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Chapter 210: The Room Echoed with Charlot's Hoarse Voice
🕑 Added 2025-01-22 00:57:46 +0000 UTCGrand Princess May Guillaume raised her voice slightly and said, “You’ve read some classic novels? Then tell me, which authors have you read?”
She casually listed a few authors. Charlot was dumbfounded; he knew nothing about them. Novels in this era? What could possibly be worth reading?
Grand Princess May Guillaume sneered and said coldly, “I knew you were bluffing. You don’t understand literature at all, let alone classics. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of all writers.”
Charlot was on the verge of a breakdown. His mind raced desperately as he activated the Eye of Insight, taking a quick glance at the book inside the princess’s room.
It was a knightly novel—a genre that had long since fallen out of favor on Earth, leaving behind only Don Quixote, a parody of chivalric tales, to be immortalized as a world literary masterpiece.
Charlot had never read any Western knightly novels, but after skimming this Old Continent knight novel through his Eye of Insight, he thought: No matter how bad Earth’s knight novels were, they couldn’t possibly be worse than this.
Racking his brain, Charlot dredged up every web novel he had ever read. Unfortunately, most of them had settings far too different from the Old Continent, leaving him with very few suitable fantasy classics.
He silently cursed those web novel authors for not writing more fantasy works. In the end, after filtering out the more male-oriented stories, he settled on one slightly leaning toward a female audience. He shouted loudly, “Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Graycastle, and a fourth prince named Roland...”
The princess was actually quite annoyed. The fact that Charlot had become her neighbor was suspicious enough. The Emperor’s nephew specifically naming Charlot to represent the empire in the Fars mission was even stranger. Encountering Charlot again on the Titanic Whale only confirmed the dirty intentions behind the Emperor’s nephew’s actions.
When Charlot began reciting, she paid it little mind. But as soon as he mentioned how the fourth prince Roland saved a witch named Anna from execution, her eyes lit up. The story’s intrigue was beyond anything she had ever heard.
She retracted her hand, easing most of her force, and pushed Charlot into the room. She stepped inside herself, closing the door behind her.
The room was soon filled with Charlot’s hoarse voice...
Yes, he was reciting a novel.
After half an hour of recitation, Charlot had only covered five or six chapters. He was utterly exhausted, as if he had fought Count Lamorak in a duel for hours.
Grand Princess May was sitting cross-legged on the bed, attentively listening to the story.
Charlot finally felt the life-threatening pressure dissipate. He poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down before coughing lightly and switching to a calmer tone. He continued reciting the story in a more narrative and engaging manner.
After listening for a while, the princess lazily grabbed a pillow and leaned against it, becoming increasingly engrossed in the tale.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door, and Aurora Soumet’s voice called out, “James Cook has invited us to the captain’s cabin for dinner.”
Charlot was about to respond when the princess suddenly floated over and covered his mouth. She extended her slender fingers into the air, drawing pink combat energy that condensed into a line of Ingrima text: “Don’t tell them I was here.”
Charlot thought to himself, “With all the noise we made earlier, they must already know. What’s the point of pretending?”
The grand princess drew another line of text: “I’ve sealed the room’s sound with combat energy.”
Charlot was taken aback. “There’s even a technique like that?”
The princess let go of him, and with a swish of her black robe, she disappeared from the room. Charlot didn’t even see how she left.
He got up and opened the door, finding Aurora in a gown that made her look every bit the noble lady. It was a stark contrast to her usual clean and practical hunting attire.
Smiling, Charlot said, “I was just training earlier.”
Aurora raised an eyebrow and replied, “Why would you explain that to me? I’m not going to inspect your room.”
Charlot, feeling guilty, glanced back into his room. Aurora couldn’t help but follow his gaze, taking a peek. Seeing nothing amiss, Charlot relaxed.
Aurora, however, frowned and asked, “Why is your room better than mine?”
Charlot was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected Aurora to care about such a trivial matter.
James Cook had reserved the two best guest rooms for Charlot and the Grand Princess. Naturally, Aurora had been assigned a slightly less luxurious room. Huffing with annoyance, Aurora declared, “I’m going to ask James Cook for an explanation. I’m a rank nineteen officer!”
Charlot shrugged helplessly, thinking, “At least she didn’t discover the widowed grand princess hiding in my room.”
As for the room issue? It was a minor matter. He trusted James Cook to handle it. Worst case, he could switch rooms with Aurora. After all, her rank was higher.
Aurora added, “The princess won’t join us for dinner; she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
The two arrived at the captain’s cabin, where Aurora, who had been fuming earlier, now behaved gracefully, exuding the elegance of a true noble lady.
James Cook proved to be a lively conversationalist. Initially cautious during his first encounter with Charlot, he now adopted a warmer attitude, having learned of Charlot’s potential and the Emperor’s favor.
The dinner table conversation was mostly between Charlot and James Cook, with Aurora remaining silent throughout.
Charlot, fascinated by the magical alchemy warship, asked many questions about its workings. James Cook answered most of them but noted that certain details were classified military secrets.
The meal ended on a pleasant note. Afterward, James Cook invited them for a cup of coffee before excusing himself to manage the ship.
Charlot was about to ask Aurora if she wanted to take a walk on the deck when a haunting voice whispered in his ear, “Dinner’s over. Come to my room.”
With a resigned sigh, Charlot bid farewell to Aurora, claiming he needed to resume training.
Aurora said nothing, departing gracefully.
Charlot returned to his room, pausing at the door to glance across at the princess’s room. Before he could make a decision, her door opened, and he was drawn inside by an unseen force.
The door closed behind him. Inside, the princess sat on the bed, hugging a pillow. Beside her was a freshly brewed pot of tea, clearly prepared in advance.
With no other option, Charlot resumed reciting the novel. However, the story soon delved into some chemical concepts, which didn’t exist on the Old Continent. Desperately, Charlot improvised...
When night fell, Charlot finally escaped to his own room. Letting out a long sigh of relief, he muttered to himself, “Thank you, author! If I ever return to Earth, I must treat her to a meal to express my gratitude.”
“...Actually, she could treat me instead.”
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