"Now, all I have to do is wait for her to wake up."
Allen let out a sigh as he sat in the living room.
The room was a mess. Moldy bread and dried herbs were everywhere. The place was piled so high with junk, rubbish, and a whole lot of useless things to the extent that the floor couldn't even be seen.
Only a corner where the leather sofa was placed was organized to a level where one could barely walk.
Because that was Allen's favorite place, where he spent most of his spare time reading or taking a nap.
And now ... the girl was sleeping on the sofa at that spot.
Looking at her sleeping face, Allen stroked his chin with a grunt.
"A felony that fled her country... she certainly doesn't look like it... however, looks can be deceiving..."
Either way, there was nothing that could be done until she woke up.
Having some time to kill, Allen spread the morning newspaper.
On the front page was a story about a plot against the second prince in the neighboring kingdom of Neils.
Apparently, his fiancée was terribly vicious. Not only did she spend the government fund extravagantly and repeatedly have affairs with a number of men, she even plotted to assassinate the king.
The prince disclosed all her wrongdoings and saved the country.
Thanks to that, the country was in an uproar. His fiancée seemed to have vanished without a trace, and a strenuous search was being carried out to find her.
There was a portrait of the lady along with the request, 'If you recognize this face, please notify us.'
"Oh?"
Allen furrowed his eyebrows.
"Urmm..."
"Oh, you're awake."
The girl stirred and slowly woke up.
She looked around the room to take in her surroundings, and was startled when she noticed Allen.
"Who are you...?"
"What? I'm the one who picked you up when you had fainted."
While saying this arrogantly, Allen found a pot and some tea leaves from the mountain of junk and swiftly brewed a pot of tea.
The girl received the chipped cup that was handed to her with trembling hands. She took a small sip of the tepid tea and let out a small sigh. Thanks to this, her cheeks seem to have regained some of their complexion.
Even so, she was absent-minded as though she was still in a dream.
The girl said in a muffled voice, "I was lost in the woods ...... and I saw a mansion in the distance ...... and I tried to make my way there ......."
"It seems you were on the brink of exhaustion. But well, you've achieved your goal. This is the mansion."
The only people that visited this mansion were the mailman, children trying out their luck, or people who have lost their way. She seemed to be the latter.
Allen did not tell her about the soldier. He knew it would only frighten her unnecessarily.
Allen held up the newspaper to the girl, who was still in a daze.
"Welcome for the time being. Miss Charlotte Evans?"
"Eh...!"
Upon seeing the newspaper, blood drained from the girl-Charlotte's face.
There was no doubt that it was her in the sketch drawn in the newspaper.
The fiancée of the second prince of the neighboring kingdom of Neils... the vicious lady that caused the nation to be at loss. She was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Evans, Charlotte.
"Oh, it's all right. No need to be alarmed."
Allen said in a nonchalant manner as he folded the newspaper.
Then, with light steps, he approached Charlotte. She shrunk back in caution, but Allen was unconcerned.
"I was once betrayed by someone I believed to be my trusted friend. Since then, I've learned to discern if someone is lying."
He looked into Charlotte's eyes.
In those anxious blue eyes of hers ... there was no lie.
"You are innocent. I know it."
"What?"
Charlotte was lost for words.
Her eyes widened and tears gradually welled up in them.
It broke Allen's heart.
"Oh, hey. What's wrong, are you hurting somewhere?"
"For the first time..."
Charlotte's tears fell in droplets onto the leather sofa.
She covered her face in the fit of her sobs, her words coming out in broken bursts.
"For the first time, there is someone who believes in me...!"