Charlotte had told Viève about her Acting progress outright, but certainly not to show off.
She had previously suspected that this young Solar High Priest might also know the Acting Method, and had made a few probes during her own explorations-for example, asking whether mastering a potion required "acting" as an Arbiter. The other woman's tacit acknowledgment had clearly suggested she knew something. Later, Viève had also mentioned that submitting a special application could resolve the issue of fully mastering a potion before the Church's prescribed three years had elapsed. That, too, had seemed pointed, but none of it amounted to solid evidence.
Now Charlotte had openly broken through that barrier and freely mentioned "digestion," a key element of the Acting Method, naturally intending to confirm that Viève knew the method too.
After all, she had now finished digesting the Arbiter potion. Her helplessness during the string of recent incidents had also left her desperate to advance to the next Sequence and gain more power, and all of that depended on further help from the Church.
As a member of the Sauron Family who had not formally joined the Purification-ers, she would not be subject to too many restrictions. Judging by Viève's own circumstances, the Church was also unlikely to silence her merely to conceal the Acting Method's existence. Even so, after volunteering that information, she still felt somewhat uneasy.
Fortunately, Viève merely gazed steadily at her for a few seconds with her emerald eyes, a trace of surprise crossing her face. Then her expression settled, and she spoke as though she had expected this all along:
"It seems you really have worked out the Acting Method."
She does know... Charlotte quietly breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged a knowing look with her.
The conversation should have ended there,