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Chapter 13: Insight
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 20:00:35 +0000 UTCCharlot had no choice; he didn’t want to take responsibility for his predecessor’s actions and could only use this method to clear his name.
Annie remained silent for a moment before softly saying, “Sophie… Mrs. Yanmills is my aunt.”
Charlot immediately composed himself and said solemnly, “I firmly believe Mrs. Yanmills is a virtuous lady.”
Annie felt deeply comforted and whispered, “I also don’t believe Aunt Sophie would do anything dishonorable, so I couldn’t help but come here in the middle of the night…”
Her face turned slightly red as she sneaked a glance at Charlot. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind:
“No wonder there were rumors about Aunt Sophie and him. Mr. Charlot is handsome and gentle, a graduate of a top-tier university, with a promising career as a government officer, and even a rare extraordinary individual. He truly is the ideal romantic partner for any girl.”
Annie Bretagne felt her face heating up again. Hastily, she interrupted these chaotic musings, stood up, lightly tugged at the corners of her skirt, and performed a solemn curtsy. With an apologetic tone, she said, “I came here to test you, Mr. Charlot, and caused such a disturbance. Please forgive me.”
Charlot pondered for a moment before asking, “If I were the kind of dishonorable man you feared, would Miss Annie have intended to ensure I sleep forever?”
Annie Bretagne’s delicate face turned scarlet. She couldn’t suppress her shyness any longer and lowered her head—she had indeed thought so.
As a gifted extraordinary individual who had achieved her status in her first year of university, Annie Bretagne harbored a deep love for her aunt, who had tragically passed away due to a scoundrel. Her first instinct was to avenge her aunt.
She drove here alone in the middle of the night, intending to use the technique of dreamcraft, masquerading as her aunt’s ghost returning from the depths of hell, to scare Charlot to death in his dream.
Charlot Mecklenburg had indeed not been a clean person in his “previous” life. Despite his extraordinary abilities, he harbored many secrets. While the “dream ghost” might not have frightened him to death, it had a high probability of exposing his guilt.
If Annie had uncovered the “truth” in the dream, the situation could have turned disastrously worse.
Annie murmured, “I’m willing to offer compensation.”
She truly didn’t know how to clean up this mess.
Charlot smiled faintly and said, “If I were in your shoes, Miss Annie, and my family had suffered such misfortune, I’d be a hundred times more impulsive.”
“The most pressing matter now is to restore Mrs. Yanmills reputation so she can rest in peace. If Miss Annie needs any help, I’m willing to offer my assistance.”
“However, it’s already late tonight and quite inconvenient. Allow me to escort you home for now, and we can discuss this further in the coming days.”
Annie Bretagne lowered her head slightly and expressed her thanks.
Charlot exited the carriage and took the driver’s seat, gently urging the horse forward. From inside the carriage came a clear voice: “58 Sixth Avenue, Val-de-Vas.”
As a qualified graduate of the imperial education system, Charlot had learned many essential skills in school, with driving being one of the three must-learn gentlemanly arts.
Swordsmanship, horseback riding, and driving…
Wait, no—carriage driving.
Charlot responded, “Understood, Miss Annie.”
The sound of hoofbeats echoed, and the wheels rumbled along the road.
The speed of the carriage was never particularly fast, even slower than a speed-limited electric bike on Earth.
The journey from the Alexander District to Val-de-Vas took over an hour. If not for the protective effect of Blood Glory, the midnight chill might have given Charlot a cold.
When they reached 58 Sixth Avenue, Charlot saw an imposing and ancient mansion. He felt a twinge of envy in his heart and confirmed his earlier suspicions—Annie Bretagne was indeed a noble lady, not someone from an ordinary family.
As Annie alighted from the carriage and prepared to enter the mansion through a concealed side door, she suddenly turned back and addressed Charlot, who had stepped down from the driver’s seat.
“So late at night, I feel bad for troubling you to send me back, Mr. Charlot. Since there are no public carriages available now, why don’t you take mine back? I’ll have someone fetch it tomorrow.”
Charlot hesitated slightly. He really didn’t want to walk for over an hour to return home. Walking was much slower than riding a carriage. He accepted her offer, saying, “Thank you for your kindness, Miss Annie.”
Annie gave him a radiant smile, waved lightly at him, and turned to enter the mansion. Inside, shadows moved; it was clear that someone had been waiting at the door, guarding it for her return.
After his transmigration, Charlot’s life had been decent. He had even managed to earn a promotion and raise due to his intelligence. Yet this kind of noble lifestyle still seemed far beyond his reach.
Sighing softly, Charlot took the reins and began his return journey.
He secured the carriage outside his apartment building and returned to his newly rented unit. Lying in bed, he found himself unable to fall asleep. He opened his eyes for a while, then closed them, repeating the cycle several times. Finally, he whispered to himself in a mix of surprise and delight, “It wasn’t my imagination after all.”
Closing his eyes, Charlot realized that he could sense everything within fifteen steps of himself.
He knew why this was happening.
Between his brows, there was a small blood-colored vortex. Countless faint golden runes formed a mysterious structure within, floating and shifting. It was these runes that granted him such extraordinary perception.
Charlot had studied related knowledge at Sheffield University. This rune was known as Insight!
Although Blood Glory was classified as a form of forbidden energy, its combat methods resembled combat energy, similarly enhancing the body, strength, and speed.
The drawbacks were its moderate power compared to other energy types of the same level, with only a slight advantage in speed.
The advantage lay in Blood Glory’s ability to grant its user several special abilities, known as the Thirteen Miracles.
Insight was one of the Thirteen Miracles of Blood Glory.
It allowed the user’s vision to expand into a spherical field, making it impossible to be ambushed. In chaotic battles, it enabled the user to handle attacks from all directions and gave a significant advantage even in one-on-one combat. It was a powerful auxiliary combat skill.
Charlot Mecklenburg had, by the seaside of Cynes, summoned a dark god to awaken his extraordinary powers. His first choice had been to condense the blood-colored vortex at his brow, dreaming of forming the Insight rune and glimpsing wondrous sights.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t lived to return from his vacation.
Since his return from Cynes, Charlot hadn’t had much time to cultivate. Yet his Blood Glory had inexplicably grown at an astonishing rate, a bizarre phenomenon that defied explanation.
Activating Insight consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. Exhausted from his nighttime experiments, Charlot soon fell into a deep sleep.
It wasn’t long before morning arrived.
Eager to execute his grand plan for wealth, Charlot got up early.
Despite his poor rest, his extraordinary vitality left him feeling alert.
He penned a letter requesting leave, attached a centime as a delivery fee, and asked a servant in the apartment building to take the letter to Kilmainham Prison.
After tidying up briefly, Charlot wrapped the spiked chain flail in cloth, preparing to sell it. Just as he stepped outside, a noble young woman gracefully alighted from an opulent carriage, smiled at him, and said, “We meet again, Mr. Charlot.”
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