The residence had clearly been searched; even the front door had been kicked in. Fortunately, there wasn’t anything particularly valuable in the house. After inspecting the premises, Charlot confirmed that although some property had been lost, it wasn’t severe—amounting to less than a single gold écu.
Luckily, this was Elysée Avenue, so it didn’t take him long to find someone to repair the door. At the same time, he hired a few middle-aged maids to clean the rooms and also employed two errand boys to deliver letters of reassurance to Miss Annie Bretagne and Miss Sylvie Martin.
Charlot’s social circle in Strasbourg was small. He had severed ties completely with “a certain person’s past.” Other than his senior, Menielman, there were only these two ladies left.
That evening, both Annie and Sylvie sent replies. Because it was already late, neither came over in person, but both expressed that they would visit early the next morning.
Charlot didn’t bother returning to his room upstairs. He simply fell asleep in the small study on the first floor.
This recent escape, though not lengthy, had left him utterly exhausted. It was an experience he had no desire to repeat.
The next morning, as soon as Charlot opened his eyes, he remembered something he’d forgotten.
He had abandoned those adventurers in Machubi.
By now, Machubi had become a complete labyrinth. In other words, without his permission, almost no one could enter the fortress of this ancient Orc Kingdom, and neither the people, monsters, evil spirits, nor other strange entities inside could leave.
“Should I find some time to return to Machubi?”
“I don’t even know what it looks like when an ancient fortress becomes labyrinthized!”
“Fortunately, I have three days of vacation. After hosting Annie and Sylvie, I’ll head over to Machubi.”
Miss Annie Bretagne arrived very early. When she knocked on the door, she was even a bit out of breath. Clearly, though she had ridden in a carriage, she had also hurried some distance on foot.
Seeing Charlot, Miss Annie practically threw herself into his arms, her eyes brimming with affection. With a slightly choked voice, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me? A mere warden isn’t qualified to act with such impunity—I could have helped you.”
As a transmigrator, Charlot didn’t dare entrust his life and future to a noble lady he hadn’t even had a real relationship with yet. Annie might be pure-hearted, but the family behind her were political animals. They wouldn’t care about sentiment; they would only care about interests.
He didn’t know the upper echelons of the Fars Empire well enough. He had no idea who was allied with whom or who harbored grudges.
What if the Bretagne family was enemies with the Soumet family?
But he wouldn’t ruin the mood with such thoughts. Touched, Charlot returned the hug and deftly changed the topic: “Miss Annie, I’ve spent these days in constant fear, thinking I might never see you again.”
Annie was deeply moved. The two embraced tightly, their relationship clearly surpassing mere friendship and stepping into...
Before anything further could happen, Sylvie’s lively voice rang out: “Charlot! Are you really okay?”
Startled, Annie quickly pulled herself from Charlot’s arms, grabbed a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and even handed it to Charlot afterward.
Charlot played along dramatically, squeezing out a few tears of his own—though his tears were far less genuine than Miss Annie’s.
Sylvie Martin and Venie Arsenault entered together. The president of the Cat Detective Agency fixed her bright gaze on Charlot and said, “Mr. Mecklenburg, I must admit that I underestimated you.”
“To think that during your escape, you managed to kill eight detectives from the Fierce Horse Detective Agency, including three Transcendents. That’s truly astonishing combat ability.”
“I’ve been in the detective business for years, and I’ve only seen one or two ruthless criminals capable of such feats.”
“Oh! Oh! My apologies—I know Mr. Mecklenburg is innocent and cannot be compared to those criminals.”
Annie was startled. “How did this get connected to the Fierce Horse Detective Agency?”
Charlot casually folded the handkerchief away and replied, “Mr. Magru Trell wanted me to inform on Senior Menielman. I refused to stoop to such dirty dealings and fled with all my might. Fearing exposure of his disgraceful conduct, he falsely accused me of stealing confiscated Transcendent weapons from the prison and paid a hefty sum to hire detectives from the Fierce Horse Agency to hunt me down.”
“I did want to explain myself to those detectives, but they gave me no chance.”
Annie exclaimed in shock, “You escaped from eight Fierce Horse detectives and even killed them?”
Not only Annie but even Sylvie Martin, who already knew the story, couldn’t help but regard Charlot with newfound respect. She suddenly felt that this former fiancé of hers did possess some heroic qualities—qualities she had never noticed before.
Venie Arsenault added animatedly, “Wells is a diviner; it’s said he could divine bullet trajectories and cut bullets with a rapier. Addison and Winterburn both practiced the Flame Dragon’s Breath technique from the Fierce Horse Agency. One was a Third-Tier Flame Dragon Knight, and the other was a Fourth-Tier. Even if I faced them together, I couldn’t say I’d win easily.”
“Mr. Charlot, are you practicing the Dark Breathing Technique?”
“What Tier Knight are you now?”
Charlot looked slightly embarrassed and said quietly, “My knightly path has been far from smooth. Sylvie knows—I studied the Lamia Breathing Technique at Behemoth National Academy, but by graduation, I had barely condensed a power seed and failed to break through.”
“During university, I gave up on the Dark Breathing Technique and switched to Blood Glory. I’ve only recently managed to break through to Tier Four.”
Charlot then turned to Annie and said, “I’m sorry, Miss Annie. I lied to you that day.”
Annie Bretagne still remembered that during their first meeting, Charlot had claimed to be a First-Tier Transcendent. Yet she bore no resentment and, covering her mouth with her hand, replied softly, “I don’t blame you.”
Charlot had no choice. He hadn’t known Annie for long, and no matter how boastful he might be, he couldn’t explain how he had advanced from First Tier to Fourth Tier in such a short time.
Everyone knew that such a massive leap in strength in so little time was only possible through one method—summoning an Evil God.
That was something he absolutely couldn’t admit. It was a crime punishable by being burned alive!
Charlot’s image in the minds of the three ladies had undergone a dramatic transformation—and it was a very positive one at that.
He invited the three of them into the small study. Venie Arsenault sent her three-colored chubby cat to buy some fruit wine and pastries. The four of them chatted happily for the entire morning before the three ladies finally took their leave.
Annie hadn’t wanted to leave, but she couldn’t make it too obvious. After all, she was a girl of the Bretagne family—a noble lady whose reserved nature couldn’t simply be cast aside.