Miss Charlotte’s Case Journal - Chapter 8

“As you know, Miss Charlotte, I’m terrible at remembering names.”

Terrible? More like completely hopeless.

“…Right,” Charlotte replied flatly.

“But when it comes to interrogations, I can’t exactly let that show, can I? There’s the matter of authority, and if a suspect starts taking the police lightly, the questioning won’t go well.”

“…So?”

Henry grinned mischievously and held out his palm in front of her.

May.

Charlotte was speechless when she saw the word written there, its edges blurred with ink. Suddenly, she remembered how this man, who kept getting his subordinates’ names wrong, had called the maid’s name perfectly during the interrogation. Wait, so he wrote her name on his palm and peeked at it?

Wow… seriously… what kind of person even does that?

Charlotte gaped at him in disbelief. Henry only smiled pleasantly, the corners of his blue eyes curving gently as he wiped his hand with the handkerchief.

Just then, sunlight streamed through the window. Under the light, Henry’s black hair shimmered faintly blue. Charlotte watched him unfold the handkerchief, carefully rubbing the ink-stained part alongside the spot where her name was embroidered. She tilted her head slightly.

Now that she looked closer… he was kind of handsome.

Her eyes traced along Henry’s sharp jawline, delicate features, and especially the soft glimmer of his light blue eyes. They looked nothing like the ones he’d had during the interrogation earlier. Those eyes shifted from the handkerchief to Charlotte.

Flustered at being caught staring, Charlotte quickly turned her head away.

“Give that back. I’ll throw it away.”

Charlotte reached out her hand. Henry instinctively held out the handkerchief, then pulled it back again. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he spoke in a low, teasing voice.

“If you don’t mind, Miss Charlotte, may I keep this handkerchief?”

“W-why would you want that?”

“Well….”

Charlotte suddenly tensed, swallowing hard.

Why? Could it be….

“If I keep it, I won’t forget your name next time.”

“….”

For crying out loud. Charlotte instantly regretted her foolish imagination.

“You can keep getting my name wrong for all I care. Just hand it over. Now!”

***

Charlotte wanted to get that handkerchief back no matter what, or more precisely, she wanted to snatch it back and toss it straight into the trash. But in the end, she had no choice but to let Henry have it. He was too stubborn. Of course, Charlotte wasn’t exactly mild-tempered herself, so if she’d really fought him for it, she probably would’ve won. But instead of wasting time arguing, she decided to let it go and head straight back to the morgue.

The two bickered nonstop on the way back to the chaotic street Charlotte had called a disaster earlier.

“How can you be so bad with names? Is there something wrong with your head? Maybe you should get tested.”

“Ha, I already did. They said I was perfectly normal.”

“…Can I ask which doctor gave that diagnosis?”

“Dr. Watson, over on Basin Street. You should go see him if you ever need treatment.”

“He’s obviously a quack. I’m reporting him to the medical association.”

“Why? Dr. Watson’s an excellent physician.”

“…I’m not even going to argue.”

“Hmm… Oh, there’s Dory.”

Dan, who had been talking to Martin, turned toward them with a tired, almost despairing look.

“It’s Dan, Inspector. Dan!”

“My apologies.”

“Good grief… Did Miss May notice the name written on your hand?”

“She didn’t.”

Dan was still half-scolding Henry when Charlotte quietly tugged on Martin’s sleeve.

“I’m really sorry about earlier, Martin. I just had to see for myself how the case was going.”

Martin looked slightly startled, then smiled warmly as he accepted her apology.

“It’s all right, Miss Charlotte. I understand. I was the same when I was young, full of passion back then.”

“What are you talking about? You’re still young.”

The two exchanged friendly words. Charlotte was relieved that he’d accepted her apology. But then she suddenly caught snippets of Henry and Dan’s conversation nearby.

“…Then, for now, investigate Robert Turobe. Look into everything—his finances, behavior, reputation—don’t leave anything out.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll head to the baron’s mansion in an hour to meet this Sir Lau myself.”

“You’ll go personally, Inspector? Why not summon him here?”

“If I go to the mansion, I’ll also be able to meet the baroness. I need to speak with her as well.”

Charlotte’s head snapped up. The baroness? Did he mean Lucy? Why all of a sudden?

“The baroness, sir? You said before she wasn’t someone we needed to pay much attention to.”

At Dan’s question, Henry replied evenly, “If what Miss May said is true, then it seems necessary to investigate the baroness as well. Since it’s some distance outside the capital, I’ll head home once I’m done. You two can also leave after finishing your work.”

“Yes, sir.”

Henry gave a slow nod, then started walking again. Charlotte stood frozen for a moment before hastily bowing to Martin and running after him.

When they reached the passage that connected to the morgue, Henry stopped and turned to look at her. Smiling gently, he said, “Thank you very much for your help with today’s investigation, Miss… Charlotte.”

Charlotte saw Henry discreetly pull her handkerchief from his pocket to double-check her name, but she pretended not to notice and simply nodded.

“…Yes….”

“Well then, until next time….”

Henry gave a polite nod and turned to leave. But before he could take another step, Charlotte instinctively reached out, grabbed his arm, and shouted.

“I, I’ll go too!”

“…?”

Henry’s expression turned puzzled. Charlotte bit her lip, looking torn.

Charlotte Robern, what on earth are you doing? What could you possibly do there? If you push this any further, it’s straight-up insubordination. Do you want to get fired?!

But still….

Charlotte bit down hard on the inside of her cheek and, as if spitting blood, forced the words out.

“I’m going too. To the Turobe mansion.”

“Are you sure?”

A faint smile bloomed on Henry’s face. Charlotte took a deep breath as discreetly as she could and nodded solemnly.

“You said an hour, right? Let’s meet here again in an hour.”

“Good.”

Henry gave a firm nod. His black hair swayed softly as he turned away, but Charlotte didn’t notice. She was too busy thinking about how she’d have to beg Eugene later for forgiveness.

***

Charlotte carried a large, heavy-looking bag and a thick stack of documents clutched tightly to her chest as she headed to the meeting spot.

When she returned to the office, she was greeted by Eugene, surrounded by piles of papers that looked like small mountains. At the sound of the door opening, he slowly lifted his weary eyes—dark circles sinking all the way to his cheekbones—and stared blankly in her direction. Upon recognizing Charlotte, he said nothing, only lowered his head again. He simply reached out, pulled the chair beside him, and pushed a stack of papers and a pen toward the desk in front of it. It was a silent gesture that meant: Come and get to work.

Charlotte approached hesitantly and sat in the chair Eugene had pulled out for her. She had planned to explain the situation to him right away and then pack her things to leave, but seeing his ghost-like appearance, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

With quick hands, Charlotte reviewed and organized the documents Eugene had handed her. When he reached out to give her another stack, Charlotte moved faster. She jumped up from her seat and called out solemnly.

“Senior!”

“…?”

Eugene slowly lifted his head. His dull, lifeless eyes met hers. Charlotte flinched slightly and spoke hesitantly.

“D-did you work overtime again yesterday?”

“…No. I didn’t leave work,” Eugene muttered quietly.

Charlotte felt despair wash over her. Damn it. How on earth was she supposed to say she wanted to leave early? Father, give me strength…! The guilt was unbearable, but she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

“Senior, I’m really sorry, but can I leave first today?!”

Silence fell. Eugene tilted his head slightly, as if he thought he’d misheard her. Forget it. Charlotte crouched beside his chair, grabbed the armrest, and began pleading frantically.

“Please, just this once, Senior! It’s about the Baron Turobe case. Someone from the Metropolitan Police wants me to go with them! Please, don’t tell the director and just let me go early today!”

“….”

“I’ll do all these files by myself tomorrow! You can just sit in that chair, take it easy today and tomorrow, and leave whenever you want! Please, okay?!”

Eugene listened quietly to her desperate voice before opening his mouth.

“Really?”

“Of course! I swear! I’ll handle it all! You can just pretend to work and then go home!”

“…Those documents over there need to be submitted by tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll take them home, finish them, and bring them back tomorrow!”

Eugene said nothing more. But in the end, Charlotte managed to leave the office and meet Henry.

When he saw her, he blinked twice and asked seriously, “What’s… all that?”

Charlotte answered curtly, “None of your business.”

Henry had only been trying to show some interest in order to get closer to her, but after being shot down so bluntly, he fell silent, embarrassed.

The two didn’t exchange a single word for the entire ride to Garot, where the Turobe estate was located. Charlotte was too focused on reviewing the pile of documents she’d brought with her, while Henry didn’t want to risk saying anything that might earn him another glare.

When the coachman announced their arrival, they stepped down from the carriage. While Henry paid the fare, Charlotte widened her eyes as she looked up at the Baron Turobe residence.

The mansion was extremely luxurious. Of course, there were far grander and more extravagant estates in the capital, but for a newly appointed baron, especially one holding the lowest noble rank, it was undeniably impressive.

Well, he was said to have had a good head for business, after all. Charlotte nodded to herself.