Chapter 24

"Nothing special, I'm not attracting them. ...Just coincidentally encountering them, that's all."

"Hehe, hehehehe... That's right...!"

"To add, my role is to maintain the peace of the country. By listening to individual voices like this, it can also be helpful in fulfilling my duties..."

"That's true! Hehehe..."

Oswald spoke with a somewhat sulking tone to Charlotte, who couldn't help but relax her cheeks.

"Why are you smiling so happily in this situation?"

"Ah!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"

But the feelings welling up from her heart couldn't be suppressed.

"I'm sorry! But it's just that... Sir Oswald is so wonderful...!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

While savoring the thrill, Charlotte told him,

"I agree with your opinion that you're not attracting troubled people. ...Because Sir Oswald is just finding them, right?"

Oswald had a look on his face that said he was completely at a loss.

But Charlotte thought,

"Troubled people are surely always around us."

"!"

People who are lost, lost children, people who are about to get hurt.

Just walking down this street, there are countless such cases.

"But the people who notice them are probably very few. Most people just pass by or pretend they didn't see... But Sir Oswald, you noticed each and every one and helped them all."

"..."

Charlotte pressed her left chest to calm her racing heart.

"A very fitting, beautiful coat... It got wet from helping a boy who fell, didn't it?"

"..."

The hem of the gray coat was wet and darker in color.

Earlier, Oswald had knelt on the snowy road without hesitation to lift a crying child.

"Of course, a stern Sir Oswald is also wonderful! But the sight of you, who acted without hesitation to help someone, is incomparably beautiful...!"

"..."

That's why Charlotte felt so happy.

To have such a beautiful person and to be able to like them. Every time she confirmed this fact, her heart felt full.

"The gentleman I admire is such a respectable person. ...Thinking about it, I'm so happy that my mouth goes all mushy."

"..."

Oswald furrowed his brow and then sighed, pressing his forehead.

"You're the person who can overestimate me the most in the world."

"No! I think it's not enough at all!!"

"Besides, you helped me without making a single unpleasant face in the cold."

"Is there anything more important than being able to help Sir Oswald in any way?"

Moreover, this was far from enough. What Charlotte had helped with this time was something Oswald could have done alone.

"Please wait. I will try even harder in the future!"

Just as she clenched her hands and made a vow, she saw something unexpected.

"...Huh"

"!!"

Oswald's expression softened, and he showed a slight smile.

"——!?"

"...Really. What you say always exceeds my imagination."

She couldn't respond to those words.

(I, just now...! If I didn't see it wrong, Sir Oswald gave me a gentle, very calm smile...!?)

She replayed the scene she had just witnessed in her mind multiple times.

Oswald, after erasing that smile in an instant, looked at Charlotte's feet and said,

"...Your dress is wet from helping me."

"U, uu...!"

"It's better to dry it by the heater than by magic. Before your body gets any colder, let's go to the dress shop... Wait, why are you crying!?"

"W... W, waaah...!! Sir Oswald! The coolness of Sir Oswald is melting my soul...!!"

"That's a false accusation, don't say such things that sound bad!! ——Come on, let's go!"

Charlotte sniffled and, like a lost child, managed to head to the dress shop.

***

After that, Charlotte chose an outfit to wear to the evening party at the dress shop.

What was surprising was that Oswald helped her think about what kind of dress she should wear.

He seriously answered what would suit Charlotte. Such an Oswald left Charlotte feeling utterly exhausted.

She intended to pay for the dress with the gold coins she found in her room. However, by the time she finished changing back into her original dress after trying it on, the payment was already taken care of.

She tried to refuse with all her might, but Oswald, with a nonchalant expression, said, "I'm taking you there by force. I'm paying, of course."

(If it comes to this, I have to find an opportunity to slip the gold coins for the dress into Sir Oswald's pocket...!)

Just as she made this vow, they left the shop.

"...Charlotte"

"!"

Oswald had a somewhat different aura about him.

His eyes were fixed straight ahead on the street, where a man was slowly waving at him.

A tall man with a beautiful face, red eyes, and silver hair, wearing a gentle smile.

"Sorry, but wait in a place a bit away from here."

"...Sir Oswald"

Earlier, when helping various people, Oswald had also said, "Wait away from here." Charlotte had chosen to follow him each time, but she could tell the situation was different now.

Oswald's expression was calm, but a definite sense of tension was evident.

So, she replied clearly.

"Understood. I'll wait in a place where I won't be in the way, no matter how long it takes!"

"I'll come back as soon as possible. Not the guardian stone... but the lost tag, is it on?"

"Guardian? Yes, I have it on!"

She showed the shining tag, and Oswald nodded.

"I'll come to get you when it's over. Whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself."

"Of course, I'll avoid any actions that draw attention and stay quiet! Have a good trip, my beloved Sir Oswald!"

"..."

Oswald, with a look that said he didn't quite trust her, started walking towards the silver-haired man.

(...Since he told me to wait in a place a bit away. It would be better to move rather than stay here, right?)

Charlotte thought and cast her gaze towards the silver-haired man.

He smiled gently and waved at her.

(That face. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before...)

Thinking this, she bowed and started walking.

(To say I've seen it before... ...I shouldn't have such a memory, but it's very mysterious...)