Chapter 9

The mansion gates opened easily as soon as Henry flashed his police badge.

Charlotte struggled to keep the stack of documents from slipping out of her grasp as she walked, adjusting them every few steps.

Henry glanced at her a few times before finally speaking.

“Do you want me to carry those for you?”

Charlotte instinctively started to shake her head but reconsidered.

He was offering to help—why refuse? Besides, if she was the only one carrying everything, it would look like she was some sort of subordinate to him. Working at the autopsy facility, she had become accustomed to the unspoken rule that they had to maintain their dignity in front of the police.

“Then, I’ll take you up on that.”

She wanted to dump everything on him, but instead, she handed over about a third of the documents.

Henry grinned before promptly taking the entire stack from her arms.

“No need for all that formality, not between us.”

“I think there is,” Charlotte muttered, then quickly corrected herself.

“Wait, that’s not the point—”

“It’s fine. I’ll just carry all of them.”

“No, really—”

“They’re not that heavy. I can at least do this much for my partner, can’t I?”

“Why am I your partner—no, that’s not even the issue—”

“Really, it’s no problem.”

Charlotte, now thoroughly annoyed, grabbed Henry’s coat and yanked him back with force.

“I gave you the ones I’ve already read! Do you expect me to keep rummaging through the stack you’re holding every time I need to check something?!”

“…Oh.”

Henry blinked, then let out a small scoff before handing back part of the stack.

Charlotte stormed ahead, and Henry, watching her for a moment with amusement, soon broke into a smirk and quickly caught up to her.

* * *

Sir Lau was surprisingly easy to find.

He was in the training yard behind the mansion, a modest but well-equipped space, scolding a group of soldiers.

“How the hell do you mismanage things so badly that training uniforms go missing?!”

His usually neat golden hair was in complete disarray, likely from him running his hands through it in frustration.

As Charlotte and Henry approached, the servant guiding them rushed ahead and whispered something into Sir Lau’s ear.

Sir Lau sharply turned his head toward them, his brows furrowing in irritation. He hesitated for a moment, then let out a long sigh before striding toward them.

Extending a hand to Henry, he spoke in a curt tone.

“I’m Isen Lau. I hear you were looking for me.”

Henry shook his hand with an easy smile.

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir Lau. I’m Superintendent Henry Biles, in charge of the investigation into Baron Turove’s case. We came to ask you a few questions.”

“If you had just called ahead, I would have come to the capital myself.”

Sir Lau cast a glance toward the mansion.

Charlotte followed his gaze and noticed that it landed on a window, its delicate lace curtains gently swaying in the breeze.

“We also needed to conduct some inquiries in the area,” Henry replied smoothly.

“So, we thought we’d stop by while we were here.”

“If you had contacted me in advance, we could have met somewhere outside the estate… The lady of the house is still deeply shaken. If she hears that the police have come to the mansion, it will be very distressing for her.”

Sir Lau’s priority was to prevent the baroness from seeing them. If she happened to glance out the window and spot them, it could make things worse. With quick, purposeful strides, he led them inside.

The interior of the mansion was just as extravagant as its exterior. Lavish decorations and paintings adorned the walls, and an enormous chandelier sparkled from the ceiling.

Henry let out an impressed murmur as he took in the surroundings.

“This is quite the remarkable place.”

Sir Lau cleared his throat. “Ahem, it is all maintained personally by our lady.”

“She must have quite the eye for beauty.”

At Henry’s compliment, a faint blush crept onto Sir Lau’s face.

“…Yes, she is truly an exceptional woman.”

He coughed a few times, as if trying to compose himself. But his expression quickly stiffened at Henry’s next words.

“As guests, we should properly greet the mistress of the house.”

“…That…”

Henry continued, his tone steady.

“In fact, we have a few questions for the baroness as well.”

Sir Lau’s expression darkened.

“What exactly do you need to ask?”

Sir Lau’s expression twisted, and he took a step toward Henry, his posture almost threatening. It seemed like an unconscious reaction.

“You came here to see me, did you not?”

“That’s true, but I also need to ask the baroness a few things. As I said earlier, we stopped by for multiple reasons.”

“But—!”

Sir Lau seemed ready to shout but abruptly clamped his mouth shut. Grinding his teeth, he spoke slowly, his voice strained.

“The lady is in poor health, deeply shaken by the master’s death. She also had a rough experience in the capital today. She dislikes crowds and has permitted only a single maid to enter her chambers. To disturb her now—”

“Then I’ll do it.”

Both Henry and Sir Lau turned toward Charlotte.

She cleared her throat before continuing.

“While you and Sir Lau have your discussion, I’ll speak with the baroness.”

“Miss Charlotte, but that—”

“As a fellow woman, I won’t be as much of a burden to her. Don’t you agree, Sir Lau?”

Charlotte met Sir Lau’s eyes and deliberately patted her shoulder twice.

Recognition flickered in his gaze. Finally, he seemed to recall their brief encounter at the autopsy facility and let out a quiet “Ah.”

“You two… do you already know each other?”

Henry, sensing something off, narrowed his eyes at them.

Charlotte, unfazed, casually shook her head.

“We met once this morning at the autopsy facility.”

“No, I mean—do you have any other personal connection?”

“No, why would we?”

Charlotte shot Sir Lau a sharp look, silently warning him to keep his mouth shut about her connection to Lucy.

Sir Lau was perceptive enough to catch on immediately. He quickly schooled his expression into one of perfect innocence, blinking as if to say, That’s all there is to it.

Henry still looked skeptical, but with no concrete reason to press further, he let it go.

Charlotte’s suggestion was actually quite reasonable. The sun would be setting soon, and splitting up would make things more efficient.

With visible reluctance, Henry gave a slow nod.

Sir Lau immediately turned and called over a maid who had been watching them from a distance.

And so, Henry followed Sir Lau to the drawing room, while Charlotte trailed after the maid, heading toward Lucy’s bedroom.

When they reached the door, the maid knocked gently and announced the visitor’s arrival.

“…A visitor?”

“Um, well…”

“If possible, please ask them to leave. I don’t want to see anyone.”

“Well, my lady, it’s just that… the police—”

Before the maid could finish, Charlotte cut in.

“Lucy, it’s me. Charlotte.”

There was a sudden clatter from inside the room.

The door burst open, and Lucy rushed out, her pale face framed by disheveled red hair and rumpled clothing.

“Charlotte!”

Charlotte gently tucked Lucy’s messy hair behind her ear and smiled.

“Hey, Lucy.”

“How…?”

“I came with the police.”

A flicker of unease crossed Lucy’s face.

“Why? Are they… interrogating me?”

“It’s nothing like that. The police aren’t even suspecting you.”

Charlotte blatantly lied, her voice calm and reassuring.

“I’m here because they need to ask Sir Lau a few things. I just took the chance to see you. I was worried.”

Lucy’s tense expression softened, and she let out a quiet sigh.

Charlotte followed her inside. Lucy led her toward the table, but Charlotte firmly shook her head.

“You look like you’re about to collapse. What are you doing?”

With no other choice, Lucy climbed onto the bed instead, while Charlotte pulled a chair over and sat beside her.

“You don’t look well.”

“I just… need some rest. Don’t worry too much.”

Lucy forced a smile, then quickly changed the subject.

“This is… your first time at my house, isn’t it?”

“Now that you mention it, yeah. It is.”

Charlotte nodded, deciding to play along. Lucy looked like she could pass out at any moment—keeping her comfortable was more important than anything else right now.

“You can tell a lot of care went into it. Sir Lau mentioned that you handle everything yourself.”

“He said that?”

A light blush spread across Lucy’s cheeks.

“It’s not that impressive… He sees me as far more capable than I really am.”

Hmm. This was… unexpected.

Charlotte had assumed Sir Lau’s feelings were entirely one-sided. But from Lucy’s reaction, it didn’t seem like she was completely indifferent to him either.

Just then, the maid returned with tea and light refreshments. Since Lucy was still in bed, she simply set the trolley beside it and quietly left.

Charlotte handed Lucy a teacup and, keeping her tone casual, asked,

“What kind of person is Sir Lau?”

Lucy, who had been smiling faintly while feeling the warmth of the teacup, tilted her head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I was just wondering…”

Charlotte hesitated. She couldn’t exactly blurt out, Do you like Sir Lau?

So, after fumbling for words, she quickly added,

“I heard Sir Lau holds a knightly title?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Knighthood isn’t hereditary, but it’s not something just anyone can receive either. Most knights in Essenharne now belong to the national military. The only time I’ve read about knights being tied to a noble house like this was in old books. It made me wonder what his circumstances were.”

Lucy nodded slowly in understanding.

“Yes, Sir Lau is a bit of a special case.”

She took a sip of tea and fell silent, lost in thought. Then, suddenly, she chuckled and asked playfully,

“Didn’t Sir Lau seem a little familiar to you?”

“Huh?”

Charlotte blinked in confusion.

Lucy cleared her throat, then exaggeratedly mimicked a young boy’s voice.

“I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean to! I was just so hungry, I’m really, really sorry!”

“Oh!”

“Do you remember now?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock.

“That kid was him?!”

“Yes, that boy grew up to be Sir Lau.”

No way. That scruffy little street kid was Sir Lau?

Charlotte could hardly believe it. How? How did a starving orphan from the streets grow into a knight—a semi-noble, at that?

She dug through her memories, pulling up the distant image of Sir Lau’s childhood face.

It had been back when she and Lucy were still at the academy—shortly after Toby had died.

“Lucy, are you really okay?”

Lucy had eaten the cookie her friend had forced into her hands in the middle of the night, but after days of starvation, her stomach couldn’t handle it. The next morning, she had thrown up everything she had eaten—along with what little remained in her stomach.