Chapter Summaries

Charlotte’s duel with Zolman drew the attention of Mostarburg, while Belisa noticed Hughes leaving and feared the South Seraph Restoration Army would attack the city. As Charlotte’s fight pushed him to a disadvantage, his House of Asilo swordsmanship broke through to its eighth movement, Twilight Elegy.

• Zolman and Charlotte began their duel as Hughes quietly left Mostarburg with an elite unit.
• Belisa spotted Hughes departing and suspected Madame Nansera might exploit the distracted defenders to attack the city.
• Belisa sought help from Charlotte’s companions, and Anastasia agreed to investigate with her and a small combat squad.
• Charlotte fought Zolman through more than fifty exchanges but gradually fell behind.
• Blood Rose’s clashes with Zolman’s lance helped Charlotte break through to the eighth movement of the House of Asilo Twelve Angelic Movements, Twilight Elegy.

Charlotte defeated Zolman in their duel, then discovered that the South Seraph Restoration Army had launched a surprise attack on Mostarburg. As battle engulfed the city, Charlotte chose to try to rout the enemy forces before Hughes could capture Mostarburg.

• Zolman realized Charlotte's swordsmanship had improved during their duel and accused him of gazing upon an evil god.
• Charlotte used a concealed Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle to maim Zolman, then killed him with Blood Rose.
• Madame Nansera charged onto the battlefield, and the West Wind Knight Regiment joined the fight.
• Charlotte searched for Hughes and learned from Dobbin that Anastasia had gone to defend Mostarburg after the Duchess's maid warned of an attack.
• Charlotte deduced that Hughes was attacking Mostarburg while the city's defenders watched the duel, and he decided to rout the South Seraph Restoration Army first.

Hughes captured Mostarburg, killed Grand Duchess Joseph, and withdrew, leaving Charlotte to reckon with his losses and Hughes’s real objective. The next morning, Charlotte met his older brother Mycroft Mecklen and sister-in-law Winnie Mecklen, whose family ties linked her to his former fiancée Sylvie Martin.

• Hughes led his troops over Mostarburg’s walls, killed Grand Duchess Joseph, and opened the city gates before withdrawing with the South Seraph Restoration Army.
• Charlotte’s West Wind Knight Regiment repelled the remaining South Seraph forces, and Dobbin returned with Belisa, Anastasia, and several hundred prisoners.
• Charlotte realized Hughes had used the attack to cover a withdrawal, then gathered supplies and the fallen soldiers’ bodies and refused invitations to enter Mostarburg.
• The next morning, Charlotte met his older brother, Mycroft Mecklen, and sister-in-law, Winnie Mecklen, who had once helped arrange his engagement to her younger sister, Sylvie Martin.

Charlotte met with his brother Mycroft Mecklen and sister-in-law Winnie, refused their request to attend the nobles’ balls in Mostarburg, and assured them that Sylvie was doing well in Strasbourg. He gave the couple a military carriage as they left, while Winnie decided to write to Sylvie and encourage her to reconcile with Charlotte.

• Winnie asked Charlotte whether he had been hurt in battle, and Charlotte reassured her that he was fine.
• Mycroft told Charlotte that the nobles wanted him to enter Mostarburg for celebratory balls, but Charlotte refused, citing his orders from the Central Government Office.
• Winnie asked about Sylvie, and Charlotte said she had become a detective and confirmed that their engagement had ended.
• Charlotte shared a meal with Mycroft and Winnie, then gave them a military carriage and horses.
• On their way back to Mostarburg, Winnie said she would write to Sylvie and urge her to reconsider Charlotte.

Charlotte prepared to leave Mostarburg, but Archpriest Augsladin offered him a role as his deputy on an embassy to the Empire of Inglima. The chapter ended with Charlotte and the West Wind Knight Regiment hurrying toward Strasbourg to arrange the mission.

• Charlotte decided to evacuate Mostarburg and ordered the West Wind Knight Regiment to prepare to leave for Machu Picchu.
• Archpriest Augsladin told Charlotte that the war in Ferlanden had escalated, with both sides committing huge forces and powerful fighters.
• Augsladin offered Charlotte three options, including serving as his deputy on an embassy to the Empire of Inglima, and Charlotte accepted.
• Augsladin proposed stationing the West Wind Knight Regiment in Cappadocia City as a possible fallback, and Charlotte agreed to protect his rear.
• Augsladin departed for Strasbourg and told Charlotte to follow quickly, while Charlotte ordered his troops to leave Mostarburg.

Charlotte allowed Belisa to join his group and lent her Cat's Mask so she could learn to defend herself. While cultivating that night, he broke through to eighth-rank Star War Qi, then discovered a vampire assassin in his camp who claimed to be on his side.

• Anastasia explained that Belisa had followed the group after Duchess Joseph's death, and Charlotte let the maid stay because she was a Transcendent.
• Belisa revealed that she was a second-rank Sky Glider, and Charlotte lent her Cat's Mask and told her to practice throwing knives and firearms.
• Charlotte arranged the camp's night watch and continued cultivating after the group rested.
• Charlotte formed a Bloody Vortex in his right hand and used it to advance his Star War Qi to the eighth rank.
• Charlotte caught a masked vampire assassin attacking him, and the attacker called out that he was on Charlotte's side.

Charlotte followed the Byronian spy Julian Asilo away from the West Wind Knight Regiment and learned about Byron’s plans to attack Fars’s diplomatic mission with new burst-fire Alchemical Rifles. The conversation ended with Julian asking Charlotte to arrange a place for him to sleep and bathe.

• Charlotte pursued the assassin Julian Asilo out of camp and let him mistake her for a fellow Byronian spy.
• Julian revealed that Byron had sent spies to discover when Fars’s diplomatic mission would depart so they could intercept and kill its members.
• Julian said Baron Leo would lead the attack using five ultra-long-range burst-fire Alchemical Rifles loaded with Demon-Breaking Armor-Piercing Bullets.
• Charlotte considered how the rifles might threaten even Saint Rank Transcendents and recalled the strengths and limitations of Transcendence firearms.
• Julian asked Charlotte to arrange a place for him to sleep and take a bath.

Charlotte brought Julian to the military camp and spent the night discussing sword techniques, vampire secret arts, and military intelligence with him. She prepared to lead the Knight Order toward Machu Picchu and then Strasbourg, while Julian asked to travel with her.

• Charlotte introduced herself to Julian as Qian Nan and let him believe she was an irregular descendant.
• Julian shared knowledge of House of Asilo's secret arts and other vampire clans, and filled in gaps in Charlotte's inheritance.
• Charlotte and Julian emerged from her carriage together after daybreak, prompting rumors that shocked Anastasia and Belisa.
• Charlotte ordered the Knight Order to set out for Machu Picchu, planning to send several dozen people to Strasbourg afterward.
• Julian asked Charlotte if he could accompany her to Strasbourg.

Charlotte returned to Strasbourg with Julian and his companions, where the West Wind Knight Regiment received a new mission to help the Empire of Inglima clear pirates from Cappadocia City without alarming friendly nations. He reunited with Anne at Gorgia University and prepared to give her a gift as they rode to afternoon tea.

• Charlotte sent Dobbin, Yellow Bear, Spotted Deer Gwen, Gale Wolf Bancroft, and the West Wind Knight Regiment to Machu Picchu, then summoned Dorothy to bring warhorses and join him.
• Charlotte and his group returned to Strasbourg, and the Central Government Office's Military Affairs Knight Order Department declared the regiment's previous mission complete and assigned it to assist the Empire of Inglima in clearing pirates from Cappadocia City.
• Charlotte reviewed the old documents and troop order that gave the Inglima mission political legitimacy, though he knew the Empire might blame him if anything went wrong.
• Dorothy parted from Charlotte to handle personal matters, while Charlotte arranged lodging at Falcon Street Number One and chose to visit Gorgia University before seeing Archpriest Augsladin or Anne Brittany.
• Charlotte met Anne outside her classroom, invited her to afternoon tea, and embraced her in the carriage as he worried about her learning of his past.
• Charlotte told Anne part of what had happened in the Duchy of Behemoth, and, as the carriage headed to a restaurant, he prepared the gift he had brought for her.

Charlotte gave Anne the short guns Famous Painting, which she used to create lifelike portraits of herself for his residences. He then went to the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ residence at Central Avenue Number 5 to find Archpriest Augsladin about their planned diplomatic mission.

• Charlotte gave Anne Famous Painting and explained that it could create up to five interactive portraits.
• Anne arranged for five large portraits of herself to be framed and sent to Charlotte’s residences, and Charlotte danced with the portrait at Champs-Élysées Avenue Number 58.
• Charlotte set out in his ordinary carriage, collected cash, and went to the Temple of the Lord of Radiance to ask where Archpriest Augsladin was.
• Charlotte entered Central Avenue with military documents and went to the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ residence to meet Archpriest Augsladin.
• The guards admitted Charlotte to a waiting room filled with officials seeking an audience.

Charlotte accepted an envoy post to the Empire of Inglima, and a bribe to a young official secured him a seniority-based promotion. After completing his reassignment, he left the Central Government Office in Madam Nancy’s carriage while his former colleagues underestimated his new status.

• Charlotte was summoned to a young official at the Minister of Foreign Affairs’s residence and agreed to serve as an envoy to the Empire of Inglima.
• Charlotte slipped the young official a wallet, and the official signed a document promoting him to second-rank, twenty-eighth-grade Administrator Chief.
• Charlotte submitted the document at the Central Government Office and received his new identity as Minister Plenipotentiary of War to the Empire of Inglima for the Empire of Fars.
• Charlotte encountered former colleagues who invited him to celebrate a promotion, but he declined and told them his reassignment had already been handled.
• Madam Nancy arrived in a carriage for Charlotte, and he rode away while his former colleagues speculated about the carriage and dismissed his prospects.

Charlotte visited Baker Street 221B, the estate the Queen had awarded him, with Anne, who had collected the keys and furnished the residence. As they admired the quiet street, Charlotte spotted someone familiar hurrying past.

• Charlotte chose to continue his date with Anne instead of going to Embassy Street for official training.
• Anne directed Madam Nancy to Baker Street 221B and revealed that she had arranged for the estate's keys and furnishings.
• Charlotte and Anne toured the renovated two-floor residence and admired Anne's magical portrait in the living room.
• Charlotte ordered coffee, set meals, ale, and fruit wine through the apartment's service bell.
• Charlotte spotted a familiar figure hurrying past Baker Street while he and Anne stood by the window.

Charlotte learned that Louis Smythe had acquired the Fiery Steed Detective Agency for him and planned to visit it, but Archpriest Augsladin soon arrived with preparations for their diplomatic mission to the Empire of Inglima. Charlotte then went to Falcon Street Number One and used his political authority to appoint Anastasia and Belisa to government positions.

• Anne told Charlotte that Louis Smythe had bought Aubrey Teuton Atwood's Fiery Steed Detective Agency for him, and Charlotte decided to visit it the next day.
• Charlotte spent a quiet afternoon with Anne, then returned to Champs-Élysées Avenue Number 58 and slept in a different bedroom after viewing Anne's portrait.
• Archpriest Augsladin told Charlotte that the envoy delegation would depart at the end of the month and outlined its clothing and weapons requirements.
• Charlotte went to Falcon Street Number One and appointed Anastasia a First-Class Clerk and Belisa a Grade Forty-Five First-Class Assistant, despite Belisa lacking the required qualifications.

Charlotte took control of the Fiery Steed Detective Agency and addressed its employees, offering raises to detectives who stayed and City Patrol jobs to unselected assistants and apprentices. He left the agency with most of its workers willing to remain or join his patrol force.

• Charlotte and Anne visited the Fiery Steed Detective Agency in Alcatraz District.
• Charlotte gathered the agency's employees on the rooftop and announced that he would be its new president.
• Charlotte offered official detectives who stayed a weekly raise of twenty Centimes, and nearly all chose to remain.
• Detectives selected assistants and Apprentice Detectives to join them under Charlotte.
• Charlotte offered severance to unselected workers and invited those without other prospects to report to the Lucavaro District City Patrol.

Charlotte reorganized the Fiery Steed Detective Agency, prepared for a diplomatic mission, and joined Archpriest Augsladin’s delegation. At sea, Augsladin diverted Charlotte to Goling Island to secure an escape route, and Charlotte realized Julian Asilo had disappeared.

• Charlotte trusted the veteran detectives from the Wild Horse Society to choose their own assistants, treated them to a feast, and persuaded two detectives who planned to leave to stay.
• Charlotte selected the Silver Knight supernatural pistol from the diplomatic armory and said farewell to Anne before joining Archpriest Augsladin on Embassy Street.
• Archpriest Augsladin led a delegation of more than two hundred people out of Strasbourg, with Charlotte ranking around eighth and traveling in a military carriage.
• After the delegation boarded a warship for the Empire of Inglima, Augsladin transferred Charlotte and his subordinates to a merchant ship and revealed that Charlotte’s task was to secure an escape route on Goling Island.
• Charlotte watched Archpriest Augsladin sail away and then realized Julian Asilo was missing.

Charlot seized control of the merchant ship White Tea and brought his group to Cappadocia City, where he tried to Labyrinthize the city but failed. The chapter left him in Cappadocia, with Captain Seaman planning to leave and Charlot wondering whether Archpriest Augsladin had known the city could not be Labyrinthized.

• After failing to find Julian Asilo, Charlot abandoned his attempt to catch Archpriest Augsladin’s warship and asked Captain Seaman how long it would take to reach Cappadocia City.
• Charlot threatened Seaman with the Silver Knight and forced him to hand over command of the White Tea.
• Charlot divided the crew and his West Wind Knight Regiment into five squads, then sailed the White Tea to Cappadocia City in four and a half days.
• After they reached port, Seaman gathered his sailors and decided to replenish supplies and leave the Farsians behind.
• Charlot tried to Labyrinthize Cappadocia, but the Labyrinth of Agmiras did not respond, leading him to question whether Archpriest Augsladin knew the requirements had not been met.

Charlotte decided not to conquer Cappadocia and returned to the White Tea, where he stopped Captain Seaman’s planned mutiny with salted-fish balls disguised as an explosive alchemical potion. He forced Seaman to take command of several ships as a future pirate while he planned to remain an anonymous assistant.

• Charlotte concluded that turning Cappadocia into a labyrinth could be a trap and decided to return to the White Tea to suppress the rebellion.
• A little girl gave Charlotte a salted fish after he tried to buy it without having Inglima currency, and he used Bloody Glory to turn it into red salted-fish balls.
• Charlotte interrupted Seaman as he urged sailors to sail away without him and claimed the salted-fish balls were a potion that would make them explode.
• Charlotte made a seabird explode to convince the sailors, then forced Seaman and the gathered crew to swallow the salted-fish balls.
• Charlotte told Seaman to acquire several ships and become a pirate while Charlotte stayed anonymous, then reflected on how his voyage had changed him.

Belisa and Anastasia encountered a supernatural insect swarm released by sailors pursuing them through Cappadocia City, then fled as the Over-the-Back Red Bear Warriors killed their attackers. Charlotte learned of the trouble and charged into the Administrator's Mansion, leaving the conflict poised to escalate into war.

• Belisa shot a sack carried by sailors following Anastasia, releasing a swarm of insects that burrowed into and devoured the men.
• Anastasia and Belisa recognized the swarm as a supernatural threat and decided to find Charlotte before it spread through Cappadocia City.
• A one-eyed sailor calling himself Red Beard pursued the women, but the Over-the-Back Red Bear Warriors attacked his men and killed him.
• Anastasia and Belisa ran toward the harbor, while Charlotte gathered his people after hearing of the trouble.
• Dorothy led Charlotte to the Administrator's Mansion, and Charlotte charged inside despite knowing the attack meant declaring war.

Charlotte killed Cappadocia City's administrator while rescuing more than six hundred abducted Goling natives, then accepted the surrender of the city's patrol and recruited the freed captives. A message from the diary announced that Cappadocia would soon undergo Labyrinthization and ordered Charlotte to assemble a fleet of at least eighteen medium-sized ships while remaining within a day's sailing distance.

• Charlotte stormed the Administrator's Mansion, where he found Goling natives bound for slave ships, and shot administrator Domingo dead.
• Chatham fired at the captives to cover his escape, but Charlotte's Hands of Blazing Flame deflected the shots as Chatham fled.
• Cappadocia City's Goling Chief Inspector surrendered the City Patrol, and Charlotte promised to take the patrol with him when he left.
• Charlotte released the captives, and nearly all of the more than six hundred Goling natives agreed to join his army.
• The diary told Charlotte that Cappadocia would soon undergo Labyrinthization and required him to form a fleet of at least eighteen medium-sized ships without sailing beyond a day's distance from the city.

Charlotte seized merchant ships in Cappadocia to advance the city’s Labyrinthization, then abolished local taxes and returned recent tax revenue to gain the residents’ trust. He prepared to evacuate them once the city was transformed, while Archpriest Augsladin arrived in Briton and met with a local Archpriest.

• Charlotte wondered whether Archpriest Augsladin or the Lord of Radiance had influenced fate, then reached Cappadocia Harbor after two slave ships had already departed.
• Charlotte raised Byron’s flag over Cappadocia to discourage ships from leaving, then seized the three merchant ships still in port and advanced Labyrinthization to (4/18).
• Charlotte confirmed that the three captains were not slave traders, forced them to join his army, and appointed Dorothy, Anastasia, and Belisa as the ships’ new captains.
• Charlotte abolished Cappadocia’s taxes, forgave residents’ government debts, and returned the previous two months’ tax revenue to build trust before evacuating them to Machu Picchu.
• Archpriest Augsladin arrived in Briton with the Farsian delegation and spent an afternoon with Briton’s Archpriest at the Temple of the Lord of Light.