"Anne! Is this Mr. Mecklen?"
Before Anne could figure out how to comfort Charlotte, she heard an unusually gentle voice.
Two young officers approached side by side.
Both were twenty-seven or twenty-eight, brimming with confidence and high spirits.
One of the young officers was exceptionally handsome, with short pure-gold hair and emerald-like eyes. He had a somewhat delicate air about him and bore a slight resemblance to Anne.
After Charlotte joined the City Patrol, everyone under his command held military posts, so he had no choice but to study some military knowledge of the Old Continent. He recognized the rank on the man's shoulder cord: a twenty-fourth-rank First-Rank Ensign.
A twenty-fourth-rank post was known in the Empire as an uncrossable divide. Even if an ordinary commoner spent an entire lifetime advancing step by step without making a single mistake and received extra commendations, they could never rise to this rank.
The other young officer was sunny and gentle, strong and agile, with black hair and black eyes. He possessed an innate, imposing pressure. He was a twenty-fifth-rank Fifth-Rank Military Commander, a full ten ranks above Charlotte's Third-Rank Chief Clerk. Without outside help, Charlotte would need to endure at least thirty long years before he had any chance of attaining such a post.
Charlotte awkwardly performed an Imperial salute and said, "I'm Charlotte Mecklenburg. Good afternoon, gentlemen."
The young officer who resembled Anne stepped forward and said, "Anne asked me to help you with a duel."
"I agreed, but I have a small request."
"If you can take three moves from me, I'll help you unconditionally. If you can't, I'll still help, but please stay away from Anne from now on."
Anne's expression changed slightly. "Cousin Kreil, I don't need your help."
Kreil Brittany smiled faintly. "Mr. Mecklen, what do you