time House Bellheim's estate had vanished from sight, Inspector Hausen spoke.
“So it was star anise.”
Scratch, scratch. Tap.
He left a careless note with his fountain pen, then closed the notebook.
“Just as I expected. It was star anise.”
“You knew?”
“I had suspected it. The victims did not hold important enough positions in Prince August's faction for someone to target them with a curse.”
“Then do you also know how the star anise ended up here?”
“Eastern star anise is poisonous, while western star anise is used as a spice. In the capital, where trade routes overlap, it would not be unusual for a merchant blinded by profit to mix the two.”
His languid voice flowed between the rattling of the carriage.
Charlotte's half-lidded eyes turned toward the inspector across from her.
Her gaze settled on his fingertips.
There was a spot of ink on the tip of his right index finger, but the inspector did not wipe it away.
Charlotte watched him for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.
“Then why didn't you say anything when you had even suspected it?”
“I'm an inspector, not a magistrate. I should not take work away from a magistrate.”
Charlotte stared intently at the inspector's face, which did not so much as blink.
“You have a nice way of dressing up the fact that you could not be bothered to go to the kitchen, Father.”
At her words, Inspector Hausen paused and looked around.
After confirming something, he spoke again.
“You don't need to call me Father anymore. We are far enough away that no one will overhear us.”
“Okay, Michael, big brother.”
The moment she finished speaking, Charlotte put her feet up on the seat across from her.
There was not a trace of a young noble lady's decorum in her posture.
Without changing position, she held out her palm.
Something hazy as mist rose above it.
The mist swirled faintly before beginning to take shape.
The outline of a small room, the shadow of a cradle, and two figures beside it appeared.
A silent play made of mist unfolded over the girl's palm.
Whenever the baby in the vision flailed its limbs and began crying violently, the countess beside the cradle fed it tea brewed from star anise.
Charlotte dispersed the mist at that point and spoke.
“I have to do this five more times today.”
She gestured at Inspector Michael with her chin.
“You have plenty of magical power too. You already know the truth, so you meet the activation conditions. You could make it even clearer than I can.”
“I could.”
“Then can you not do it?”
Inspector Hausen sank into the carriage seat with his eyes gently closed.
“I came all the way out here especially because of you. Normally, I would be in my office by now, reading the report Magistrate Nihirit submitted.”
The inspector lazily waved one arm.
Then he let it droop as though that had been the full amount of exercise assigned to him for the day.
“And visiting the other houses now is only to make your new friend's contribution known. Normally, sending official notices would have been enough.”
“...”
“I have been as considerate as I can be. Do not ask for more than this, Charlotte.”
Charlotte had no choice but to agree.
Considering this lazy man's usual behavior, even coming out today was an extraordinary effort.
“You handle all the magical reenactments at the remaining houses.”
“Haah... To think this is my only flesh and blood.”
Michael did not even react.
Instead, he loosened his barely open eyelids even further and accepted the approaching sleep.
Then he suddenly remembered something and narrowed his eyes.
“By the way, I was surprised when you suddenly said you wanted to accompany me on my work. What brought this on?”
“Whatever else, I'm still an Imperial noble. Shouldn't I make my debut at sixteen?”
“Why are you asking me, of all people?”
“Mother is gone, and Father is not the sort of person who would do that for me. I have to get help from you, at least.”
Michael's mouth opened slightly at Charlotte's answer.
Entering high society at sixteen was something only people desperate to marry did.
But the Charlotte Michael knew was not a girl desperate to marry.
Not because of her status, nor because of her personality.
Still, as he began forming the words, “You want to get married?” he met his younger sister's eyes and closed his mouth again.
“...”
Her eyes held such fierce killing intent that he knew she would drive a zero-inch Hell Hound into his solar plexus if he said one more word.
Michael was confident he could not even resist his younger sister if it came to a physical fight, though a battle of wits might be another matter.
So he gave the safest answer possible.
“...I see. Still, I am glad you made a new friend.”
It was the safest thing he could say to his only flesh and blood.
* * *
By the time the siblings had visited all five houses, stars had already appeared in the sky.
While Charlotte held a deduction show at each house and used magic to convince the nobles who could not accept the truth,
Michael sat in a chair in all five drawing rooms, rolling a peppermint around in his mouth.
That was the full extent of the contribution he was willing to make today.
Once everything was finished, the carriage changed direction.
The closer it came to the center of Sanctum Hill, the wider the cobblestone roads became, the closer together the streetlamps stood, and the taller the buildings on either side grew.
Before long, the outer wall of the Imperial Palace appeared beyond the carriage window.
“A business trip and overtime.”
Michael muttered as he pulled his coat collar closed.
“The reports will be piling up. There are three from Magistrate Nihirit alone, and the other cases as well...”
A yawn swallowed the rest of his words.
After passing through the Imperial Palace's main gate, the carriage stopped at a fork in the road.
The left path led to the administrative district lined with government offices, while the right led to the Imperial family's residential district.
Michael stepped out first.
The hem of his coat fluttered once in the night air.
“Good work.”
Without looking back, he headed toward the administrative district lined with government offices.
Charlotte leaned against the carriage window and watched her brother's back recede for a moment.
He spoke like that, but once he reached his office, he would brew tea before opening a report.
Then he would fall asleep before the tea grew cold.
The next morning, he would be too lazy to carry the reports, so he would memorize their contents and recite them from memory.
That was how that lazy man lived as an official.
Charlotte gave a quiet snort of laughter and knocked on the driver's box, where no driver sat.
“Let us go.”
The driverless carriage carried Charlotte toward the Imperial family's residential district.
Some time later,
creak.
Charlotte stepped into a modestly decorated room in the Imperial Palace.
The door closed, followed by the soft click of a lock.
Charlotte began removing the things she had worn throughout the day.
First, she untied her navy cape.
Next, she removed the silver brooch, folded the cape, and draped it over the back of a chair.
She unfastened the buttons of her detective vest one by one, undid the cuffs of her shirt, and pulled the silver pin engraved with House Hausen's crest from her hair before setting it on the table.
The silver coin in her pocket...
“...”
She carefully placed it on the dressing table.
Finally, Charlotte stood before the mirror.
Then she tapped her temple with her fingertips.
“...”
With a tiny whisper, the girl in the mirror began to change.
Her blond hair brightened.
From the gold of a yellow sunset to a pale, almost platinum gold.
The short hair that had ended above her nape loosened and fell down.
A delicate beauty settled into the eyes that had held decadent arrogance.
The daughter of Inspector Hausen vanished from the mirror.
In her place stood a girl looking into the mirror with eyes heavy with weariness.
“Haah...”
The girl's full chest rose and fell for a moment.
She changed into her nightclothes and began arranging her hair.
Just after the twelfth stroke of the brush, something trembled inside a drawer of the dressing table.
The girl known as Charlotte opened the drawer.
Deep inside, a small crystal ball wrapped in cloth was trembling.
Charlotte placed the crystal ball on the dressing table and held out her hand.
Soon, the scene of an old study appeared inside it.
An old man sat in a leather armchair visible between piles of books.
The elderly gentleman, who had only one intact eye, drank tea with a white ferret resting on his lap.
“...Greetings, Lord Louis.”
[Yes. It has been a while.]
Sip.
Great Sage Louis set down his teacup and spoke.
“Charlotte, have things been well at the palace lately?”
The girl set down her brush and gave a bitter smile.
“It is the same as the last time you asked, Lord Louis. And the same as the time before that.”
Charlotte was alone.
The reason was her natural disposition.
[Hm. Have you still not broken the habit of looking into the past whenever you greet someone? Being around you feels unsettling, as though all my past is being exposed.]
“What can I do? It is my talent as a mage.”
[Hm. If it is part of your mindscape, I cannot say much.]
The Great Sage took a sip of tea inside the crystal ball, concealing his awkwardness.
Charlotte von Hausen Eschenwald.
The child of the Emperor and his seventeenth consort.
The seventeenth consort gave birth to Charlotte late in life, then never opened her eyes again after being struck with a raging fever on the third night afterward.
The Imperial Palace was a place where even living consorts were caught up in struggles over rank. The child of a dead consort could hardly fare better.
For that reason, Charlotte and Michael were known as the forgotten Imperial family.
Louis was their guardian.
It was not because he pitied their circumstances.
There were nearly a hundred members of the Imperial family whose names had not even been recorded in the Empire. The Great Sage did not possess enough sentiment or time to feel sympathy for every one of them.
There was only one reason he had become Michael and Charlotte's guardian.
Their talents had piqued his interest a little.
[How was the magic I taught you?]
“I used it well. It requires deduction beforehand, but being able to visualize the past like a picture is certainly useful.”
[I am glad you liked it. If you improve a little more, you may eventually be able to see the future like your brother.]
“That man sees it and still does not move because he cannot be bothered.”
[Indeed. Tsk, tsk. Had I known he was like that, I would not have taught him.]
“What about me? Instead of merely teaching me the basics, have you considered accepting me as a formal disciple?”
[No matter how many times you ask, my answer remains the same. I already have one disciple of this generation. I do not even have enough attention to give him. How could I spare any for you as well?]
“I was only asking.”
Silence lingered beyond the crystal ball.
The ferret climbed along the armrest of the chair to the old man's shoulder.
Its white fur curled in a soft bundle against the old man's black collar.
The Great Sage tickled its fur with a finger and spoke.
[Speaking of disciples, how was mine? Was it worth meeting him?]
Charlotte's hand stopped over the crystal ball.
The Great Sage's disciple, Julian Schnabel.
One day, the Great Sage had suddenly told her to meet him.
For that, her brother had been assigned to Baron Nihirit's case, and she had swallowed her pride to ask that lazy man for a favor.
“You want to make your debut at sixteen? Do not tell me my adorable little sister has finally started wanting a man...”
There had been a minor incident in the process, involving her personally driving a fist into her only family member's solar plexus.
“...”
Charlotte delayed her answer to the Great Sage's question and looked toward the dressing table beside her bed.
At the sight of the silver coin on the table, the events of the day replayed in her mind.
Until just before she arrived at House Bellheim's estate, she had not expected much.
The Great Sage found meeting her uncomfortable, so she assumed his disciple would be no different.
But Julian was different.
Rather than shrinking back at her greeting, which seemed to see straight through the past, he had happily looked through the solution book with her.
He had even created a problem for her from the case, giving her clues one by one.
In her sixteen years of life, she had never met anyone who already knew the answer yet deliberately waited because they wanted to watch the other person solve it.
And it was also the first time someone's gaze, as they acknowledged her ability, had been so pure.
“...”
Charlotte's lips moved slightly.
Then she gave the Great Sage her impression of Julian.
“I do not think there is anyone else my age who can give me problems.”
[You know that was not my question. I asked whether you like him.]
Charlotte pressed her lips together and picked up the silver coin.
Then she answered in a quiet voice.
“If he is that kind of person, I do not think I would grow bored even if he stayed by my side for the rest of my life.”
A long silence followed in the study beyond the crystal ball.
The ferret flicked its tail once on the old man's shoulder.
Steam rose thinly from the teacup.
At last, the Great Sage clicked his tongue.
[Tsk. That boy is the very image of plot convenience.]
“?”
[It is nothing. I only understand that you are thoroughly captivated.]
The tips of her ears reddened as she replied.
“Th-that is not it! It is only curiosity, no, something like intellectual interest...”
[Yes, yes. You are at a lovely age.]
The old man waved a hand, cutting her off.
[Very well. Under the name “House Hausen, Marquessate,” I will establish a connection with the baron's household. If necessary, I will even arrange fake parents for you. However, that boy has circumstances of his own, so meet him as Charlotte for the time being.]
“How long?”
[You can decide that for yourself. Once that boy reaches a position where he can have an Imperial princess at his side, you may reveal it then.]
“...Thank you, Lord Louis.”
[This is as much as I can do as your guardian. My role is to hold up an umbrella. I have no intention of involving myself in what happens beneath it. The rest is for you two to decide.]
The old man scratched behind the ferret's ear.
The ferret narrowed its eyes and stretched its neck.
That was the last image of the old man Charlotte saw.
The light within the crystal ball went out, and it returned to being a cold glass sphere.
Charlotte wrapped it in cloth once more and pushed it deep into the drawer.
Just as she turned toward the bed to sleep, the silver coin on the dressing table caught her eye.
“...”
After hesitating for a moment and looking around,
“I will wake up by myself tomorrow morning. Do not come into my room.”
She spoke those words toward the door, picked up the silver coin from the dressing table, then climbed beneath the covers with it tightly clasped in her hand and turned out the light.
Translator's note: Here, yeongsik is a noble form of address meaning “young lord,” not the homographic magic term “spell formula.”
Footnotes:
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