In the end, Charlotte returned without gaining anything.

Ah, that did not mean she had truly returned empty-handed.

[You’ve come all this way, so have a meal before you go.]

[Pardon? No. I’m already sorry for visiting so suddenly. I couldn’t possibly be treated to a meal as well.]

[It’s because I dislike eating alone. And you happened to come, my lady.]

[But…]

[Do you perhaps wish for me to dine all alone in loneliness?]

When Raymond pushed like that, what could she do?

In the end, she ate.

Though she had no idea whether she was eating with her mouth or her nose…

Ah, but that crème brûlée, was it? That dessert was truly delicious.

It was a dessert she had seen for the first time in her life, and cracking through the sugar before scooping it up together with the soft, cool cream had been exquisite.

It had looked extremely sweet, but it had not been too sweet either…

Thinking of the smooth dessert, Charlotte opened the front door.

But the moment she stepped inside, she felt two pairs of eyes staring straight through her.

One belonged to Elena.

And the other belonged to…

Madam Spencer…!

Already pale to begin with, Madam Spencer was staring at Charlotte as though she had seen a ghost.

Elena’s expression was not good either.

Had something happened?

Surely Madam Spencer had not found out about her arrangement with Raymond?

Just as Charlotte swallowed dryly—

“I heard about it.”

Heard about what?

“You really did go out.”

Ah, so she was only surprised that Charlotte had gone outside.

Just as Charlotte felt relieved—

“Who were you with?”

“I went for a walk by myself.”

“Is that so? Then who were you with yesterday?”

“Pardon? Yesterday…?”

“John said he saw you with someone yesterday. Who on earth was it? You don’t know anyone in this town, do you?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

John was the manager of the Spencer Hotel, someone Charlotte had crossed paths with a few times.

In any case, Charlotte thought she understood why Elena’s face was pale. She must have heard the same question Charlotte had just heard.

But how did John describe it?

If John had clearly seen Raymond, then he would have reported that she had been with Raymond. If so, Madam Spencer would not be reacting this mildly.

Had he said she had been meeting with a man?

Or if he had simply said she had been with “someone”…

“I happened to speak briefly with Baron Ziave’s daughter while passing by.”

Charlotte trusted that Madam Spencer had not been told the gender of the person she had spoken to and answered that way.

“Baron Ziave’s daughter must have bothered you.”

Seeing Madam Spencer let it pass without much concern, Charlotte quietly felt relieved.

Just then, Elena placed a hand over her chest and let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Whew…”

Madam Spencer frowned and turned to Elena.

“What is it?”

“Pardon? Ah, well, I was worried Charlotte might have been troubled by some strange person!”

Elena clasped both hands together and laughed, “Ohoho.”

“Is that the attitude of someone who was worried? And Baron Ziave’s daughter is strange enough. Charlotte must have had quite a hard time.”

“Is… is that so?”

Madam Spencer nodded, then said to Charlotte,

“That young lady must have been terribly full of herself, wasn’t she? In this region, especially among girls your age, she does seem to have some influence, but that does not mean you need to watch her mood. If she bothers you too much, you may ignore her.”

“It wasn’t troublesome to that extent. Rather, I was glad I spoke with her.”

“What was there to be glad about?”

“Well, she didn’t know anything about me. If someone with such wide connections doesn’t know me, then I thought it really might be all right for me to go around freely.”

Charlotte gave an embarrassed smile.

Madam Spencer, who had widened her eyes, soon smiled and said,

“Yes. You were being rather dramatic. I’m glad you realized it now, at least.”

“Haha…”

“In any case, from now on, I’ll tell John and the servants that they don’t need to report to me even if they see you outside, so rest assured. Your privacy should be protected.”

“Thank you.”

With a pleased smile, Madam Spencer went upstairs to her office.

Elena quickly approached Charlotte, linked arms with her, and said,

“I nearly had a heart attack.”

“Me too.”

“Anyway, what did that man say?”

“Mm, why don’t we talk in my room first?”

“Yes. That would be best.”

No matter how quietly they spoke, someone might hear them.

The two of them entered Charlotte’s room while smiling as brightly as they could, but…

“Oh my!”

When the two of them discovered Eric lying among the pile of dolls on the floor, their mouths fell open.

When on earth had he opened all these boxes?

“Eric! What on earth are you doing?”

When Elena asked Eric in a voice full of shock, Eric slowly sat up and held up his sketchbook.

Written in advance on the sketchbook was:

<Charlotte said I could come here anytime. I was curious about the boxes, so I opened them, and then they accidentally spilled everywhere. I tried to clean them up, but it felt hopeless, so I just lay down.>

Ah, so that was what happened.

Charlotte nodded in understanding.

Elena shook her clenched fist and said,

“Goodness. Even if Charlotte said it was all right, how could you come in when Charlotte isn’t here? And do you know how bad it is to touch someone else’s things? Don’t ever do that again, and hurry up and apologize to Charlotte!”

Eric pouted, then turned the page of his sketchbook.

<I’m sorry.>

Just as Charlotte, after reading the brief apology he had written in advance, was about to laugh softly and tell him it was all right, Eric turned the page again.

<But I am feeling very disappointed and upset right now.>

Huh?

Before the wide-eyed adults could even ask why, Eric turned the paper again.

<Lately, Charlotte hasn’t been playing with me. She only whispers with Mom all the time.>

Ah…

The ends of Charlotte’s brows lowered.

Eric used to spend three or four hours a day with Charlotte. It was only natural he would feel disappointed—

<Did Mom get into trouble again?>

While Elena, startled, asked, “Again? What do you mean, again?” Charlotte gently admonished him.

“Eric. You mustn’t speak to your mother that way. And nothing like that happened.”

Eric stared hard at the two of them with suspicious eyes.

Charlotte did not change her expression in the slightest, but Elena kept darting her eyes around, at a complete loss.

With a sigh—good grief—Eric wrote something else.

<If you tell me about these dolls, I won’t ask any more questions.>

“…”

Seeing Charlotte and Elena flinch and exchange glances, Eric furrowed his brow and quickly wrote,

<If you keep acting like that, I’ll tell Grandmother about these dolls…>

“Aah!”

Elena panicked and made a noisy fuss, interfering with Eric as he wrote.

As if stopping him now would prevent Eric from telling Madam Spencer.

“I’m sorry, Eric. There are circumstances behind this…”

Charlotte said, the ends of her brows lowering.

Eric looked at the two of them with resentful eyes, as though asking why they would not let him in on those circumstances.

Charlotte felt conflicted.

Eric was thoughtful, and he was not the sort of child who went around spreading someone else’s secrets. Though he was threatening to tell on them now…

He was not usually like this.

In any case, even if Eric learned the truth, he would not tell Madam Spencer. But if they told him the entire truth, he would be disappointed in Elena.

He already had little trust in his mother. She could not let him lose even more trust in her here.

“…I wasn’t going to go so far as to say this.”

Charlotte let out a deep sigh.

Elena swallowed dryly.

Surely she wasn’t about to confess everything?

“Eric. The truth is, I really like dolls.”

Eric’s eyes widened like a startled cat’s.

“I truly, truly love them… But when I went outside for the first time in so long, there were so many beautiful dolls. So without realizing it, I…”

<Are you saying you really bought this many dolls, Charlotte?>

Seeing what Eric had written in his sketchbook, his face full of disbelief, Charlotte gave a weak nod.

“I know. Why did I make such an impulsive purchase? I’m so embarrassed right now… and I’m afraid Madam Spencer will scold me. No, I’m afraid I’ll disappoint her.”

Charlotte held both of Eric’s hands tightly and met his gaze.

Seeing her eyes shining so pitifully, Eric looked confused for a moment, then nodded heavily.

“Thank you for understanding.”

After that, the three of them cleaned up the dolls together.

If they were piled up like this in Charlotte’s room, they would inevitably draw attention, so they decided to divide them among the three of their rooms and keep them separately.

When Eric left with his share of the dolls, Elena whispered,

“Charlotte… Were you always this good at acting?”

“I didn’t know I could be this shameless either.”

Charlotte gave a hollow laugh.

Ah, is this really all right…?