Insight

Charlotte had no choice either. He had no desire to take responsibility for his predecessor, so he could only clear his own name this way.

Anne was silent for a moment before saying softly, "Sophie... Mrs. Yang Mills is my aunt."

Charlotte immediately grew solemn. "I firmly believe Mrs. Yang Mills was a virtuous lady."

Anne felt greatly comforted. The girl said in a low voice, "I don't believe Aunt Sophie would do anything dishonorable either, so I couldn't help coming here in the middle of the night..."

Her little face flushed slightly. She stole a glance at Charlotte and suddenly thought, No wonder there were rumors about Aunt Sophie and him. Mr. Charlotte is handsome and gentle, graduated from a top university, has a promising government position, and is even a rare Transcendence. He truly is the ideal romantic partner in any girl's heart.

Anne Brittany felt her face heating up again. She hurriedly cut off those scattered, nonsensical thoughts, rose to her feet, lightly lifted the sides of her skirt, and dipped into a very formal curtsy. Full of apology, she said, "I came here to test Mr. Charlotte and caused this mess. Please forgive me."

Charlotte asked thoughtfully, "If I had been that sort of dishonorable man, Miss Anne, were you planning to put me to eternal sleep?"

Anne Brittany's pretty face turned crimson. Unable to suppress her shyness any longer, she lowered her head. That had indeed been her plan.

As a favored daughter of heaven who had become a Transcendence in her first year of university, Anne Brittany had learned that her beloved aunt had died an untimely death because of a libertine man. Her first thought had been to avenge her aunt.

She had driven here alone in the middle of the night because she intended to use Dream Arts, pretending that her aunt had returned from hell, to scare Charlotte to death in his dreams.

The "former" Charlotte Mecklen had indeed been far from clean. Though he was a Transcendence, he had a guilty conscience. While the Dream Ghost might not have frightened him into disaster, there was a considerable chance that he would have given himself away.

If Anne had discovered the "truth" in the dream, things would certainly have become unimaginably worse.

Anne said softly, "I am willing to offer compensation."

She truly had no idea how to resolve this.

Charlotte smiled faintly. "If I put myself in your place, and something like this had happened to one of my relatives, I would surely have been a hundred times more impulsive than Miss Anne."

"The most urgent matter is to clear Mrs. Yang Mills's name as soon as possible, so that she may rest in peace. If Miss Anne needs anything, I am willing to do my utmost to help."

"However, it is already late at night, and it is highly inconvenient. Let me take Miss Anne home first. We can discuss this matter again in a few days."

Anne Brittany lowered her head slightly and thanked him.

Charlotte stepped out of the carriage and took the driver's seat, gently urging the horse onward. A clear, lovely voice came from inside the carriage. "58 Sixth Avenue, Val-d'Oise District."

As a qualified graduate of the Empire's educational system, he had been taught many essential skills at school. Driving was one of the three divine skills every gentleman had to learn.

Swordsmanship, riding, and driving...

No, carriage driving.

Charlotte replied, "Understood, Miss Anne."

Hooves clattered, wheels rumbled!

Carriages were never particularly fast, perhaps not even as fast as a speed-limited electric bike on Earth.

The journey from Alexander District to Val-d'Oise District took more than an hour. Had Bloody Glory not protected him, the cold midnight wind would have been enough to give Charlotte a cold.

Charlotte delivered Anne to 58 Sixth Avenue and saw a towering old residence. He felt deeply envious, and also knew his guess had been correct. Anne Brittany was indeed a noble lady, not from an ordinary family.

Anne stepped down from the carriage and was about to enter the mansion through a concealed side door when she suddenly turned back and said to Charlotte, who had descended from the driver's seat, "I feel terribly sorry to have troubled Mr. Charlotte with taking me home so late."

"There are no public carriages at this hour. Why not take my carriage back? I'll have someone retrieve it tomorrow."

Charlotte hesitated slightly. He truly did not want to walk for one or two hours to get home, and walking was far slower than taking a carriage. So he agreed. "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Anne."

Anne smiled sweetly and gave Charlotte a slight wave. Then she turned and entered the mansion. Shadows moved within; clearly, someone had been guarding the doors for this young lady all along, waiting for her return.

Although Charlotte's life had been fairly decent since his transmigration, and he had even successfully earned a promotion and raise through his own cleverness, this sort of aristocratic life was still far beyond his reach.

With a sigh, he drove the carriage onto the road home.

After tying the carriage outside his apartment building, Charlotte returned to his newly rented apartment. Lying in bed, he found himself unable to sleep for a while. He opened his eyes for a time, then closed them for a time, trying again and again before murmuring, half alarmed and half delighted, "So it wasn't an illusion."

With his eyes closed, Charlotte could sense everything within roughly fifteen steps of himself.

He knew why!

Within the small Bloody Vortex between his brows, countless tiny pale-gold runes formed a wondrous structure. Hidden inside the Bloody Vortex, it rose and sank, drifting and circulating. It was this marvelous rune that had granted him such a strange ability.

Charlotte had learned relevant knowledge at Sheffield University. This rune was called—Insight!

Though Bloody Glory belonged to the general category of Fel Energy, its combat style was almost identical to battle aura. It likewise enhanced the body and increased strength and speed.

Its weakness was that, at the same energy level, its power was mediocre at best, with only speed standing out slightly.

Its advantage was that Bloody Glory granted its wielder several special abilities, known as the Thirteen Wonders.

Insight was one of Bloody Glory's Thirteen Wonders.

It allowed one's field of vision to form a sphere. A Transcendence with this ability would never again be ambushed. In a melee, they could deal with attacks coming from every direction, and even in a one-on-one fight, it offered a tremendous advantage. It was an exceptionally powerful support combat skill.

At the seaside in Senis, when Charlotte Mecklen summoned an evil god and became a Transcendence, his first choice had been to condense the Bloody Vortex between his brows. He had also fantasized about condensing the Insight rune, so that he could see certain wonderful things.

Unfortunately, he had not returned alive from his vacation.

Ever since returning from Senis, Charlotte had never had time to train, yet Bloody Glory had grown at an inconceivable speed. It was extremely strange and utterly baffling.

Activating Insight consumed a great deal of Psionic Energy. After fussing about for most of the night, Charlotte was somewhat tired as well and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Before long, dawn arrived.

Charlotte was preoccupied with his grand plan to get rich, so he got up early in the morning.

Although he had not rested well that night, the exceptional stamina of a Transcendence kept him from feeling too tired.

He wrote a letter explaining that he was taking leave, paid one Centime, and sent the apartment's errand-running manservant to deliver it to Kilmainham Prison.

Charlotte tidied himself up a little, wrapped the Multi-Headed Flail in a piece of cotton cloth, and prepared to sell it. The moment he stepped outside, he saw a noble girl lightly leap down from an extravagantly decorated carriage. She smiled at him and said, "We meet again, Mr. Charlotte."